CUPRAP and the Perfect Storm, Part I
The Great Recession plucked me from a marketing position earlier this year and flung me back into the world of freelance. This unexpected change has had its good and bad aspects; one of the good is a more flexible schedule. Thus, last week I was able to attend the fall workshop of CUPRAP*, a statewide association for college and university communicators, in Bethlehem, PA.
It gave me the opportunity to see firsthand how public relations professionals are coping with the confluence of two major events—a severe recession and the rise of social media. A perfect storm has been brewing, one of tighter budgets, leaner staffs and a steep learning curve for new media.
When one speaker asked for a show of hands, it appeared that roughly two-thirds of workshop attendees have been on the receiving end of budget cuts, forcing reassessment of every nickel, dime, and Harry in their departments.
Bethlehem, Pa: Once steel, now meetings.
For readers who may not understand what’s being squeezed out, these folks typically produce publications such as magazines and brochures for alumni, donors and students; pitch stories to media; arrange programs and events for the public and news organizations; produce videos and podcasts; handle crises and negative news stories; and perform a thousand other tasks all springing from the need to manage the organization’s image and relationships with news media, students, teachers, staff, alumni, and the community at large.
Now that we’re almost a decade into the third millennium, most institutions of higher learning have fairly large, complex Web sites; a Facebook presence; one or more blogs; YouTube channels; Twitter accounts; and other online ventures, all of which must be maintained on shrinking budgets by dwindling staffs. That’s in addition to everything they did before social media hit critical mass and took off.
It seems impossible on the face of it, but this crazy-big workload is often managed by a mere handful of people, even at the largest schools.
Diane Rankin of Mind Over Media and Ray Betzner of Temple University
Speakers at the workshop ranged from a young social media whiz newly hired by a small-town college to an experienced communications VP at a major city university. Their insights and advice will be of interest to anyone involved in PR, marketing, and social media. I’ll get to them in Part II of this series.
I’ll also reveal the answer to the question, “What is the rate of Twitter adoption among communications professionals?” Enter your guess in comments below or answer the poll at right. The answer will be based on my highly unscientific observations from the 10/12 meeting.
* CUPRAP = College and University Public Relations Association of Pennsylvania