Professional development programs and events

Call for Presentations – 2012 Northeast District Conference

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8
Hilton Garden Inn, Troy, N.Y.

Industry experts, seasoned practitioners, researchers or public relations service providers are invited to submit a proposal to present on the latest tools, techniques, trends and knowledge of new technology or research pertaining to public relations to communications practitioners from across New York and New England with varying levels of experience.

DEADLINE: Saturday, September 1, 2012

Follow this link – Call for Speakers entry form – to complete this form if you would like your program to be considered. Accepted programs/speakers will be notified by September 15.

Programs must offer solid and authentic tactical and strategic insights and must NOT be a commercial for products or services. Presenters selected will receive a complimentary registration to the conference.

Questions – contact Joe Stabb at joe@joestabb.com or 315-886-9544

Have questions on the 2012 NE District conference? Email us at prsa_capital_region@hotmail.com, connect with us on Facebook or on Twitter (@PRSA_CapRegion).

Loeb School offers workshop on photos for PR

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MANCHESTER _ The Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications is offering a one-day workshop designed to help businesses and non-profits enhance their image and spruce up their web sites or newsletters with memorable photos.

Photography for Public Relations will be presented at the school in Manchester on July 13, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Award-winning photographer Geoff Forester will offer proven suggestions on how to take photos that will help tell your business or non-profit’s story in print or on the web. The workshop includes camera basics, taking good photos and selecting photos that best tell your story.

The registration fee of $45 includes lunch.

Geoff Forester has been a photojournalist for nearly 30 years at four newspapers. In 1994, he was named Photographer of the Year by the New Hampshire Photojournalists Association. He also has been a photo editor at the Concord Monitor and The Boston Globe and has taught photography at Boston University, the New Hampshire Institute of Art and the Loeb School.

Register or get more information at www.loebschool.org or by calling 627-0005.

The Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications, Inc., admits students of any race, color, sex, age, religion, national and ethnic origin to all of the rights, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, disability, color, sex, age, religion, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs and athletic and other school administered programs.

Press Contact:

David Tirrell-Wysocki

dtwysocki@loebschool.org

603-627-0005

Getting Ready for the APR Computer-Based Examination

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Learn to Analyze Scenario-Based Questions to Increase Your Examination Success

Dates -June 12, 2012 3–4 p.m. EDT
Members: Free! —  Nonmembers: $75
Register

On-Demand, available June 19, 2012
Members: Free! — Nonmembers: $75
Register

This webinar is designed to help you develop a scenario-based (not memorization-based) mind-set for the computer-based Examination for Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) to enable you to apply your knowledge within the Examination context. Veteran APR Boot Camp instructors Bob Saline, APR, Fellow PRSA, and Jason Kirsch, APR, will walk through the multiple-choice format, help you analyze the Examination stems (questions) and distracters (answers), and share other strategies to increase your understanding of the multiple-choice environment. Participants should have a clear understanding of the family of knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs), and be prepared to take an active part.

You will be able to:

  • Understand the scenario-based question format.
  • Comprehend the multiple-choice environment.
  • Get a feel for stems and distractors.
  • Participate in demonstration exercises.

Instructors

Jason S. Kirsch, APR

Photo of Jason S. Kirsch, APR Jason S. Kirsch, APR, is the current Accreditation co-chair for the PRSA Central Pennsylvania Chapter, and vice president and director of marketing and public relations at Metro Bank, a financial services retailer serving Pennsylvania and New Jersey. His areas of expertise include corporate communications, media relations, brand management and marketing communications.

 

Bob Saline, APR, Fellow PRSA

Photo of Bob Saline, APR, Fellow PRSA Bob Saline, APR, Fellow PRSA, is the current Accreditation co-chair for the PRSA Central Pennsylvania Chapter, and president and CEO of PRWorks, Inc. His areas of expertise include strategic communications and research, issues management and media coaching.

Social Media Bootcamp – May 24 @SNHU

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Explore tangible tools and resources for establishing, growing, and maintaining an effective Social Media Online Presence for your business.

When: Thursday May 24, 2012 from 8:00 AM to 3:15 p.m.

Where: Southern New Hampshire University, 2500 North River Road, Manchester, NH

Costs:
$75.00 – Price Per Attendee (After May 1)
$50.00 – Early Bird Rate Purchased By May 1, 2012
$25.00 – Multiple Additional Attendee From The Same Company

Breakfast and lunch are included.

To get more information, go to our event homepage.

Schedule of Events

8:00 – 8:30 am: Breakfast/Registration

8:45 – 9:00 am: Keynote Speaker: Neil Deluca, Yahoo! | Social Media/Community Manager

9:15 – 10:15 am: (Choose One)

  • Session 1 (Facebook for Brands: How to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube)
  • Session 2 (Mobile Marketing, Pinterest)
  • Session 3 (Business Intelligence)

10:30 – 11:30 am: (Choose One)

  • Session 1 (Facebook for Brands: How to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube)
  • Session 2 (Mobile Marketing, Pinterest)
  • Session 3 (Business Intelligence)

11:45 am – 12:15 pm: Working Lunch (Visit Booths)

12:30 – 1:15 pm: (Choose One)

  • Session 4 (Optimize Your Social Media Presence)
  • Session 5 (Social Media Marketing)

1:30 – 2:15 pm: (Choose One)

  • Session 4 (Optimize Your Social Media Presence)
  • Session 5 (Social Media Marketing)

2:30 – 3:15 pm: Panel Discussion

Event Concludes

REGISTER NOW!

Session Descriptions

Session 1: How to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube etc.
Speaker: Jillian Adams, Pannos Winzeler Marketing | Interactive Media Specialist

Social Media for Brands: Learn how businesses of all sizes are utilizing social media’s “Big Four”: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn for brand and relationship building as well as to drive sales and traffic to websites. Walk away with a heightened understanding of brand customization opportunities, content and engagement strategies, and tips and tricks for Facebook’s new Timeline for Brands.

Session 2: Mobile Marketing, Pinterest
Speaker: Mark Haddad, Business Development Manager  | Neudesic

Understand how to leverage social media and mobile marketing to grow your business. Session will focus on identifying tactical strategies for utilizing the mobile platform for growing and innovating business practices as well as highlight the emerging valuable social media resource, Pinterest.

Session 3: Business Intelligence
Speaker: Douglas DelVecchio, Director Business Intelligence – Business Analytics | Valassis

Unable to translate social media logistics into valuable information? This session on Business Intelligence highlights metrics, measurements, social media scalability, and return on investment in a practical way. Attendees will leave with an understanding of how to identify successors and implement change to make the most out of social media business ventures.

Session 4: Optimize Your Social Media Presence
Speaker: Tara Hershberger, Pannos Winzeler Marketing | VP Media

Optimize Your Social Media Efforts: Your social sites are up. What’s next? How do you optimize your efforts over the long term with limited resources? Learn strategies to maximize your social presence across multiple channels and integrate efforts within your current marketing plan. Understand through analytics what is working and what is not to answer the question of ROI. Gain an understanding of hyper- targeted social advertising to enhance your efforts.

Session 5: Social Media Marketing
Speaker: Dr. Pat Spirou, Southern New Hampshire University | Social Media Coordinator; Professor

Session focuses on communication and marketing training based on the resources offered through social media services. Learn how to successfully represent and promote your business by spreading awareness through digital media and third-party internet advertising.

Panel Discussion
Moderator: Neil Deluca, Yahoo! | Social Media/Community Manager

A final discussion as well as an opportunity to allow attendees to ask any questions and receive answers.

PRSA Boston Social Media Summit May 23

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PRSA Boston will host a half-day educational conference designed to help people take their social media game to the next level. While more and more organizations are using social media, many people are struggling with: achieving business-impact results, measurement and analytics, resources and internal organization, integration with other marketing programs, etc.  We’ve designed our event to get people talking about these critical issues, share their experiences and learn from each other.

PRSA Boston Social Media Summit
May 23, 7:30-11:30 am
Bentley University, Waltham, Mass.

Highlights include:

  • Keynotes by Todd Defren, recognized social media innovator, thinker and lecturer, and Prof. Bruce Weinberg of Bentley University, a leading authority on the online consumer experience and recent co-author of “What’s Your Social Media Strategy?,” published in Harvard Business Review
  • Industry breakout sessions – Deep dives into case studies from Staples (B2B), Wayfair (Consumer) and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Health)
  • Tools & Techniques breakout sessions – SEO/SEM, Insights and Analytics, Social Amplification & Distribution

Yankee Chapter members receive special pricing for this event.  Those who sign-up (www.prsaboston.org<http://www.prsaboston.org>) before May 1 can use the Early Bird Discount and the same $75 rate as PRSA Boston members.  This is an incredible value compared to other social media conferences.

For more information and to register go to PRSA Boston Social Media Summit.

Loeb School Offers News Release Writing Workshop

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Have you ever wondered why some news releases make it into the media and others go nowhere?

The Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications is sponsoring a day-long workshop to help land your release in the news, not in the trash.

“Writing News Releases” will be presented at the school in Manchester on May 18, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

With reporters buried in news releases, instructors Stacy Milbouer and Karen Spiller will offer proven suggestions on how to stand out by delivering messages about your organization or business quickly, clearly and concisely. With all readers pressed for time, participants also will learn insider tricks about how to write releases that are informative, compelling and keep the reader’s interest.

The registration fee of $40 includes lunch.

Karen Spiller is manager of External Engagement for BAE Systems in Nashua. Her role includes writing news releases and creating and delivering communications campaigns for social media, broadcast and print audiences. She also had a decade of experience receiving news releases as a business writer for The Telegraph, also in Nashua.

Stacy Milbouer is reporter and columnist for The Telegraph, where she receives more than her fair share of news releases – some good, and some that could benefit from this class.

Register at www.loebschool.org or by calling 627-0005.

April is APR Month

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April 1, 2011

The Universal Accreditation Board (UAB) is giving away an iPad 2 and sponsoring a month-long series of activities to commemorate Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) Month in April. Events will communicate the value and benefits of the APR certification for public relations professionals and employers, while increasing awareness of the APR Program among the business community.

One highlight is a “Show the World Your APR contest,” which challenges each currently accredited professional to join the APR “sales team” and prominently display the credential as part of their email signatures and business cards. One randomly selected winner will receive an iPad 2, and year’s worth of data service, donated by The Frause Group, Inc.

All APR-certified professionals also are being asked to use PRSA’s Invite-a-Peer tool during the month of April, to encourage other professionals to pursue their APR certification. The month-long series of activities also features free and paid webinars introducing public relations professionals to the APR program.

For more information for any of the APR Month webinars, please visit the Universal Accreditation Board website.

PRSA Member Benefit – Free Webinars

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As part of the approved increase in annual membership dues, PRSA will offer its entire catalogue of professional development webinars to its members — for free — starting in 2012. This represents nearly $2,000 in annual savings for members who participate in one PRSA webinar per month. Check out PRSA professional development offerings HERE.

Accreditation Readiness Review preparation class January 28

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One of the biggest challenges for public relations practitioners seeking to gain respect in the field is the fact that there are many ways to enter the profession and (unlike, law, medicine, accounting and other credentialed professions) it is difficult to prove to employers that you are technically competent.

The Public Relations Society offers a professional accreditation program that gives experienced practitioners the opportunity to demonstrate their competence and awards them the industry’s only recognized professional credential – the APR.

One of the first steps in the accreditation process is the Readiness Review in which a candidate prepares a case study that demonstrates their ability and professional competence and presents it to a three-member panel.

The Yankee Chapter will hold a readiness review preparation workshop after the first of the year to help candidates prepare their readiness review application, case study (portfolio) and discuss their presentation strategy.

This session should be of particular interest to those who have previously participated in the chapter’s accreditation preparation classes, but who have not begun the accreditation process, as well as those who want to start the accreditation process .

Cost for this session will be $20. Location: Concord, NH. Date: January 28, 2012.

For more information or to register your interest in participating contact Brett St. Clair, APR (apr@yankeeprsa.org) or Bob Lindquist, APR (apr@yankeeprsa.org)

Accreditation Readiness Review preparation class on tap in January

One of the biggest challenges for public relations practitioners seeking to gain respect in the field is the fact that there are many ways to enter the profession and (unlike, law, medicine, accounting and other credentialed professions) it is difficult to prove to employers that you are technically competent.

The Public Relations Society offers a professional accreditation program that gives experienced practitioners the opportunity to demonstrate their competence and awards them the industry’s only recognized professional credential – the APR.

One of the first steps in the accreditation process is the Readiness Review in which a candidate prepares a case study that demonstrates their ability and professional competence and presents it to a three-memberpanel.

The Yankee Chapter will hold a readiness review preparation workshop after the first of the year to help candidates prepare their readiness review application, case study (portfolio) and discuss their presentation strategy.

This session should be of particular interest to those who have previously participated in the chapter’s accreditation preparation classes, but who have not begun the accreditation process, as well as those who want to start the accreditation process .

Cost for this session will be $20. Location: Concord, NH. Date: TBD January 2012.

For more information or to register your interest in participating contact Brett St. Clair, APR (bstclair@lkarno.com) or Bob Lindquist, APR (boblind@comcast.net).

Once we hear from those who are interested, we will poll the group to select a date.

Nov 17, 2011 – How Southwest Airlines’ Communication Strategy Builds Brand Ambassadors and Contributes to Keeping Customers and Employees Happy

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Among the many accolades from this year alone, Southwest Airlines ranked fourth on Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Company list and has consistently ranked as one of the top companies in customer service by Consumer Reports, MSN Money, JD Powers, and many other reputable organizations. Southwest Airlines was even toted as the “Greenest Airline” by ClimateCounts.org. During this program, learn how Southwest Airlines’ communication strategy builds brand ambassadors and contributes to keeping customers and employees happy.

Presenter

Chris Mainz is a primary spokesperson for Southwest Airlines, the nation’s largest airline in terms of domestic customers boarded. In addition to handling the company’s regional media relations, Chris specializes in executive communication, reputation management, special event planning, and story placement in national and regional publications.

In addition to his media relations duties, Chris is chief writer for Southwest’s CEO Gary Kelly and founded the Speaker’s Bureau for Southwest Airlines.  In 2005, he lived, quite literally, in Southwest’s terminal at the Baltimore/Washington Airport as Southwest participated in the filming of a reality series for the Arts & Entertainment Television Network. Chris supervised the on-location production for the reality series, which filmed Southwest’s daily operations in four cities.

Chris began his career at Southwest Airlines in the Customer Relations Department as a writing representative, where he researched customer situations and drafted personalized responses in order to resolve conflicts and win customers back.  Chris became a senior writer and eventually served in a leadership role in customer relations before making the jump over to public relations.

Date/Time

Novemer 17, 2011
2 – 3:15 p.m.

Location:

Southern New Hampshire University
2500 North River Rd.
Manchester, NH

Cost:

$20 for Members
$35 for Non-Members
$10 for Students/Interns

Registration:

Click HERE to go to our registration page.