On October 14th, I was lucky enough to have SteveStaedler speak to my Public Relations Tactics class. Staedler is a traditional print journalist
turned PR executive. He is currently
working as the Senior Account Executive of Public Relations for LePoidevin
Marketing, based in Brookfield, WI.
Staedler graduated from UW-Milwaukee with a degree in Mass Communication
and has used his writing expertise in previous jobs for the Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel and Community Newspapers Incorporated.
LePoidevin is a small B2B firm specializing in conveyers,
hand tools, etc. His job consists of
writing fact sheets, news releases, copy, and press kits, among other Public
Relations duties. Since LePoidevin is a
small B2B firm, Staedler does not place a strong importance on social
media. He claims it depends on the
account, but the businesses he is typically targeting are not on social media
sites like Facebook.
Instead, Staedler uses media monitoring software, like
Cision, in order to get coverage for his clients. Cision is a software system that effectively
builds a database for media contacts and media lists. This comes in handy when Staedler wants to
send out his news releases. He just
contacts Cision about the type of media he is interested in sending his story; these
are sources like newspapers, magazines, broadcast, etc. Cision is an amazing software because it
allows you to choose outlets, location, coverage and gives you an in depth
profile allowing you to contact these forms of media. It is also helpful knowing that the Cision
software includes most main media outlets and is constantly updated.
Having Staedler speak to our class was so informative! He
told us about his journey to where he is today, gave us professional advice,
and showed examples of some of the work he has done. And let me say, the work he has done is
inspiring! He has been able to come up with really creative and innovative
tools for companies like Snap-On. For
example, the “Building Tools for Life” box includes brochures and fact sheets to
educate schools on the advantages of being a part of the Snap-on Technical
Education Program.
The writing and creativity he has been able to accomplish at
his job with LePoidevin makes me very excited to graduate and finally get into
the real world of Advertising and Public Relations!
I thought it was interesting to hear from a B2B perspective that social media isn't one of their top tactics, and they use more traditional means of getting their information to the public and other businesses.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that Steve Staedler talked about social media being less important in his position and field of Public Relations than it is in some. We always hear about the importance of social media and it is interesting that there are still some fields that require traditional methods of Public Relations.
ReplyDeleteI found it very interesting how B2B agencies work and how powerful and useful Cision is for PR people. I would like to play around with Cision one day to try and get a little more experience with it other than just what Steve had talked to us about.
ReplyDeleteI also found Steve's comments about how social media isn't one of his primary tools to be very interesting. I wonder if B2B public relations is a bit behind of other types of PR, or if social media will never really prove to be as helpful for those types of businesses. That is one exciting thing about PR- it is always changing!
ReplyDeleteJust like you, I found Staedler’s presentation to be both informative and inspiring! Hearing about his progression and how he got to where he is today was especially interesting to me. Based on what Steve and other professional speakers have said, it seems that PR is the perfect field for me. It allows individuals the chance to be creative and have fun while working toward a common goal. For my future, I want a career that doesn’t get too monotonous; and from the sound of it, PR is a field that is constantly changing which is great!
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