Never Stop Learning: Notes from PRSSA National Conference

Over a week has passed since I returned from my journey in Indianapolis where I attended the PRSSA National Conference. I feel so thankful for this experience to learn, reaffirm, and motivate myself as a future public relations professional.

Besides the keynote speakers every morning and the daily sessions open to everyone, I was able to sit in on the student-run firm panel discussion where our lovely CEO, Jaclyn Ermoyan, spoke on behalf of GrandPR. This panel only had three panelists, so this was quite an accomplishment to be one of those three. GrandPR also received an award for ‘Student-Run Firm - Best Campaign’ which we are all excited for, although much of the team that created and executed the campaign from last year has graduated.

From the endless number of sessions to choose from, here are some of my personal takeaways from the conference based on some of sessions that I attended.

Crisis in the Crossroads with Myra Borshoff, APR, and Jen Dial (Topic: Crisis Communication)

  • Establish trust with your management team from day one. Have a voice at the management table and get your supervisor to understand what you do.
  • How to respond to a crisis: “apologize, acknowledge who was affected, and take action to fix it.”
  • Don’t try to avert the blame onto others; it will backfire. Be transparent even if your lawyers argue otherwise.
  • Get the facts, stay calm, and have one designated person in the company be your spokesperson to the media.

Perfect Planning with Theo Tyson (Topic: Event Planning)

  • Ask yourself: what is the call to action for this? What is the purpose of gathering these people to your event?
  • Small budget? That’s when favors come in to play. Establish relationships with local vendors and make the transaction mutually beneficial.
  • A crisis plan needs to be created. Be prepared with the phone numbers of local hospitals and directions. Carry a first-aid kit equipped with an EpiPen.
  • Social media for the event should be specific, controlled, and planned ahead of time. Track your outreach through algorithms. Make sure your hashtag hasn’t already been used or could commonly be mistyped into something that would ruin your reputation.
  • Make it memorable, authentic, and experiential. You cannot create the perfect event, but you can create the perfect experience.

Disrupting the Norm with Fred Cook (Topic: Industry Changes)

  • Stop being politically correct all the time, you’re limiting your opinions and educational reasoning. Instill courage and fight for your ideas.
  • The top three most important skills to have in the PR industry are writing, strategic planning, and verbal communication.
  • We need more brains than brawn in PR. The top three most important traits to have are problem solving, critical thinking, and curiosity.
  • You’re more marketable as a person based on the experiences you’ve had. Study abroad! Be diverse.
  • By 2020, paid media (in in-house) will increase to 62.5% while earned media will decrease to 37.5%.

Become the Intern Guru with Lauren Berger (Topic: Applying for Jobs and Internships)

  • Stay in touch with your professional contacts three times per year. You never know when you’ll be needing a favor from them or need them to connect you to one of their connections.
  • Send a cover letter even if it’s not required. The cover letter is where you can show your personality and set yourself apart from the competition.
  • In your cover letter, include how long you will be living in or visiting the city where the job is located.
  • Delete your alcohol pictures for real… Lauren has gotten calls from employers saying they fired their new hires after two weeks because their social media had pictures with solo cups in them. Don’t let them wonder what’s in the cup.
  • Track professional contacts via Google alerts. This is a good way to stay up to date with the company you will be potentially working for.

The experiences, awards and accolades received at this conference are constant motivators for our chapter and our firm at Grand Valley State. I am enthused to be surrounded with such hard-working peers in our ever growing program. Making connections with your immediate peers is essential, but connecting with PRSSA members from all over the country was an added bonus which I have PRSSA Nationals to thank for. Students, take my word, if you’re ever given the opportunity to attend this National Conference, do it! The results are priceless.   

Bri Olson is a junior Ad/PR major at Grand Valley State University. Originally from the Chicagoland area, she’s loving all that West Michigan has to offer. She is passionate about photography and fashion, which plays a huge role in her creative mindset. She serves as the VP of Member Services for the Grand Valley PRSSA chapter and as an Account Associate for GrandPR. Bri is currently interning for Gemini Publications where she manages the social media accounts for Grand Rapids Magazine and assisted in event planning for the 40 Under Forty party. Although she keeps busy, she loves being so involved with her career as a future PR pro. When she’s not making to-do lists or sending emails, you can find her snuggling up with her cat, Bella or exploring unknown areas of Grand Rapids.

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