Join us tonight for our first ever Halloween celebration!

Welcome Fall 2019!

As we ease into the new school year we want to remind you about what Black and Red Public Relations is all about: an on campus club that offers a fresh perspective in promoting and building connections through market research, social media, event planning and promotion. Join us every Wednesday at 6 pm in 110 Holmes Hall to work with our current clients Finance for the Community and the Student Veterans Organization as well as to learn more about public relations!

Study Break!

We here at Black and Red Public Relations know how hard finals can be, so we’ve compiled a quick list of some events and other fun things to do so you don’t get too stressed about finals:

 

1. RSA’s Destress Event
   1. What: Fun activities and stations with various arts and crafts, food, photo ops, and more
   2. When: 11/30, 6-8pm
   3. Where: Curry Indoor Quad
   4. How Much: Free!
   5. More Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1976767229277587/
2. Frog Pond Skating Spectacular and Tree Lighting
   1. What: Free Figure Skating show, tree lighting, and open skate
   2. When: 11/30, 5-6pm
   3. Where: Frog Pond in the Boston Commons
   4. How Much: Free for the show and tree lighting, $6 skating fee, $12 for skates
   5. More Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/187966608432291/
3. Blaze Fundraiser with Kappa Phi Lambda
   1. What: Grab some pizza while helping to raise money for Kappa Phi Lambda, just show their flyer on your phone
   2. When: 12/1, 11am-10pm
   3. Where: Blaze Pizza
   4. How Much: Varies depending on pizza
   5. More Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/959244644224117/
4. NU Stage’s Heathers the Musical
   1. What: 2017 Fall Mainstage Musical
   2. When: 12/1-12/2
   3. Where: Blackman Auditorium
   4. How Much: $10
   5. More Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1001286820011448/?active_tab=about
5. Dance 4 Me 2017
   1. What: An annual dance competition featuring the following student groups: UTSAV, RSA, VSA, Barkada, ASU, NASO, KPL, and PDPsi  
   2. When: 11/3, 6-8pm
   3. Where: Blackman Auditorium
   4. How Much: $8, proceeds will go to Americares Puerto Rico hurricane relief.
   5. More Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/2033131646923378/
6. NU & Improv’d Presents: It’s Breezy, Fellas
   1. What: An improv comedy performance honoring one of Nu & Improv’d’s graduating members
   2. When: 11/6, 8-9:30pm
   3. Where: AfterHours
   4. How Much: Free
   5. More Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/149649619095902/
7. Treble on Huntington Presents: Throwbacappella!
   1. What: An a capella concert featuring Berklee’s Upper Structure, Distilled Harmony, Uproar, and, of course, Treble on Huntington
   2. When: 12/8, 8-10pm
   3. Where: AfterHours
   4. How Much: Free
   5. More Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/134387610607660/
8. Boston Winter
   1. What: A holiday festival with varied local and international vendors, as well as skating
   2. When: 12/1-1/14
   3. Where: Boston CIty Hall Plaza
   4. How Much: Free, but you’ll probably spend money
   5. More Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1905025036193407/
9. Midnight Breakfast
   1. What: Late night breakfast with special giveaways
   2. When: 12/12/, 10pm-12am
   3. Where: Stetson East
   4. How Much: A Mealswipe
   5. More Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1500242376738123/ 
10. Hall Council Events: Ask your RA about your complex’s very own hall council events to help destress before finals

 

Best of luck studying!

Email Etiquette

Public Relations is all about communication, which is why those who intend to pursue PR careers study and take an in-depth look at people’s behavior and interactions with others. In the growing age of technology, we still engage in the same behavior and interactions, just in different ways. Email is one of the main forms of communication that has proven to be trustworthy overtime.

 

An email is a classic way to introduce an individual to a reporter, potential employer, brand ambassador, or onboarding client. Many take a step further by calling or meeting in person after initial contact. For now, review these tips and tricks to ensure your emails are successful and professional:

 

• Be friendly: When opening or closing an email, it takes an extra few seconds to type “I hope you’re doing well!” or “Enjoy your weekend!”. These brief statements are an easy way to leave the reader in a more amicable mood. “Please” and “thank you” are also valuable assets, but don’t overdo it. Even in thank-you notes, don’t use the phrase “thank you” more than twice. Once at the beginning and once at the end is enough.
• Be transparent: In the subject line and email, be clear about what you are emailing about. This makes it easier on both parties, so no one has to wade through inarticulate language or send more emails back and forth to clarify. Especially when sending pitches, subjects lines and emails need to be coherent and consistent to save time and to develop the relationship between you and the client (which hopefully ends with your pitch used as a press release).
• Be succinct: PR is typically time sensitive and, chances are, if you have a pitch, there are a plethora of competing pitches already sitting in your recipient’s inbox. Don’t drag out your emails; a few short paragraphs will typically suffice. People will appreciate your brevity, so long as you hit all the points you need to cover. Quality over quantity every time!
• Use the right signoff: Did you just say “thank you”? Then don’t sign off with “thanks”. “Best”, “sincerely”, or sometimes just your name can work just as well. If you’re sending a more casual email to coworkers about an upcoming event, feel free to be more casual and go with a hearty “cheers”. Read your audience, and understand boundaries.
• Include your signature: A default signature is a great way to cut down on your email content, and eliminates the need to write out your phone number out every time there is a follow-up email. A signature with your position, company, phone number, and even a link to your LinkedIn profile are great resources for other individuals. It also adds that extra bit of professionalism and ethos to your email.
• Check your spelling and grammar: Use spell check, read your email out loud and use outside apps to check your writing. With so many options to check your work, it’s easy to take a minute to ensure your work is correct. Another thing to look out for: how often you use exclamation points. Unless you just accepted a job offer (and sometimes even then), limit your exclamation points to sentences that really need that extra boost.
• Check your attachments: Yes, naturally check your spelling and grammar, but also check your attachments. Are they confidential? Is your sender correct? Does the hyperlink work? Many companies have switched over to using cloud backups, and now send important files by way of Dropbox to ensure user privacy. This way, the links can be timed, and access can be revoked at any time.
• Put the sender in last: By typing in your recipient after you type the email, you can avoid accidentally sending your message before it is finished. However, even if you do, Google has up to a 30 second “undo send” option in its settings. For those using templates through HubSpot or similar software, that require you to input a sender before constructing the email, consider putting in your own email. This way, even if the email is prematurely sent , it won’t do any harm.
• Follow-up: Speaking of HubSpot, many tech services offer tracking and monitoring for emails sent and opened. This is helpful when constructing follow-up emails, as it allows you to tailor the email to the amount of information the recipients need. And, if the recipient gets back to you, make sure to respond as soon as possible, typically within 24 hours.

 

Emails can be annoying to send, but they are crucial when initiating potential relationships and have the ability to reach a large audience with just a few clicks. Knowing how to confidently and successfully send a professional email will help make your life easier in the long run, especially for students going on co-op.

As Seen On Instagram

A picture is worth a thousand words. Cliche, but words to live by for the real estate world. Home buyers and renters alike typically visit many places before deciding where to live. Much of the decision process is based on aesthetics: from cleanliness and style to color and the exterior architecture.

And the rate at which we take in these staged first impressions is becoming a much more rapid vortex, with the often fabricated descriptions an attempt to draw a larger audience. With the ever present millennials who all want a home but can’t afford them, it’s no wonder Instagram has gained popularity as a marketing platform, especially in the residential real estate sector.

An Instagram “like” translates into an important key to your information: valuable intelligence on your consumer base, real-time data on what content is popular, customer engagement, and, eventually, sales. On Instagram, followers are synonymous with brand loyalty, whereas “likes” represent content approval, and comments a snapshot of customer engagement.

Instagram’s features make it easy for businesses to be involved on what is considered a more casual and fun social networking app through accessible customer awareness and interaction. Hashtags, mentions, tags, locations and comments allow for efficient quantitative data on how to attract new individuals and gain a following.

Users can search hashtags, which pull up photos with captions including said hashtag. They then show up in lists according to “most recent” and “most liked”, allowing the user to quickly see what is timely and relevant for them. Just as easily, the company can search hashtags to find competitors. Mentions, tags, and location allow customers to gain a shoutout on your account, or vice versa. Clicking on a location immediately brings you to a page filled with other posts from the same location.

Gaining features on other accounts, direct messaging, and contests serve as other sources of communication. Niche or popular accounts create a valuable opportunity to showcase your brand or building, and through this usually free promotion, see other types of accounts and their success through past posts. Direct messaging boasts an easy method for current and potential customers to immediately get in contact, and contests can encourage followers to promote your company on their own account. With a low opportunity cost, winners can receive some small form of compensation, while the company has now received free PR and content to then use later.

Real estate is an extremely visual field that, by replicating the intimate feeling of a potential home through a screen, provides an economically beneficial marketing opportunity. Print ads have a shorter reach, even if it is an effective tactic, but it has a steep price. By turning online media into an essential form of promotion, a larger market can be accumulated, transforming “likes” into deals, and those carefully selected deals into lasting residencies.

 

Ad Placement in the New Internet

Advertisements may seem like an irritant, but they are (unsurprisingly) imperative to the companies that utilize them. Advertisements are tailored to different demographics of consumers in an attempt to ensnare their target market. This can entail language used, both the terminology and the dialect, as well as content and the location of the ad.

 

Recently, advertisement placement has been the topic of controversy. Google’s algorithm — one of the key factors to the rise of Google — tracks user clicks and web pages visited. The data collected allows the algorithm to place advertisements on sites that the user has previously visited. However, this method affects more than just the consumer; some companies do not want their advertisements to be featured on websites with certain content. Some of the content in question includes hate speech, racial and anti-Semitic sentiment, or heavily-slanted political commentary.

 

Because the algorithm does not yet possess the flexibility to exclude websites based on content when determining ad placement, many major companies that use the service have backed out, including AT&T and Verizon. YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, faces a similar problem, and advertisers are pulling out their business due to their ads shown before or during controversial or discriminatory videos.

 

There will not be a quick fix for this issue. Flagging problematic words might be easy enough, but subtext, connotations, and statements can create derogatory messages without using the contentious words. Additionally, flagging words can arguably interfere with free speech and deny some websites access to a larger audience base through Google’s services due to improper characterization of content.

 

The larger issue at hand comes from the recent repeal of online privacy measures. While any given individual never had much privacy to begin with, the Federal Communication Commission’s rules created protections against reporting an individual’s information to companies without their permission. The absence of these rules provides an advantageous opportunity for companies to access the spread of information, as well as create and use more specifically targeted ads. Businesses looking to more accurately target potential customers benefit from the change. On the other hand, it creates increasingly transparent channels for the distribution of consumer information. The security measures that used to monitor the flow of information to companies is now almost non-existent.

 

As individuals and consumers, what can we do? For the most part, be aware that advertisements are targeted at you, and do not necessarily approve of the content of the website they appear on. To create a little more privacy online, a virtual private network can be obtained.

 

As always, make sure to share this post! For more articles and updates, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and WordPress!

Can’t Catch ‘Em All

Copyright law can be tricky to follow, especially with large fan bases of popular entertainment companies. Nintendo recently had to address copyright infringement with it’s Pokemon franchise. A few fans of the game created their own spinoff game featuring new Pokemon they invented. But they also included already existing Pokemon. Due to its widespread popularity and free distribution, it quickly became an issue not just legally, but socially as well. Nintendo, in these situations, is very unlikely to receive monetary compensation from filing a lawsuit, but it serves to help control the fan made and widely spread games, and Pokemon’s branding. Typically, though, large companies perceive fanart to be a positive, and free, way to promote their product. In this case, it was on too large of a scale, with just too much similarity to be ignored.

To read a bit more about the case, click here. To learn about the evolution of the copyright law, and how Mickey Mouse affected it, click here.

As always, make sure to share this article if you liked it, and follow us on WordPress, Twitter and Facebook!

Stealing Snapchat and Other Tech News

Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat,  announced that their IPO occurred this past Wednesday, March 1st with a positive response.  While Snap Inc. may appear to be taking the world by storm with its filters and geotags, this IPO is important to determine the path of growth the company can take, as it allows for a one time influx of income. A successful IPO means technology improvements, leading to not only a better app, but better products as the company expands. In addition, this is one more way to secure their spot in the market, but one company may be stealing the spotlight, and the stories.

Facebook has recently introduced Instagram Stories, which also feature 24 hour posts, filters, text, and now Boomerang, a feature that shows few frames of a video playing and rewinding on a loop. The international social media giant has also introduced “Status”, a feature similar to Stories, on Whatsapp. Whatsapp is a free messenger service owned by Facebook and widely used by student-aged demographics all over the world, particularly with individuals who have international relations. This new feature shares strong similarities Instagram and Snapchat stories; pictures, videos, and GIFS can be sent, only to disappear after 24 hours. However, like the rest of Whatsapp, the Status feature is also encrypted.

For Snapchat, a strong company with a comparable product means that competition will be fierce on an international level,  while Snapchat is still only starting to penetrate countries outside of the United States. Facebook is reported to have approximately 1.86 billion monthly users, with only a mere 167 million being from the US and Canada, as compared to Snap Inc’s 301 million users monthly, of which 68 million are from North America. Instagram and Whatsapp already have large user bases that actively follow social media influencers- negating the need for another, comparable service.

The rapid pace of growth and innovation at companies like Facebook make investing in Snapchat a potentially high-risk investment. Recent news reports that the stocks available are Class A and are worth $17 a share; these would be available to investors, but those who own Class A stock have limited power in corporate decisions. It is likely that stockholders who are worried will have no direct say in the company, which can make the stock a less appealing purchase for those interested in investing in the self-titled camera company.

The sale of these stocks is crucial, as Snap Inc. needs the revenue for contracts with major companies such as Google and Amazon. Facebook’s recent influx of features on their different platforms emphasize its influence over the social media industry. Yet, Snap Inc. is confident in its ability to perform, especially as it is valued higher than many of the social media giants when they released their IPOs. Currently, Snap Inc.’s stock is soaring at $27.09 a share at the close of Friday. When the stock market closed on Monday, stock was $23.77 a share. 

To follow Snap Inc. and check how their IPO is faring, their ticker symbol is SNAP and is traded on the NYSE. Spread the news and share this article or follow us on our WordPress, Facebook, and Twitter!

On Fire to Hire… YOU!

Looking to flex your PR skills at a startup and gain experience working for a growing company? Be sure to check out the On Fire to Hire Startup Expo on Monday Feb. 27!

On Fire to Hire is a Northeastern-only event for alumni, undergraduate and graduate students looking for internships, Fall 2017 co-op positions, and full-time jobs. It will take place in the Curry Student Center Ballroom starting at 5:30pm for undergrad students and alumni and 6:30pm for graduate students. Pre-registration is recommended but not required. For a full list of the startups participating this year, click here. Hope to see you there!

Building your Personal Brand

In today’s competitive job market, it’s important to stand out from the crowd. Gone are the times of walking up to a brick-and-mortar business and handing them your resume in person—today, first impressions are often made long before you meet with a recruiter or manager in person. Building your personal brand online is one way college students (and job-seekers of any age) can make themselves known and work towards snagging the job of their dreams. Here are five tips to developing a strong, unique personal brand:

 

• Be authentic.

 

When you’re job-hunting, it’s important to show your true colors. Potential employers want to know about you and the type of energy you might bring to the workplace—and it can turn employers away when your posts don’t seem genuine. Be sure that your posts reflect who you truly are, and work on developing a style of posting online that is lively and engaging.

 

• Be consistent.

 

 

While it’s not necessary for your social media presence to be as tailored as a public figure’s, be aware that everything you post ties into the overall image you present online and try to make your posts consistent with your personal character. Career-focused social media channels, such as LinkedIn, provide an additional opportunity for you to nurture your professional personality, especially if you have your heart set on a specific position or industry. For example, when listing the roles and responsibilities of your previous positions, highlight those that are most applicable to the job you’re hoping to get.

 

• Keep it clean.

 

While your friends might appreciate your drunken snapchats from last weekend’s party, employers might not feel the same way. Think about what you’re about to post and ask yourself if you would want your grandmother, little brother, or high school principal seeing it. If the answer is no, it’s probably something that should stay private. Make sure your privacy settings are up to date as well, so only those who you approve can see what you post.  

 

• Use your social media presence to highlight unique, non-work talents and interests.

 

Do you speak fluent Mandarin? Play the trombone? Backcountry ski? Knit sweaters for puppies? There’s no better place to showcase these talents than your online brand. Although employers are looking to see your work experience first and foremost, showcasing evidence of a talent that’s unique and interesting may catch the eye of a recruiter. If anything, it’s an interesting conversation starter for networking events!

 

• Publish work and projects relevant to your career goals.

 

For example, if you’d like to get into graphic design, it’s a good idea to build an online portfolio to show off your work. You can also publish writing samples, case studies, and other projects that you’ve worked on that can help you show your experience to employers! If you’re searching for good, simple websites to host your online portfolio, Squarespace, Wix and Webs all offer easy-to-use templates to help you get started (don’t worry, no coding is necessary!).

Personal branding isn’t just a marketing tactic for large corporations; anyone in any career or academic field can start working on their personal brand and take their online presence to new heights. Don’t forget to join BRPR on Wednesdays at 7 PM to discuss useful branding and marketing skills that anyone can put into action!