ANDREA GILS
MC 322-01 Southeast Missouri State University
FROM BOTTOM TO THE TOP
What skills should a public relations professional have by 2020?
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ocial media is evolving exponentially; there are new social media outlets, software, applications and services that are invented every year, week and day, each trying to encompass better features of previous versions or competitors’.
The next generation will know how to communicate through these media and use them as tools in their public relations strategies. But in order to use them not only as a way to see how many viewers a website has, how many followers a Twitter account has or how many Likes a Facebook page has, public relations professionals will need to know how to interpret Andrea Gils and analyze the data that the new soPhoto by Agathe Pompom cial media monitoring programs gather. If they know how to interpret
the data gathered, they will be able to tell what is working and what is not in their public relations strategy.
“Analytics of media monitoring tools and the use of these should be included in public relations programs nationwide.” Andrea Gils Public relations professionals need to be able to analyze data to recognize individual and cultural patterns of behavior to identify niche markets, weak and strong markets, and track e-commerce. Knowing how to use and interpret data gathered from Hootsuite or Wildfire facilitates development of strategy.
International mass media student receives PRSSA’s 2012 National Conference Grant By Andrea Gils
Andrea Gils, who came from Uruguay to study at Southeast Missouri State University, is a recipient of the 2012 National Conference Grant from the Public Relations Student Society of America. The grant will help her attend the PRSSA National Conference in San Francisco in October. Gils is already a leader in the PRSSA-SE chapter, and this grant will help her pursue a national leadership role. “I want to become part of the National Committee,” Gils said. “My aim is to address the controversies that arise in countries around
the world when the code of ethics and national laws conflict.”
“I want to become part of the National Committee.” Andrea Gils The first international student elected to the PRSSA-SE chapter’s highest office, Gils represents the Latin American community and exemplifies the global growth of the public relations profession. Gils holds an IBO bilingual diploma and a TESOL certificate from
Trinity College London. She is also a reporter and copy editor for the Arrow campus newspaper and is pursuing a B.A. in Journalism and a B.S. in Public Relations at Southeast. PRSSA is the foremost organization in the world for students interested in public relations and communications. Founded in 1968 by the parent organization, the Public Relations Society of America, PRSSA includes more than 10,000 student members and advisers and is active at more than 320 colleges and universities.
Gils’ projects for academic year 2012-2013 ✴ Arrow Copy Editor since fall 2012 ✴ Arrow reporter since spring 2012 ✴PRSSA President-elect 2012-2013 ✴ PRSSA Student-run Firm Director since fall 2012. ✴ Contributor to a research from the Psychology Department with Dr. Nancy Aguinaga and Dr. Ken Callis. ✴ Presenter of research at Student Research Conference in spring.