Professional preparation: One skill you need to develop

As public relations professional, many things are needed to be successful-- networking skills, mentors and the ability to write well. A skill we may forget to develop is digital design. Design is an important attribute for PR professionals, especially when it comes to branding yourself.  I want to introduce you to a website where you can design your own business cards, resume's and graphics for social media posts.

The website is canva.com. I have used canva dozens of times for my job and have improved my abilities to design an attractive blog post, infographic and social media post. I have also used canva to build my brand by making personalized business cards and resume's.

Here is my personalized business card and resume-- made on canva.com.

One awesome feature is the pre-made templates, which make it easy to learn how professional designs are made. From the templates you can practice making your own and become a pro.

Remember to practice, practice, practice. And pay attention to the detail of professionals. 

Happy designing! 

The Social Z is going National

Atlanta, Georgia 

Welcome to The Social "Z".  It is a pleasure having you here. I am a PR student writing about my adventures,  knowledge and research on the profession of public relations.

This week's post is focused on research for an up-coming conference in the beautiful city of Atlanta, Georgia. I  want to share some research I did this week. Here are a few "PR Best Practices" from professionals.

So pay attention pupils.

I did a bit of research about Ketchum PR, one of the worlds largest and most successful PR Firms and a presenter at the PRSSA National Conference. Ketchum thrives on creativity and hard work. "We're winning a record number of awards. How do we do it? We start conversations, Build Communities. Engage stakeholders. And we have lots of fun. That's not difficult when boundless creativity is your credo."

 Ketchum sticks to key messages and disperses them in valuable and unique communication platforms.  Many Ketchum campaigns  have gone viral because they understand their audience and use their creativity and expertise to create great videos and one-of-a-kind ads.

So, when writing content or coming up with new ideas for a campaign let the creative juices flow. Bad ideas don't exist in the creative sphere. Stick to the key messages and ask questions that will lead to answers. Be bold and innovative.

Check out some awesome Ketchum campaigns here to get an idea of the genius at Ketchum PR.