Google Adwords in Real Life

Have you ever been trying to sell a product or advertise a business online and had difficulty doing this? If so, or if you know you will need to do this in the future, then Google Adwords is the site for you  Google Adwords is an extremely helpful tool in a professional’s life. Whether they know what they are doing while advertising a product or not, It can help them get done with what they need to advertise online. It is completely free and all you have to do is review a few sections and take two exams to be officially Adwords certified.

Since I am always trying to excel in my professional life, I decided that I wanted to get certified in Google Adwords. I know that this will look very good on a resume when I am applying for jobs, and it will help me in the future. Luckily,  I passed both the fundamentals and the Knowing how to properly advertise on google is extremely important to both the fields of advertising and public relations. If I am to start looking for a job in either of these fields, having this certification already will put me highly above the other competition I have for the job.

I think that because of my intense interest in music, getting Google Adwords certified was very important. Currently, streaming services are rising in customer usage and are becoming the main thing people use for listening to music. With this, it is extremely easy to track who is listening to what and how often/when they are streaming. For example, I just got an email from Spotify the other day sharing with me how many Artists and Songs I’ve listened to in 2016, as well as how many minutes I spent streaming. This information can easily be used by advertisers when it comes to building hype for a new album that is coming out, or trying to sell physical copies of one that is already out. Targeting ads to people who follow certain similar artists, or stream old/new music from that artist can help create an even more specific audience to be reached.

 

 

Eventually, I would like to open up my own business.I believe that I have a very original idea that I know that I, along with others will enjoy. Becoming Google Adwords certified will help me in the future with promoting this business. I know how important advertising is to an emerging business, so I want to know everything I can about it before I start. The reason I took the Shopping Advertising test was so that I will know how to sell and advertise sales online in the future when I need to. In the end, I was sent any fancy certificate saying that I am certified, and I also now know that I can continue to grow professionally without anything stopping me.

 

I Was Blind, Now I Can See

Near the end of the 2015-2016 school year, I decided to switch my major from Communications to Advertising and Public Relations. I thought that having a General Communications degree was too broad, so I needed to pick a major that had a more specific goal set in the end. I decided on the major of Advertising and Public Relations because I thought it would be interesting and something I would enjoy doing. Similar to many people, I was already pretty knowledgeable about advertising, since I knew how I had been exposed to it all of my life. The concept of public relations, however, intrigued me. My grandma had a job in public relations, but other than that, I had nothing to base my thoughts about it. So, since I was so interested in this topic, I decided to become a public relations emphasis even before I took the fundamentals class. I told myself that I could always switch out if I hated it.

As it turns out, the ideas I had on what public relations was did not even come close to fully encompassing what it entails. In my first post on this blog, I was supposed to talk about what my thoughts on public relations were. I mainly talked about working in corporate public relations, and didn’t mention firms at all, which are a huge part of the professional world of public relations. Over this semester, I have learned about all of the things a PR professional can do, and how to do them myself. I was very wary going into this class, but now that I have completed it I am extremely proud of everything that I have accomplished in such little time. I can now confidentially say that public relations is one of my professional passions and I am excited about working in this field.

My Fundamentals of Public Relations class taught me many important things this semester. One of the biggest things that I learned is how to write better. Before this class, writing was an area in academics that I had seriously lacked in. It is very hard for me to put the things I have floating around in my mind onto a paper in a cohesive way. With this class, I was able to really focus on how I get my point across and how to make it sound better to the reader. Now I know how to properly write a blog post, which is an extremely important skill to have. Around the time of my post on public relations in the music business, I started to know how to correctly format posts, and how important outside links are. I do still have much to improve in my writing, and will keep working on it. Overall, though, I am satisfied with how I have progressed.

Another important thing that I have learned this semester is how useful knowing people can be. In public relations, just like most jobs now, it is more important who you know then what you know. Knowing someone can get your foot in the door, and also knowing what you are doing will get you a job no problem. Over this semester, I have created a LinkedIn, befriended many public relations students and professionals, made a business card, became google adwords certified, and accomplished many other things. I am officially making my way into the professional world of public relations headfirst, and I’ll never look back.

PR Tailgate

Almost every American knows about how important football can be in our country. People will get tattooed with their favorite team’s logo, or stand outside in all sorts of ungodly weather just to see a game. I am not extremely interested in sports, however I love going to football games and experiencing everything that they have to offer. If I have the opportunity to go out with a great group of people and watch something entertaining, then I will definitely take it. So, when I found out that Grand Valley’s PRSSA was hosting a tailgate before one of the football games I was extremely excited to go.

The main thing I found out about going to a tailgate with people who are interested in the same profession as you is that networking is a lot easier than normal. Joining a group such as PRSSA is so important in college because there are so many people in the same situation you are, who would love to make connections. After I befriended a few people, my professional network began to grow very quickly. Going to this tailgate helped speed this process up even more and allowed me to meet some truly amazing people.

PR tailgate [Personal photograph taken in Grand Valley State University]. (16, October 15).

Info about Infographics

Infographics are used by many companies for a lot of different things. Some are used as public service announcements, some for comparing products to others, and some for many other things. When a company or group wants specific information known about a topic, a great way to do that is with an infographic.  They can take bland, uninteresting facts and turn them engaging and fun. If you are interested in creating an infographic, the website piktochart.com is free and extremely easy to use.

I decided to use this website to create my own infographic. I am very interested in music and I have a very extensive record collection. When I tell people about this, many are confused at why I am collecting records in 2016. They don’t believe it when I tell them that vinyl is actually a better medium than digital. So because of this, I decided to create an infographic that contains a few reasons why vinyl is better than digital.

Burin, H. D. (16, December 3). Reasons Why Vinyl is Better Than Digital [Infographic].

College Clubs and Why They are Important

Coming into college as a Freshman is one of the most nerve-wracking experiences that most people experience in their lives. The uncertainty of being on their own for the first time in addition to the questionability of many of their big life decisions can lead to a lot of stress for many college students. One thing that really helps reduce this stress is to join a club. At the beginning of this school year, I decided to join Grand Valley State University’s PRSSA club. PRSSA, or Public Relations Student Society of America, focuses on teaching current students who are interested in public relations more about the field

PRSSA Selfie [Personal photograph taken in Grand Valley State University]. (16, November 28).

This club has been extremely beneficial with helping me become more involved in my major and has grown my love for it even more. I came in to this semester of school barely knowing anything about public relations, and now I feel a lot more confident in my knowledge of it. As you can see in terribly taken selfie above, most meetings held by PRSSA feature a professional who comes in and talks about the work in their field. As PRSSA members we are able to get inside knowledge of the professional world and meet many people who are heavily involved with it. Overall, I am very happy that I joined PRSSA and I’m looking forward to many more years of involvement with the club.

Finding a Proper Job

As we all know, finding a job that fits your interests and more importantly is willing to hire you is a very difficult task in our current world. Whether it is a part-time job, internship, or a full-time job, many college students need all of the help they can get with finding what is right for them. Luckily, there are many websites out there such as LinkedIn and Beyond.com that help with finding current jobs that people would be interested in. Sites like these are extremely helpful with getting information on all of the jobs that a person may apply for in one location.

Since I am a student at Grand Valley State University, I have access to all of the wonderful tools that they offer in order to help a job search go a lot easier. One site that Grand Valley students can access is Laker Jobs, which is similar to sites like LinkedIn with helping find a job that you may want to apply for. Laker Jobs is super easy to navigate, and helps find jobs that students can apply for that are within their needs. I am currently looking for a public relations internship this summer and this site helped me find some great jobs to apply for. Here are five of the internships I found on LakerJobs that I was very interested in and will apply to.

Grand Rapids Symphony–Public Relations Intern

Requirements:

• Prefer people with an interest in Public Relations, Communications, and Journalism
• Applicants should be artistic yet practical, focused yet relaxed, assertive yet respectful, with excellent communication skills and a desire to learn and grow
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite
• Database software knowledge preferred but not required

Lakeshore Habitat for Humanity-Marketing and Special Events Internship

Requirements:

• Experience in an office setting strongly preferred
• Demonstrated ability to work accurately on a computer
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with people of diverse backgrounds
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and presentation skills
• Motivational and problem solving capabilities with a high degree of ethics, integrity, and dedication to the mission of Lakeshore Habitat for Humanity
• Extensive use of Microsoft Office
• Experience with Adobe Creative Suite software a plus

Alternatives in Motion-Special Event/Marketing Internship

Requirements:

• A passion for marketing and event planning
• Great attitude, good work ethic and a sense of humor
• Energetic, outgoing, articulate and personable
• Good communication and interpersonal skills
• Moderate computer skills, especially with Word and Excel, and graphics programs.
• Able to work well as part of a team

American Red Cross-Marketing & Communication Internship

Requirements:

• Completed or working toward a college degree, preferably in a related field (e.g., English, Marketing/Communications, Advertising or Public Relations)
• Firm grasp of available tools and platforms in the social media space
• Previous internship or related experience in marketing or communications a plus
• Understanding of the basic principles of public relations and/or marketing
• Must be computer literate (working knowledge of word processing, PowerPoint, Excel). Proficiency in Adobe InDesign and Photoshop highly desired.
• Possess excellent written and oral communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to communicate in a professional manner with press and community contacts
• Ability to work well independently, and within a team
• Commitment to cultural sensitivity and respect for differences
• Commitment to the continuous improvement of service quality and the organization’s mission

Alzheimer’s Association-Communications Intern

Requirements:

• Experienced with social media marketing on platforms including, but not limited to, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
• Highly proficient in Microsoft applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Publisher) and Adobe Create Suite. Able to quickly learn additional programs, as necessary (RedDot CMS and Luminate Online). Experience Adobe Suite including InDesign, Photoshop and Acrobat is preferred
• Excellent and creative written and oral communication skills
• Incredible attention to detail, excelling in correct spelling, punctuation and grammar
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision, but enjoy the collaborative opportunities that exist within a team environment
• Preferred: Experience with visual forms of communication (including graphics) to result in improved audience interactions