Category: Advice

Advice

THE BEST DEALS YOU ALREADY HAVE AS AN ANNENBERG STUDENT (THAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT)

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Dylan Field, Trisight Contributor

As the calendar turns from Thanksgiving into the winter holiday season, there is a special window of time when people within the United States become frenzied with the latest deals of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. As a college student, sales and discounts are integral to keeping your wallet afloat without breaking the bank. With my time as a Public Relations major at The Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, I have begun to realize how many professional services are already included in my tuition at no additional cost.

Navigating what you have access to can be tricky and overwhelming, so here are four of the best services you already have access to as a USC Annenberg Student:

  1. Lynda.com: Lynda is a premiere online service that features thousands of tutorials for developing corporate, innovative, and software proficiencies. As a LinkedInlynda subsidiary, it has become the go-to service for business professionals and students alike to create and hone competitive skills for the work environment. Traditionally, Lynda will run users upwards of $29.99/month, but through tuition at Annenberg, Lynda’s full services are paid for.
  1. The New York Times: Through the work of USC’s Graduate and Undergraduate Student Governments every USC student is granted complementary access to The New York Times. As an Annenberg student, staying up to date and current with the news is essential for research in an ever-changing climate. The NYTimes is an ideal resource to stay up to date and informed. The NYTimes: All Digital Access subscription usually starts at $52.00/year then jumps to $195.00 every year after.
  1. Microsoft Office Suite: Software including Microsoft Office Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote, and Outlook are included in the one-time download provided by the USC Information Technology Service. The Office 365 package is an industry standard and essential for every student. Proficiency in PowerPoint and Excel are some of the most sought-after skills for interns and freshly graduated students entering the workforce. A yearly subscription to these services can cost $69.99/year.
  2. Adobe Creative Cloud: The full Adobe Creative Cloud software suite is currently available exclusively to the Annenberg School among a few other selected adobeprograms at USC. From programs such as Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, After Effects, and Premiere Pro among a variety of others, the Creative Cloud enables Annenberg students to grow creatively while simultaneously developing valuable experience to take into the job market. For students and teachers outside of the Annenberg program, the Creative Cloud can be purchased for a discounted $19.99/month for one year and $29.99/month after completion of the first year.

On top of the provided software, the USC Digital Lounge (located on the third floor of Annenberg) offers complementary instructional workshops and Adobe Certification Courses that would usually cost participants several hundred dollars per class.

Advice, Brands, Public Relations

Finding the Right Influencers for Your Brand

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Katherine Butler, TriSight Contributor

By now we all know that the rise of social media has completely transformed the world of PR. There is no doubt a brand’s social media presence (or lack thereof) has the power to take a company to new heights. Strategically choosing the “right” influencers to partner with creates the potential to improve your brand’s reach and reputation. However, working with the “wrong” influencers can harm a brand’s credibility, create distrust, and ultimately waste time and money.

What steps are you taking to ensure you are working with influencers that will help your brand achieve its goals? Here are the top 5 factors to consider when searching for influencers to collaborate with your brand.

  1. Identify your brand’s ideal influencer industry.
    There are countless influencer marketing niches, and your brand might fall into several categories depending on your goals. Think fashion, travel, sports, gaming, parenting, business or tech to name just a few. Once you establish your influencer industry, you can begin to research which social media accounts rule your sector.
  2. Look for influencers who visually align with your brand.
    How appealing is an influencer’s profile feed? Especially on Instagram, make sure to choose influencers who have a cohesive Instagram aesthetic that aligns to your brand’s image.
  3. Beware of fake followings.
    It is not uncommon for people to purchase followers and likes through Instagram bots and other unethical services. Be on the lookout for unusual “followers to likes ratio” and read the comments on posts to see if followers are genuinely engaging with the person. Tools like Social Blade can also detect sudden drastic increases in followers, another sign of purchased followers.
  4. Monitor influencer’s post to make sure they are staying consistent with your brand’s values.
    Follow-up on the influencer – and not just the posts specific to your brand. Sometimes an influencer’s personal life impacts their image, online or offline. Do your research before and after partnering and continue to ask, “Is this a person my brand wants to be connected with?”
  5. Consider an influencer’s authenticity.
    Nowadays, the most impactful influencers are those who are unfiltered, vulnerable, and who ultimately treat their audience like a close friend. Check out the influencer’s feed. Do they only post about collaborations? Do they feel too promotional? How much of their personal life do they share?
Advice, LifeStyle, Public Relations

“How I’m Guided as a Starting Photographer”

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“How I’m Guided as a Starting Photographer”

Elements that propel my work

I recently purchased my very first camera: a Canon Rebel series T6 with a 50mm lens.  For starting photographers, I definitely recommend this combination because both are very user friendly and have great automatic settings for those still learning how to balance shutter speed and such.  Although I’ve been taking photos with friends’ cameras for years, it wasn’t until this year that I purchased my own.  My reason being was that I told myself I wouldn’t spend the money on a camera until I knew my vision as a photographer, worked with natural lighting until I knew the sun like I know the inside of my hometown Walmart, and knew the best angles of any person.  I spent years practicing how to capture a diversity in body shapes in a way that accented the beauty in each.  My best friends were my iPhone, golden hour and Grace (my hometown best friend who also let me borrow her camera often).  The first thing to grasp before taking photos is lighting, and personally I find natural lighting to be the most stunning and rewarding.

When it comes to lighting, you need to know what’s too much light and not enough.  The best times to shoot is 25 minutes after sunrise and 25 minutes before sun down, both known as golden hour.  Too much light can result in unflattering shadows, saturation and loss of natural face angles.  Little light + taking a picture = low quality, less detailed photos.  In good lighting, one can take a much better picture on an iPhone than with a professional camera in poor lighting.  There are more basics to photography like composition, framing and editing, but I’m going to talk about what has guided me as a photographer into producing content I’m really proud of.

For me personally, I don’t like to shoot something without having an intention or narrative behind the photos.  I work as a stylist as well, so when I’m selecting the looks, I build a narrative in my head to motivate me as a photographer while on set.  Having a specific vision in mind allows for a special click to happen in my mind during shooting.  If I know the story that I’m trying to convey, then the pictures will stand out immediately with an illumination of the message.  Knowing the model well isn’t necessary, but there’s a certain magic that happens that you both get to experience together during the process that’s unmatched.  I usually dress the models I work with in my own clothing as well which carries a layer of familiarity and metamorphosis at the same time, making the end result that much more personal and rewarding. Recently I worked with a singer and LGBTQ activist who’s a student at the University of Southern California.  Below is my series named after him: LINNEL

Another way I find depth within a shoot is giving myself specific elements that I want to elucidate.  This basically supplements the narrative for me, so I do this when I am wanting to go broader with my images’ context.  My most recent photoshoot I orchestrated in this way was with a younger actor and athlete from USC named Jet Mendes.  We both took an acting class on scene studies, so for some of the classes, we were required to come in costume.  As a result, people would be rushing from class in traditional 30s womenswear.  For Jet’s scenes, he had to wear a suit, but since he was skating from his apartment off campus, he would be sporting vans with the look.  Although unintentional, the blend of aesthetics worked, and after he asked me to take digitals for him, I knew the elements I wanted to incorporate in the set, wardrobe and photography style.

STREET SKATE | FORMAL | ATHLETIC

The most helpful factors thus far have been working with people who inspire me as an artist and pushing myself to photograph as much as possible.  Keeping my work threaded and constant propels me the most, so that’s the biggest advice I can give alongside finding your vision.

Laura Montilla
PR Specialist | Stylist | Artist
lmontill@usc.edu
Advice, LifeStyle

Finding Your Creative Edge

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Chelsea Jones,TriSight Contributor

Bogged down with reading materials? Papers? Maybe your job? Your everyday life can become a bit overwhelming and you don’t have enough brain power remaining to create some magic. Public relations demands for creativity on many levels, whether it’s critical thinking or creating content. So how do you maintain your existence as a magical unicorn and feed your imagination?

According to Inc.com, here are a few tips:

  1. Get off the internet. So much time is spent behind your phone, you’re missing out on inspiration that can be found in your surrounding environment.

  2. Make a list of 50 things to do. ALONE! Eliminate the possibility of other people criticizing your way of thinking. Sometimes it is appreciated, but it’s not always necessary.

  3. Immerse yourself in a different culture from your own. Draw from the sounds, feels and tastes of other cultures allowing you to cultivate diversity within your work.

  4. Take an improvisation class. Get a little crazy and force yourself out of your comfort zone. Improving will strengthen your ability to think on your feet. Remember, pressure makes diamonds.

  5. Meditate. Meditate. Researchers have found this to be a helpful practice and it only requires 12 minutes of your time. Quite relaxing, this method of focusing increases creativity through repetitive breathing techniques. Namaste every day.

  6. Take a nap. Kids have the wildest imaginations and it’s most likely due to the fact that they’re able to nap. Adults deserve this same leisure. Put your mind at ease and catch a couple of z’s. If you’re caught sleeping at work, just kindly say researchers have proven naps are needed for learning and creativity purposes.
Advice, Brands, Public Relations

Personal Branding on Social Media

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Hillary Thompson,TriSight Contributor

Social Media is now a rolling resume of your accomplishes and employers are looking to it for insights into your life that they won’t get from your traditional resume. Being aware that this is how you will market yourself, it’s important to brand yourself as successfully as possible. Here are a few tips:

  1. Keep track of all your social media profiles. This will make you are aware of all of the different places people can (and will) find you. If there is a specific account that you are no longer using deactivate or delete it. Make sure that your information and profile photos are consistent across platforms because it makes it easier for people to be sure they have found the right person! And, update your information frequently so it’s always current.
  2. You don’t need multiple accounts. People tend to think they should keep their business and personal pages separate so they create a secondary account for their personal information. In today’s social media driven world it makes better sense to compile them into one account because you are your brand and you want your personality associated with everything you do! Also, because social media is so readily available it is confusing if someone searches for you and comes across multiple profiles. If you are concerned about posting something that might offend someone it might be better to not post that particular item at all.
  3. Pick 1 to 3 areas of expertise and go all in. When anyone (a friend, potential employer, or complete stranger) comes across your profile it should be very clear what you do that you are good at. This will help you in all sorts of ways. If a potential employer sees it they will know right away that these are your strengths. If a friend knows that you are good at specific things they’ll be more likely to remember you when they hear someone is looking for that specific characteristic. And if a complete stranger stumbles upon your instagram and sees that you are a SEO wizard they might just reach out and ask you to help them with their website.

These three tips should help you get started on building your own personal brand. You are your first and best advocate so get out there and blow everyone away!

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