Being a student is tough. Further education isn’t just about the pain of reading countless textbooks and spending days in seclusion writing a dissertation. It is learning how to live with very little money – I mean very little. When the student loan comes through and a grant (if you are lucky enough to have one), life becomes a constant deliberation over costs. This blog post is here to say that... 

Picture this. You work for a public relations agency who has secured a new client. Your task, which you have no choice but to accept, is to provide a plan to enhance their online profile. For the sake of this blog post the client has not yet utilised social media platforms but has already got a website. Before you can offer any tactics you must have a strategy. Before you can offer a strategy you... 

Guess what? Social media isn’t new anymore. We all know how to use the tools and I still stand by my blog post from June that social media ‘experts’ are not qualified to do their role. The shift into 2012 will see more organisations seek to have their social media strategies merged into the wider marketing mix. Online communication channels have proved in 2011 to hold the integrity of a brand. Last... 

Each day I read a variety of different blogs and the three listed below are my favourites. We should all take the below authors as examples to improve our own blogging and spend time appreciating the work they produce. Perhaps follow their blogs online and leave them a comment.   Nightmare Pixel Kyle Mullan tells stories designed to provoke, push social boundaries and to enchant readers down a path... 

Public Relations by Averill Gordon 400 pages, Oxford University Press, 2011 Over the last two weeks I have been discovering the insights, case studies and featured interviews written within Averill Gordon’s first published book simply called “Public Relations” (Amazon link). Now Senior lecturer of Public Relations (PR) of AUT University but was senior lecturer and course leader at the University... 

As a small side project as part of my Public Relations course at the University of Gloucestershire it is necessary to put together a short branding guide. For this task I decided to focus on how I have gone about branding this blog over the last 3 years. If you have any questions please leave a comment below. If you would like to know how I have technically achieved any of this then I can cover... 

At Microsoft I had the opportunity to observe colleagues sell to clients and eventually it was my turn to upsell on pre-made deals. Last year I attended the Scotwork negotiation course and through a mixture of theory and practice I began to learn about how to run successful negotiations.   Be Honest When you are being sold something connotations of deception always enter my cynical mind. Negotiations... 

“Prepare for a marathon, not a sprint” – @behindthespin Guess what, @behindthespin (aka Richard) is absolutely correct. Student bloggers should be aware that starting a blog is part of a longer game. Some myths about student blogging: You will receive instant attention / online fame It will only provide a positive and rewarding experience Blogging is easy   Let’s not be pessimistic... 

This morning I took a trip to Jessica North’s blog to find her post on exam revision advice. A highly useful post and I recommend you to read it. Below is the method I generally use for exams. Exams do not Measure Intelligence Repeat this sentence over and over again, until you believe it. Some students at University are under the odd illusion that they are not intelligent and therefore they will... 

In this article I will deconstruct the art of conversation to make the best use of a one on one networking situation (ie a prearranged meeting with a professional who you wish to impress). The most important skills for any Public Relations Professional are not knowledge of social networks or how to write a media release. Instead it is understanding the art of conversion. Despite the number of online... 

Since the beginning of this year it has been necessary to remember a large volume of information within a very short period of time. Essentially the main method to deal with many pieces of information is to take a vast amount of notes, a task which can become laborious. Whilst well organised notes are effective (I use Microsoft OneNote for my note taking needs) it can slow down productivity with constant... 

Achieve a good grade at University Find a job after I graduate Quit smoking Do more exercise each week Find a girlfriend Have a book published Read more fictional books Read more factual books Buy trendier clothes Learn how to play guitar like Jeff Waters Pass my driving test Tidy up my bedroom   Relax.    Read More →