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Students How 2
A newsletter for you:
The college student
who wants to learn
how to do everything
better, easier and
cheaper. Help yourself:
College is often referred to as ‘the best
Featured: time of your life’ but it can also be a very
How to create a PR stressful time. Students are learning
campaign how to balance school, work and their
social lives while still struggling with
How to successfully everyday stressors. This newsletter will
sell your clothes on help you, a struggling college student,
Instagram learn various tips and tricks for making
student life easier. Work smarter, not
How to NOT become harder and help yourself make the most
the intolerable
of your college years.
roommate

1
 How 2 create a PR campaign
By Nicole McKillop
Research portion, a key thing to remember
is to know your public, the group of peo-
ple with similar interests or values you are
trying to reach with your campaign. It’s
important to understand what they value in
a product/service and what kinds of cam-
paigns would pique their interest.
“Every component is important,” said
Dr. Cui Meadows, who currently teaches
ECU’s PR Campaigns capstone course,
“but I would say research is most import-
ant. You do research in every step of the
campaign.”

Know your publics

It’s also important to consider all the dif-
ferent groups that are going to support you
PR student outside of ECU's Joyner and be of interest, known as enablers,
East School of Communication. customers, and the groups that are going to
Photo by Nicole McKillop go against you, the limiters. Considering all
forces working for and against your campaign always
important to be prepared for any possible outcome,
As communication students move further along in and to create the most appealing campaign directly
their studies and define their focus within their major, aimed at your target audience.
their tasks become less about learning new material, “A professional has to have a good understanding
and more about taking the concepts they’ve learned of their public,” said Meadows, “What are their wants
and applying their studies to real-life projects. In a and needs? Don’t create a campaign for all, really
concentration like Public Relations (PR), as students segment and research your public and tailor your
near the end of their studies begin to apply the the- message.”
ories and concepts they’ve learned and implement Professionals can target their audiences wants and
them into a PR campaign. In this article, PR students needs to tailor their messages by creating an open and
can learn what goes into a PR campaign and how to interactive space with their consumers. Many compa-
make it effective to appeal to their audience. nies nowadays lean towards social media channels as
ways to connection and better understand their audi-
Campaign modeling: research ence. They can track who they follow, what content
A common model students follow in PR when cre- they like, and cater their messages towards what the
ating a campaign is the RACE model, which stands people want to see and hear from them.
for Research, Action-planning, Communication and
Evaluation. The first two steps here, Research and Taking action
Action-planning, are crucial to creating an effective After you have defined your public, what they are
campaign. There is a lot of background work that interested in, and trends they may follow, have
goes into a PR campaign that the public is unaware explored all possible outcomes with your customers
of before the final product is released. Within the Continued on page 3

2
as well as your limiters to remain prepared, you can
move into the next step: Action-planning. Now that
you know who you want to reach in your campaign,
you need to decide what message you want to say and
get across to your audience.
“Nowadays consumers are looking for relatable as-
pects to a brand. People want to feel seen,” Meaghan
Skelly, junior communications student at ECU who
will soon be enrolling in the PR campaigns course “I
think building an emotional connection within cli-
entele has been working really well in the PR world
recently.”
Brands and organizations can build these emo-
tional connections with clientele through researching
their demographic and finding what other topics,
social issues, organizations they are interested in that
appeal most to them. For example, in today’s market,
more clothing and fashion brands that are targeted
towards a female audience are using more messages
that emphasize body positivity and making women of
all shapes and sizes feel beautiful, appreciated, and
represented.
In Action-planning, two key terms to keep in mind
are strategies and tactics. In this stage, you begin to
implement your goals and create ideas for how you
want to get your message across. Strategies are your
overarching ideas on what you want to accomplish
and tactics are how you want to get that done. For
example, a strategy can be that you want to educate
your audience on a certain social topic/issue, and the
tactics would be things like recording informative
PR student starting to record her
thoughts and objectives.
Photo by Nicole McKillop
3
videos or creating eye-catching infographics to use
as posters. These two concepts work hand in hand to
help you organize and plan your PR campaign and
visualize how to accomplish your goals.
Implementation & evaluation
The final two steps are Communication and Evalua-
tion. These steps include implementing your
Action-planning strategies and tactics, and then later
evaluating what worked well and what could be
improved in your campaign. Ways to track evalua-
tion involves methods like measuring impressions
of the tactics utilized in the implementation stage,
checking statistics from online and social media
platforms, gauging public opinion online and in
person, and seeing the effect your tactics have on
your business, brand, or organization’s sales or over-
all traffic and awareness. It is commonly believed
amongst PR professionals that background work,
analyzing your public, and strategy planning are the
most important steps in creating a PR campaign. If
you keep these steps with the RACE model in mind
and put the time and effort into knowing your public
and your mission, the campaign you deliver will be
a hit and will keep the people wanting more.
For more resources and examples of successful PR
campaigns, go to https://www.meltwater.com/en/
blog/best-pr-campaigns.
The RACE Model
Public Relations
Research:
What is the problem or situation?
Action:
What is going to be done about it?
Communication:
How will the public be told?
Evaluation:
Was the audience reached?
what was the effect?
 How 2 successfully sell your clothes
on Instagram By Madison Deane

Madison’s closet account

on instagram.
Photo by Madison Deane

During my sophomore year of high school, I decid- media platform, starting from the bottom does not
ed that a closet cleanout was a must. Dresses and tops always come easy. Building a strong foundation for
were pilling on top of one another and the thought of consumers and followers takes time but is worth it in
keeping every article of clothing overwhelmed me. the end.
Inspiration struck my mind after seeing influenc- Betsy Burleson, founder of “Two Peas in a Blog,”
ers blogging about selling clothes and items online, a site on which twin sisters discuss latest fashion
whether this was through Poshmark, Mercari, or trends, portrays how she patiently built her social
Depop. I soon turned to social media, a place where media platform.
I felt I could express myself and display content that “We’d write blog posts about our looks, what
I loved to friends, family, and other peers. However, we were loving, and what was trending and added
I had trouble getting started with my closet account. the links to shop within the posts. At this point we
I felt defeated after spending countless hours online weren’t making any commission or money off it,”
researching how these influencers had built such Burleson says. “Once Instagram and social media
success. took off, we shifted to more content there and less on
As a junior in college, I have finally learned tips, our blog. In the beginning, we posted to the blog usu-
tricks, and tools that are used to keep consumers ally six days a week. Now it’s more like one to two a
wanting more. These skills can help others flourish in week, sometimes less. Social media is where all the
their marketing on the social media platform, to sell interest and followers are now.”
profitably. To grow over any social media platform, trust and
patience come hand in hand. Starting with only a few
Creating a platform customers and followers is just the beginning of a
When it comes down to establishing your social Continued on page 5

4
 Want to read
more student
How-2s?
Post pricing, size, and if it has been
worn. List clear images of your
items that allow customers to see it Visit:
on as well. studentshow2.
Photo by Madison Deane wordpress.com

long-term business. post a still picture or reel on our Instagram feed

“This isn’t a get-rich-quick job. You have to
create a trusted following, which takes time. Even
if it’s fifty followers, you need to focus on those
fifty people. Don’t always be looking to gain more,”
Burleson advises.
Pricing
To create profit, pricing needs to be consistent. This
means that the items listed should be based on how
many times the items have been worn, the quality of
the product, and the original retail cost.
Emory Knott, owner of buy.ourstyle on Instagram,
explains how she handles pricing items and shipping
costs.
“Pricing an item primarily depends on the wear
of the piece. If the product is in great condition with
minimum wear, the percentage marked down will
be less. Vise versa for a worn-down item,” Knott ex-
plains. “Shipping costs depend on the weight of the
package. We charge $6-10 on our garments. Shoes
typically are more due to the weight of the shoe.”
then back it up with try-on videos on our Instagram
stories,” Burleson says. “Instagram stories are huge
for making sales. People want to see the product on,
as you’re wearing it and in real life.”
Giving the followers what they want will always
attract more. Burleson concludes, “Poll them, ask
them what they are loving from you, what they want
to see more of. Everyone has a different personality
and style to share. Make sure your true self shows
through. That is what followers can relate to.”
With these tips and plans of action in mind, creat-
ing your digital platform will no longer be a struggle
but a hustle. Focus on each point made from the
following and success will come your way.

Quality media posts

Creating content for your followers and consumers
is a great way to keep them engaged and steady with
your account. Creators need to use the best media,
whether this is through video or pictures, to help
promote/sell clothes.
Burleson gives her take on the best way to engage
her consumers. Upload quality media with
“For us, we see the most success with a combo of good lighting and neutral
still pics and try-on. People want to see how it looks backgrounds.
on and get the sizing/fit info from a try-on. We either Photo by Madison Deane

5
 How 2 NOT become the intolerable
roommate By Ella Doran

Roommates studying in a
cohesive dorm room.
Photo courtesy of
One of the most exciting parts of going off to col- publicdomainpicturs.net

lege is getting to live with a roommate. Many people

have good experiences and become best friends.
Hygiene
Others aren’t so lucky. These are a few tips and tricks
The showers should be used every day, especially on
to ensure you don’t become an intolerable roommate.
those hot and humid days walking to class. Laundry

should be done weekly as it can start to funk up a
Neatness
room in no time. A hack to keeping your dirty laun-
The first aspect of being a good roommate is tidiness.
dry from releasing too much of a smell is to get a
College dorms can be small and can feel even small-
laundry basket that has a drawstring at the top. This
er when sharing that space. Keeping the room unclut-
will trap odors in instead of letting them escape into
tered can make it feel bigger. Tidiness can also help
the room.
with mental health. According to research conducted
Another trick is to keep your detergent and dryer
by the University of South Carolina’s Paul Bliese,
sheets in your hamper or dirty clothes basket. The
having a comfortable environment is essential for
box of dryer sheets will help mask any smells. This
mental hygiene.
can also free up storage space and help you remme-
Another important aspect of dorm living is cleanli-
ber to bring these items to the laundry room when its
ness. Remember, it’s not just you living in this small
time to do laundry.
space and any scent in the room can be sniffed out

by both roommates. Jordan Stallworth is a senior
Consideration
at ECU and lived in the dorms for two years. When
Consideration for your roommate will score you big
asked what his biggest annoyance was when living
points and help you out in the long run. Many people
with a roommate, his answer was “never having a
clean room.” Continued on page 7

6
have different class schedules. If you have an 8 a.m.
class and your roommate is trying to sleep in, get
ready quietly. If you need to stay up late to cram for
an exam, make use of the library or study rooms. If
you take the last paper towel or tissue, replace it at
your earliest convenience.
Carey Stancil, a residence hall coordinator at East
Carolina University, said, “The most frequent com-
plaints that I see have to do with physical space and
items.”
He used someone having their friends over and let-
ting them sit on their roommate’s bed or letting them
touch items that didn’t belong to them as an example.
Stancil suggested, “setting a specific place for
guests to hang out like having a futon or sitting area
for guests.”

Sharing Keep dryer sheets inside dirty
Don’t assume ‘what’s mine is yours.’ A good way to clothes basket and keep draw-
keep your food or belongings to yourself is to have strings closed to mask any smell.
separate sides of shared storage. Whether it is a min- Photo by Ella Doran
ifridge, food cabinet, or closet, have your own shelf
or side to ensure there is no confusion about whose
stuff is whose. If you and your roommate are okay
with sharing certain items, make sure you establish
exactly which items those are.

Communication
The final tip that will get you through almost any
situation is to communicate. Communication will be
needed in all aspects of life, but it will definitely help
when you must share a space. If your roommate is
doing something that you do not appreciate, they will
never know if you don’t address it and vice versa.
Along with communication is being able to receive
feedback or criticism.
Stancil suggests, “setting expectations with your
roommate early and firmly, but nicely and not wait-
ing until there’s a conflict to have that conversation.”
He says, “Be a good roommate by listening to what
your roommate is comfortable with and not comfort-
able with.”
Living in the same room as another person won’t
always be a piece of cake. There are many ways to
avoid roommate troubles, but some are inevitable.
When these situations arise, have a conversation. If Have separate shelves
this doesn’t work, talk to your RA or dorm advisor. for personal food items
They can set up a mediation or help with additional not for sharing.
steps if necessary. Photo by Ella Doran

7
 Photo by Brendan Cavazos

Both the content for this newsletter and the design are created by students
enrolled in COMM 3310: Copy Editing and Design in the School of
Communication at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina
during the Spring and Fall semesters under the direction of course instructor
Barbara Bullington.

We welcome suggestions for article ideas for future issues.

For inquiries, please email bullingtonb@ecu.edu