Monday, April 16, 2012

SWFL Supports Every Member Campaign


There is still time to make your donation to the Florida Public Relations Education Foundation (FPREF). Every donation large or small will help FPREF reach its $25,000 goal through the "Every Member Campaign" to help support programs like scholarship funds for college students, Annual Conference scholarships for its professional members and to support the APR program.

Please consider joining the Southwest Florida Chapter and help support the professional development of professional members and students by making a contribution. The Southwest Florida Chapter Board has voted to match funds donated by our Chapter members up to $300.
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Student Networking Event


The Southwest Florida Chapter will join the FGCU student chapter in a special networking event on Thursday, April 19 from 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m at Florida Gulf Coast University, Ben Hill Griffin Room 109. Join us as our professionals present a panel discussion for students and mix and mingle with potential interns. For more information contact Phyllis Ershowsky at phyllis@pkecreative.com.  
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Media Breakfast Coming Up!


Thursday, June 21st
8:00 to 10:00 a.m.
Holiday Inn Fort Myers Airport at Town Center.

At the Media Breakfast, gather to hear directly from print, broadcast and online media practitioners. The following panel of media experts will share industry insights based on their diverse perspectives and experiences, offer tips for effective media relations and respond to questions from the audience:
• Phil Borchmann, Gulfshore Business
• Steve McQuilken, The News-Press Media Group
• Penny Moore, Naples Daily News
• Darrel Lieze-Adams, Waterman Broadcasting

FPRA’s Media Breakfast is open to the public! Registration at www.fpraswfl.org is $40 for FPRA members and $50 for guests.

Sponsorships are still available starting at $150! Contact Tiffany Esposito at Tiffany@BonitaSpringsChamber.com or (239) 992-2943 for more information.
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Our Professional Network is Growing With Your Help!


By Jessica Clarke
jessicaclark@shellpoint.org

We have had a great group of new members join FPRA in recent months, and I hope that this trend continues.  Most of you have been members for a few years now, and know the value a membership in FPRA has to offer.  Southwest Florida is such a large area, and I know there are many more amazing professionals that may not know how beneficial a membership to FPRA is.  If you know of someone who would enjoy being a member and find great value in membership, then invite them to a meeting or special event to see what we are all about.  We have quite a few great events lined up in the next few months. 

I want to welcome those members who have joined FPRA within the last year, and hope that if you see any of these members at future events, get to know them!  I know that they have as much to offer our organization as FPRA has to offer them. 
·         Patricia “Trish” Acquafredda, Trace America
·         Craig Bamberg, Allen Systems Group/ASG Software Solutions
·         Jessica Boles, Charlotte Behavioral Health Care
·         Pete Cento, The Cento Group, Atlantis Photography & Design
·         Crissy Fabian, Investors’’ Security Trust Company
·         Alex Fernandez, Pushing the Envelope, Inc.
·         Ed Fox, Fox Electronics
·         Mike Jackson, Jackson PR
·         Sarah Nadal, Shell Point Retirement Community
·         Kimberly Royal, Riverchase Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery
·         Laura Ruzicho, Edward Jones
·         Patrice Shields, Center for the Arts of Bonita Springs
·         David Simmons, PR Graduate
·         Hallie Visaggio, Visaggio Community Consulting, LLC
·         Kacey Weaver; Priority Marketing

For those still considering memberships, we still have a few partial scholarships available to help them take that next step.  If you know someone interested in a membership scholarship, please have them send two to three paragraphs to Jessica Clark, APR outlining their financial need, involvement in chapter activities, their commitment to professional development and how their participating in FPRA will benefit the chapter and their professional career. 

If you have questions about membership or renewals, you can contact the president-elect and membership chair, Jessica Clark, APR at (239) 454-2071 or jessicaclark@shellpoint.org. 
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Social Media Corner: YouTube


Social media is about engagement and one of the easiest ways to engage a visitor to your website, Facebook page or other social platform is through visuals and/or videos. This month, we're going to talk about YouTube



By Samantha Scott, APR
samantha@getpushing.com

Officially the second largest or most frequently used search engine, YouTube is used by millions of people every day around the world. The premise is simple - create a video about yourself, your life, your business or anything you want and you can share it with the world by posting it on YouTube. Businesses can take advantage of this by promoting their brand, providing useful how-to demonstrations and more.

It's also another opportunity for branding. Users can create custom backgrounds, user icons and usernames "owning" the space for their company. YouTube isn't one demential either. You can embed YouTube videos into websites, share them on Facebook pages, share links to the video on Twitter, in emails and LinkedIn.

An alternative use would be for internal, company videos. For example, employee training videos could be loaded privately on YouTube with the URL given only to intended viewers. It works as an FTP and video player in one, in that capacity. 

Measurement is also a key asset of YouTube. Their analytics recently upgraded after being purchased by Google. Only visible to the channel owner, the data YouTube provides allows users to determine how the visitor found the video or your channel (via keywords) and how much of the video they watched. Did you have a 3 minute video where users we're clicking away after a minute? You may want to consider changing the format. It can also indicate which video of all those shared is the most popular.

The bottom line is, YouTube can be a very effective communication channel. It should be used to make your business become a value-added resource by sharing knowledge and to position yourself/your company as an expert of someone/a company to rely on.

Resources:
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