Five Tips To Help You During The APR Process

The Accreditation in Public Relations, or APR, is more than just a certification. It showcases a practitioner’s expertise and devotion to everyday principles of public relations. It sets you apart from your peers, and in some cases, the “APR” at the end of your name could mean more money or that dream position you’ve always coveted. My APR journey was riddled with aha moments, heart-racing panic sessions and what-if statements. April is APR Month, so I wanted to dedicate an entire blog post to the APR process. If you’re considering adding the APR to your goal list, here are a few takeaways from my year-long experience.

Mental Health Moments: Alleviating FOMO

All of us have days in which our FOMO is seemingly out of control. We scroll through our Instagram feeds, only to find the perfectly curated highlight reels of celebrities, influencers and even our friends. We long to be on that same beach with the beautiful views of the sunset and a cold drink in our hands. FOMO, or the Fear of Missing Out, isn’t a new concept, but its presence has been heightened as social media continues to engross our daily lives. It’s the anxiety you feel when you’re missing out on something, whether it’s a party you willingly chose to not attend or the envy you feel when someone goes on that exotic vacation you’ve daydreamed about for years. Here’s how I manage FOMO in my personal and professional life:

Three Ethical Practices to Apply to Your Public Relations Career

May marks the illustrious milestone in my career. Introspection is a necessary and cherished aspect of professional development as I approach the 10-year mark of my public relations career. Enough time has passed for me to ease into sharing my ethical experiences with up-and-coming practitioners and others. At the beginning of my career, I was still trying my best to figure everything out, and during my 20s, I created the foundation of my career through experience, support and, most of the time, taking the road less traveled. Here are three ethical lessons I have learned since beginning my career 10 years ago.

Takeaways From My Silver Anvil Awards Judging Experience

I had the distinct honor and privilege to judge international companies’ Public Relations Society of America Silver Anvil Awards entries in New York City. I was one of 144 judges who traveled from all over the nation to judge the 626 entries. (I did not have to judge that many!) I assessed the Research, Planning, Implementation and Evaluation (RPIE) elements for each. Without compromising any detail of any entry, here are trends I saw in the entries I judged.

Maintaining Healthy and Productive Work Habits -- Even When You Don’t Have The Energy

Here at Hourglass Media, we love feeling productive. We’re at our best when we’re juggling many projects on limited stress and an ultimate caffeine-filled beverage. What happens on those days when we just don’t have it, though? How can you establish healthy and productive work habits on a consistent basis -- no matter your mood? Here are five ways we use #behindthehourglass.

What You Need For Your Personal Website

As an early adopter of the Internet wave of the 1990s, I never imagined I would someday have my own website. I’m a child of the ‘90s, fully embracing midi .wav files, .gifs, AOL Instant Messenger and bad font choices (Papyrus and Comic Sans, anyone?). Now, we’re almost entering a new decade (*gasp*), and I couldn’t have envisioned the world we now live in: augmented reality, chatbots, foldable touchscreen phones and new advances every day. You may be interested in creating your own website for the first time or are undergoing a personal rebranding. Here are 10 fundamental components to consider for your personal website.

Mental Health Moments: How to Remedy Achievement Addiction

In America, we are praised for our achievements. If we aren’t achieving, then latency will envelop everything we have accomplished. Somehow, we think each achievement will wash away into the past, with nothing to show for it in the present and future. It doesn’t matter if we achieved something five minutes ago. Instead of relishing the moment, we look toward what we hope will occur. In essence, achievement addicts are never satisfied with a state of being. Here are three remedies that can ease the anxiety caused by achievement addiction.

10 Components to Build Personal Brand

If you want to sell a product or service, advocate for a cause or become an influencer (and monetize on your efforts), honing in on your personal brand will be beneficial by leaps and bounds. Here are 10 essential components to consider when developing your brand or undergoing the rebranding process.

Elements of A Legacy Brand’s Success

Brands are constantly aspiring for growth, whether it’s sales, consumer outreach, click-through rates or all of the above and more. When legacy brands soak up success, it’s because they know their brand inside and out, and they know what their customers desire and need. They exhibit consistency, niche targeting, clear Calls to Action (CTA) and value-based storytelling. Legacy brands can stay ahead of the curve in the following three ways.

Mental Health Moments: Music As A Soundtrack To Your Life

Music has an astounding effect on my life. As I retrospectively analyze my relationship with music, I’ve realized that it has always been a constant. Like many of us, I’m drawn to songs that represent my life or a timeframe in my life. Each song has its own side story, from where I was when I listened to a track the most or how the message or beat made me feel. Here are 15 songs that resonate with me, sparking memories and joy from start to finish.

Five Influential Brands That Have Inspired Hourglass Media

I have been brand-obsessive since I was a child. I donned Disney Princess attire and had to have the latest toys each time a new movie hit theaters. These were the days of “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin” and “The Lion King” -- an entire treasure trove of amazing Disney movies that I still love to this day. Long before I ever saw “Mad Men” and fell into the rabbit hole of a communications career, these campaigns launched my love of branding. Here are five of my favorite brands with a splash of nostalgia.

Five Behind-The-Scenes Items You Need For Your Company's Brand

A brand is the DNA of your personal image or company. Most of us have a “brand,” so to speak, but it involves more than just an Instagram grid, carefully crafted logo or one highly recognizable campaign. It’s your company’s public identity, but it’s also what happens behind the scenes -- all of those things no one except employees and other internal stakeholders have their hands on and see on a daily basis. While the below is not a comprehensive list, these five elements will help you live your brand every day and structure your goals and objectives accordingly. Here are five key branding elements we use here at Hourglass Media.

Mental Health Matters: Ways to Love Yourself

One of my primary goals in 2019 is to love myself. In today’s highlight reels on social media and my tendency to put on a brave face, I sometimes forget to really give myself actual love. I love for miles and miles when it comes to other people, causes, projects — essentially, anything that is not me.

I think this derives from my brand of anxiety. The second guessing, the negative inner dialogue, the perfectionism that wades through my life like a flash flood. All of this prevents me from seeing myself in the truest light. As individuals, all of us are worthy of self-love. Here are some ways you can love yourself more.

Creating An Inspiration Board to Remember Who You Are

For the past two years, I have created my own inspiration/vision board. In the past, I would put all of the magazine clippings, brand tags, photographs, master list of goals and all other keepsakes in a folder or spread throughout my office. Last year, I craved clarity, so I placed my goals in categories and used items to create flaps that would reveal my set of goals per category. I know, I know. How perfectionistic of me. If you’re interested in creating your own inspiration board, here are some tips to help you get started.

Maintaining Productivity When You Work From Home

A growing number of Americans work from home. GlobalWorkplaceAnalytics.com estimates that more than 3 percent of workers in the United States opt for at-home positions and self-employment, with that number only to increase within the next decade. The allure of flexible part-time, full-time and freelance work is all the rage, but what is it really like to work from home? Here are six ways to ensure that you maintain your highest levels of productivity while working from home.

Mental Health Moments: Step One: How to KonMari When You’re A Sentimental Packrat

Marie Kondo is taking Netflix and the world by storm. I must admit, I am also not immune to her “Tidying Up” charms and the innate desire to only keep items that spark joy in my home and office. I work from home, so this is especially important. Too much clutter translates into subconscious (and conscious) anxiety, so here are some of my KonMari adventures from #behindthehourglass.

Five Ways to Incorporate a Digital Detox Into Your Daily Routine

With the 24/7/365 news cycle and supplemental phone/social media/Netflix addictions, it could be hard to step away from the life you’ve created online. Most of us check our phones at least 200 times per day, no matter our occupation. Here are five ways you can take a break from all things digital, whether it’s for a nice, relaxing evening, weekend or an even longer stint.

Establishing Hygge Atmospheres At Home and Work

Everyone wants to find the Holy Grail of Happiness. It comes in the form of hygge, pronounced (hoo-ga), a Danish custom of relaxation. It focuses on sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing. You want to focus on experiences at the present moment, rather than fixate on things in the past and future (unless you’re drumming up some nostalgia, which is incredibly hygge-like).

Mental Health Moments: Four Affirmations to Help You Get Over Your Sickness

If you’re a workaholic who lives for being motivated (like me) and finds yourself spiraling in and out of negativity when you’re under the weather, here are some mantras you can repeat over and over. And when I say over and over, I really mean hundreds of times until you actually start to believe them.

SMART Objective Setting in the New Year

It’s the start of a New Year, and you’re probably hyper-focused on your goals and objectives for 2019. In today’s world, Return on Investment (ROI) and Return on Expectations (ROE) drive PR professionals and the C-Suite to want to learn more in the Evaluation phase. That’s where SMART objectives come in.In the world of public relations and other industries goals are comprised of SMART objectives, which include: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timebound.