The Next Generation of Marketing Professionals are on the Way

This week I had the pleasure of speaking to a couple of marketing classes at my alma mater -- Illinois State University.

My task was simply to share my career path with them in an effort to give them a glimpse of what can happen after graduation.

One of the things we touched on was creativity in your career -- because careers are not necessarily as streamlined as they were before. And, they are not always a straight line to retirement, as they once were.

I told the students about my career plan -- to start in the corporate world and gain experience, credibility and certifications. Then to launch a consulting business after having children that would allow me to be home with my children most of the time. (So far, so good!)

I showed them a few of the most fun projects I've worked on, such as the Million Dollar Coupon and the KUA annual reports. These were great examples of how the digital world is changing the fields of marketing and public relations.

I also shared with them how networking, volunteering and doing internships helped me get to where I am now. Living my dream.

It was such a fun experience, and I was really impressed by the students I spoke with. If anyone needs a few good marketing interns, let me know, and I'll get you in touch with the Marketing Department at ISU.

Professional accomplishments land Tina Haisman in Vidette Hall of Fame

I accepted one of the greatest honors of my professional career this weekend. I was inducted into the Vidette Hall of Fame with three other outstanding Illinois State University alumni.

I worked at the Daily Vidette, the ISU student newspaper, from the first day of my freshman year until the last day of my senior year.

HOF Inductees Marc Lebovitz, Tina Haisman and Bill Mulvihill
pause for photos with Vidette General Manager Rick Jones.

The Daily Vidette has long been one of the most successful student newspapers in the country. I am grateful to have been afforded the opportunity to be a part of it during my time at ISU.

Among the reasons listed for my induction were the accomplishments I made while at the Vidette, including the fact that I was the first Business Manager to collect over $100,000 in one calendar month.

Several of my professional accomplishments were also mentioned, including my accreditations, certifications, awards and even the infamous Million Dollar Coupon campaign.

To say that I am honored would be an understatement. What a thrill!

For more information on my public relations consulting and writing business, visit www.haisman.com.

Top 3 Social Media Content Best Practices

Took another webinar yesterday about social media -- got a few great tips and reminders. 

Here are my top 3:

1. When writing social media content follow the rule of thirds:

• 1/3 about you/your brand
• 1/3 about something you've learned (to share)
• 1/3 should be a conversation -- actually interacting with members of the community.

2. Be sure to re-purpose your social media content -- for example well-written, consumer-friendly releases can become blog posts.

3. Including multimedia in your social media release increases the chances of it being clicked on.

Just thought I'd share! It's always good to remind ourselves about the best practices that are out there!

Inspiration from a Webinar

I love feeling inspired and was lucky enough today to participate in a webinar that gave me that satisfaction. I found several action items I'd like to work on for myself and my clients! I know better than to try to tackle all of them at once, but I shouldn't have any trouble picking one to start with!

The webinar was titled 7 Steps for Small Business Success and was facilitated by John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing.

Here are my three favorite action steps!

• A strategy to grow your business. Find and describe your IDEAL customer -- not just a good customer -- an IDEAL one. An ideal customer is one that values you, is profitable and refers you. Once you find them, analyze them -- demographics, psychographics, geographics and behavior. Get a crystal clear picture of your ideal customer.
• I love that! Why are we looking only for "customers," when we could be looking for the IDEAL customers?
• A tactic for differentiating yourself in the marketplace. Copy and paste into Word the first paragraph of your website. Do the same for one of your competitors. Black out all references to both of your business names. Then, read them and see if you can tell them apart. Have your employees and clients read it for you as well. This will show you if you are making yourself stand out online. 
• What a great tool to get you to spruce up your website copy if it needs it!
• A tool for media relations. Identify five or six key journalists in your community or industry, and put them in Google Alerts so you get updates on what they write. Start commenting on their articles, blogs and send them information you have when appropriate. 
• We all know about building relationships with journalists, but I just loved the simplicity of accomplishing this tactic.

The webinar also listed a few interesting Internet statistics that you can read about in the graphic above. Enjoy! 

Tina Haisman now offering Public Relations Coaching

Are you a small business owner, entrepreneur, overwhelmed public relations professional or non-profit professional who needs guidance on how to get your business noticed by potential clients and the media? Have a limited PR budget, but understand the importance of PR? Can't afford to hire a full-service firm but would like some professional guidance? 

Hire a Public Relations Coach!

As your Public Relations Coach, I can help you:

• Craft an effective public relations plan
• Identify your goals and set achievable objectives
• Determine target audiences
• Devise effective PR strategies to reach your audiences
• Develop powerful public relations messages
• Determine the appropriate media to target with your message
• Prepare for media interviews
• Navigate the social media scene
• Teach you how to write a compelling media release

This service combines my 16 years of public relations experience with my Master Life Coach certification to inspire, motivate and empower my clients to achieve public relations success. Contact me to inquire about pricing!