Here are a few “spring cleaning” questions to ask yourself:

Look back at your objectives. Are you on track to meet them? If not, it’s important to figure out why.  Now is the perfect time to make a change in the campaign if necessary, while you still have time to execute and see results.

Has anything worked extremely well so far? If so, can you make it happen again? If you were able to produce great results from executing an element of your marketing plan, why not try it again?

Has something NOT worked well? Can it be changed? If not, drop it.  Thought that monthly newsletter was going to be a great idea, but turned out to be a flop? See if some elements can be changed to turn it into a success. If that’s not possible, ditch it and strategize on other ways to reach that targeted audience. The longer you let something that’s failing go, the harder it will be to pick up the pieces and start over.

Has the marketplace changed? The marketing plan you solidified at the beginning of the year may have been perfect at that time, but things change. If your strategies don’t match the current marketplace, determine what changes you can make so that you’re again on target to be successful.

Are the growth goals of the company the same? Just as markets can change quickly, so can the goals of a company. You may have developed your plan with the objective of gaining more customers, but now leadership is more interested in positioning the company to be sold. It’s important that the goals of the marketing plan are closely aligned with those of the company for it to be successful.

It’s important to think of a marketing plan as a working document, not something set in stone. Building flexibility into it will allow you to easily enhance successful elements and eliminate those that are not, which makes it much easier to meet your goals.

Don’t wait until the year starts to come to a close to look back at your marketing plan. If adjustments need to be made, it will be too late. Do it now and you’ll be happy you did.

Not convinced blogging is right for you or your company? PRDaily put together a list of 5 reasons why your company should start a blog. Check them out below.

1. Search opportunity is knocking

Having a blog gives your company more opportunities to show up in search results. Without a blog, someone searching relevant keywords for your site may only find your homepage. By blogging about timely subjects on a regular basis—with relevant keywords—each post has the chance to show up in search. If your blog has a clear tie back to your main site—and it should—the traffic to your blog has the opportunity to drive people to your company site as well.

2. Google gets fresh

In an effort to provide users with more up-to-date and relevant search results, Google introduced the Google Fresh campaign. Essentially, the search giant now ranks sites with fresh content higher than static, unchanging sites. With a blog, you have the capacity to very easily add new, fresh content every week so those Google bots will continue to recognize your site.

3. Social hub

A company blog is the ideal place to create the content that you share on other social channels. Why drive your followers and fans to other sources when you can direct them to your site? Detailed posts on interesting topics or new products also serve as the destination for potential new customers, rather than sending everyone directly to the homepage to search for the relevant information on their own.

4. Viva la PR coverage!

As PR professionals, we work hard to generate awesome media coverage. However, news happens fast and that post on Yahoo News can be buried within a few days, maybe even hours. Writing a blog post to summarize and link to the coverage gives the story a new online home—a cozy place where it can live forever. Again, this is a great place to direct fans and followers to view your great PR hits.

5. Get personal

A blog is also a great place for current and potential customers/clients/employees to learn more about your company. Posts about team members or company outings and events—as well as the writing style on the blog—can tell someone a lot about your organization on a more personal level.

If you do decide to start a blog remember to update often and check back for comments from your audience. Creating content is only half the battle. By responding to comments left by your audience it shows them that you take their concerns and comments seriously.
I have enclosed links to my favorite company blogs. Some of the blogs are informative, others are fun but all of them show off their company’s personality.

Disney Theme Parks

Google

Jcrew

Linkedin

• The best time to post on Facebook is when fans are not at work, typically between 8:00 pm and 7:00 am.  In addition, engagement tended to increase when posts were made on Wednesdays.
• As you might have heard before, quality wins over quantity when posting to increase engagement.  This was true when measuring posts per day, as well as posts per week.
• Shorter (1-40 characters) and simpler (text only) posts proved to increase engagement.

Weather you believe these stats will improve your follower and fan engagement, or not, there is no doubt that social media is an important aspect of your communications plan.  According to the 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer, social media saw the biggest percentage increase (75%) in trust among media sources.

Read more about social media strategy in a previous Maven blog post about effective social media techniques.

With a full-time team of five, the social media staff spends all day online reading tweets, Facebook posts, blog comments and foursquare check-ins. Because of the urgent and sometimes desperate nature of people when they’re doing their taxes, the H&R Block social media team prides themselves on urgent and timely responses.

If you check out their Twitter feed, you will see that they are actually responding to people in real time. In some cases they literally know which H&R Block location someone is tweeting from because they have also checked in on foursquare.

They also have a very active blog and Facebook page because they get that people should be communicated with on their channel of choice.  And it’s worth mentioning that they have over 83,000 ‘likes’ on Facebook. Not to shabby for a tax preparation service.

According to Zena Weist, Director of Social Media at H&R Block, the goal with people who are using social media to complain is to take them offline with a customer service representative. Once this happens, most people’s issues are addressed, and a majority go back online to express their gratitude.

The social media savvy of the folks at H&R Block is worth emulating for a few reasons. Not only are they extremely responsive and on top of all channels, but they also know how best to respond. First, they show empathy. You’ll notice in many of the responses on Twitter, they first acknowledge that something is “unacceptable” or express that they are “sorry you feel that way.” Second, they provide a solution. Sometimes it’s a number to call, sometimes it’s a request for more information about which location they are in or specific person they’re working with. The idea is that they are going to do something to solve the issue. Lastly, they work to transform a bad experience into a good one because they know that good experiences typically result in referrals, which is just about the best thing you can ask from your customers.

It’s also worth noting that not only are they problem solving in the moment, but they’re also using Twitter as an early alarm system. If more than a few people are having the same issue, they make a change before it becomes a bigger problem.

Despite the fact that no one like doing their taxes, those of us in the social media trenches can at least admire this aspect of the season, thanks to H&R Block.

• Did I target the reporter correctly?  Actually read what reporters are writing and get to know the publication.  Tracking reporter coverage is the best way you can target reporters effectively.  They notice the difference when your pitch is relevant to their beat and focus, and when isn’t.  Setting up Google alerts and subscribing to RSS feeds are easy ways to keep an eye on what journalists are writing about.  A lack of due diligence is the fastest way to get your email deleted.

• Did I contact the journalist through his or her preferred method?  Do your research.  Journalists and reporters often make it clear on how they want to be contacted.  While it is easy to forget that your pitch is just one of many in an inbox, being respectful of their preferences will get you far.  By making your ideas clear, your recipient will be able to decipher their interest faster.

• Did I market my client’s expertise effectively?  Work with reporters to develop an angle.  Successful correspondence requires creativity and the know-how to market your client’s expertise. Using this formula may spark a reporter to cover something outside of his or her normal beat.

• Have I made an effort to develop a relationship with the media?  Friend, follow, and network genuinely.  Including media relationships in your social media circles is a great way to track what journalists cover, and foster professional connections.

Media relations is an art, not a science.  Always keep in mind that sincerity and due diligence go a long way and will bring you the greatest return on investment with media relations.

We have seen time and time again that people resort to social media to check out what’s going on and who else is talking about it. While it is an effective way to spread false information, it is also an extremely efficient way to get information fast. It is so fast that it is possible to see a tweet about the earthquake before you feel that same earthquake.

This was my first time experiencing a social media melt down, but I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it. It was a little shaky at first, but then I enjoyed the ride. My phone wasn’t working initially, so I just sat back and followed the hashtag #earthquake. Twitter was chirping away during the crisis.  Just check out this awesome map that shows all the tweets from the time the quake hit through 30 seconds after.

Social media gives people the information they can’t get anywhere else, including rumors, lies, personal accounts and jokes, such as photos of quake casualties like water bottles and lawn chairs. If there were real casualties, there would not have been any humor in the situation, but since this is the East Coast, we were lucky and yes, a bit dramatic.

The entire West Coast is cracking up over East Coaster’s shaking in our shoes over a 5.8 magnitude earthquake. However, that’s why I live in Philadelphia and suffer through four seasons including the seismic snow storms and wicked hot summers; I don’t want to live in fear of earthquakes, tsunamis, tornados or wild fires.

Now excuse me, I have to go prepare for Hurricane Irene.

1. Being professional does not mean being silent. Nodding ‘yes’ or having short responses does not make you seem professional. When looking to hire someone, especially in the PR field, showing personality will make or break your chances of getting hired. When speaking professionally make sure you think about what you want to say, collect your thoughts and have a clear, composed answer. Interviewers understand you are young and nervous, but they expect a certain degree of professionalism, even from students.

2. Get there early. This seems obvious, but after google mapping Maven’s location, I gave myself extra time to find the building. After locating it and the entrance, I walked across the street to Starbucks. With a coffee and my laptop in hand, I reread some of Maven’s blogs and client news. With 20 minutes until my interview I walked back to the building, signed in and was still 15 minutes early.

3. Always expect the unexpected. You never know what you are going to run into especially if you are driving to the interview. Along with the address, it is helpful to write down who you are meeting with, their phone number and the position title. If there is traffic and you are running late, call the contact to let them know. It is common courtesy and the interviewer will appreciate the heads up.

4. Never interrupt. Wait for the interviewer to finish asking their question before you start to respond. As simple as it seems, it gives you time to think of your response and effectivley answer the question that was asked.

5.  It is a small world. Chances are you can connect to your interviewers, whether you went to the same school or have a mutual contact; it helps you get a foot in the door. One small connection can make you memorable. Likewise, interviewers may call their contacts from organizations on your resume; another reason to never burn a bridge.

Interviews are nerve-wracking, but be professional and be yourself. For more interviewing tips, please  click here.

Most people think that evaluation is something that happens at the completion of a campaign. In fact, evaluation should happen at different intervals throughout the year. This way you have the ability to assess the effectiveness and then adjust accordingly, creating an even stronger campaign. In addition, evaluation provides an opportunity for ongoing improvement and helps guide the campaign in a successful direction.

Think about campaign evaluation as a circular process – information is acquired, changes are made based on that information, more information is acquired, more changes are made, and so on. This is a relatively straightforward process, if you’ve built in the appropriate framework for evaluation. If you haven’t, or aren’t sure, here are a few things to consider:

Make sure your objectives are measurable. While a goal is a general outcome expected when a campaign or program is completed, an objective is very specific and based on projected and actual program outcomes. Your campaign objectives should be unambiguous and stated in a clear way that allows you to determine whether they have been met. They should be specific in terms of timeframe and outcome. For example: our objective is to increase the number of hits to our blog 20 percent by December 2011.

Know what you’re measuring and determine the right tool. Surveys can be an excellent way to measure public opinion, consumer sentiment, and awareness, but it is not a one-size-fits all measurement tool. If your objective is to increase web traffic then use a website analytics tool like Google Analytics; if you’re looking to measure awareness you can conduct an online survey; or if your objective is to ensure your key messages are conveyed in your press coverage, then a media analytics program like Vocus or Burrelles Luce may be appropriate.

Determine a benchmark. Inherently, measurement is a comparative tool. To effectively measure the relative success or failure of a campaign, you need to compare to something else. (For example, if your website gets 10,000 unique visitors/month but your biggest competitor gets 40,000, it may be time to adjust your strategy). The most effective comparisons are to the competition and peers over time, however that information isn’t always available. Another benchmark is to compare your results to past performance over a specific time period.

Once you’ve collected all of your data, draw conclusions and adjust. Ideally with each change made, the campaign gets stronger and produces better results. At the end of the day, continuous evaluation of a marketing campaign allows for those who control the marketing dollars to see the real value and return in real, hard numbers and positive results.

Here is what I learned:

1. I had the impression that public relations is a service provided to businesses only in times of need. After five months of working with a wide variety of clients, I learned that public relations is an integral part of the day to day operations of any successful business.  A public relations is not the friend you call in a crisis, but the person you talk to everyday.

2. Public relations begins with effective communication. This may seem obvious, but my experience taught me that without effective communication, you cannot create a successful marketing campaign.   I have learned the importance of collaborating and cooperating with your client through the idea and campaign process. This starts with understanding your client and interpreting your client’s goals for the campaign from day one.

3. No client is the same. You must tailor your approach to fit the specific needs of each client. The classroom did not teach that there is no typical PR strategy because there is no typical client.  During my time at Maven, I had to privilege of working with a broad range of clients from a variety of different industries.

4.  Don’t let the public forget about you! While your clients are your first priority, you must also focus on your own public relations campaign. The classroom focuses on client relationships so much that it is easy to forget PR agencies also need PR.

5. Though you concentrate on building relationships with clients, you must build relationships with your co-workers.  My professors forgot to mention how building relationships within the workplace helps with brainstorming and creativity. Building relationships with the people in your office leads to great experiences–if you enjoy your work, you’ll probably be more successful.

Overall, my time at Maven allowed me to expand on the fundamentals I learned in the classroom. Through this experience I learned the true definition of public relations, which the classroom can only begin to provide. Though I don’t know where I’ll be after graduation, I know I won’t forgot the amazing experience I had and how much the women at Maven impacted my work ethic and life goals.

Her next words of advice however I must disagree with. She told the class of 2009 to put their texting fingers to rest, close their facebook pages, chill out for a while on Twitter and go dormant on email (gasp!).  Instead talk to friends and family, attend networking events and (wait for it) follow up with handwritten notes instead of sending an email.  Now I can understand where she is coming from. Kids these days (yes, I can say it, I’m almost 30) have lost, or never gained, the ability to appropriately socialize as a result of communicating via cell phones and laptops.  Shunning technology is not going to solve this…but that’s a topic for another time.

My reaction to her advice is that it is short sighted.  It assumes that your friends and family have the contacts that you need.  It assumes that those that attend a networking event in your city and within your interest area are the right connections.  It assumes that your network is sufficient enough to help you get a job in this economy.  Let me tell you 2009 graduate, it’s not.

What I’m sure this very well intentioned speaker meant was that you can’t hide behind your computer or your cell phone and expect to get a job today, which is true.  However, her advice completely misses the most powerful element that social media offers us: weak ties.  The “friend” on facebook that you met once at that party last summer, fellow members of the “I love Philly” group, your 250 “followers” on Twitter who you’ve never met before and possibly  more importantly, their followers.  These are the folks who allow you to expand your network.

Weak ties are the threads that make social media possible.  They may also be the individuals who open the door to new opportunities or introductions.  I’m not saying that by tweeting “looking for a job in marketing!” you’re all set and don’t have to get out there, because you still need to get out there. But you can do this online as well as off.  Create a webpage and post your resume, contact information, writing samples, letters of recommendation, projects and whatever else might be in your portfolio and then tweet, facebook, and yes, email out the link.  When you add new content let people know.  Think of yourself as a brand and market the heck out of it.  Make those weak ties understand who are you are and what you’re looking for and don’t be surprised when opportunities come knocking.

Graduates of the class of 2009 have something that I never had, and that’s the ability to reach way beyond our traditional networks.  Social media gives an opportunity to reach people we may otherwise would never have had the opportunity to connect to.  This is an amazing thing!  Enough with the excuses – get out there and make those weak ties work for you!