Congratulations to PRSA Miami’s Newest APR!

Charlotte Donn, Associate Vice President, Marketing and Communications for YMCA of Greater Miami

Here’s what Charlotte has to say about the process. She offers some practical advise for professionals who are interested in obtaining their APR:

How important for you was it to obtain your APR?

It was important to me personally so I could prove to myself that I actually do know something about Public Relations. I am not university trained, and joined PRSA 8 years ago on the advice of my CEO when I admitted I didn't know anything about PR. He suggested PRSA as a way to learn. Between PRSA, working in PR for the Y, and working together with some great PR firms, I final felt I had the experience necessary to sit for the exam.

What was the experience like?

I waited a long time to consider it. As I am a "client" I didn't think APR was intended for me. It seemed it was for people in PR firms. So I went to the orientation and asked, and was assured that it was appropriate for me as well. Sandra Fine, APR was there, and offered to help anyone who needed it. I did reach out to her on several occasions through the process, from the Readiness Review and Panel Presentation, to how much to worry about the book study. I also posted a couple questions to the PRSA's national web site and accreditation groups. I did not do the online study course, instead using the free resources, 2 books on the list I purchased used on Amazon.com, and one book from the library. You don't have to spend a lot of money, just be resourceful. From start to finish, I took about 6 months. I took the week off from work before the exam to do intense study after several months of reading and note taking. I finished the exam with plenty of time, and they give you initial results as soon as you complete it. The whole process was reassuring, and I learned a lot about the planning for and scope of public relations.

Any tips and recommendation for anyone interested in pursuing their APR?

Take it seriously, and take your time. Don't count on the books for the digital / technology parts of the exam. Books are very outdated on this subject. Use the Readiness Review as your learning process for the bulk of the exam. If you nail that, you are half way home. In a professional world where jobs are still being lost, take every opportunity for an edge on your competition. APR is one was to put yourself ahead of the rest.

If there wasn’t work to get back to, I think everyone at last week’s Food for Thought panel discussion could have easily stayed all afternoon.

The panel of local social media experts included Alex de Carvalho, co-founder of a host of web-based startups and professor of a social media course at the University of Miami School of Communication, Murray Izenwasser, senior interactive strategist at Biztegra, and Jay Berkowitz, founder and CEO of the strategic online marketing consulting businesses TenGoldenRules.com.

The resounding theme throughout the lunchtime discussion was how to best manage and build your brand across all web-based outlets. Though it may seem daunting to make sure you have a grip on your brand across the dozens of major outlets on the web these days, the panel shared a slew of techniques to help brands make it happen.

One of the most interesting topics that came up during the discussion was the idea of “cascading content.” While it sounds like a new idea, it’s actually something most of us already do with our content, whether we know it or not. Utilizing the “cascading content” technique is as simple as taking a press release, posting it on your website, posting a link to it on Facebook, tweeting about it on Twitter, maybe filming a short one-minute video on the topic for your YouTube channel and getting the word out to your LinkedIn followers. It’s this “cascading content” that can help carve out your brand and make you stand out in the online arena.

The panelists also brought up how there is such a surprisingly small number of brands utilizing YouTube, even though it now stands as the number two search engine in the world. At one point during the discussion, Murray turned on his Flip camera and recorded a quick clip of the audience, just to show everyone how simple it was to create content for YouTube.

Video not only helps the public connect with brands on a human level, it also gives the public an intimate, first-hand look at what your brand is really all about. Just one short video clip can also become a piece of “cascading content” by sharing that video on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and everywhere else your brand has a presence online. 

Jay Berkowitz said it best toward the end of the discussion - “there is no excuse for not protecting your brand.” By getting your content out there on all social media outlets, whether it’s a short video clip from a panel discussion or a detailed white paper, you’re taking the first steps to protecting your brand online. Continuing to protect that brand requires an ongoing effort to create and distribute compelling content regularly.

Expert advice on how to take our social media strategy to the next level, the best way to utilize and maximize video as part of that strategy and how to protect your brand online -- like I said, we could have stayed all afternoon.

This guest blog post was submitted by Chelsea Duran, the interactive media coordinator at United Way of Miami-Dade, responsible for managing online communities and connecting with constituents using various web-based outlets including Facebook (facebook.com/unitedwaymiami) and Twitter (twitter.com/unitedwaymiami). You can find her writing regularly on her personal site at CopybyChelsea.com and tweeting at twitter.com/chelsead .

If you would like to submit a guest blog post please contact Jess Jurick, PRSA Miami Web Chair, at webchair@prsamiami.org.