By Giuseppina Chiaramonte
The Hoffman Agency, San Jose
It’s a new year which – for many people – means a fresh start. Time to hit the gym, quit smoking and book that trip we’ve been planning for forever.
These goals are all well and good, but we, as PR professionals, should take the new year as our cue to revisit professional goals.
Will this be the year we finally “get” native advertising? Will we resolve to take more risks with our pitching and storytelling? Will we finally swear off those stale news releases in favor of BuzzFeed Community posts (complete with animated GIFs)?
Heck yes!
Partially inspired by our CEO’s post on New Year’s resolutions for his storytelling blog, I’ve conducted a quick poll among Hoffmanites to gauge their professional aspirations for 2014. Here’s what they had to say:
“My professional resolution is to take more risks and get creative with the road less traveled. Continuing to do things the ‘old’ way doesn’t always work when everything is evolving.” – Jacqueline Velasco, Account Manager “Stay up-to-date in current and trending news outside of the industries we serve (tech). Because you never know where PR inspiration will come from.” – Erin Hartwig, Account Coordinator “Try to cut down on my coffee intake, even though I believe it’s the fuel that keeps us PR folks going. And more professionally, look for opportunities to learn new skills and strengthen the ones I already have” – Sara Staffaroni, Account Executive “When it comes to breaking news stories, make sure to do my own research before accepting all the ‘facts’ that are put out there.” – Jacqueline Meyler, Account Coordinator “Read ‘This is How You Pitch’ and at least one other book to spark my analytical thinking and promote new understandings of public relations.” – Michelle Favalora, Account Coordinator “Get more involved in industry associations such as PRSA so that I can become an active voice in determining where the public relations industry is heading” – Julie Sugishita, Senior Account Executive
What’s my PR resolution?
To become more active on social media and be unafraid to put myself “out there.” That means sharing articles and opinions, posting tweets and starting [intelligent] conversations.
What’s your resolution? Let us know in the comments.
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