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.