Will you win a $50 Gift Card to the Avenue Viera?

Two lucky winners will be randomly selected at the January 20th Professional Development Program.  One will be chosen from those who  joined FPRA or renewed their membership in 2009, and one will be chosen from the attendees at the January 20th program.  Don’t miss out on the exciting opportunities and up-to-the-minute resources offered by the longest established professional public relations group in the USA.  Learn more about FPRA membership, and log-in to your member account at www.fpra.org today!

Upcoming Professional

Development Programming:

• January 20th- Lynette Leathers presents ‘Customer Service: Why Loyalty Matters’  **Attend the program and you could win a $50 gift card to the Avenue Viera!

• February 17th- Details coming soon
• March 17th- Save the date
• April 21st- Check back for more information

** Did you know that the Space Coast Chapter Professional Development events count towards APR Maintenance and Continuing Education requirements.  All program attendees will receive a certificate for 1 CECU. **

FREE Professional Development opportunities from PRSA:

PRSA offers playback of FREE Professional Development webinars: http://www.prsa.org/Learning/FreeWebinars/ Choose one to view at your convenience and keep current with the latest trends.

—Swing Like Tiger Woods—

For an afternoon on the golf course- sure, but in the public relations sense, you may not want to follow the celebrity athlete’s lead when it comes to crisis management.   Aaron Kwittken writes for Entrepreneur.com, “Tiger Woods’ public admission of his personal ‘transgressions’ holds valuable lessons for all of us on how to most effectively protect the integrity of a brand.“  You can read the entire critique at The PR Post.

It’s a Social Media Picnic!

FPRA Space Coast is now enjoying the fresh air of Facebook and is tweeting away on Twitter…

Look for the Space Coast FPRA page on Facebook and be a fan!

Keep up with the latest announcements, FPRA member happenings, and PR-related news.

Don’t stop there-  Space Coast FPRA is also on Twitter!

You can follow Brevard PR pros as they share up-to-the-second content in their field.

** Come to the Professional Development programs

and jointhe Space Coast FPRA Tweet Team! **

Julie’s HOT Social Media Tip:

Is your website social media optimized?

Have you started your blog? Are your keywords working? Have you bookmarked any of your pages or releases?

There are many free tools available to help you answer these, and many more, questions.

One of my favorites is the Website Grader by Hubspot http://www.websitegrader.com

This free resource provides information about On-page and Off-page SEO, Blogosphere, Social Mediasphere, Converting Visitors to Leads, Competitor Analysis, etc.

It also provides a grade for your site and offers you tips on how to improve your ranking and site structure.  I use this tool whenever I am completing a site analysis or developing a digital PR strategy for a client.  Hubspot (www.hubspot.com) regularly hosts webinars and online classes on many aspects of social media and web site optimization.

FPRA Space Coast member, Julie Arnold, is the Social Media Manager for Griffin Integrated Marketing and leads our chapter’s Tweet Team giving live updates from our professional development programs.  You can follow @SpaceCoastFPRA on Twitter.

—What Does FL State Statute 119 Mean to You? —

Public Relations professionals in Florida should be familiar with our state’s ‘Sunshine Law‘ about the release of public records, “It is the policy of this state that all state, county, and municipal records shall be open for personal inspection by any person.”  Whether you work for a public agency or not, reading up on Statute 119 and thinking about how it applies to your daily work will bring your practice more creditability.

Who joins FPRA?

You have your reasons for joining up with PR pros on the Space Coast, and you should know that you are surrounded by good company.   Many of our county’s best PR folks have answered the call to continue their education with quality professional development, and to make connections and share best practices through outstanding networking opportunities.   Below is our current membership listing… Become acquainted with your fellow public relations practitioners at our monthly Professional Development Programs, or by joining our chapter’s Facebook and Twitter and social networks.

Do you know someone who should be on this list?  Send the names of your prospective members to our VP of Membership, Amber Philman, amarek@cfl.rr.com, and we will introduce them to the outstanding benefits of FPRA membership!

• Ann Colchin, The Measured Difference
• Andrea Farmer, APR, Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex
• Aliona Groh, Hoyman Dobson
• Amelia Woodbridge, Amelia Woodbridge Consulting
• Ailish Nic Phaidin, MPRII, Access Link International , Inc.
• Barry Eager, Phantom Productions of Florida
• Carey Beam, Craig Technologies
• Cyndi Hernandez, Brevard Family Partnership
• Denise Meneghelli
• Geo Ropert, APR, Ropert Communications Group
• Jillian McRae, Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex
• Jessica Rye, APR, ATK Space Systems- KSC Operations
• Jerry Stansfield, City of Cocoa Beach
• Julie Arnold, Griffin Interactive Marketing
• Joan VanScyoc, Brevard Workforce
• Kay Burk, Kay Elliott Burk Consulting Services
• Kimberly Eye
• Karen Rhine, Florida Institute of Technology
• Katherine Sonn, Century Oaks
• Linda Herridge, Abacus Technology Corp
• Lesley Llerandi, Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex
• Lisa Stigall, Harris Corporation
• Mathew Haggar, Parrish Medical Center
• Michele Murrell, Brevard Community College Foundation
• Michael Rein, United Launch Alliance
• Natalie Sellers, APR, Parrish Medical Center
• Robert Granath, United Space Alliance
• Rose Thron, Marketing World Specialties, Inc.
• Shanti Brasington, Computer Sciences Raytheon
• Selene Bruns, United Space Alliance
• Alecia McCoy, United Way of Brevard County, Inc.
• Suzanne Sparling, APR, United Way of Brevard County, Inc.
• Tessa Friedrichs
• Tracy Yates, United Space Alliance

Be Involved!

One way to maximize your FPRA membership is to join one of our committees.  Right now, we are looking for folks to help out with organizing our Corporate Spelling Bee and Roast & Toast events. If you have just an hour or two to give, our chapter’s events can be the best ever with your involvement.  Contact Past President, Amelia Woodbridge, amelia@ameliawoodbridge.com to find out how you can help!

Also on deck is the annual Image Awards.  Now is the time to create your entry to highlight your successful PR campaigns.  No program is too big or too small for entry, and you will have help along the way!  Look out for more information to be sent within the next few weeks on how you can get started.  In the meantime, log-in to the FPRA website to see the past Golden Image Award Winners and read the case studies for the winning entries.

–  Yet ANOTHER BENEFIT of FPRA Membership –

Our chapter board would like to announce another feature of Space Coast FPRA’s powerful PR network- Our mailing list!   Available to members only, FPRA Space Coast will post community opportunities to our chapter website and will send an e-mail blast to our membership to promote your event.

From the Bookshelf…

Of Carey Beam:

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell  (2000, 288 pages)

If this isn’t on your bookshelf, it should be.  This is a study in classic diffusion theory using modern day anecdotes.  Especially applicable to today’s social media networks, The Tipping Point emphasizes affecting change though word-of-mouth information exchange.

Malcolm Gladwell compiled the material for the book from his time spent as a staff writer with The New Yorker.  Gladwell says, “As human beings, we always expect everyday change to happen slowly and steadily, and for there to be some relationship between cause and effect. And when there isn’t — when crime drops dramatically in New York for no apparent reason, or when a movie made on a shoestring budget ends up making hundreds of millions of dollars — we’re surprised. I’m saying, don’t be surprised. This is the way social epidemics work.”

According to www.gladwell.com, “It’s a book about change. In particular, it’s a book that presents a new way of understanding why change so often happens as quickly and as unexpectedly as it does.”  Understanding diffusion and the tipping point is absolutely critical to successful public relations programming.  Check out more reviews and prices on new and used copies of The Tipping Point at Amazon.

Top 10 Reasons to be a member of FPRA:

1. #1 Local Organization for Marketing/Communications/Public Relations professionals
2. Networking and Idea Sharing
3. Education and Skill Development
4. Leadership Opportunities
5. Awards and Recognitions
6. Annual Conference
7. Annual Media Roundtable
8. Community Involvement Opportunities
9. Trend Spotting from Leading Practitioners
10. GREAT People!

—Is Email Dead?—

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, Email is not dead, per se, but is very much moving in the way of the dinosaurs, “We all still use email, of course. But email was better suited to the way we used to use the Internet—logging off and on, checking our messages in bursts. Now, we are always connected, whether we are sitting at a desk or on a mobile phone. The always-on connection, in turn, has created a host of new ways to communicate that are much faster than email, and more fun.”

Meet our Dedicated Tweeter!

FPRA Space Coast member, Julie Arnold, is the Social Media Manager for Griffin Integrated Marketing and will be sending live tweets from our monthly professional development programs.  You can follow her and the FPRA Tweet Team by using the Twitter tag #FPRA.

Julie has 17 years of experience in developing advertising, public relations and marketing solutions for clients in a broad range of industries.  As Griffin’s Social Media Manger, she develops strategy, defines tools and tactics, trains and consults with clients on all aspects of online media and social networking.  Julie joined Griffin in December 2005.  Agency highlights include overseeing online strategy, grassroots, event marketing, Web site content, social and e-marketing for the Coalition for Space Exploration, as well as developing and implementing a statewide marketing campaign in Florida for the Technological Research and Development Authority, which resulted in a 764% increase in media relations exposure in a two-year time span.

Come to the Professional Development programs and join the Space Coast FPRA Tweet Team!

Julie’s HOT Social Media Tip:

The key to developing a social media strategy is not talking points, but making it a conversation.
To develop your parameters of conversation for your social media efforts, answer these questions:

• What types of people do we want to talk to?
• Where do we find them?
• What are they talking about already?
• Is it appropriate for us to join that conversation and, if so, when?

Upcoming

Professional Development

Programming:

• November 18th- Suzie DeBusk presents ‘Understanding Emotional Intelligence at Work’
• January 20th- Lynette Leathers presents ‘Customer Service’
• February 17th- Details coming soon
• March 17th- Save the date
• April 21st- Check back for more information

**FREE Professional Development opportunity from PRSA:

How to Use an Online Newsroom to Interact with Social Media: Get Tips That Will Gain You an Immediate Impact on Your Bottom Line
Instructor: Ibrey Woodall, director of marketing communications, TEKgroup International, Inc.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Playback will be available from December 15, 2009–April 10, 2010

**Professional Development for APR maintenance:

Crisis Management in a Down Economy: No Margin for Error

Relationship & Reputation Teleseminar

Date: Thursday, December 10, 2009
Time: 3 p.m. Eastern
2 p.m. Central
1 p.m. Mountain
12 p.m. Pacific
Duration: 60 minutes

If time is your enemy in a crisis, in our current environment time is your enemy on steroids. Find out from Helio Fred Garcia the critical public relations and communications survival steps you must take in the earliest moments of crisis to prevent the kinds of self-inflicted harm that ruin reputations, reduce competitiveness and get CEOs fired.

You will learn:

• How to build trust with stakeholders to ensure that your company is given the benefit of the doubt.
• How to provide a clear description of your business model and avoid wrong assumptions regarding what your company can withstand.
• Why previously routine matters (corporate jets, renovated offices, bonuses) suddenly provoke stakeholder outrage and backlash, and what to do about it.
• Why you must take the critical survival steps in the earliest moments of a crisis to prevent the kinds of self-inflict

—Faces of Public Relations History—

Who was Arthur W. Page?

You can find out about his industry-changing approach to PR at the on-line Museum of Public Relations Arthur W. Page exhibit.

New Member Spotlight

Cyndi Hernandez Space Coast FPRA

Cyndi Hernandez, Member-at-Large

Your Company:  Brevard Family Partnership

Your Title:  Public Relations Coordinator

Education/Background:  AA in general studies from BCC, BA in Sociology from UCF (2007), 1 ½ years in PR with Brevard Family Partnership, though always involved in marketing and sales in previous employment. Before BFP I was the Executive Assistant with Indian River Consulting Group from May 2000 through September 2006 where responsibilities included everything from booking travel to coordinating events.

I was born in Buffalo, NY, but raised in Miami. Moved to Melbourne in 2000 and have been loving life ever since.

Why you joined the FPRA:  I joined FPRA to further develop my PR and communication skills as well as network with other PR professionals to share ideas and expand our efforts both professionally and personally.

What’s the most challenging part of your job:  The most challenging part of my job is juggling multiple responsibilities at the same time and assuring deadlines are met.

What’s the easiest part of your job:  Is there an easy part of my job?!  Working with the community and attending community events is one of the most enjoyable parts of my job. Connecting with the community is vital to our agency and makes a world of difference to having the community understand who we are and what we do.

What are your hobbies/interests:  Other than work, I am involved in a few activities at church and love to read – not much time for anything else.

Family Info: Husband, Eddie and cat, Faith. My parents live in Palm Bay (came up from Miami after we did) and my brother and his family have lived in Palm Bay for the past 2-3 years.

From the Bookshelf…

Of Tina Lange, APR:

PR 2.0 – New Media, New Tools, New Audiences by Dierdre Breakenridge (2008, 274 pages)

I picked up the “PR 2.0″ book at this year’s annual FPRA Conference in Boca… A newcomer to the social media realm at the time, I thought this may be a good way to get additional education on the basics I already knew. This was a decent book for beginners- Going into it, I’d already established a Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn account for my work, as well as an executive blog. We were also playing with the idea of utilizing YouTube and Wikipedia as part of our new social media plan. Knowing this level of information allowed me to get through the first part of the book very quickly, but the latter chapters were quite helpful.

This book covers the broad environment of social media in an easy-to-understand fashion, from the perspective of a seasoned PR professional. It covers all the basic topics, including:  PR 2.0 research and measurement tools, audio/video tools for enhanced web communications, the variety of social media tools that are currently utilized by corporate America, and even a significant number of pro interviews and case studies. The book applies to all PR practitioners, from those engaged in large, corporate communications teams to one-man shops in smaller businesses to PR agencies. I found especially helpful the sections on social media news releases and interactive newsrooms – two areas that I happen to have great interest in.

I also learned a little more about RSS technology and social bookmarking along the way – two areas that were relatively new to me at the time.   The only downside to this book (in my opinion) was some of the case studies toward the end – they felt a little “salesy” to me (like the author got a kickback for the advertising space!)… Other than that though, it was a good, fast read and well worth the investment (for an even better deal, get it used on Amazon!).  I’d definitely recommend it to my PR counterparts who aren’t yet experts at social media.

The May Member Newsletter is here! Download here