Maiya's Blog

  Hi! Welcome back to the eighth week of blog posting. I cannot believe this series is already coming to an end!   As you may or may not know, I am working on completing Troy University’s Master in Strategic Communication program. The program is completely online. This means no scheduled classes, no in-person assignments, no walking all the way across campus to find out your class has been canceled, and no circling the parking lot waiting for a spot to open up. Sounds amazing, right? It definitely has its perks. I can complete my assignments at my own pace (within the assignment deadlines) and spend longer than a traditional class period working on them. This online program has allowed me to complete an in-person internship at the same time. The information I am learning through this program goes well alongside the real-life experience I am getting at my internship. I am lucky to be able to do both at the same time! While it seems like online school is the very best (it can be...

  ​​Welcome back! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family.  This week, I will be piggybacking off last week’s conversation about creating an appropriate holiday-centered advertisement. As we know from last week, finding yourself in a PR crisis is much easier than you would think. In fact, it happens pretty often. Now, I will be focusing on what happens after a PR crisis. How do you stop it? Well, you can’t. Once a PR crisis begins, “it is like trying to herd kittens” (Talkwalker, 2023). In other words, it is nearly impossible. While a PR crisis may be inevitable, there are many ways to address and mitigate it. It is crucial that PR strategists and business executives understand how to lessen the damage that could be done by a PR crisis. There are many situations that can lead to a PR crisis within an organization. When I think of a PR crisis, I immediately think of a situation in which an employee has done a careless act while proudly wearing their...

  Hi! Happy Thanksgiving week to all who celebrate.   With the holiday season rapidly approaching, we are seeing an influx of new seasonal advertisements. This falls perfectly in line with my discussion topic of the week, which surrounds producing appropriate advertisements. The rise of the digital age and technology has led to advertisements taking every possible angle. We see them all over social media, web browsers, street signs, sporting events, and more. Advertisements have taken over in digital and traditional forms, flooding our everyday lives. Advertisers like to produce content relevant to the location of consumers and the time of year. Especially during the holiday season, advertisers do their best to ensure that their brands incorporate getting people in the holiday spirit. The holidays promote ideas of family and friends togetherness, childhood nostalgia, and enjoying good food. It seems obvious that advertisers would use this to their advantage and produce ads tha...

Hello there! Let’s get settled in for Week Five. This week, I am focusing on visionary leadership. When I first read this term, I definitely raised an eyebrow. Having a vision and being a leader are two concepts that I am familiar with. But the single concept of visionary leadership? I was thinking, “Is there even a difference?” And the answer is yes, after doing research I understand that there definitely is. Being a visionary leader is something much different, and a crucial leadership strategy. A visionary leader looks into the future and identifies a goal for their organization. They embody that goal and work towards it every day, encouraging others to do so as well. Visionary leaders look at situations and think about what could come from them. They come up with a plan to bring their vision to life and work towards the betterment of the organization. A good visionary leader will establish their goal and let it be known. This way, everyone in the organization knows what they are wo...

  Hi there! Welcome back to another blog post. This topic might be my favorite so far. This week, I had the opportunity to watch a Ted Talk titled “Everyday Leadership.” The speaker, Drew Dudley, says that leadership has been made into “changing the world,” when really, leadership is simply done every day (Dudley, 2010). Leadership is spearheading efforts contributing to ending world hunger, and leadership is seeing a nervous look on a classmate’s face before a test and reminding them, “you can do it!” The first form of leadership is huge, requiring lots of effort and hard work. The second form of leadership is small, requiring three simple words. Both forms of leadership are worth recognition and celebration, all the same. Whether intentional or not, everyone has led someone in one way or another. Without realizing, you may be the reason someone had a good day, or you may be someone’s greatest inspiration.  Dudley tells a story about a time when he influenced a student to sta...

  Hi there! Welcome back for Week Three.  Because it is the first week of November and the weather is beginning to cool, I wanted to share a photo from a beach sunset in August. I love all the different colors at the beach!  Let's get started! This week focuses on the concept of personal branding.  As a recent college graduate, this topic immediately stuck out to me. Throughout my undergraduate career, it seemed so easy to maintain my personal brand. I was in a sorority, many clubs, always with friends, and enjoying the life of an on-campus college student. My social media posts reflected my brand by promoting events I was going to and activities I was a part of. My wardrobe consisted of oversized t-shirts, athletic wear and tennis shoes (specifically Hoka’s). I had built my reputation by volunteering for club events and making friends in classes. I was excited, eager, and through my involvement, felt a sense of purpose. As you can probably tell, my brand was pretty ...