Trish Skram, Media and Public Relations manager for Mercy Medical in Janesville, Wisconsin, came into talk to our Public Relations Tactics II class about her work in Public Relations and her personal blogging experiences. Trish is a graduate of UW-Whitewater as of 2006. She graduated with a double major in Speech and an emphasis in Public Relations and Marketing. Trish expressed her passion and love for Public Relations, Marketing, and Media Relations. She is the owner of PR Gal a brand visionary and she is a professional blogger for the Janesville Gazette.
While Trish attended UW-Whitewater she had a job at the aquatic center and through that job she learned about the internship she later received at Mercy Medical. Through the connections she made at the aquatic center she was able to land an interview and her receiving the intern position. She only had this internship throughout her college career at UW-Whitewater, but it led to a full-time post college position where she is still working today as the Media and PR manager.
While working at Mercy Medical Trish realized the importance of blogging for both work and personal experience. Trish’s blog was noticed by employees of the Janesville Gazette and they like her writing so much they asked her to blog for them. While writing the blog for the Janeville Gazette Trish also continued to blog personally about the Public Relations and Communications industry. Trish blogs to expand her network, to help better the industry and also to talk and write about what she truly loves, Public Relations. Trish said blogging helps your brand by creating connections and building rapport with customer, stakeholders and future customers, optimizes your website for improved SEO/page rank, establishes brand as experts, helps manage and control your brand, and last, but not least, allows your brand to grow at a faster and stronger rate helping you to get ahead of your competitors.
Trish uses blogging and social media daily to help her gain trust and build a relationship with her readers. She uses Facebook, Twitter, and blogging to brand herself and portray herself in a positive light. Blogging is used at Mercy Medical and the Janesville Gazette to answer questions from the readers and to generate positive feedback.
Trish gave our class a few tips and statistics about good blogging. She told us that 55% of corporations use social media to seek job applications and 58% say they are better known in their industry because of their blog. Blogging is an important part of the Public Relations industry and having a blog and other social media accounts will set you apart from the competitors that don’t have these accounts and don’t blog. Trish also gave our class 8 tips on how to build a brand with a blog:
- What do you want to get out of your blog?
- Know your competency
- Listen and learn about your audience
- Add a personal touch
- Be positive
- Encourage engagement
- Research keywords
- Be consistent
In conclusion, Trish is a passionate young woman who loves the industry. She has gotten as far as she has in the industry due to her love for blogging, social media, and media relations. Trish’s last words of advice for our class were; share your passion and knowledge, participate, and don’t be afraid. Social media is not a numbers game; its about engagement and relationships.
