A few months ago, I was going through the motions of a normal day of classes up at Colorado State University, where I am currently a junior double majoring in journalism (with a concentration in public relations) and apparel merchandising. As my teacher finished up the day’s lecture notes, he handed out a flyer for PRSA Colorado Shadow Day 2013. As a student in this field and member of the PRSSA chapter at CSU, I am always looking for new opportunities to expand my knowledge and real-world experience outside the classroom, so I jumped at the chance to shadow a professional at an agency in Denver.

MGA recently embarked on a national media relations campaign for a client in the environmental measurement and monitoring industry. Even though MGA has done a lot of media relations over the years, our client was new to the process. The campaign was focused around a national product launch that consisted of a cross-country tour, Vaisala Across America, to over 40 cities in 16 weeks. The MGA team pitched media from Fargo to New York City and everything in between. For those of you new to media outreach, below are a few tips that we relied on throughout the tour.

I’m opening my secret vault of PR and social media resources for others to enjoy. Whether you’re helping a client develop online content, trying to convince your client Facebook isn’t scary, seeking juicy inside information from the pros, figuring out how to use various platforms for business-to-business marketing, or you just want to stay up on the latest news, trends and strategies in the social media and digital spaces, visit some of my favorite social media and PR-focused blogs. I promise you won’t be disappointed.