December 9, 2013

Tips for Making an Infographic

For my public relations class I created an infographic for the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. I was interested in creating an infographic on this awards show because while watching the live show, MTV interacted on social media before, during and after the awards show. I was able to follow and interact with the show on multiple social platforms including Instagram and Twitter. By using the #VMAs hashtag, I was able to follow specific conversations on social media and follow celebrities as they enter the red carpet. I was excited to make this infographic, and I changed my mind several times about how I wanted to present it. Here are a few tips to making an infographic easier from the start.

Do your research first: It was helpful to understand and know all the statistics about my topic before starting the infographic. I was able to organize the content and have a vision of what I wanted while researching and finding facts.

Check out some examples: I looked at infographic examples online before and during the process of making it. It was helpful to get some ideas about what works and doesn’t work. Even if the topic isn’t the same as yours, how the content is organized and presented can still be helpful in designing your own infographic.

Think about the visual and creative side: While researching and finding statistics, I would think how I could make the data visually interesting. I wanted the infographic to be both informative and creative.

View my infographic below:

November 27, 2013

Social Media Audit and Conversation Analysis

Our client presentation at the Reach Center in Eugene, Ore.

For my public relations class this term, I was given the opportunity to complete a social media audit and conversation analysis for the Reach Center and two comparison organizations. Our group analyzed three organizations’ online presence, including their Facebook and Twitter accounts. From our analysis, we learned several strategies for engagement.

Simple and Clear Content: It is important to post simple and clear content for followers. Your message will better reach the target audience if the message is clear and simple to understand.

Haoyun and I presenting our analysis.

Community Conversations: It is essential to interact with your followers on your social media platforms. By replying to comments, retweeting and engaging in conversations you can show your followers the involvement you have in the community. Increased interaction with followers leads to more engagement from your followers.

Multimedia Posts: Multimedia posts that include photos and videos are a popular way to engage audiences. There are applications available, such as HootSuite that allow you to manage all of your social media platforms in one place. This will be helpful in scheduling and organizing multimedia posts, tweets and other content to all social media platforms.

November 21, 2013

Moving from Corporate to Freelance Careers

A look inside the life of a freelance photo and media producer.

I was given the opportunity to do an informational interview with Karen Beck, a freelance photo and media producer in Portland. Most of her work is done behind the scenes, and she is the person that makes all it all happens. Karen has years of experience working with large corporations including, Nordstrom and Nike. Her experience has helped her become successful in her freelance producing.

A bit of background

Karen didn’t start as a producer or even have a vision of being a producer.

Starting in college she worked in fashion retail for Nordstrom and then worked in customer service and human resources, changing jobs within the company typically every two years. She worked at Nordstrom for 17 years. Karen wanted a change and wanted to get back in touch with the creative side of her.

“I have gotten really away from the creative world, and I really love the whole creative world. I got so far into the business side of things, working in HR and operations, that I missed the creativity and fun part of it. I wanted to find a way to get back into it.”

Karen started doing producing and product styling at Nike for the global brand team. She was working behind the scenes at photo shoots to ensure product and creative standards were met. Karen then moved positions to studio and production manager. In this new position she was responsible for managing the photo studio.

Moving from corporate to freelance

Karen valued the experience of working with a large organization. She explained that teamwork and other aspects of working for a large company were things that still help her today in her work. Karen values how she learned to manage her time and manage herself:

“I would never give back the experience of working with a large company, the experience is such a great place to learn with routines and processes.”

Where is Karen today?

After an eight-year-career, Nike transitioned and started outsourcing more of its work; Karen found this a good time to move on:

“I never imagined I would be where I am now, that this just brought all my skills together and is a nice fit. ”

Karen loved being a producer and wanted to continue producing. She decided to become a freelance photo media producer and project manager.

Nike and many other brands now outsource to her for planning, developing and executing photo shoots. She now is responsible for executing all aspects of a campaign for different companies. Her clientele consists of lifestyle, footwear and apparel, and small brand design agencies.

Advice

Karen valued everything she has learned and experienced on her journey to becoming a freelance producer. She encouraged me to be open to a variety of opportunities and not to be scared to try something new:

“You change your mind so many times, it will lead you to other things, but you have to stay open.”

October 14, 2013

Chicago

At the start of fall I was given an amazing opportunity to work for a couple days in Chicago. A few years ago I started working as sports model in Portland, Ore. I ended up being more successful than I expected and started booking jobs with companies like Nike and Nordstrom. This trip in particular was a two-day photo shoot for Nike. We were shooting all over the city, including at crossfit gyms, local beaches and city parks. Being on a large production team is exciting and fast-paced. It was interesting to see behind-the-scenes production and all the hard work that goes into a photo shoot. I had a successful trip and worked with some talented people. Chicago was a crazy city; I look forward to visiting again sometime.

October 8, 2013

The First Post

Welcome to my first blog post. I’m excited to get started with blogging and plan on sharing a bit of my life. I spent some time traveling this summer and was fortunate enough to see some amazing places. The picture above is the view of a glacier in Grindlewald, Switzerland. I woke up for the sunrise one morning at 5 a.m. I am now back at school and spend most of my time in Eugene and quite some time in Portland, but that’s another story. I’m working towards a Bachelor of Science in Journalism at the University of Oregon. My major is public relations, and I am also minoring in business administration and media studies. I will be graduating this spring and expect to come across new opportunities and ventures. I am excited to share my experiences.