Name: Sara Bueltel
School: Pittsburg State University
Year: Senior
Major: Marketing / Minor: Communications
Hometown: Pittsburg, KS

My First Week:
Memorial Day afternoon you could have found me driving the three long hours up to Topeka, anticipating for what was to come on Tuesday morning: my first day at jhP! On my way to the office, I was questioning myself and wondering if turning down the Chief’s internship was such a good idea. At the end of the first day I knew I had made the right choice.  Being able to sit in on a couple meetings and giving my input (and the boss liking my idea!) was very helpful. Understanding what jhP does and how they go about putting a project together is not like any other company I’ve seen. jhP, as Dustin described it, is a very team oriented workplace. Everyone seems to help everyone else in any way possible to ensure that the job is done properly and to it’s full potential. The week before, in my interview, Kurt expressed their work as only ‘A+ work’; they never turn in anything less to the client. Wednesday, I was fortunate enough to be able to sit in on a video shoot (which was very exciting). Being able to experience first hand the handy work and professionalism of jhP’s employees with their client was a site to see. Overall, I guess you could say that my first week at jhP was all I could ask for and more.

That work environment’s crazy!!! Surprised?
No, not at all – there are crazy people working here! (Just kidding!) I knew coming in that the deadlines are strict (which I love) and that the people working it had to be a little insane to WANT to work in a high stress environment.

So I hear graduation makes you a big kid – any “career goals” (oooohhhh ahhhhhh)?
I’m not quite sure yet. I’m here to explore the options that a great marketing company offers. I’ve been exposed to Human Resources on the PSU campus and have tremendously enjoyed working there. I’ve also enjoyed being able to understand the concepts, skills, and motivation needed to work in that type of environment. I’ve briefly been exposed to the Public Relations side of marketing and would like to explore that a little further. I would also enjoy seeing the Account Manager side of things. I’m here to explore my options and see what fits me best.

So you’re the intern – bet you have to get a lot of coffee right? What could make your life better/improve your job/enhance your experience/make you feel less like the gopher that interns typically feel like?
No, I haven’t had to get any coffee for anyone yet but Starbucks does sound good! Being able to sit in on things that are happening around the office and with clients is a big deal and lets me experience how things are done in the ‘real world’. Being able to help – with anything – to try and be a part of the exceptional team (feeling needed) is always a plus, being the ‘new kid on the block’ and all.

Activities/Interests/Hobbies:
Dancing! I’ve done the typical tap/jazz/ballet scene but I’ve also done Zumba, Western, and Ballroom. I enjoy the western and ballroom dancing the most. I am also interested in large bodies of water: lakes, ponds, pits, rivers, the ocean…etc. Boating, in my opinion, is the most fun.

Favorite Band/Music/etc:
My favorite genre of music has to be country but I will listen to just about anything (please no screaming music).

About you:
I will graduate in May of 2011 with a bachelor’s in Marketing minor Communications. Many people raised me but most of the credit goes to my mom, Tammie, and step-dad, Charlie, they always knew I would do great things and have supported me every step of the way. Even though I was raised in Pittsburg most of my life, I was born in Topeka and remember grandma and grandpa picking me up from kindergarten and taking me out for lunch. My favorite place to go was (and still is) Taco Casa.

I love to dance, go boating, bake, read and spend time with family and friends. Being nominated for Student Employee of the Year last semester was very inspiring. I will be a part of Crimson Club (‘the President’s club’) next year as well as an Advancement Ambassador (the Alumni side) for PSU. I am very excited to be on board with jhP! This experience will help me narrow (and broaden) my sights for my last year of school and what the future may hold.

The jhP team works hard together and often plays together too. Last Saturday, we celebrated the start of summer, along with family and friends, by heading to Kauffman Stadium to watch the Kansas City Royals face the Detroit Tigers. It was a hot one at the “K,” but the team had each other’s back with ice-cold beers, bottles of water and the power of the jhP positive attitude. We rooted for the home team, and their loss was a shame, but the jhP team still enjoyed taking a little time together for fun. Check out the photos above from our day at the “K.”

Of course the Internet is changing. Change is what it does best – faster and better than any other medium ever. Although we launched the jhP blog just a few years ago, social media has rapidly gained influence. So now’s an ideal time to reinvent our online presence. We concentrated on three key areas.

Conformity

Building a solid brand requires thoughtful repetition. While jhP has built a presence on most major social media sites, they were constructed one at a time – over time. The existing materials, though strong in and of themselves, expressed different visual philosophies.

It was time to take a look at everything we had going, all at once, and establish a more uniform look. We like to think of jhP’s style as being sophisticated simplicity. Our new designs should collectively reflect that.

Usability

Slick visuals are good, but a website serves a purpose. Users want to quickly access information. We at jhP want to make that easy. The new blog is designed with functionality and simplicity at its heart.

By removing extraneous ornamentation, simplifying the color scheme, and standardizing the appearance of elements, we draw attention to the content and what the user can do with it. Large areas of white space and careful use of the company orange coordinate to focus attention where it’s due.

Facebook, Twitter, and other social media tools have been integrated throughout. Users can comfortably and easily share content with their friends. That interchange is vital in making the jhP online presence meaningful to visitors.

Flexibility

The Internet will change again tomorrow. We’re building to accommodate that change as easily as possible. That means using strong, flexible, accessible standards. The new blog is designed to accept quick revisions to structure and appearance to adapt to whatever comes next.

Thanks for visiting our latest evolution. We hope you like it. Whatever you think, let us know. There is always evolving yet to do.

My Life Without Facebook: IS OVER!!

In case you missed it – I gave up Facebook for Lent.

It’s official – Lent’s over and so is this experiment. Which is good because I’m TOTALLY OVER this whole no Facebook thing! I’ve enjoyed the increase in face-to-face and phone conversations that I’ve had with my friends and family, but those conversations could have been even more fun with a little help from Facebook on current events.

I was an early adopter of Facebook and other social media outlets, so it’s been nice being able to take a step back to remind myself, and others, how this tool can really be utilized. By doing so I was able to be reminded of how Social Media can affect us, not just personally but professionally. So I hope through my step back we have all began to think of social media as a compliment to your traditional marketing plan. Here are a few other things I hope you’ve began to think more about in regards to your business:

• Social Media is a way to engage with your customers – but should not replace in-person or personal communication.

• You can’t communication with your audience if you’re not using the same communication tools that your audience is using.

• You might be trying to communicate, but if you’re not where your audience is then business can get pretty lonely pretty fast!

• Social networks aren’t the ONLY place your audience is at so it should not be the ONLY place your business advertises. It should compliment your other advertising efforts.

So what did I do first on Facebook?

•   Looked at pictures of all my friend’s newborn babies
•   Became a fan of my bank’s Fan Page
•   Went through all my friend requests (15), messages (56) and event invites (I stopped counting!)
•   Followed up on the happenings in my friends, family, co-workers and client’s lives – we’ve got LOTS to cover this week!!!
•   Updated my calendar with several of my client’s events as well as local non-profit and chamber events.
•   Uploaded all the pictures I’ve taken the last month and a half
•   Went through my news feed (no not from the last 6 weeks – just the last day)

I’ve CLEARLY got lots more to catch up on but that’s kept me busy for a little while. I hope you enjoyed relentlessly torturing me with stories about facebook gossip. I also hope you’ve enjoyed following the things I’ve learned from this experiment, but mostly I hope that you’ve taken something away about how communication channels are evolving.

Next year I’m totally giving up cookies or maybe chocolate – but definitely NOT Facebook! Until then, thanks again for following and I’ll see you on Facebook.

My Life Without Facebook:
Week 3

In case you missed it – I gave up Facebook for Lent.

Three and a half weeks down; three to go. Giving up Facebook has given me some unexpected extra time on my hands. At first that was refreshing, but after the newness wore off it quickly became lonely. Within just a few days of giving up Facebook I had an epiphany – Facebook’s so much more to me than just a time waster or a gossip/news site. It’s about being a part of something bigger than myself. That’s why people get involved in groups right? For me, it’s about staying connected with friends, and being included in a conversation I would not normally be included in. I may not engage in the conversation but that doesn’t mean I’m not following it – which is similar to standing with a group at a big party and listening to a conversation but not adding anything (come on, we’ve all perfected our head nods!). So needless to say, these past three weeks could have been pretty lonely. By day two it felt a little like I was already out of sight, out of mind.

Last week’s point was that if you can’t communicate with your customers/potential customers then how can you expect them to continue utilizing products or services they don’t even know about? Then, last Monday, my friend Melissa exhibited this point perfectly when she told me that if I give up Facebook again for Lent we can’t be friends anymore. Obviously, she’s kidding, but she showed me another way to look at last week’s message. Much like my lonely feelings from being unable to take part in the Facebook conversation, a business can be pretty lonely if it isn’t communicating with its customers. And if you’re like me – you might be trying to communicate with your audience, but if you’re not using the same communication tools they are, then it can get pretty lonely pretty fast!

So start talking. Find out where your audience gets their news and gossip. Learn where they spend their time and get a presence there. Make yourself top of mind and become part of the conversation. That’s just a little piece of the success puzzle.

A week’s worth of my rambling mind:

• I think I’m falling in love … with the band Safetysuit. Thank you Pandora for yet ANOTHER amazing recommendation!

• I just finished speaking to three VERY bright classes at Washburn University about jhP, marketing, advertising and, of course, Google’s Fiber Network Experiment.

• I’ve got SO many weddings and baby showers in the next three months that I just don’t think I’ll be able to knit everyone afghans … how about anniversary/1-year birthday gifts?

• I love Topeka, but I miss Manhattan. I need to get myself another one of these shirts! www.imissmanhattan.com