À La Mer

Overcoming To-Do List Angst

Meredith L. Eaton — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:47:01 +0000

Recently, I came across Daniel Markovitz’s article, To-Do Lists Don’t Work, and was immediately floored by the title. To-do lists don’t work? How could this be?! As someone who has been making lists since I was 10 years old (surprise, surprise), I was obviously shocked to learn that to-do lists could actually be a recipe for failure. Markovitz outlines five problems with to-do lists, some of which I agree may be detrimental to overall productivity – namely the paradox of choice and having varied priorities. But, I believe that with each disadvantage comes a solution that will keep to-do lists alive!

Too Many Choices

Renowned research from Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper shows that having more choices may actually have greater consequences than having fewer options. The findings note that people can only handle about seven choices before it becomes counterproductive.

Obviously it’s much less overwhelming when we’re presented with a more manageable set of choices, but what if your to-do list has 20 items at any given time? A good strategy here is to write out individual to-do lists for each day. By identifying the five to seven things you want to accomplish today, your mind is able to wrap itself more easily around the tasks at hand. If you make it through the entire list, you can feel accomplished and even start on the next day’s tasks.

Prioritization

When tackling a to-do list, people often prioritize the most imminent items and leave the others to do at a later time. However, the less time sensitive items will eventually become priorities too, leaving people to wonder why they left them alone for so long. Markovitz provides a good example, explaining that while attending to your car maintenance may not be a priority now, when your car breaks down at 3am, it is suddenly the most important thing.

Things have a way of creeping up on us, but something I’ve found helpful is reading through your entire to-do list (today’s, tomorrow’s, and next week’s…) at the end of each day in order to constantly remind yourself of other things you have to get done and rearranging them as appropriate. That way, you’re more apt to be able to cross things off your list when an opportune moment strikes, even if it’s not a priority or on today’s list. For instance, to use our car example, let’s say you find yourself stuck in traffic next to an auto body shop – voila, car maintenance done. Or, more in tune with PR, perhaps you find your client discussing a topic you’re supposed to be writing on during a briefing and therefore take excellent notes, giving you a jump start on another task.

I’ll admit, I’m guilty of some of the other pitfalls Markovitz outlines with regards to to-do lists, like scanning through my list and selecting the items that I can get done quickly first, simply for the pure satisfaction of crossing something off. But does that really mean the to-do list technique is completely ineffective? Not at all. If you find yourself falling subject to these to-do list disadvantages, it doesn’t mean you have to throw out this technique all together – just simply recognize where you have issues and adapt to compensate.

If you need more tips, here are some helpful articles on the benefits of to-do lists: Why “To-do” Lists Work, How to Write an Effective To Do List. What’s your strategy for getting your tasks done each day? Do you color code your lists or maybe flag emails in Outlook? Share your tips below!

Jump Starting Your PR Career

Meredith L. Eaton — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:52:59 +0000

With approximately 1,706,000 students at the bachelor’s degree level projected to graduate in 2012, there are a plethora of young professionals who are about to begin their job search and enter the workforce. But, with lingering economic woes from the 2008 financial crisis and heightened unemployment rates, many will be looking for creative ways to jump start their career. Using your college’s alumni network is a great place to start, and, as Boston College alumnus, I’m always willing to share advice with up and coming Eagles as they embark on their career paths.

Last week, I played host to two Boston College seniors – Caroline Burns and Zoe McNealy – who were interested in learning more about what it’s like to have a career in the PR industry. Through BC’s Externship Program, students are given an opportunity to gain an understanding of a business, industry, and/or job function, ask questions, and observe firsthand the day-to-day activities of a BC alumnus. I was more than happy to share my experiences and insight into the PR field with Caroline and Zoe and have included some thoughts from each of the students about their experience below:

Caroline Burns

Last week, I had an invaluable opportunity to spend the day as an extern at March Communications. I was able to shadow Meredith Eaton and learn about a day-in-the-life of a senior account executive at March. Upon welcome, I realized how positive and hard-working the employees at March are. I really appreciated the close-knit community of employees at the boutique firm, as well as the open layout of the office, which allowed for proactive and engaged conversation throughout the day. I observed Meredith expertly juggle a multitude of tasks from blogging, tweeting, sending e-mails to clients, drafting Q&As, and doing research. It is obvious that being able to multitask is a key skill in the life of a PR executive. I was also able to talk to Rachel Leamon, a recent BU graduate and current account coordinator, and learn more about how to appropriately engage with journalists, put together media lists, and track media placements for clients. I realized that the benefits of interning at a boutique firm like March are being able to do work that is viable and gain recognition that would not come easily at a larger firm. Before this experience, I definitely did not realize that it is easier to work your way up the executive ladder by working in a smaller firm. The day left me with a huge wealth of knowledge about the hard work that goes into PR as well as greater confidence in my upcoming job search.

Zoe McNealy

Going into my externship at March Communications, I was skeptical as to how much I could actually learn about an industry or career in one day. However, after shadowing Meredith, a Senior Account Executive, I found the experience to be very valuable and also a great introduction into the public relations field. As a senior at Boston College, majoring in Communications, I have held a few internships in marketing and event planning, which involved public relations at some point, but never anything dedicated to PR. Being able to participate in Meredith’s day-to-day activities was a great way to see what working in public relations involves. Whether she was interacting with clients, updating social media, or discussing upcoming projects, Meredith was sure to explain what she was doing, why she was doing it, and what the benefit or outcome would be. One of my favorite parts of the day was actually when we had lunch. Meredith and some of her co-workers offered advice on applying for jobs, gaining experience, interviewing, and even how they got to be at March, while also happily answering any questions thrown their way. In addition to our discussion, their interactions with one another during lunch and throughout the day made the atmosphere at March seem more like a community than a workplace, which seemed like one of the many benefits of working at a boutique PR firm. Overall, my externship at March Communications was an amazing learning experience. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to work with Meredith and the rest of the March staff and I look forward to learning more about public relations in the future!

Timehop – One Year Ago Today, I Was…

Meredith L. Eaton — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:38:28 +0000

So much can change in a year, but it’s often hard to remember exactly what I was doing one year ago today. If only there was a way to travel back in time to see what I was working on, what I was interested in, who I was talking to, or even where I was going. Well, thanks to Timehop, I can now retrace my steps from one year ago, using my digital, social media footprint.

Timehop delivers a daily email to subscribers, showing a kind of personalized time capsule of Facebook posts, Twitter tweets, Foursquare check-ins, and Instagram photos. Originally comprised of several different sites, including 4SquareAnd7YearsAgo, And7YearsAgram, and PastPosts, Timehop relaunched in December to deliver a more uniform experience and has already signed on thousands upon thousands of users.

Unlike Facebook’s new timeline feature that shows a more public display of your online activity, Timehop is more private since emails are only sent directly to subscribers. Any further public sharing is completely up to the user, but there have already been several shared examples of how powerful this service can be, including a soon-to-be father remembering feeling his baby kick for the first time and a recent college graduate remembering successfully landing a job.

The service is being touted for bringing an emotional, nostalgic component to social networking sites, giving users a way to reconnect with past memories and experiences. In addition to this sentimental element, however, Timehop may also be a helpful tool to revamp users’ social media sharing practices. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and many often wish we had the same advantages in the present. With Timehop, users can look back and maybe re-evaluate whether or not sharing certain information was a wise decision. This can help keep their public updates both relevant and safe, as privacy always seems to be a looming concern as we share more and more of our personal lives online.

In an age when instantaneous, real-time updates are increasingly pervasive, Timehop gives users a chance to reflect and take a more of an introspective approach to their daily lives – something I think we could all benefit from in today’s fast-paced world. What were you doing one year ago today?

Public Relations; Balancing Stress with Success

Meredith L. Eaton — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:16:20 +0000

Like many things in life, maintaining a career as a PR executive is a balancing act. Learning how to cope with the fast-paced atmosphere and tight deadlines while saving time to revel in the success of a campaign is something we all strive to achieve. PR professionals are notorious multitaskers; and while juggling multiple clients, deadlines and launches simultaneously may seem to be just another part of the job, there’s no denying that it can get extremely stressful at times. At the end of the day though, it’s all worth it!

Earlier this week, CareerCast released its annual list of the most stressful careers and, once again, for the third straight year, public relations executives were among the top ten. Ranked at number seven, PR professionals are still considered to endure quite a bit of stress on a daily basis, but, the good news is, this is a substantial improvement from the 2011 ranking of number two, but not as “stress-free” as its 2010 ranking of number eight.

The criteria CareerCast used to establish these rankings are listed below:

Travel
Growth Potential (income divided by 100)
Deadlines
Working in the public eye
Competitiveness
Physical demands
Environmental conditions
Hazards encountered
Own life at risk
Life of another at risk
Meeting the public

The bolded items (travel, deadlines, working in the public eye, competitiveness, and meeting the public) are all typical things associated with the role of a PR professional and apparently are indicative of high stress. According to the Career Cast evaluations for the past three years of PR executives, additional factors that keep PR pros’ stress levels high, include creating and maintaining a positive image with the public for many companies at once, giving presentations and making speeches in front of large crowds, being held accountable for highly visible and tight deadlines, work quickly and creatively to meet those deadlines, and interacting with hostile members of the media.

While the above stress factors may indeed be critical components of the day to day role of a PR exec, there are definite positive elements that come with the job that make the stress seem almost insignificant. For instance, landing a feature on the front page of the Wall Street Journal or securing a speaking slot at CES for your client comes with a true sense of accomplishment – a feeling I would imagine is hard to duplicate in other fields.

Being able to watch your efforts truly impact companies’ success as they take market share away from large, incumbent vendors or become a household name among their target audience is true validation for all the late nights and stressful deadlines. Each day brings its own share of stress and success in the world of public relations, and finding ways to strike a balance between the two keeps us all coming back for more day after day!

*Image courtesy of The Office Professional

Social Media; Where Do You Turn for News?

Meredith L. Eaton — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 22:11:27 +0000

It’s obvious that social media has become a pervasive way to gather news and information on trending topics, current events and interesting subject matter, but has it become the top source people turn to, or is it merely a supplement for more traditional news sources? Recently, TEKGROUP issued their 2011 Social Media News Survey report, which helps answer that very question.

The report shows the importance of online newsrooms to corporate communicators and the need for a comprehensive social media news strategy when targeting audiences in the social media space. The survey measured people’s acceptance, use, and attitudes of social media tools to follow, share, and post news. What’s also interesting to note is that the survey exclusively used social media tools to gather the 573 survey responses.

Some of the most interesting findings include the fact that, of those surveyed:

84% frequently or exclusively use social media tools to follow or monitor news and information
90% use Twitter and 85% use Facebook as a primary source of news and information
76% feel news gathered through social media channels is more timely than traditional news outlets
49.6% consider news from social media sources is just as accurate as traditional news sources

Taking these findings a step further and looking at some of the stats that more directly impact corporate strategies, the survey found that, of those surveyed:

75% sometimes or frequently visit a corporate website after learning of a news story through social media channels
50% look for information on search engines, but social media tools (22.2%) edged out traditional news sites (21.8%) as the second most popular way to gather news

Looking at these stats and the rising importance of social media as a way to gather news and information, it’s evident that having a presence on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook is essential as more and more people abandon traditional ways of consuming news. The ease of including links via these tools also furthers the promotion of additional information while enhancing SEO practices.

All in all, it seems if your company is not using social media tools to disseminate information, you may be missing the boat. With a proper social media strategy in place, however, creating viable social channels for sharing news and information is not only possible, but also highly beneficial in order to keep your company cutting-edge and timely in today’s world of instantaneous information sharing.

How Socially Mature is Your Company?

Meredith L. Eaton — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 04:04:25 +0000

There’s no denying that social media has become a key part of corporate strategy for businesses across almost every industry. In fact, the Content Marketing Institute’s recent study, B2B Content Marketing: 2012 Budgets, Benchmarks and Trends, found that 74 percent of B2B marketers currently use social media, and the use of almost every social media channel is set to increase in 2012 with YouTube increasing 47 percent, LinkedIn increasing 39 percent, Twitter increasing 35 percent, and Facebook increasing 30 percent. But how do you know where your company lies in terms of social media implementation and effectiveness?

Forrester Research recently put out a report that strives to answer that very question and shows the empowering capabilities of social media tools that are changing the way customers and employees communicate and collaborate. In the report, Accelerating Your Social Maturity, Forrester ranks companies’ social media maturity on a five-part scale from dormant, to testing, to coordinating, to scaling and optimizing, and, finally, to empowering the workforce – as seen in the chart below:

According to Forrester analyst Sean Corcoran, this scale represents the common stages of change that companies go through as they adopt and use social technologies for business. Sean explains that most companies are still in the testing and coordinating stages whereas those who were early adopters of social media tools are now reaching the scaling and optimization stage. Only true innovators are at the empowering stage and have reached social media maturity.

Though, admittedly, social media is still quite new for many and requires a great deal of time and effort to become mature, this scale may help companies advance their social media strategies, implementations, and effectiveness. And, while companies shouldn’t expect to jump from the early stages of testing or coordinating up to stages of optimizing or empowering overnight, there is clear investment being directed at enhancing social media tactics and, with that investment, we can expect to see more and more companies making an impact with their social media presence in 2012 and beyond.

LinkedIn for Lead Gen

Meredith L. Eaton — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 01:49:50 +0000

What’s your favorite social media tool for generating new business leads? Well, according to Pardot, LinkedIn ranked highest at 32 percent, followed by blogging at 27 percent and Twitter at 15 percent. What’s surprising is that, while it’s clear LinkedIn generates more than twice as many leads as Twitter, more companies integrate Twitter into their marketing efforts than any other social tool. Wouldn’t more companies want to incorporate the platform that helps them generate more new business opportunities? Perhaps after reading this study, more will, but perhaps it’s just a matter of learning how to best use LinkedIn.

Join Groups – LinkedIn groups helps expand your network, or communicate with people outside of your current network. You’re allowed to join up to 50 groups, so find the ones that are of interest to your target audience and get involved.

Start Discussions – Within relevant groups, it’s highly beneficial to observe what’s going on, what’s of interest and already being talked about so that you can perhaps start a new discussion of your own. Be mindful to make it interesting for all participants and not a self-serving company promotion.

Answer Questions – Answering questions lets you showcase your expertise and bring credibility to your brand. By seeking out questions that pertain to your business, you can offer helpful insight that others will really appreciate and, as a result, may want to connect or learn more about you. Similarly, asking questions is a great way to supplement this activity.

Share Content – Just like Twitter, Facebook and Google+, LinkedIn presents a great platform to disseminate your content and showcase your product, services and expertise. Providing links for people to get more information and learn about you and your company is helpful for prospects looking for a deeper dive into what you do. It’s also a helpful way to keep your status regularly updated.

Use Apps – There are a variety of free applications available on LinkedIn to help distinguish your profile or company page, including an app from Twitter that helps you follow your LinkedIn connections, an app from SlideShare that lets you post presentations and detailed content, a polling app that lets you capture data, and a blog app that lets you automatically update your LinkedIn page with your latest blog posts.

All of these LinkedIn tips have been found to be highly useful, yet highly underutilized. Incorporating some of these tactics will help enhance your personal and/or company profile for lead generation and networking. And, as LinkedIn continues to gain more users every day, enhancing your profile now will help your company stand out.

PR, Growth Amidst Lingering Financial Turmoil

Meredith L. Eaton — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:46:24 +0000

The 2008 U.S. financial crisis still feels fresh for many industries trying to rebound, but PR is one segment that has seemingly put the latest economic downturn in the past. New data from Sageworks shows that the past two years have recorded strong growth for communications companies, including public relations firms, advertising agencies and media buyers.

Just two years ago, in 2009, the industry saw a 7 percent drop in sales as companies across varying industries pulled back on their PR, advertising and marketing budgets. Quick to rebound, however, 2010 showed an average 9 percent growth and, now, as 2011 comes to a close, we see that communications services companies have breached double-digits with an 11 percent increase in sales.

Looking ahead, growth rates seem prime to increase even further, especially with several major upcoming events, including the 2012 winter Olympics in London and the 2012 U.S. presidential election, which companies across a variety of industries will be looking to capitalize on through PR initiatives. Indeed, Franchise Update’s Annual Franchise Development Report forecasts a 5 percent increase in PR spending for 2012.

With increasing numbers of digital mediums and news sources, it’s no wonder PR spending is continuing to escalate as companies strive to make their name known amidst the surge of online chatter. By leveraging innovative campaigns and targeted messaging, public relations investments can make a big difference in whether a company can rise up against competitors in its space and make a name for itself.

Modernizing Business Cards

Meredith L. Eaton — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:35:37 +0000

Everything from paperback novels and newspapers to roadmaps and phonebooks seems to have found a new home as a modern, electronic version of its former self. Yet, in our increasingly paperless world, there’s one thing that still seems archaic and hasn’t moved to an electronic form: business cards.

At conferences, trade shows and networking events, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll run out of business cards – or room in your pocket from collecting so many other cards! So, wouldn’t it be great if business cards caught up to our modern, electronic world? Well, we seem to be getting closer each day, especially with the advent of several pretty cool smartphone apps, some of which I saw being used a couple of weeks ago at Cloud Expo West.

Indeed, apps like SnapDat and beamME are starting to make business cards obsolete. With the ability to send or collect contact information and automatically input it into your smartphone, these apps are bringing a modern feel to networking. Of course, there are still certain barriers with apps that require users to have the same type of smartphone, be on the same WiFi network, or use the same app, but, overall, the foundation is in place to bring a fundamental form of communication and contact exchange into today’s paperless, modern age.

On the other side, there are also apps that will allow you to capture business card info to transfer paper cards to your mobile phonebook with one click. ABBYY Business Card Reader is one such app that uses smartphone cameras to capture information and add new contacts with pretty accurate text recognition in more than 20 different languages. This not only helps people save paper and stay environmentally conscious, but it also gets rid of the stack of cards in your pocket or purse, which I inevitably get mixed up with my hotel key card when traveling. Talk about a life saver!

Some of these apps have been around for years, but new and improved versions seem to be cropping up left and right, which will hopefully increase adoption rates and help us get rid of those rolodexes and card holders forever!

How to Survive a Tech Conference

Meredith L. Eaton — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:14:06 +0000

Last week, I attended SYS-CON’s Cloud Computing Expo in Santa Clara, California to support clients CloudSigma and Interxion. While the event was a complete success with steady crowds at the booths, quality conversations and ample product announcements, it was also four, fully exhausting days. Being on your feet all day, continually giving the same explanations and missing your regular routine can really wear you out. So, naturally, over the years, I’ve developed my “How to Survive a Tech Conference” guide. The following tips have gotten me through every conference, both large and small, from Interop to Structure, and beyond.

Find an Outlet – just like at the airport, power outlets are in high demand at trade shows and there’s nothing more important than staying connected whether via smartphone, tablet or laptop. Scout out the power outlets near your expo floor location so you can plug in when you need to. As trade show networks can get overloaded more quickly than normal, batteries often deplete that much faster, so having a power source is key. If you’re really smart and have the space, bring a power strip – your clients and other power hungry attendees will love you.
Bring a Snack – hunger is one of the leading causes of energy loss and mood deflation. In order to stay lively and look like someone people want to talk to, be sure to keep your body fueled. A banana, trail mix or even a piece of dark chocolate mid-day goes a long way, especially when you’re likely straying from your normal eating habits with meals out and a higher caloric intake.
Take a Walk – not just around the show floor for SWAG (stuff we all get), but actually outside. Fresh air, just like a snack, helps keep you fresh and energized. The recycled air within a trade show exhibition hall gets stale quickly and can feel repressive. Since trade shows are often in good destinations, take advantage of the scenery and grab a quick breath of air.
Wear Flats – if you’re a woman, believe me, your feet and back will thank you later. You may not have the height or strut you’re used to, but after standing all day, those 4” stilettos will be quickly relegated to the back of the closet. At the very least, keep the heels to 2” or less, or, better yet, pack a pair of flats in your bag for downtime or longer walks.
Weed out Looters – at every conference there seems to be a whole contingent of attendees who are just there for the SWAG. In order to avoid launching into a full-scale explanation of your company to someone who isn’t the least be interested in anything except your free giveaway, there are a few key phrases to adopt, including, “Are you interested in learning more about the company?” and “Feel free to take an information sheet and let me know if you have any questions.” This helps make the initial step towards a conversation, but puts the ball in their court in terms of level of interest, which is key when you’re having hundreds of similar conversations all day long.
Find Me Time – whether it’s just 10 minutes to change before dinner or an hour for an afternoon coffee break, it’s important to have some time to yourself. Just relaxing and taking a few deep breaths can make a big difference. It’s also important to have a few moments to catch up on emails from the office. Knowing the mound of emails to sift through when you return is a bit more manageable is always a good feeling and can help keep your mind focused on the present.
Bring Cards – business cards that is. And, once you’ve grabbed one stack, go back and grab another because people always seem to run out of business cards at events. Networking is one of the biggest components of a trade show and you don’t want to miss out on a big opportunity or introduction just because you forgot enough cards. Likewise, to keep track of other people’s business cards, there are handy smartphone apps that will help you capture all pertinent information and save paper – win-win!

These tips have helped me over the years to maintain a successful event with a bit of a sanity check from time to time. Of course, the value of a good night’s sleep can never be underestimated, and, when combined with this useful tech trade show guide, can be a life saver! What other tips would you recommend for tech conference attendees? Perhaps keeping a full bottle of water at all times or leaving enough time between meetings for a sit-down lunch? Hopefully you’ll keep whatever works for you in mind at your next big event!