Avoiding "ghost town" in media, views from the edge

 

@rcrissinger of @bumbershootPR "dropped in" Friday

@Okieprof

"Welcome to ghost town," said Rob Crissinger, UCO alum and vice president of BumbershootPR.
He was speaking to my Twitter for Media class on a return engagement, about what happens to your image and contacts if you don't tweet valuable content consistently.
I think he was talking to me, because I tweet seldom, usually when I'm teaching this class twice a year.
But the class, #clarkclass, has taken on a life of its own, and now in its eighth session, attracts alums using it consistently.
Crissinger was a non-traditional student, to say the least, but he's taken his varied interests, humor,  and found his perfect job, doing public relations and more for entertainment types in Oklahoma City for @BumbershootPR, an edgy, energetic "boutique" agency that breaks rules and builds success, not ghost towns.
And he seems to know everybody. @rcrissinger can rattle off 50 names, all with @ in front of them who you should follow if you want to stay in contact with as you move into communications positions after graduation.

@rcrissinger in #clarkclass

If you want more of his comments, tweeted by my students during his session, go to twitter and #clarkclass, and scroll down till you see them.
Yet for all the emphasis on digital media from Crissinger, he sees it as a tool for making connections as humans. His advice is always practical.
His advice on getting a job: "Go to things, take your phone and photos and hashtag it, so they get to know you."
I especially liked his comments on news releases: "News releases are not dead. Done  right, they're magic." "Learn to write." He relies on traditional media empowered by social media. 
Here are the student debriefing comments, recorded by @AshleyNapier21.

@rcrissinger debrief

• Don’t follow everyone who follows you, especially if you don’t care for them
• The easiest way to get a job is to go to things, it helps get your name out there
• Bring yourself out in your tweets, make them personal
• If someone gives you a shout-out, recognize that
• Don’t show your strategy
• If you are not constantly active on social media, you’ll lose your recognition
• Tweet a lot, but don’t tweet the same thing over and over
• Consistency is important
• Be subtle, especially if you are trying to network
• Reading is very important
• To tweet a lot or not to tweet a lot? People from different fields view it differently
• People can get recognized just by showing up
• Know something about the person who you are wanting to network with
• 80% personal tweets/20% business tweets- important rule to remember
• Even if you don’t want a job in PR, show up to PR events, you’ll get noticed
• He uses his social media to build people up
• He doesn’t appear to be an introvert
• Be interested and love what you are doing
• Keep people guessing
• He loves his job so much and is very passionate about it
• Bio’s start conversations
• He puts a lot of emphasis on writing news releases
• He uses traditional media and empowers it with social media to spread it around

@JillCastilla's list of people to follow on twitter

@okieprof

I asked #clarkclass speaker Jill Castilla, president and CEO of Citizens Bank in Edmond, to send us a list of people she follows in twitter and recommends. 
This follows the example of a list by Rob Crissinger. As we explore the uses and changing perspectives  of twitter, these contacts are valuable resources for business people and my students. 

• @BeckyMcCray -- Blogger, expert on small biz; small biz owner from Oklahoma
•  @ABWashBureau -- Rob Blackwell, American Banker’s Washington Bureau chief, novelist
•  @WAFTIShow -- Possibly the greatest podcast in the Metro
• @EdmondActive -- Great information about all happenings in Edmond
• @GinaMCampbell -- Local social media expert, @okcsocial President
•  @okcsocial -- OKC’s club for social media managers
•  @KochComm -- Local PR firm with great local #hashouts on various topics
•  @AmyJoMartin -- Her book, Renegades Write the Rules, is a must read for all things social and PR
•  @ElwellEats -- Greg Elwell, @okgazette, is the guy to follow for your inner foodie – as an added bonus, he’s super funny!
•  @DowntownEdmond -- Great account that features everything that’s happening in our little suburban “urban core”
•  @briOKC -- Brianna Bailey, Oklahoman journalist that covers business like no other.
• @Mecoy -- Don Mecoy, you’ll find local business breaking news on his account before you see it anywhere else. Don actively monitors twitter feeds for stories – one of the best!
•  @heardonhurd -- Best music festival in Oklahoma!
• @grahamcolton -- Singer/Songwriter from Oklahoma and co-founder of Fanswell, music promotion
• @annj_chen -- Marketing officer @citizensedmond 
• @citizensedmond -- Best bank ever!

From an "F" to the top of #clarkclass with twitter

 
 @okieprof

@rcrissinger talking to my students on the stairs

My students' eyes got wide when Rob Crissinger @rcrissinger  told them today that I'd flunked one of his writing assignments (He went on to ace the course). That was 2004.
Today he's one of the edgy top PR professionals at Bumbershoot PR @BumbershootPR, changing the arts and entertainment world of OKC, using social media among other tactics.
The lights came on as the lights went out--the power went out 10 minutes before he arrived, so we congregated on the stairs as he told how he got to where he is as one of the early adopters of twitter.

Close up--student photos by Devyn Frazier and Brittany Robinson

(He got an F because I told him no first person writing and he could revise it. He didn't and handed it back. He got the F--in retrospect, he was right.)
He continued to wow the students with not only his personal stories but the stories of how he and Bumbershoot use twitter and serve clients. They're a small agency that doesn't hold meetings, that has clients and H&8th, Dead Center Film Festival and many more. 

After he was gone, and the lights came back on in the building, as usual, we debriefed. Here's what the students said, recorded by @SydOKC

@okieprof #clarkclass photo by Gary Parsons

• “You can do what you want. Don’t give into the game everyone else is playing.
•  “I got the vibe that he strives to be the best in PR. He was really driven.” 
• “I like that he hit on the percentages of Twitter. 80% personal and 20% business.” 
• “Twitter is only effective if you’re listening and broadcasting.” 
• “Rob’s Twitter page changes and before hand it was silly and fun, showing his personality. He doesn’t worry about always being professional.” 
• I think part of what attracts us to media is not having to always being professional.” 
• “He doesn’t think he could do his job without Twitter. That blows my mind. People within my circle don’t use it professionally. Hearing that Twitter got them a job, it blows my mind that this silly social media side is impactful.” 
• “I like how he said he likes the fun side of Twitter.”
•  “I like that he makes Twitter fun.” 
• “Today isn’t about being better; it’s about being creative.” 
•  “Twitter is changing the rivalry between PR and journalism”
• “The definition of news is what people are talking about. It’s really true to Twitter. People don’t post what they aren’t interested in. They post what they think is happening. “
• "Networking is the key to success in any career.”  
• “Everything happens for a reason.” 
• “Interact with someone on Twitter. You can talk to one person in a certain manner that grabs their attention and you’ve reached many.” 
• “Favorite and retweet.”  
•   “Twitter helps you amplify your voice.” 
• “He does a 'shit-ton'  of research.” 
• “He really went inside and showed you how he orchestrates with any project. He plans ahead. He preplans 20 steps down the road about what the sparks will be. I’m going to apply that myself.”
• “Media never sleeps, clients never sleep and therefore he doesn’t sleep.”

Grump and Guru--Adam Ropp photo

@Okieprof tweets during Rob's discussion

• Social media is the fuel to get people to other media
• PR is people art
• Social media is the great equalizer
• We are in a world where information hits you from all sides and never stops.
• PS. My students make us look good.

(If you want other student comments, search #clarkclass on twitter.)

Tomorrow's agenda

1. Tomorrow's speaker: Research Rob Crissinger @rcrissinger with Bumbershoot PR https://twitter.com/BumbershootPR and search Coffee with Clark for previous comments. Tweet him a question you'd like him to discuss tomorrow. By 5 pm today.
2. twitterpresentations