Social Media

One of the most interesting things about working on a campaign is seeing how much of an influence social media has on the fund raising, publicity, etc. Social media is becoming such an important part of public relations and really any sort of networking for companies, etc. that I am glad I am getting a lot of experience. There are certain ways to effectively use social media and I am getting to know these very well from the media director on the campaign. I know that in a previous blog I have mentioned that a lot of my work is with social media for the campaign, but I am currently working on a new project. When trying to get support for a political candidate, it is important to not only ask for money but give people room to share their experiences and involvement. People respond positively when they feel like they are needed for something. I am currently trying to develop a blog on the Web site for donors and volunteers to post why they support the candidate. It is a very vital part of the Web site because it gives people a chance to share their reasons, both political and personal, for their endorsement. This is a pretty time consuming task to take on because it requires a lot of effort in contacting people and editing their blogs. Something I learned about social networking is that it is usually done by a team rather than an individual.

**this week I worked mainly on the social networking part of the campaign and helped build a support blog for the Web site. I worked 9-6 on Tuesday/Thursday.

Vacation Time.

This internship has really started to prepare me for the real world and the job I am going to have post graduation. This past week, I took Thursday off in order to go out of town for the weekend. When doing so, I had to make sure that everything was taken care of at work, all of my responsibilities were handled and that I could make up my hours at a later time. It was not the easy situation I was use to when leaving town. I had a lot to consider when taking that time off. I also had to start considering what I was going to do when I wanted to take the whole week off for spring break. Being a student, we get built in vacations. I know understand why my parents can't take off at random times during the year to go on vacation. They have a set number of days and I am starting to understand this concept. This shows me how it won't be as easy to leave town whenever I want as soon as I get a job after graduation. I am not sure how I feel about all these experiences I am having with "real life" careers. I am feeling more prepared as I learn these responsibilities, but it is also a little depressing with graduation on the horizon.

**This week I worked on Tuesday 9-6. Working on more donor lists.

Lunch Hour.

My favorite part of the work day is my lunch hour. The decision of where we go is a long drawn out debate and seems to be one of the most difficult decisions we face each day. However, it is my favorite part of the day, mostly because I really enjoy the company of who I work with. The gossip at lunch is much different than what I am use to. Going to lunch with my friends or sorority sisters, I would have ample things to talk about. However, these days I find myself absorbing more of the chatter about politics and campiagn business. What I use to chat about at lunch now seems unimportant and juvenille. It still is my favorite part of the day because even though we talk about more important things than shopping, it is a very entertaining bunch that I am quickly becoming quite fond of. When I work five days a week, this could become a money issue..

Other than lunch, I really do enjoy most of my work day. I still am getting use to waking up early and getting dressed. The drive to the city is becoming more enjoyable as I have started to view it as down time, with no work, just traffic to sit in and music to listen to.

What I have really started to get a grasp on, as far as working on a campaign, is how important the relations you have with your donors are. Fundraising is one of the most important aspects of a campaign and how you go about getting people to give you their money is an art. Something great I have been able to work on is the social network aspect of the campaign. Facebook and Twitter are increasingly popular in the business world and applying it to our campaign is very useful. We have social media consultants who help show us how to effectively use these tools to reach the right audiences. When planning an event, it is much more efficient to send out a Facebook invite than make over 100 phone calls. The idea of social networking is a big evolution for public relations fields. It is nice to get a feel for it on this campaign. Any position I pursue in PR could possibly involve a lot of social networking. Another important aspect my internship is teaching me is professionalism. You don't even think about how your day to day conversations with people, both in person and on the phone affect you, but having this position has made me very aware of it.

** Worked Tuesday and Thursday this week 9-6 pm. This week I worked more on donor forms for the campaign and also e-mails out to potential donors. More hands on PR work this week.