Tips to the college student still figuring it all out

By Kate Makowski For me, this past summer has been all about graduation. With only one semester left as a University of Minnesota Gopher, anticipations and anxieties of “the real world” are setting in. I’ve contemplated post-graduation life before this summer, but now that it’s so close, I’ve found myself investing copious amounts of time…

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How to leverage media coverage

The proactive media relations process can be long yet exciting. From creating the media list to developing the pitch to placing the story, it takes a lot of effort. Once the story runs, you need to make the most of the opportunity. Here are some ways to leverage media coverage: Internal communications. Your employees take…

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Smart PR at Lollapalooza keeps audiences coming back

By Kate Makowski As we walked across the park from the Bud Light to the Samsung stage, streams of music from bands playing at nearby stages passed through our ears. Thousands of happy teens and twentysomethings danced in the grass or sat on the side of the road, taking pictures and watching videos of artists…

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Public relations career insights from Lynn Casey, APR

A group of approximately 25 public relations professionals relished the opportunity to grab coffee and glean public relations career wisdom from Lynn Casey, APR, chair and CEO of Padilla CRT, at a recent Minnesota PRSA event. Casey sprinkled her talk with anecdotes from her public relations career, words of wisdom and recommended books to read.…

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A firsthand account of the Brussels aftermath

By Kate Makowski I remember scrolling through my Facebook feed this past semester, and seeing posts about a high school friend covering the terror attacks in Brussels, Belgium. Her name is Hanna Knutson, and she was there on March 22, reporting from the Brussels airport. Apart from the sadness and shock over the attacks, I…

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Town hall with PRSA CEO Joe Truncale

By Kate Makowski Last week Joe Truncale, CEO of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), visited Minnesota chapter members in downtown Minneapolis. Spong PR hosted the event.   In his presentation, Truncale explained what he had learned about PRSA’s infrastructure after becoming CEO, and discussed upcoming changes in the organization. His most important learnings were: the areas…

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Sharing your expertise through speaking engagements

By Kate Makowski   At MnSearch‘s “Challenging the Assumptions in SEO & SEM” event last month, Ryan Berkness (founder of PR Caffeine) and Claire Wyatt (senior analyst of measurement and activation at Ovative/group) addressed pressing search engine marketing issues. Berkness and Wyatt used their personal speaking styles to relay their brand’s ideas. Berkness, with an engaging…

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Challenging the assumptions in SEO and SEM

By Megan R. Auren Every month Minnesota Search Engine Marketing Association, aka MnSearch, hosts an event dedicated to search marketing. Most recently the event took place on May 25 at Spyder Trap in Minneapolis and the topic of discussion was “Challenging the Assumptions in SEO and SEM.” Industry leaders from PR Caffeine: Home of EspreSEO…

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Where to send press releases

At some point in the press release development process, you’ll want to think about where to send press releases. After all, you want to ensure that your press release lands in the hands of the appropriate media contacts who can help you communicate with your target audience. So what’s the best way to do that?…

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Storytelling with video

By Megan R. Auren Video has single-handedly become the most sought-after medium for storytelling. It captures attention, depicts meaning and evokes emotion, which is why video content has become the most popular trend across social media platforms. In fact, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have all updated their algorithms in response to the surge in video consumption.…

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