Brand as a Media: Share This

This week in our class reading for the book, "Share This" we covered the topic of brands becoming their own media and how that can be an advantage for public relations professionals and journalists around the world. It is happening in many magazines, newspapers and publications and has created something called "brand journalism". Brand Journalism is simply promoting your type of journalism through your brand. An example of this can be used as sports journalism is brand journalism because it is predominantly fed through ESPN the magazine or Sports Illustrated. The brand almost owns the media because when people pick it up, they are not only reading what the magazine represents, but what the brand as a company or corporation represents as well. When people see the ESPN body issue, it can be a toss up. I am sure there are plenty of people out there that are opposed to seeing the 350 pound nude body of Texas Rangers baseball player, Prince Fielder. An argument to that would be that these players are having the courage and comfort to show their bodies to the whole world because their body and their sport is their craft, respectively. When I read an article online once about the ESPN body issue, I saw a different, more artistic side about how the athletes approach the offer and how the photographers really capture the elegance in these athletes' bodies. The brand that ESPN is giving off to some is an appropriate way to get athletes to show their sexy side and is too vulgar for some audiences. The brand that ESPN is giving off in my opinion (and I'm sure I'm not the only one), is a brand that isn't afraid to push the envelope in our day and age and takes something that could be seen as sinful and graphic, and turn it into something beautiful and strong. The journalism of sports is something that has more content to it than just pictures of naked athletes and washboard abs, but this little inkling of sports journalism belongs to ESPN the magazine now, because no other sports magazine will be able to take the body issue that ESPN has created and mimic it in a better way. The brand of ESPN transcended with the body issue and will only get better with all of the highly tuned athletes still come in the future.

"What has Google Ever Done for PR?"; Share This

In this week's reading of "Share This: The Social Media handbook for PR Professionals", the author mentions the many ways that Google has revolutionized not only the world, but the PR profession in particular. In just our Social Media Principles class alone, we have seen that Google Analytics is one of the many critical tools for success in PR. The other ways to use Google for PR are Google Alerts and Google News. The worldwide phenomenon of Google is used every second by someone on the Earth. Someone on the globe at every point in time is searching something on Google because it is so iconic.

Google Analytics, which is mentioned multiple times throughout the book, is a system of algorithms by Google that can determine statistics which couldn't be accessed otherwise. Information such as SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and PPC (Pay-per-click) are now at our disposal. These statistics and analytics are numbers that
have completely changed the way we can use the internet and online networking. Knowing what times of the day people visit our website, how long they stayed on our site, what content they viewed and how long they viewed it and when they viewed it. All of this information is critical to the way we improve and progress as a profession.

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is another way that Google has helped the field of PR. SEO is a way to determine what keywords were generated or put into the search engine to find the site. If for example, my site was a Nike Shoe site, I would probably see the key search words, "Tennis shoes, running shoes, kicks, Nike shoes, or workout shoes." This kind of information is also vital to how we will move forward. If the key words that are searched are low in hits or views, then we can adjust the way we want to have our product or site be found. Awareness of the site also comes from this information. The more views, hits and traffic a website has

Share This With All Your Friends

Reading is never fun as a hobby, but it is important for a good grade. When I pick up a book for class, there is a pivotal point in the beginning of the reading. If it is boring and I cannot relate to it, I might as well return the book because there is no way I will be able to read the whole thing. On the other hand, if it it is interesting and it resonates with me in some fashion, then I might not be able to put the book down. The book in class that we are reading is the book, "Share This" which is a handbook for public relations and social media. The books first chapter talked about how PR and media are changing due to the social media realm and how its impact is affecting the overall job market. The effects of social media, as from my other posts, are so large it is unbelievable. A simple tweet, something with 140 characters or less, could transcend something like an entire industry. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, the list goes on. All of these social media outlets are all ways for us to create, maintain and continue relationships with people. Sharing memories, moments, achievements, or just information is the way of the world now and according the book, that is the way it should be. I agree with the book, because when we share moments and network with one another, that is making the world a better and more efficient place. Social media was the only way I could stay in contact with my parents, family and friends while I was gone all summer in California. When my dad found out I was going away, he gave me the old "Well back in my day.." spiel and how fortunate I was to be able to use the resources in my time. "Share This" is a book that catches my interest and can be related to our everyday lives because most of us have some sort of social media. In this article, the data given says 67 percent of people between 18-29 have social media as of 2013. That number has probably drastically increased due to the rise of Snapchat, YikYak and Twitter. We as a generation and people will find out news through social media before we can get home to see it on TV or in the newspaper the next morning.