A True Social Media and PR Gal

We had the privilege of having Trish Skram, an expert on social media and PR come to our Tactics II class on Tuesday. She was not only informative and helpful, but also optimistic about what the future holds for social media and what we can do with it. Skram is a social media specialist and PR manager for all three markets in Mercy Health Care System in Janesville. She also is the owner of the "PRGal" brand which launched in 2008. "PRGal" is a professional blog for the Janesville Gazette newspaper, the largest media source within Walworth County. Skram decided to originally create this professional blog in order to set herself apart from other professionals; she ended up really loving it and decided to keep up with it even though she has secured a career with Mercy Medical. Check out her blog at http://www.trishskram.com/ where you can learn about her passions and opinions on social media and PR related topics happening in the news today.

Skram also graduated from UW-Whitewater in 2008, but her story was a little different than the typical one you hear from successful PR graduates. We constantly hear “experience, experience, experience” is the most important part in eventually landing a PR job. That we need as many internships as we can get to gain experience in order to set ourselves apart from others. But Skram actually only had one internship in which she displayed loyalty and did a really great job so that she could keep moving up in the business. Skram represented an exception to today's rule, by showing that there are other ways in which you can be successful.

Skram had very insightful goals and ways in which she went about her blogging. Her strategy was to grow her network and better the PR Industry. She told herself that it would be a way to talk about what she knows and loves and if it doesn't provide just that, then to not write about it. She is very passionate about social media and new strategies in PR and loves the fact that her blogging allows her to grow from other's reactions and input about the blog.

Skram stressed how important it is to blog these days, and the benefits of doing so. By blogging, one is able to establish expertise, grow their network, help keyword search ranking, and generate content as a place for people to engage and learn from others. She also said that it is crucial to use Facebook for own personal branding to promote your blog and self. Check her out on Facebook to see how she linked her blog to Facebook to keep her audience updated. http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Trish-Skram-PR-Gal/316376597089

Not only does Skram use Facebook to promote her blog, but also twitter. She is always tweeting and giving little insights and links to her blogs. Follow her on twitter to see what all her buzz is about @TrishSkram

If you would like to get connected to gain further insight about social media, contact Trish Skram at trishskram@gmail.com