Public Relations professional websites

For this assignment, I chose five very different public relations websites. In reviewing the five public relations professional websites, the common similarity that I found was that each professional focused on introducing themselves and sharing their related experiences in the public relations field. Most professionals communicated a summary of the information that would be included in their resumes.

Some of the differences between these five websites included formatting styles in which some websites appeared to be more professional than others; a few of the websites offered pictures either of the professional or in general, while others simply included wording; and two of the websites, Iris Salsman (http://www.isalsmanpr.com/) and Stephanie Marston (http://www.eaglestalent.com/speaker-bureau,866,presenter,Stephanie-Marston,speaker.asp?source=google&gclid=CJHF3saJqpgCFRhhnAod3Wwemg), appeared to be more advertising focused in selling their services to potential clients.

I liked the fact that each of the professionals provided a high-level summary of
their expertise and past experiences in order to present themselves to the reader and potential future clients. I thought that “selling” your services was appropriate on the Salsman and Marston websites. I did agree that Marston providing a video link to view her speaking abilities was business appropriate. However, I was slightly turned off by Marston posting her fee rates at the beginning of her home page. I thought that the Ellis Strategies website (http://www.ellisstrategies.com/?gclid=CO_Ig4-BqpgCFQQRswodL3F8mw) was very well done. In my opinion, the globe on the home page indicated that the company may provide services worldwide. Even though, it appeared that the company was solely run by the President, the website gave the appearance that the company was much bigger than a one person show. I felt that Chris Martin’s website (http://www.chrismartinpublicrelations.com/) was quite professional in appearance and wording. On the other hand, I felt that Ryan May’s website (http://ryanmay.com/) was less professional in wording and appearance and could have been more “beefed up” to support his services.

Fashion Journalism

Marie Claire Magazine's Homepage Link

Marie Claire magazine is a style magazine that focuses on women around the globe and numerous universal matters.  The magazine also focuses on health, beauty, and trends in the fashion industry.  I love the black, white and red simple fonts and graphics that are used to create the webpage’s layout because everything looks organized and is easy to read.  I also like how the large image slideshow is the main focus instead of a bunch of scattered images.  I’m not too fond of the mustard yellow color that is used on the left panel of the webpage; I think that it ruins the color scheme and makes the webpage somewhat unattractive.

Cosmopolitan Magazine's Homepage Link

Cosmopolitan magazine is on the most popular young women's magazines worldwide.  Cosmo’s fashion journalists write articles on relationships, wellbeing, careers, self-improvement, style and beauty.  The bright, vivid colors used for the layout are perfect for targeting young women who are interested in the fashion industry.  The homepage is set up like a blog, which is also helpful in targeting young women because it gives off a modern vibe.  I don’t like how there are small pictures are placed directly to the right of the large picture slideshow.  I think the small pictures are a use of necessary space and that the main focus should be the clearer, large photographs in the center, without any distractions.

Allure Magazine's Homepage Link

Allure magazine’s main focus is femininity and beauty.  This webpage was my favorite because in my opinion, the webpage has a great balance between attractiveness and organization.  The webpage’s focal colors are red, black and white, but other colors are used creatively to offset one another.  I didn’t like how the links to the different sections of the website were listed on the top of the webpage.  I found it easier when the different section links of the webpage were listed on the left side of the page like on most the other fashion journalism websites.

Glamour Magazine's Homepage Link

Glamour magazine is much like Cosmopolitan magazine in that it focuses on women’s fashion, beauty, sex, love & life and health & fitness.  The layout is in blog form and is very easy to read because of the contrast between the white background and black font.  The pink headings at the top of the page give the webpage just enough of a female fashion vibe.  The advertisement placement on this webpage is very distracting because it seems to take up almost as much space as the webpage’s content itself.  The advertising might stand out more because of the white background, but I didn’t notice the advertising in any other of the fashion journalism websites as much as I did on this one. 

Vogue Magazine's Homepage Link

Vogue magazine is one of the most recognized women's magazines in the world.  It is also one of the most influential magazines in fashion.  It is considered to be an enormous authority in the business of beauty and fashion, which means that the website should be visually appealing and have a modern appearance.  Vogue’s website works for the company’s image because the layout has a very new and fresh appeal to it.  The layout creates a blog like effect with the scattered images across the page and the list of highlights on the left of the webpage.  As for what doesn’t work on this webpage, there are perhaps too many images displayed on the homepage, which can be a distraction, or even overwhelming to some visually.

Public Relations

The 'trustbarometer' really stood out to me.  Especially in this day and age its very intriguing to highlight the obstacles this industry is currently facing.

This jumped out at me.  The 'passion and precision' is what initially caught my eye but then with the list of awards, also their current accounts.  Also the list of videos and on the front page, illustrate what we are doing in this class directly relate.

This was an overwhelming site.  Too many words in small print with lots of things moving and blinking.  I had trouble finding where to even start reading.

This as most PR websites, highlights their accolades and gives the latest news and updates.  But i love the people(of all backgrounds) that fade out of the background with a snip-it about the company to the side.  Its eye-catching well written.

This website was horrible if not comical.  It seems as though this PR firm represents porn stars.  It's very boring with the exception of the front page magazine articles that flash the tawdry headlines that their clients undoubtedly create.

Home Healthcare Websites

http://www.angelsonduty.com/
Angels on Duty is a privately owned and operated company that offers the care of both nurses and nursing assistants throughout the St. Louis area in the comfort of one's home. This was the smallest company of the five home health care websites; the company is limited to the St. Louis region. What I enjoyed about their website was the personal, caring touch it portrayed. The lilac, cream, and sea foam green color scheme evoked a peaceful, comforting sense. The website was easy to read and informative; adding a personal touch with a biography of the owner and the employees.

http://www.bayada.com/default.htm

Bayada Nurses' is a nationwide home health care company offering a wide spectrum of home care services. The website seemed like a legitimate company that will provide the appropriate form of care depending on the need of the patient. I did like that site offered a breakdown of their services. The mission statement of the company reassures the viewer that they provide quality care. I didn't care for the actual layout and color scheme of the website. The poor appearance of the site clashed with the mission statement.

http://www.chomehealth.com/

Consolidated Home Health is a Medicare/Medicaid certified home health care company focused on the special needs of infants starting at 6 months of age up to teenagers 18 years of age. Of the five websites, this was by far my least favorite. It seems like someone started working on the website and decided to put in zero effort. It was gives the company an unprofessional feel. Additionally, it provides little information as to the specific care it provides. This site didn't give a legitimate feel, and would more than likely ward people from entrusting this company with the care of a loved one.

http://www.gentiva.com/index.asp

Gentiva is a large home health care company providing comprehensive home health care and related services. Out of the five websites I would say that this was one of my favorite websites. The site was informative, well-rounded, and easy to navigate. It had a professional appearance that would allow the viewer to consider and possibly contact the company for its home health care services.

http://www.hcr-manorcare.com/

HCR Manor Care is different in that it offers more than just home health care, providing a broad spectrum of services nationwide. I liked this site the both the professional, quality, and compassionate feel it portrayed. It had the most information as well. The only negative to the may be the ease of navigation. For elderly viewers it may be overwhelming and cause some confusion due to the size of the website.

When I read over this week's assignment I was unsure where to begin as my intended major, nursing, provides various areas to specialize in. Home health care is merely one of many options to choose from. Since home health care involves the well-being of another, it's imperative to the image of the company to provide a website which exemplifies professionalism, compassion, knowledge, and quality of care. When possible clients view the website they need to believe that they can entrust the company with the care of themselves or their loved one. Any form of health care is a tremendous responsibility, consequently, the website must exemplify that they possess the ability to handle such responsibility. As I browsed the websites of various home health care companies I selected five that were strikingly different from one another. Of the five I selected there were only three I found of liking. The three I liked all had a professional appearance, conversely, the two I didn't care for looked like an amateur had put the page together. How can somebody trust a health care company to provide adequate care if they can't even pull together an adequate website? Additionally, I felt the websites that stuck to a palate of lighter and softer colors were calming and pleasant to look at. Both websites I disliked used harsh, bold colors that gave an unpleasant appearance. Using lighter, softer shades works for home health care websites because it helps create that warm, fuzzy feeling that that particular company is going to take good care of you or your loved one. Another feature I found important was a sufficient amount of information about the company and its services. None of the five websites had crazy, innovative designs. A few of the websites had incorporated professional photos of their nurses and staff caring for patients which I thought worked well. I think the key element for the design of health care websites is to stick with a layout that's clean, simple, and makes use of understated personal touches.

Rehab Counseling Websites

http://www.eddinscounseling.com/

-This website was my favorite one, it has a very friendly but professional feel which in the Counseling field is necessary to help clients feel comfortable.

http://www.resourcebuilder.com/

-This website is very informational however; it seems very commercial in the way that it is formatted. The forest background and sunset header make me rather leery whether or not this is a legitimate counselor or someone who has been through hard life situations and thinks they know the correct way to counsel people.

http://www.transpersonaltherapy.com/

-This website for a professional counselor is the only one I found that had a profile of the counselor and an actual way to contact her. The way that the website is set up is pretty simple. It gives all the necessary information needed to make and educated decision about choosing a counselor.

http://www.davidcurry.ca/

-This website screams scam. The creator of the website misspelled counseling. Besides the fact that this

Website doesn’t seem legitimate, the color scheme and pictures portray a calming effect that people seeking personal/rehab counseling are looking for.

http://www.lyndahilburn.com/

-This website has all different “types” of counseling. Some which people do not consider professional methods of counseling. This website is very simple in its set up which is why I choose it. Out of all the websites I found this one seems very shady.

Discussion

It was difficult to find professional personal websites for counseling. Majority of the websites that I was able to find were usually state or university counseling programs. Out of the five that I choose¸ the first website worked the best in showing information and looking like a professional website. Majority of the websites that I was able to find were usually state or university counseling programs. Out of the five that I choose¸ first website worked the best in showing information and looking like a professional website. All of the websites had certain similarities in that they all were websites for personal counseling. However, besides being websites for counseling they really had not other similarities. All had different formats, some much better than the others. Overall all of these websites do a good enough job advertising the product of personal counseling.

Graphic Design

It's always difficult to find websites the pertain exactly to what one is looking for.

I felt like this was a great site to find out enough information, background, and work by the designer to decide whether or not to hire him to do work for you. It's more like he's a freelance designer, which makes his page even more successful.



This site didn't seem as effective in the beginning, but did after looking through it for a while. It does give a lot of information on the designer and her work. As well as reasons why one should hire a designer. But the initial page was lacking the visual aspect.


http://www.graphicdesign.com/

This site used almost too much graphics to put the point across, and I personally think that it ruined the site. There were almost too many links. It was like they were trying to be organized, but it was just too much. And the texture of the background makes it very difficult to focus on the rest of the site.


http://www.arsthanea.com/#/news/

This was my second favorite site. It seemed very sophisticated and well put together to show all the different work and background and contact information to the artist. It is something that I could eventually go by to make my own page, someday.


http://www.oconnordesign.net/

This site was extremely easy to navigate, even if one wasn't comfortable with the internet. I feel like that is extremely important with designer's websites, as well as any service. People are getting on to find someone to do this work for them and may not understand much about the internet or navigating a page. This had large lettering and was also very easy to read. I think this was my favorite page.

Graphics Design

ttp://www.dcfb.com/ This was my favorite site. It had the most business feel to it and great attention grabbing color. They did a great job of displaying their portfolio and showcasing the type of work they do.







http://www.questgraphicsdesign.com/ I thought this page seemed really fun. It appears as if the girl is watching you the whole time. Her big brown eyes are watching you with each click on the site. It was a great attention getter and made me keep looking at the site to see what other types of designs they created.

http://www.imageworksstudio.com/ This webpage was an attention grabber. When you first opened it up, it looked like just a boring web page, then, the top graphics area started moving and doing an illustration of what the company could do for you. It was like the online version of a pop-up book.





http://www.leveltendesign.com/ This site showcased right up front the types of webpages this graphics design company creates. I liked that you could click on each page to get a feel for the client they were working with.






http://www.graphicdesignstudio.net/ I chose this webpage because the graphic seemed unique and really caught my eye. You had to read a bit to learn about the company, but once you clicked on the pages, you could see that they did really unique, fun work.






At first I was not sure how to tackle this assignment. I had not thought about looking at other websites to get a feel for the industry I am studying. I work for a company that does benefits consulting, so I just thought that would be the area I would focus on. Because of this project, I now have a broader perspective of what is out there, and may focus my attention more in certain aspects of the job. Currently, the company hires out their web design work to an outside agent. After doing this project, I can see that I could start focusing my skills towards the web design area and work with our company to lead up the benefits on-line area. The sites I looked at all seemed to have a similar feel. They informed the reader about their services and then each one had a portfolio of previous work for you to look at. To me, the ones that had some type of fun graphic on the homepage were the ones that seemed the most interesting to me. The similarities are that all the homepages are basically a description of the company and have links to their portfolios. The biggest differences with the pages are that they each show the different talents of the designers. Some are flashier than others, and for me, that is they type of page I look for when looking at graphics design elements. If I were the person hiring someone to create a webpage for me, I would want it to be something I knew would hold the interest of the readers looking at my webpage.

Radio Broadcasting: Sports and Music

This is the home of the Cardinals KMOX 1120. This is what you listen to when you want to hear the Cardinals if you are not by a television. I listen to it because I love to hear Mike Shannon call a basebal game. I could listen to him talk about old baseball stories and to call the game. He has such a great radio voice and I hope to one day to have that same voice and to have people want to listen to me rather than watch the game on television.

This is the Big 550 KTRS and the thing I listen to the most is Redbirds Radio. They cover all the latest on the St. Louis Cardinals. They give you all the inside scoop on the trades and free agents that are out there for the Cardinals. They will also tell you how bad the Cardinals are too.

This website is for Team 1380. THis is a radio broadcasting station that talks about sports and other issues that go on in the world up to date. I specifically like to listen to the ITD Morning After show with Tim McKernan, Doug Vaughn, and Jimmy "The Cat" Hayes. They have to be the best sports talk morning show in America and I advise all of you to listen to them.

This is my mentor Tim McKernan's website InsideSTL and it is one of the most popular sites in the St. Louis area. It has all the important things that have happened in the area that includes sports, politics, and even the night life. The most popular thing on this website is the message board. Anybody and everybody post and post on this message board on a regular basis.

This is Z107.7 website and we all have listened to this station at some point for the music while we are driving or getting ready. It is a very nice website because it gives us all the music it has played throughout the day and you can even listen to this online while you are sitting in your room doing homework. What I like to listen to sometimes is the MJ Morning Show. They do some pretty funny stuff on there and keep you interested through the whole show.

I chose these websites/radio stations because these are the stations that I listen to the most. The websites really do not reflect on how someone will listen to the radio station itself. You will listen to the radio station because of who is on there and what they are saying to the public. You may like what they say or you may not and that is how you base what you turn on or not. Just because a certain website is not flashy or have a bunch of stuff does not mean it is not a great radio station. If we were going by whose website was better, we would probably say that Z107.7 or the InsideSTL websites are the best and we should listen to them more than the others. The other websites you see here or kind of plain and do not really offer a lot of information. Some do offer the news and other things that are going on but are not as flashy as the others seen here.

good & bad photography websites;

This website for children's photography is very clean and professional looking. it has a very cute, appropriate theme. >>

This website is very clean and crisp and looks very professional. Also showcases great pieces for the homepage. >>

This photography website doesn't even have any photos displayed! It looks more like a blog than a portfolio website. >>

This photography website is just okay. It looks semi-professional, but could probably be improved with a different font choice. >>

This Photography website looks very amateur-ish with the stock photo of the lens. There is no balance on the page. >>

All photography websites generally give a biography on the photographer, samples of work, pricing information, and contact information. The websites I found are all extremely different, the ones for weddings and child photography generally had white backgrounds and clean layouts, and the portrait photographers generally had black backgrounds. Three of the websites had terrible layouts and did not look professional, and one of the sites didn’t even have any images on the homepage…isn’t the point of a photography website to show off your images? The dark websites didn’t really work because they didn’t really give off a pleasant vibe, whereas the websites that were colorful and light worked because they were cleaner and easier to read. Dark colored websites COULD work if the design and layout was really phenomenal, but in this case, the design wasn’t all there. Also, the websites that use action script and flash tend to be more exciting and give off a more experienced and professional vibe than those that just have stable images sitting on the page. Additionally, two of the websites had working logos and a corresponding design flow, while the other three did not, which also contributes to reliability and trustworthiness of the photography company. From this exercise, I have learned how my photography and design portfolio website should look and what will bring more clients in than just the photos alone.

Websites - Healthcare Public Relations/Advocacy

The Public Relations Society of America has a Health Academy dedicated to education and networking for the specialized area of health care public relations. This is an indication that the Public Relations industry has recognized that there are unique aspects and needs of health care PR and that the traditional rules for understanding consumers does not necessarily apply to health care products, services or issues.

The UC Davis Medical Center’s website is an example of numerous sites that I found that are part of hospital or medical center websites. This outlines the MC is set up to deal with patient relations and problems, who to contact, etc.

Patient and Family Advocates, LLC – is a web site for an independent advocacy service that will come in and interpret medical charts and data and help explain circumstances and options to patients and families. The expertise of their staff includes RN’s MSW’s and legal professionals. This is certainly one way to do advocacy which helps the family and patient – but will more likely set up an adversarial relationship with the patient’s medical providers.

www.thefamilyadvocate.com is a website similar to the above, although it is a free-lance former RN. The introduction is very good and seems to explain the role of advocate and offers services similar to the above. The problem with both of these is that the advocate really has no more ability to resolve problems or get information than the family, because they are not part of the medical team and will likely create distrust with the medical professionals and make the dr/patient relationship more adversarial.

Patient Advocate.org is a website for a non-profit organization dedicated to the task of patient and family advocacy. It is a resource for both users and practitioners.

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