Unlocking My Potential

Hello again, everyone. Is everyone adjusting well in the establishment you all are interning at? I hope everything is going smoothly and I wish everyone happy working!

This is my second blog post and it has been a week since I first started my internship in Miri Marriott Resort & Spa. Besides’ the task of media clippings as mentioned in my previous blogpost, I have been assigned to do the company’s social media monitoring. My supervisor gave me their Facebook and Twitter’s ID’s and passwords. I was trusted with their social media accounts and boy, was I excited! Handling the social media accounts of a 5-star establishment known worldwide was thrilling.

Miri Marriott’s PR department is handling Mulu Marriott’s social media accounts. Hence, I was tasked to monitor both Miri and Mulu Marriott’s accounts. My first task was to increase the likes of their Facebook page as well as increase the follower counts. When I started, Mulu Marriott’s Twitter account’s followers were merely 42 followers. As of today (7 July 2015), I managed to increase the count to 388. As for Miri Marriott’s Twitter account, it first started off at 7690 and I managed to bring the count up to 8062. My supervisor have been telling me that the Miri Marriott Twitter accounts followers have been decreasing for weeks now. After mentioning to him about the increase, he praised me on my efforts and I was proud of myself. The feeling of accomplishment truly is indescribable. Please do visit Miri Marriott's Facebook page here and Mulu Marriott's Facebook page here. You can also visit their Twitter pages: Miri Marriott & Mulu Marriott respectively.

Every morning at 8.30 am, our department team will have a morning briefing and we will go through our daily packet which includes messages from the General Manager of Cluster Director of both Miri and Mulu Marriott, birthday shoutouts, forecasts of room bookings and many more. After the briefing, we each have to mention our goals and tasks to be done on that very day. I will always update the team on the amount of followers I’ve managed to increase yesterday and hopefully increase them further that day.

Besides’ that, today, I was given the task of writing a press release on Mulu Marriott’s “Spirit To Serve” (STS) program. STS program is Marriott’s community relations program where they support the communities where we live and work. Marriott International focuses on five global social issues: poverty alleviation, the environment, community workforce development, the wellbeing of children, and global diversity and inclusion. The program helps to create goodwill by supporting special causes. This program is a way for Marriott to “give something back” to the community. Besides that, it helps to garner valuable media attention as well as developing close working relationships with local businesses and community groups. Through the program, the company can build partnerships with other corporate sponsors and develop rapport with them.

You can read more on Marriott's Spirit To Serve here.

Press release format:

Be sure to indicate right at the top that this document is a news release. The words, “News for Immediate Release,” should be bold as possible in the upper left-hand of the page.

Be sure to:

• Use the full name of the property;
• Type the release in Times New Roman font, 12 point type;
• Use an informative or catchy headline in all caps, on two single-spaced lines. Position the headline flush left, not centered;
• Double-space after the headline, and double space between lines of a release. Triple space between paragraphs. Do not break paragraphs between pages;
• Do not indent paragraphs;
• If a release is longer than one page, put the word “more: at the end of each page. At the end of the release, put a “30” and “###) to signal the end;
• Number all pages but the first one. Include a shortened version of the headline at the upper left-hand corner of subsequent pages and the appropriate page numbers, including the word “page”;
• Only capitalize executive titles when they come before the person’s name. Do not use courtesy titles (Mr., Ms.) on the first reference on an individual. Use the full name instead, Use courtesy titles on all subsequent references; and
• Spell out numbers from one to nine, use numerals for numbers from 10 and up. Always spell out numbers that begin a sentence.

Media Monitoring Do's & Don'ts

Media Monitoring Do’s

• DO complete your profiles

Make sure your profiles are branded, and that they explain what service you provide. Include a link to your website or how people can get in touch with you.

• DO engage with your audience

Make sure your posts are interesting for your audience, respond to questions and comments as timely as possible, and keep your messages consistent with your brand’s identity.

• DO plan ahead

Creating a monthly calendar of any special days or content you want to distribute can help to keep your social channels timely and fresh.

• DO consider timing when posting

Ensure your posts have a good chance to be seen by your target audience by posting at the most effective times to achieve higher levels of social engagements

• DO use links and hashtags

Links can be used to direct traffic back to your website and hashtags help to get your posts seen. Breanded, unique hashtags can help users find your content faster and more easily, as well as establishing your brand.

• DO reshare content

Social media is all about community so reshare and engage with the content of others that is relevant to your audience. It’s a great way to build connections and show support to the business community you’re a part of.

• DO make your content stand out

Variety is key when it comes to types of content being shared. Include a mix of images, blogposts, infographics, tips, authoritative content and video.

• DO respect your audience

You’ve worked hard to build your audience so don’t let it go to waste by being rude or aggressive. Respond to people who have taken the time to get in touch-always be positive and emphasize your strengths rather than highlighting any weaknesses.

 Media Monitoring Don’ts

• DON’T spread yourself too thin

Don’t waste time signing up to every social media platform going if you’re not going to have time to update each one regularly. Think about what’s important and will work for your business.

• DON’T spam your feeds

Social media should be used to inform and show your expertise, not just to hard sell. Don’t overwhelm your feeds with too much information though; carefully consider the content you’re sharing.

• DON’T forget to monitor

You should be monitoring your channels daily for comments, compliments and complaints so that you can respond to them effectively.

• DON’T skimp on resources

Don’t underestimate what is required when running social media channels for your business. Fresh content must be created and be up to date with the industry news and changes, while someone should be responsible for regular posting and interacting with any customer comments or queries

• DON’T overdo it

No one likes a post with a thousand hashtags in it. Limit yourself to 2-3 key phrases and try to use them naturally within sentences instead of lumping them at the end.

• DON’T plagiarize content

Resharing is one thing, copying content and branding it as your own is another. Always give credit when credit is due.

• DON’T forget about the visuals

From infographics to videos, posting visual-based content drives interaction. Time is short so having content that is easy on the eye and quick to digest is key.

• DON’T share or interact with questionable content

There’s a delicate line on social media as to what should be shared and what shouldn’t. think carefully about your business and what it stands for before you interact with controversial or questionable content.

If you would like to read more on the Do's & Don'ts, please visit the website here 

"The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.”
– Jimmy Johnson

That's all for my second blog post. Stay tuned for my next one. 

Till then, happy working!

Jasmine Alyssa Epui
Miri Campus
Curtin Sarawak University

17143743

New Beginnings

I’m sure most of you are having your internship right now as I’m typing this and I wish all of you a very happy working! 

First, let me introduce myself. Hello, my name is Jasmine Alyssa. I am a PR and Marketing major in Curtin Sarawak. This is my first internship placement ever in my life and I am glad I have the opportunity to do it in a 5-star internationally known hotel at Miri Marriott Resort & Spa. You cannot believe how excited I was when I receive the acceptance letter from the establishment.

On my first day of intern which is 1^st July, 2015, I drove myself to the hotel and made sure that I was punctual. At 7.50am, I walked to the hotel lobby to meet the HR officer, Ms. Edna. She then brought me to her office and gave me a few documents to read and sign. They were the job scopes of my one month internship in Miri Marriott. I was then introduced to a “buddy”, Warren, who is also an intern but at the Sales department. We then went to the Career Department Center and was briefed on the Do’s and Don’t’s in the office as well as a brief introduction to the company.

Do you know that Marriott first started off as a 9-seat root beer stand and only one worker? I was impressed that they gradually expand into the lodging industry and now owns 4100 properties in 74 countries! All that hard work paid off in just 88 years. Impressive! Find out more on Marriott's story here.  We were also given our “Trainee” nametag which has to be worn at all times. We were also informed of the proper dressing of the hotel which we have to be polished and smart at all times. A proper etiquette of answering the phones was also informed to us which goes like this.

Self: Good morning, PR department. This is Jasmine speaking. How may I assist you?

After the briefing session, I was introduced to my PR supervisor, Mr. Lian and the rest of the team. They welcomed me with bright smiles and introduced each one of them. I felt at home and very welcomed by them. I thought that the atmosphere would be awkward but there were no such feeling at all. I was then showed to my desk to settle my things down. I was ready to work.

                                              

The first task assigned to me was handling the media clippings. First, I have to go through all English, Chinese and Malay newspapers. Secondly, I have to cut out relevant news regarding hotels, tourisms and airline industry as well as any promotions or advertisement plus future events from the newspapers. Then, I will paste the clippings on the paper provided and write down which publication it was from as well as the date of the newspaper. Next, I will compile the clippings and let my supervisor go through them all. Finally, after the approval of my supervisor, I will then scan the clippings. My supervisor will then circulate the scanned clippings to all staff via email.

The purpose of doing newspaper clipping is to update the staff on the current news relating or affecting the company. We will also know what our competitors’ are currently doing and improve our competitive advantage. The newspaper clippings are not only limited to Miri but to the whole of Malaysia. You can imagine how many hotels there are in Malaysia, let alone the humble Miri.

It was my first time doing the newspaper clippings and I surprisingly enjoyed doing it. It took me almost 4 hours going through a huge pile of newspapers and I was left with stained fingers after that.  The supervisor later explained to me why newspaper clippings were so important to them. It is a crucial step to examine the potential threats and opportunities through the newspaper clippings. Through this, they are able to keep up with the happenings in the tourism industry especially on the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment’s plan or laws and regulations on the industry itself.

Newspaper clippings aren’t just merely flipping through newspapers, cutting them out and pasting it onto papers. It plays a crucial role of contributing to sales and marketing as well as revenue management. The establishment can analyze booking patterns of customers and forecast room rates to maximize profit and sales. This humble task not only forecast their competitor’s moves, the establishment can find new ways and ideas to improve themselves and outdo their competitors.

I never knew that a simple task of mine will be crucial to the company. I hope that I will be able to do a good job and not to miss out on any news or articles.

"Time to open up a new chapter in life, and to explore a larger centre."
-Lilian Russell

That is all for my first blog post. Stay tuned for my next one!

Till then, have a great day!

Jasmine Alyssa Epui
Miri Campus
Curitn Sarawak University

17143743