Posters & PR

One forgotten way to promote events is the simple poster.

I work for the music department on campus and my job is to promote the events going on in Presser Hall. Within the last year I have taken up designing individual posters for events and concerts for students.

I recognized that for college students there was a service needed. Most people don't know how to design a poster and include the general information that would go in a lead.

On my posters I try to include one image, a big headline and answer the big questions. Make sure before you print your poster to answer the who, what, when, where, why and sometimes how questions.


If someone sees a poster that has an interesting design they immediately are going to look at the information and how the information is presented. If the information isn't all there, then they will be left with unanswered questions.

While you want to answer the questions, keep the text limited to only what is necessary. If there is a ton of text in one spot no one will read it.

Here are a couple examples of posters that I have designed in the past. Typically I design for musical recitals or organizational events, but I like learning different styles and ways to organize information.

I would highly recommend promoting the traditional way with a poster while using modern design techniques. Make sure you budget to pay whoever you have design your poster and have a budget to print the physical posters.

Get to designing.

FYI: Broadway Tour of "Pippin"

Last Saturday I was surprised with tickets to go see the national Broadway tour of "Pippin!" My boyfriend's family got us tickets to go with them and see their favorite musical!

In high school, I was in the cast for our production of "Pippin," but I never thought I would get to see the revival tour of it! It was so much better than I ever imagined it to be.

The musical is about Pippin coming into his own and discovering something extraordinary that he can do with his life to feel fulfilled. He tries becoming the King like his father. He tries to be fulfilled by love. He tries to be fulfilled by being ordinary. He tries to be fulfilled by fire. Along the way when he was being ordinary, he fell in love with a widow and her son. He was scared to commit to an ordinary lifestyle and doubted his feelings of fulfillment. Through the end of the play, he realizes that he doesn't need something extraordinary to feel fulfilled and settles down. The widow's son then proceeds to sing the opening song that started Pippin in his cycle of longing.

The show is cute, comical, witty and has fantasy like qualities. The cycle of looking for something to fulfill them in life is relatable throughout the story.

The revival played upon the same story and music, but added some great elements to make it modern and captivating. The tour of "Pippin" utilizes ZFX flight effects and acrobatics to add different elements into the show.

I personally have been involved with working with ZFX in a previous production and can say that they are professional, safe and creative in all the work they do. The acrobatic performers were talented and made the things they were doing seem effortless.

I would highly recommend this show to anyone who likes musical theatre or live performances. The show is engaging, funny, relatable and worth your time. I am so thankful that my boyfriend's family values theatre and took me to see this performance.

Reading Reflection: Measure What Matters Intro

This week we started to read a new book. "Measure What Matters" is a textbook all about the measurement of social media and why everyone should utilize measurement techniques.

The authors do a really nice job at defining terms at the beginning. What's the difference between counting and measuring?

Counting is adding things up to get a total. Measurement is taking the totals and analyzing them to use the information to improve your practices. Improving your techniques is important because they directly affect your community of stakeholders.

Sounds familiar right? Measurement is an opportunity for organizations to get a head start in serving their key public.

If you are a communications professional and are excited about measurement then you need to be able to answer these ten questions:

1. What are your objectives?
2. What are your program’s target audience?
3. What is important to your audiences?
4. What motivates them to buy your products?
5. What are your key messages?
6. Who influences your audiences?
7. How do you distribute your product or services?
8. What are you going to do with the information you get from your research?
9. What other departments or areas will be affected?
10. What other measurement programs are currently underway?

These questions will help you gather your message to find out the best ways start a measurement process. When starting your measurements, start small. Don't go all out and take in something that is too much to handle.

Accurate data is key to both the success of your measurement and to the decision you base on it. By finding a standard definition of success or a handle on your message, you can judge your performance in the marketplace and apply measurement in the best way.

Music Simplifies

Music is an active part of what makes me unique. Coming to school at Ohio Northern has given me more opportunities to continue my passion for music. Reflecting on what some of my favorite past times are at ONU, I could not help but come back to how music has helped me grow.


Music simplifies my complex life as a student. Throughout my busy schedule and stressful days, I find relief in my time practicing and performing over in the music department. Music provides a relief from the stress of everyday life. Playing and being creative in this way allows for me to grow in another area that I love. I am so thankful that at Ohio Northern I am able to grow in the other areas that help me tell my story.

Live Tweet Event: ONU Symphony Orchestra Rehearsal

Reading Reflection Ch.6 Pinterest

This week the social media workbook discusses the use of Pinterest for professionals and personal use. Pinterest is social media platform that is image based, giving you the opportunity to pin ideas on boards. The platform essentially is a journal of images of things you want to look back on later or organize into specific categories.

Pinterest is image based and highly visual. Users create a profile that is their board of ideas. Users can pin an idea onto their board and categorize ideas in similar boards. Boards should consist of at least ten pins. Individuals and businesses have the same profiles, but they each use different strategic plans.

Pinterest is not the platform for customer service for businesses. Measurement of their boards is only applicable for business accounts, but don't forget about Google Analytics. Google Analytics are very credible and can be used to measure boards.

As a business person, you have to ask yourself what is best about this platform to best engage my audiences? What are your competitors doing on this platform? How can you apply information to your boards to best communicate with your public?

Like all other platforms we have discussed so far users have to reach out and encourage people in the real world to follow their social media platforms. Go ahead and cross promote on other social media platforms, send out emails, react with other people on boards and ask people to follow you.

This by far is my favorite platform of social media. Pinterest suggests other pins that you might like after you have categorized boards. This encourages a rhythm of checking what's new and an endless cycle of pinning. Happy pinning!

FYI: Follow Your Instinct

All of my general posts have been labeled F.Y.I. I am sure that most of you thought it meant for your information. It actually stands for follow your instinct.

When I was younger I was involved in a children's theatre where I was the lead in the musical. The musical was called "The Wind in the Willows" based off of the children's book "The Adventures of Frog and Toad." One of the memorable songs that I had to sing was about following your instinct.

That musical was a great confidence booster even if the musical was cheesy. My dad encouraged me to follow my instinct and always smile.

When I was first starting out marching with the Blue Stars he also suggested that I start a personal blog to keep my donors updated with how my experiences were. I called it Follow Your Instinct. Ever since this original blog started it has been called Follow Your Instinct.

Usually on my website I just update people what is going on in my life, but the updates are primarily about my photography. My blog title for class only seemed fitting to name it Follow Your Instinct.

There you go! I encourage you to follow your instinct. Do what makes you happy and smile through everything you encounter. Life is more fun with smile.

Follow your instinct.

FYI: Spring Break

Well that's a wrap. Classes are back to usual and my to do list is running again. Even though my spring break was spent at home in Indiana it was much needed.

I spent the week visiting with my family and meeting my new dog! I hung out with my mom and grandma during the day and in the evening we all enjoyed some time together with some great meals. My dad even cooked steak on the grill with potatoes the day my boyfriend and I came home. My favorite thing that we do on "spring break" is to just sit around the house and talk about anything and everything. The new pup, Duchess has made for us all to take walks. Conversation with my family is always the best.

One great thing about having siblings is that they always push you,literally and figuratively. We all went to the gym every single day for about an hour. I got some really great workouts in. At school working out is way more difficult. Finding time to workout is really tricky. Today even I realized how much I enjoyed working out when they were there.

My brother and I also worked on some set pieces for his upcoming high school musical. We made rolling flat walls. They are double walls on wheels so that when a scene change happens you can turn them around to reveal a second scenery. My family is really big into theatre so this project with my brother was a great chance to catch up.

I got to spend a day out of Rensselaer and just shop with my mom and grandma. For us that means going to Hobby Lobby and picking out craft projects or new notebooks, but I love it. We also all got a new blouse and I got a new dress. Spending time with them is always an adventure. I wouldn't trade our adventures for anything.

Spring break was way too quick, but the time off has made me look forward to coming home for Easter in a month so much more. I wonder what we will do this year? Regardless, I will hear of the crazy adventures of when my family takes their spring break in a week.

I hope you all had a great spring break. Push hard to the end of the semester.

FYI: Our New Pup

For those of you that were curious about the pups, we adopted Duchess!

Meet Duchess! She is four years old. She is kind of shy, but a very sweet, loving little Basset. She does best with another dog and people around. We will be looking in the future to get a pup or another girl so that Duchess can have a friend to play with.

In a previous post I mentioned that it was important for adoption agencies to have good social media. The Sunrise Center utilized social media to post about dogs and contact potential forever homes. That's how they got in contact with us!

Sunrise Center visited my home in Indiana a couple weeks before spring break. The visit was to make sure that the potential dogs would fit well with our family and our home.  The last thing our family wants is to put a dog in a place where they didn't belong or have them not fit with our family.

One night my family called me into our "family meeting." I was a part of a video call where I got to see the reactions of my younger siblings find out we were getting not one, but two dogs should this meeting go well. All night I received texts and pictures of how excited everyone was.

Friday, the pups made the trip from Illinois where my family waited to meet them and see if they would be a good fit.  Both Duchess and Baxter got to hang out with my family and the foster parent got to see if we would be a good fit. Both dogs worked well in our home and with the family members, but we decided to adopt Duchess.  Having Baxter would have been fun to, but we didn't want to train him not to breed with Duchess.

My family has waited a long time to take in another dog. It's a huge decision financially and a big family one. My siblings and I have annoyed our parents so long to finally have a dog again. So far Duchess has adjusted well to the family. She is loving the attention and her forever home with us.

Coming home over spring break and talking to my family, we all have come to the consensus that we really missed having a dog around. Hopefully she will be healthier, happy and continued to be loved by a family crazy about Basset hounds for years to come. Welcome home, Duchess.

How to Create a Snapchat Account and Watch the News

Snapchat is an app available for all smart mobile devices. First you will need a Snapchat account. I will explaining how to create a Snapchat account for iPhone users.

1. Launch app store
2. Search Snapchat and download. It's free! 
3. Once it is downloaded, tap the app icon. 
4. Tap the Signup button. 
5. Type in your email address that the account will be assigned to. 
6. Type in the phone number of the phone you are associating the account with. 
7. Type in your birthday. By signing up you agree to Snapchat's terms and services.
8. Create a username that has not already been taken. This might be the hard part. 
9. It will ask you to verify your phone number. That is where the account will work. Don't put in a phone number that is not yours. 
10. Snapchat will send you a verification code via text message or through a call to the number you just verified. 
11. Once you receive or listen to the verification code enter it on Snapchat. 
12. Press continue
13. Add friends and learn how to use Snapchat. 

Snapchat has lots of cool features to engage more outside audiences. Snapchat used to be only interactive between individuals. Within the past couple of years they have introduced several features that are more interactive with all users.  Now you can use geofilters to specify where you are at with an artistic element and you can contribute to interactive stories that show up for all users. 

Businesses and media companies now can use snapchat to feature stories and articles from their business. All you have to do is click the three dot, button in the bottom right hand corner. This will take you to where you can watch your friend's stories. Below your friend's stories will be a featured story section. Click on a story to watch it or swipe to view in carousel form. 

This gives viewers another way to keep up with what is current. Companies are even starting to looking at ways to promote their business and find employers through this modern platform of social media. 

In the past weeks we have discussed more "traditional" mediums of social media, but Snapchat is the new platform to watch out for. There are ways that it can be effective for organizations and information sharing. I would not be surprised to see studies and academic research be done on Snapchat in the near future. 

Happy snapping! 

Reading Reflection: Ch. 4 Twitter

The Social Media Workbook's chapter this week was all about Twitter. Personally, I use my Twitter to check on news and see what my friends are talking about. I don't tweet that much. Twitter can either be a huge marketing tool or a huge waste of time based on what the authors talk about in this chapter. Personally it is a waste of time, but after reading this chapter I see how it could be effective for a business or organization.

The basics:

• Twitter is a microblogging platform. There are 140 characters allowed per post. 
• Tweets are often just headliners for a post. 
• You can favorite a tweet, respond to tweet, mention other users using their handle and use hashtags.
• Twitter is customizable in your bio, profile picture, pinned tweet and header images. 

Twitter is the most open form of social media. This can be great, but anyone can set up an account. Anyone can listen in. Anyone can talk to anyone. This makes Twitter the most nosiest platform on social media. 

The authors have some key advice when trying to engage your audiences as an organization. You should stay on top of what the current trends are. Consider having insider or loyalty programs. Will you be posting coupons or bargains? Have on-going discussions with people who follow you. Activate news alerts so that you can keep track of who is talking about you! Know your content and what your audience wants. Utilizing the 80/20 rule and posting 80 percent of fun things and 20 percent of promotional things is key to keeping people engaged. Use the real-world as your promotional strategy to get people talking about you on social media. Twitter isn't for every business or company so think about whether your audience can benefit from this platform. 

Regardless of what platform you are using, social media is about interactivity. Evaluate what your audience wants and needs to hear from you and how that aligns with your business plan or mission statement. Twitter isn't for every business or company so think about whether your audience can benefit from this platform. How can you use Twitter to the best of your ability to connect with your audience and keep them engaged for the future?