CAREER PROSPECTS AFTER A MASS COMMUNICATION DEGREE

Owing to the onset of modern technology, the communication sector has witnessed dynamic growth. Fields like social media, digital marketing and advertising have opened new employment opportunities. The competition has also increased tremendously. From fashion designers to schools, every company is hiring specialists to communicate the message of their brand through online and offline mediums.

This communication of information is the basis of mass communication. This field has a wider scope than journalism. Journalism is limited to news but mass communication includes everything from media presence to event management. Thus, it is a very dynamic field to work in.

 If you plan to pursue a career in this field, a degree in mass communication is a necessary prerequisite. You can also opt for more specialized courses like public relation courses or event management courses.  Tops schools of India like AAFT offer a variety of courses in this field that you can choose from. You also need to develop social skills, a good command over language and be very persuasive. 

Students with a mass communication degree can work in the field of public relations, publishing, editing, content writing, televisions, films etc. You can become a strategic planner, an account executive, a producer, a creative director or a media planner. There are many options. You can also venture yourself in politics and handle campaigns. Circulation and Public Relations companies, journals, news agencies, photography companies, newspapers, websites and blogs are always on the lookout for talented individuals with qualifications.

Lastly, the pay packet is attractive and there are many growth prospects within the industry. After 4-5 years of experience, you can expect to be in a reputable position which pays well.  You may have to work around the clock and stay on your toes but this career path also provides a lot of satisfaction and never gets monotonous. 

Why Should PR Students Take Blogging Seriously?

When we hear, “Public relation” few images immediately pop-up in our mind—Webinars, branded newsrooms, and extensive social media coverage on trending topics. After all, this industry is all about maximum customer engagement.

As a PR student, you are frequently told about various tools and techniques that can help you bring maximum customers at the company’s doorsteps. According to industry experts and teachers of most renowned public relations courses, blogging is the most effective way to build brand reputation and make your business grow.

It is important for a PR student to learn the basics of effective blogging as companies use this platform extensively to raise awareness among general public.
Let’s explore why blogging is considered such an important tool for building brand reputation.

Increasing visibility 
The “world wide web” is full of blogs on various topics and general audience is taking interest in reading good content. To have a basic understanding of this marketing platform, PR students can start personal blogging at first and then, later on, move on to understanding business blogging.

Business blogging means creating content for the website to increase its visibility on the internet. Search engine optimization plays a key role in driving more traffic on the website. It is more powerful tool than any other form of marketing and streamlines maximum customers to the website if content and SEO is processed properly.

Increased social media presence 
In today’s cut-throat competition, social media management has become a must for companies. Most organizations hire PR firms to carve reputation for their company on various social media platforms.

A high-quality content can be shared and reposted on the internet, which also helps the company to build a brand value. One can use a single piece of content on various social media platforms if its good in quality. It gives audiences a chance to converse about it on various channels.

An efficient way to establish the values of leadership 
Reputation management is the prime job of PR agencies. Customers like to trust those brands that can converse and demonstrate the expertise of their product.

Blog posts can be used to answer customer queries and solve issues, which can be a remarkable improvement in company’s online reputation. Believe it or not, blogging can also be used as a tool for event management. Courses in PR management are increasingly becoming more inclined towards online platform over past few years.

Public relations is going through drastic changes with the advent of various social media platforms, blogging, and online shopping. A PR student should know how to use these new tools and move a little away from the decade old conventional advertising methods.

How To Become A Successful Event Manager

Planning to make a career in event management? Well, with the rise in the number of corporate and social events nowadays, taking up event management as a career is surely a great idea for all those who have the skills and traits required to sustain in the industry. Event management industry is growing at a very fast pace and has opened a number of job and career opportunities for talented people. To stay ahead of the curve and grab the best job opportunities in the industry, pursuing a course in event management can be of great help.

Event management course help budding event planners learn about the process of event planning, ways to identify the target audience, devise event concept, plan the logistics and coordinate with the technical aspects of the event. Course-work helps students understand all aspects of the event planning. Knowledge on all these topics trains them well to host events successfully. In fact, it would not be wrong to say that a course in event planning help one stand out as a contender with suitable transferable business skills, which benefit them throughout their career, even if they decide to change the industry later.

During the course, students are given proper training on how to make a balance between the role of event planning and business management. Besides this, it also helps in personal development of students as they are given opportunities to work with professionals of the industry during the training period. The experiential learning along with accredited qualification from one of the reputed institutes gives students the confidence to work on any event planning project and avail the best opportunities in the industry. So join a reputed institute such as AAFT for an public relations course and see how it helps you climb the success ladder. 

Communication Skills Are a Way To Succeed

The world that is moving at such a fast pace, is readily keeping us on our toes and at the same time demands us to keep working on our skills! In the contemporary times today, where socializing and networking is as important as eating three meals a day; having effective communication skills is crucial. If the person you are talking to is listening to you and concurring in agreement, then you are a win already. That means you own great communication skills and have the power to influence positively.

Many times, having good communication skills is associated to being social. One does not necessarily have to be social, but the more you converse with different people of different age groups, the more you will learn just as the saying goes, ‘You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.’

Honestly, not everyone is born with the qualities. Some learn it at an early age, some acquire it with time. But possessing good communication skills becomes a must.

With great communication skills you can articulate well, express your thoughts well and even write well. You have a potent chance in proving your point over any other who doesn’t know how to communicate.

The question arises, how do we gain such skills? For those who have an innate power to speak well typically developed by talking well and feeling confidence in their words and in them. If you are keen on polishing yourself, read. Read a lot. Your vocabulary, your grammar and your sentence structure will eventually improve and give you substance in your communications.

You could also enroll yourself in courses related to Public relations. Once you know the know-how of Public relations, you will be able to efficiently communicate and also can also delve into public relations careers for a living!

Similarly, people with brilliant communication skills have also opened doors to getting into event management courses and have careers in it.

So it is a huge advice for you to build yourself and learn the maximum you can, because communication skills are a way to succeed!

3 ways in which PR and event planning are related

The aim of public relations is to maintain healthy relationships with the media, audience and other important people associated with the brand. Such healthy relationships help a company attract publicity, generate ticket sales, create brand awareness and thereby, steps toward success.

And this is the reason why PR professionals are required in all kinds of industry. Now since events play an integral role in the marketing and promotion of a brand, Public Relations is closely related to the event business. PR professionals develop a lot of strategies in order to spread the word and events are the most common of all.

Although Event Management Courses from AAFT are offered as individual courses by a range of institutions, there is a vital significance of PR in event planning process. Here are 3 ways in which PR and event management are related.

•PR planning for event: Different events are bound with different purposes. The aim of an event decides what strategies should be followed to achieve it-and this is where PR comes in the picture. PR professionals outline the strategies and plan for maximum outreach.

•Social channels for event information: With the popularity of social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter, Public Relations makes the most of digital connection. Professionals tailor the event-based messages for different social platform and reach out to large percentage of audience. Then, sharing photos from the last event and creating interesting invitations for the upcoming events are some of the activities that these people take care of.

•Target audience knowledge: And finally, PR professionals hold knowledge of the kind of media and audience likely to attend the event, and this helps them pitch appropriately.

On the whole PR and event planning are closely related and if you wish to make a successful public relations careers, event engagement is a must.

Why Take Courses for Creative Fields?

There are millions of courses for the more serious subjects like math's, science, engineering, computers, and more. Now after a lot of years and battles, finally subjects like English, history and political science are being seen as legitimate subjects. But there are still some areas where taking a course is seen as a waste of time. These are the areas that are more entrenched in the creative side, even more than English and all. Areas like photography, interior decoration, event management and more are professional areas, and taking a course for them is deemed unnecessary by many.

However, people are not realizing that taking event management courses or photography courses or even taking admission in a music academy can greatly help one hone their strengths, work on their weaknesses and learn the ropes of the trade, so to speak.

This just goes on to show, that these areas are still largely seen as mostly hobbies and not something that can result in a legitimate career. When in fact, it can greatly benefit a person to take course in this field, on a professional level.

There is a silver lining in today's time though, with institutes and schools opening up, which offer specialized advertising courses, image management and more. The advantage of these courses is that first, one gets a certificate proclaiming their abilities in that field. A certificate means that it is proved that the person is ready to join that industry.

Another advantage is that the teachers are most of the trained professionals, who have had a certain amount of experience in the industry. There are also guest speakers and workshops that happen there, that allow students to get a more hands- on experience on how working in that industry would be like.

Thus, there are a lot of advantages when it comes to taking courses for creative fields, that not just sharpen your skills but also help in building a career later on.

Some silly media-outreach mistakes

Good publicity from a third party always benefits a new organisation. That’s because third party coverage is believed to be unbiased and more useful. But new entrepreneurs in their excitement to get media coverage at times make some unfortunate mistakes that ultimately result in failure of their primary objective. So here are some mistakes you would want to avoid as a new entrepreneur:

1.Getting in touch with the wrong people

By wrong people, I mean those whose scope of work is different and covering your product or service does not come under their work profile. Doing so is just wastage of your time as well as theirs. It is important do your research beforehand so that you send your e-mails only to a few but right people who may actually be able to benefit you.

2.Sending e-mails from a generic e-mail address

Media people already get a lot of junk mails every day. Sending your request or your information about your business through a generic e-mail address only reduces the chances of it being read by the person you are sending it to. A friend of mine who did many public relations internships before she finally settled in one company, told me that e-mails sent with the company’s domain always receive a better response.

3.Sending a copied and pasted message

Sending the same message to different people may save you time, but more often than not, it would fail to get you results. Personalised messages may take more of your time but they will always stand out and may even get you a quicker response.

4.Using incorrect grammar

While you don’t need to be a pro at this, but getting your basic grammar right is the least you can do. Considering that writing is a major portion of journalists’ work, even a silly error can put them off. Make sure you carefully proofread the content before sending out the mail.

And oh, did I mention that my friend who did many PR internships finally pursued one of the good event management courses and then settled in an event management company? I guess not.

Advertising and Public Relations: The New Hot Profession

People nowadays don’t want a stable 9 to 5 job. They want fun and they want excitement. They want to be on their toes and for that they need a job that challenges them to do this. Jobs where they are on call 24/7 and literally never stop working. A job where each day, employees get to interact, with a new client or to do something different
.
The new hot professions in India especially are advertising and public relations. There are a hundred openings in these areas and literally every month a new business starts where they need employees for these very sections.

Another new arena for the extroverts and people willing to get their hands dirty is the job of event management. So I will be counting down the 5 reasons event management is better than advertising and public relations.

1. Actually event management is a compilation of not only advertising and public relations but also many other aspects like analysing the needs of the client and organisational skills and ability to multi-task. So you can try your hand at a number of different sections that make an event complete.

2. Also a wide variety of institutes are offering event management courses as a full professional course. These courses will help you not only work on your skills but they will also provide on ground practical work and allow you to make connections, and it will be these connections that will help you when just starting out with a new business.

3. A lot of people actually prefer event management over other marketing arenas. Since event management will anyway include many aspects of both advertising and public relations and at the same time allow more control over the actual event and ability to experiment more.

4. The profession of event management is quickly booming in Delhi since Delhi sees a lot of weddings, functions and other events that need to be managed properly. Also the wealthy are willing to spend a lot of money on perfect execution of these events.

5. Event management is although very exhausting yet lucrative business. People are always organising functions and weddings and if you make a name for yourself, then people will anyway reach out to you.  

Event Management- A passion to pursue

It’s been a while I am running an Event Management company. You can say it is the fruit of my years of passion. I always dreamt of opening my own Event Company since the time I got introduces to ‘Event Management’ as a subject while I was pursuing my graduation in Mass communication. I was instantly drawn towards it as I always had hundreds of ideas running in my head whenever it came to organizing a party or a function. I was always the one who people used to turn to when an event needed to be organized- be it in college, or in the family.

I joined one of the best Event Management Colleges in Delhi for my Post Graduation as I thought of getting a specialized degree in the subject. I do not regret that decision till date as whatever I learned from that course helped me grow into the successful Event manager that I am now.

If you too, are thinking of doing something similar, I would suggest you to get in one of the good Event Management Courses in Delhi, Mumbai or Bangalore, gain an in depth knowledge of the subject and know about the industry. Then, develop on a few skills which you need to have to run an enterprise of your own. Have a look: 

Time Management:

The first and most important quality you need to possess is time management. Coordinating yourself and your team is all about effective scheduling. That is possible only when you plan your activities well ahead of time and execute them accordingly. For example, events like weddings would require you to conform to the decided time.

Resourceful:

You got to be resourceful and by that I mean making the best of what you have. Your head should be brimming with ideas which can be used in the times of contingency. Events always have crisis which should be handled with a calm and quick mind. Keep your eyes and ears open, that’s it!

Making the Most of Your Internship

Come summer time, scores of school and college students are getting all geared up for their internships. Now, if you’re one such youngling, then the first thing you need to understand that a summer internship isn’t just a way to add that little credential to your portfolio, it’s a learning experience you’ve got to get the most out of.

So, whether you’re Event Management Courses or law or literature or film making or what have you, and you’re about to commence your summer internship, then keep in mind the following pointers, and we’re sure you’ll be able to the make the most of your internship and gain as much experience and knowledge out of it as possible:

•Set out with a positive attitude: It’s important to go into a new internship with a fresh outlook and a positive attitude. Leave behind all the stresses of life, don’t worry about how you’re going to do, and be energetic and enthusiastic.

•Soak up information: An internship in your field of study and prospective field of work is a little glimpse at what your career will look like. So, you’ve got to try to absorb as much about the industry as you can to better your learning and understanding of the field. Listen intently at all times, ask questions, and make note of all you’re learning.

•Find a mentor: Now, this doesn’t necessarily have to be just one person, but when you’re at any kind of an internship, be it public relations internships or marketing internships, you’re bound to find a few people you’ll look up to and who you’ll find will be able to greatly assist with your learning.

•Network: You must keep in mind that you’ll get the best of your internship if you mingle with the people at your workplace and get to know their stories and learn about different roles and responsibilities. So get social, and network –it’ll even prove to be hugely beneficial when you’re looking to actually start your career when you’re done with your Event Management Courses or what have you! So remember to network and stay connected to further your career.

•Get feedback: Before you leave, and throughout the internship, seek feedback from supervisors so that you can work on them accordingly. 

Are You Born to be an Event Manager?

Answer these few quick questions, and perhaps you’ll find out you’re destined to be an Event Manager!

Do you have good organisational skills? Are you one of those people who’ve got all their things in order, bordering a little bit on being labelled as ‘OCD’? Well, if yes, then Event Management Courses might be just the right thing for you.

Are you a good leader? Did you always take charge of projects and plans and what not, growing up? Have you always been able to gather people and engage them and guide them towards achieving a common goal? As they say, leaders are born, not made. So if you’re a born leader, then signing up at one of the Event Management Colleges In Delhi would be just perfect for you.

Are you creative and innovative? Have you always been able to come up with novel ideas? Do you like solving puzzles? Are you able to tackle problems in a creative and innovative manner? Can you think outside the box? Well, creativity is one of the most crucial aspects of being a good event manager –so if you’ve got that going for you then you’re golden!

Do you have good time management skills? Are you able to juggle multiple pressures at the same time, and designate your time accordingly to get everything done on time? Event management is all about timing, and with the number of things one has to take care of, multitasking abilities and good time management are utterly important. If you think you’ve got it, then go ahead and sign up for Event Management Courses in Delhi!

Do you have good communication skills? Are you able to put across your point well? Are you able to listen efficiently and understand others? Then you’re just right for even management, my friend!

And most importantly: are you energetic, passionate and driven? Are you okay with long work hours, lots of cups of coffee and little sleep? Does the idea of always being on your toes entice you? Then there’s just nothing left to say –rush to the best Event Management Colleges In Delhi and fill up those forms  -for there’s a budding even manager in you.

Become a more productive event manager

The life of event managers may seem very exciting but they need to get their act together to accomplish multiple tasks at hand. Compromising on productivity is really not an option for them. If you are an aspiring event manager and have pursued or want to pursue one of the good event management courses available, here are some tips for you:

1.Checklists
Even those not involved in the profession of event management construct checklists. It is all the more important for the event managers. Spend some time every morning to plan out your day. It would keep you organized and the tasks on priority can be completed faster.

2.Mark events on a calendar
Make use of the highly useful applications on your phone and keep marking events on those. Being an event manager, you can’t afford to finish work on a last minute basis. Keeping a track of events would also help you make daily checklists.

3.Focus on the task at hand
Give your best to the task at hand. Multi-tasking is important but it diverts the attention of the person. Unless you are extremely efficient at multi-tasking, do the best that you can on the task on priority.

4.Break the bigger tasks into smaller ones
Instead of getting worried due to the magnitude of the project, break down the big project into smaller tasks. Then, as mentioned before, direct all your energy towards the tasks one by one.

5.Identify your most productive time of the day

Some people work well in early mornings and others are more comfortable working at night time. You identify which time suits you the best and work accordingly. However, a career in event management requires you to match your timings with those of others too. You have to strike a balance between working individually in your own time and working with others according to their work schedules and then achieve the best possible results.

You would be surprised to know about my friend who pursued one of the well-known public relations degree and then changed her career line by entering the business of event management. What are your plans?