Tips for Creating an Infographic

Click on the image for a larger view of the infographic

For my strategic communication class, I created an infographic about orphaned children around the world. The infographic is intended to support the CSR program, Swaddled in Love, that I proposed for a class assignment. This program, created for aden+anais, encourages people to donate a Muslim swaddle blanket to an orphaned child or give a financial donation.

After creating this infographic, I have learned some helpful tips to share for creating infographics.

Do Your Research

Make sure to do in-depth research on your topic before you begin designing your infographic. By already having the material you plan to use, you are giving yourself more time to focus on being creative.

Keep it Simple

Be sure not to bombard your reader with too much information. Limiting the amount of text and information on your infographic allows your reader to more easily understand what you are trying to convey

Be Consistent

Using the same font type, size, and color consistently throughout the infographic will make it more visually pleasing. Font types, sizes, and colors don’t all have to remain the same; however, they should be consistent. Be sure to limit your infographic to a maximum of two font types, two sizes, and only a few colors.

Finding Your Passion

Interview with Kara Norton: Director of Public Relations at Norton Sports Management and founder of Madison Blair PR

On average, people will spend more than 30% of their lives working. How many people wake up every morning dreading going to work? Most likely, most people. These people are dreading 30% of their lives.

As children we are told we can be whatever we want to be when we grow up. When I was little I wanted to be a teacher. I would sit in my room and draw on my white board and teach my “classroom” of stuffed animal “students.” As I grew up, my dreams changed; however, what remains the same what that I still wish to do what makes me happiest. Although teaching is no longer what is going to make me happiest, picking a career that will allow me to wake up every morning happy and excited for the day is the ultimate goal.

After an informational interview with Kara Norton, director of public relations at Norton Sports Management and founder of Madison Blair PR, I have learned that it may take a little time to find out what really makes you happy in your career.

Figuring out what makes you happy

Kara graduated from Indiana University with an art degree. It didn’t take long for her to realize that this was not what she wanted to do. Instead of spending her life doing something that simply did not make her happy, Kara returned to school at Loyola University and received a second bachelor’s degree in public relations.

After deciding that public relations was the field she wanted to be in, Kara landed an internship with a well-known public relations agency in Chicago—Margie Korshak, Inc. After a semester at Margie Korshak, Inc., Kara interned with Bloomingdales for a semester.

Although she knew that fashion public relations was a sector that interested her, Kara continued to try new things. Government public relations was her next endeavor. She worked for a woman who was very influential in helping Obama get elected into office. Her passion for fashion and background in it helped her give less interesting material a high fashion touch, making it more interesting and inviting. However, government public relations was simply not the right fit.

Kara then moved to sports public relations, which is the area in which she is currently working. As a college tennis player, she is familiar with sports. Her husband, Scott Norton, began Norton Sports Management, a sports agency that specializes in representing the NHL and NHL players. Kara and Scott’s goal was to make NHL players more well-known, similar to MLB and NFL players.

Kara and Scott have helped to put together some groundbreaking events. One such event they were a part of was the Stanley Cup’s inclusion in the Chicago Pride Parade. After the Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke’s son died shortly after coming out to his friends, NHL player Brent Sopel accompanied the Stanley Cup to the Chicago Pride Parade. Being a part of special events like these has allowed Kara to especially appreciate her job.

Returning to your passion

It is important to find something you are passionate about. There are many aspects of a job that you can learn. You can learn to write and communicate well. You cannot learn to be passionate about something.

Kara has recently been fortunate enough to start her own boutique public relations firm, Madison Blair PR. Madison Blair PR allows Kara to get back to fashion, which is her true passion. Working in fashion doesn’t feel like work or like she has to sell things to people. It simply comes naturally to her.

Biggest tip for public relations success

Before ending our interview, I asked Kara what she thinks is the most important aspect of public relations, and without hesitation, she said making connections. She advised me to make as many relationships as I could. Public relations is all about the relationships that you make with people. She told me to always make an impression on people because you never know who you may meet.

Through this interview, Kara showed me how crucial it is to find something you truly love to do. You may not be able to find that immediately but continue searching for that job that allows you to wake up in the morning excited to go to work.

How To Effectively Run Social Media Platforms

My group member Kaitlyn Chock and I outside of the CAWOOD office.

For my strategic communication class, I worked with a group of three students to perform a social media audit and conversation analysis for CAWOOD. The purpose of the audit and analysis was to determine the effectiveness of CAWOOD’s social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and blog – compared to its top three competitors. From this social media audit and conversation analysis, we learned some useful tips for effectively running social media platforms.

Interaction

Simply posting material for your audience to read is not enough to get your audience interested in what you have to say.  It is crucial to frequently interact with the people who are taking the time to like or comment on your social media posts. Whether they are asking a question, complimenting you on a service, or complaining about something, answering these people will allow them to feel more engaged in your posts. Also, following people in return will give them the feeling that they are more connected to you or your company, and it will encourage additional people to like your page.

Post Regularly

To keep readers interested, it is important to post regularly on all social media platforms. With the wide-spread use of social media, readers are constantly getting updates from many sources. To make sure that you are constantly in the minds of your audience, you must post regularly. You might consider posting 2-3 times a week on your blog, a few times a day on Twitter and Facebook, and weekly on your YouTube channel. Determine how much your readers are interacting with the material you are posting, and if there is strong interaction, posting more often may be a successful way to reach your readers on a variety of topics. Be careful to not bombard your readers with an overload of information in one day though.

Post Relevant Material

Always remember to prioritize quality over quantity. Be sure that what you are posting on your so

My group and I with the CAWOOD team at the CAWOOD office.

cial media platforms is relevant to your readers. You must always remember to keep your audience interested in what you are posting. It is also important to remember to post things that are relevant to you or your company. Just because something is interesting doesn’t mean it belongs on your social media platforms.

By following these simple tips, you will be on your way to more effectively running your social media platforms

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Welcome to my blog

With my college career coming to an end in just six short months, I feel that it is important for me to begin positioning myself in a professional way. Blogging is such an exciting way to not only keep my readers up to date on my journey through public relations but also keep myself up to date in the public relations field. My goal is to examine and explore many aspects of public relations in order to continuously learn as much as I possibly can.  Just because my life as a student will be ending soon, doesn’t mean that I can simply stop learning new things.

I hope that you will follow along with me as I begin my journey into the blogging world!