There are a lot of advantages to using SMNR’s. One is that it can quickly circulate among the online world, spreading information faster than the standard print news release. It also provides PR professionals with an opportunity to write in the style that they wish. Brian Solis notes in his article that SMNR’s also serve a purpose of providing new media influencers with the information they need, in one package, in order to write a full story, their way – without having to carve out the BS of a traditional release or pitch. You also have to opportunity to include tags in your media release, allowing the release to show up as a result in various search engines.

While circulating your news release through the web, you need to be aware of the disadvantages that come with the online world. Since the news release will be available for the masses, you have to be a little more cautious of the information you put out and how you portray the message. You also have to make sure you are fully aware of the various websites, blogs, and other outlets that you are providing this information to and make sure you properly evaluate them to eliminate spam.

A PR practitioner should consider using SMNR’s on a regular basis. SMNR’s are more entertaining and attractive that your standard print release. It is also a fast way to get your information out there to the public. Most people today spend a large portion of their day online, depending on the web as their main source for collecting information. Knowing this makes SMNR’s a better alternative to delivering releases.

Here are two links that will help you create your own social media news release:

http://prxbuilder.com/x2/

http://pressitt.com/

The following link is an example of an entertaining and interactive social media news release. This smnr provides information for La Costena’s 5th annual jalapeno eating contest championship. This release offers information on the actually contest itself by revealing the winner as well as the placement of all the other contestants. The release also gives you background information on La Costena and on Major League Eating. As you can see, this smnr is very visual providing you with photos, youtube videos, and vibrant colors and graphics.

http://smnr.akamediainc.com/2011_lacostena/

Here is an example of the new release I recently did. This news release was written to inform people on an event hosted by Georgia Southern University’s chapter of Public Relations Student Society of America. The target audience for this release is current and prospective Georgia Southern University students. The main goal is to raise awareness about the even so students and faculty will attend and gather more information on what PRSSA has to offer.

http://www.prxbuilder.com/link.aspx?p=1597

Some tips for writing a social media news release include:

1. Be sure to create multiple links to your release, making it easier for people to access this information.

2. Provide visuals in your release to enhance its content.

3. Write for online readers, make sentences short and easy to scan.

4. Post your content in other media outlets such as blogs and Youtube.

5. Have a way to keep readers interactive by allowing them to comment or ask questions.

Autumn Hendrick’s

http://autumnhedrick.wordpress.com/2011/04/27/bucket-list/#comment-32

Lauren Craddock’s

http://laurenjc.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/my-bucket-list/#comment-106

1. Go sky diving

2. Travel around the world

3. Start my own successful PR firm

4. Get married and have children

5. Send my dad on a well deserved vacation

6. Go to times square for new years

7. Visit the olympics

8. Enter a triathalon

9. Climb a mountain

10. Learn how to snowboard

11. Scuba dive

12. Own a luxurious sports car

13. Start my own charity

14. Write a book

15. Learn how to sing

Those are just a few of the things I could think of at the moment. The thing that I most want to be remembered for is making a difference in the lives of others. I don’t want to one day be too sick or old and look back on my life wishing I had done more. I want to be known for bringing good things to this world, being a face that has brightened the lives of others, being a positive impact on someone who desperately needed it. I want to leave this life knowing that I have done a large amount of good, never taking anything I have for granted. So many people sit around wanting to do something, but never having the courage or strength to do it. There are so many opportunities to give back and so many people that need us to do it. I want to die knowing I used my health and my strength to impact the world. That is what I want to accomplish most in my life.

Blane Humphries’s

http://bhumphries.wordpress.com/2011/04/18/texting-while-walking/#comment-62

and Taylor Edwards’s

http://tedwar22.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/dont-text-_______/#comment-21

There’s a lot of focus on texting and driving because people feel that it is more deadly than walking and texting, which is true but that doesn’t mean that the issue walking and texting should be avoided. As for a public relations tactic, I think that a lighter approach could be taken towards this. All of the texting and driving ads are so violent and scary (which they should be) to create the shock factor. I think that a fun ad around campuses, throughout malls, and grocery stores, and maybe even commercials could be taken towards walking and texting.

I have to admit… If I saw someone run into someone else (with their body, not a vehicle) I would get a little chuckle out of that… just because it was such a clueless and clumsy act. Walking and texting is something that everyone knows they do but no one wants to admit how dumb they are for doing it… kind of like eating all of the fries out of the bag before you get home, or singing the completely wrong words to a song, or the awkward wave to someone that doesn’t notice you. Texting and walking is a harmless act for right now, but could eventually become quite dangerous. So I think throwing some comedy in to this situation will really do the trick. Have an ad of people running into each other, or someone walking right off the sidewalk, or into some water… maybe someone walking on the wrong bus or entering in the exit door (totally guilty of that… the door will close on you, do don’t try to slick and do it!). This will lighten the mood yet every time someone gets on their phone while walking around, these messages will click in their head and hopefully remind them to be a little more cautious.

Side note: I feel like people should stop saying “texting and driving” because it is so much more than that. As I mentioned earlier, there’s a world of things to do on my new phone that definitely causes more of a distraction than simply texting. These days people e-mail, pick a song, play a game, check facebook and twitter, check scores of games, etc. on their phones…. So I think it’s time to update the “texting and driving” campaign… just a thought.

Kelly Dale:

http://kmdale.wordpress.com/2011/04/15/my-twitter-experience/#comment-45

Kasey Crawford’s

http://kaseyatl88.wordpress.com/2011/04/13/tweet-tweet-hooray/#comment-27

My Intro to PR class was my first experience with Twitter a couple semesters ago when Mrs. Groover gave us a similar assignment. I was so not excited about doing it then and I was kind of glad when it was over. I decided to go into it with more of an open mind this time around and I must say… I’m totally loving it. I don’t know if its because more people have gotten the Twitter bug over the last months so I now have more friends on it or if it’s just the fact that I am now realizing its potential… probably a little bit of both. I am fortunate to have the Droid so I could download a Twitter app… because of this I found myself checking Twitter every two seconds just to see what new things have been posted. I have found out about more things going on in the world over the last week that I am starting to realize how disconnected I was.

I am really glad that we were asked to follow Mrs. Groover’s professionals list… this is a great way to see what is going on in the PR world and possibly make some connections. I have also noticed several of them posting job opportunities and helpful tips to further your success. This is a main reason that I will continue my Twitter account, when I am getting ready to graduate and enter the work force I can see myself using Twitter for help. I will also use Twitter because any experience I have with social media can only better my chance of getting a job. More and more companies, especially with PR, require you to have experience with several social media outlets… Twitter being one of them. And lets be real, I’ll keep my account to further my addiction to celebrities as well.

Twitter really is an excellent PR tool and I am excited about really getting in to it and picking it apart so I can utilize it to its full potential.

So a big THANK YOU to Mrs. Groover, for relaunching me into the Twitter world… I am loving it!

Taylor Edwards:

http://tedwar22.wordpress.com/2011/03/29/pregnancy-in-hollywood/#comment-14

Kelly Dale:

http://kmdale.wordpress.com/2011/03/28/pregnancy-and-its-real-consequences/#comment-36

Teen pregnancy is a serious issue and is not something that the press should make light of. Not only does it put great strain on the lives of these teens and their families but it can also put and innocent child in harms way if the mother cannot properly provide for the  child. I have noticed that on most of the situations on “Teen Mom” most of the moms have found a support system in one way or another, whether it be there own family, their boyfriends family, or friends. What they fail to show is the number of teens that end up pregnant and end up having nobody to rely on but themselves. I feel that teens are getting pregnant now for the attention, knowing that someone will be there to care for the child when the ultimately cannot.

I feel that these shows could make a greater impact if they highlighted more of the struggles a teen mom faces when it comes to actually caring for the child. They often focus a lot of the drama between the mom and boyfriend or the mom and their parents. I feel that if they also made this show based on a different person each episode then it would eliminate the issue of making these girls into celebrities. For example, shows like “True Life” and “Made” that have a different person on each episode never create celebrities out of the teenagers shown on their show. If teen mom took this approach I feel that they would create more of an opportunity to show different struggles teen moms may face as well as take the spot light off of each mom.

It truly makes me sad to see how much everyone admires these teen moms without even realizing how tough it is to be in their shoes. It makes me nervous to think what will be  going on by the time I eventually have kids and what they will be exposed to…

Evanna Floyd’s:

http://ef00558.wordpress.com/2011/03/22/social-media/#comment-46

Fred Harrison’s:

http://fred2k11.wordpress.com/2011/03/24/topic-of-the-week-march-21/#comment-11