2021 PRSA Tampa Bay Professional Development Day: Entrepreneurial Mindset, Data & Collaboration
Posted on Sep. 9, 2021 / Subscribe 0
August 19 and 20, 2021: "Challenges, changes, and communication tactics in the evolving PR world"
Day One Recap by Shelby McKie
The first day of the PRSA Tampa Bay Professional Development Day included two solo presenters and a panel discussion. In the first session, Noelle Fox, APR, described how she left her corporate job to go solo in 2010, creating her own public relations firm, True Blue Communications. In her presentation, Noelle shared some of the pros and cons to starting your own PR firm:
Pros:
- No restrictions on how much you make or how much you charge.
- Builds your professional and entrepreneurial skills, while allowing you to stretch and grow personally.
Cons:
- Unpredictable income, and no guaranteed bonuses or benefits.
- Self-discipline is required and can come with a lot of pressure.
Noelle highlighted the importance of asking yourself several questions before starting your own journey:
- What is driving me?
- Is this a good time in my life to take this risk?
- How can I secure long-term contracts for predictable income?
- How can I leverage your current relationships?
- What is my version of success?
Fox said it took several years before she felt like she made it; it was not until she was able to take time off and have a partner on all of her long-term contracts. She maintains work-life balance by setting boundaries with her work, working from home, and taking breaks when needed.
In the second session of the day, Kelsy Long, Director of Media Relations at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, explained how this organization used public relations to drive and maintain attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As home to the famous Winter the dolphin, the aquarium was able to stay afloat through the pandemic by putting together the campaign “Our work never stops”. The campaign employed diverse tactics like inviting local media and influencers to check Winter the dolphin and other animals and 360 immersive video promo. Virtual and in-person visits for people to see Winter were scheduled, including children in hospitals interested in marine biology from all over the country that could benefit from this experience. But not every organization is lucky enough to harness such a popular story. So how can you use storytelling to drive attendance otherwise? “Human interest,” Long says, “the mission is so much deeper than the facility.” It is important that your customer is committed to your mission and not just what you offer as a facility. This will guarantee support during unexpected times like the recent COVID-19 pandemic, she said.
The final session was an internal communication discussion panel with three local professionals:
- Rachel Dakin, Assistant Vice President, Corporate Communications at AAA
- Brian West, Community Relations Manager at Publix Super Markets Inc.
- Kate Smith, Corporate Communications at Raymond James Financial
Internal communicators play a huge role in engaging with employees, which ultimately strengthens the team and allows for better output from the company.
When asked what they felt is the biggest challenge in internal communications, the professionals said:
- Meeting employees and consumers where they are.
- Operating as efficiently as possible.
- Realizing that there are many competing priorities.
The panelists also highlighted the importance of keeping employees engaged and motivated during challenging times. They emphasized the importance of driving engagement from the top down with regular team meetings, activities, and celebrations. Lastly, they shared best practices for introducing change to a team: Everything revolves around change. Employees can be set in their ways and often want to know how it will be affecting them. A lot of changes at once is challenging so be transparent. Tell employees what is going to happen and how they can help.
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