Tips on stengthening a chapter from University of North Texas

By: Brandon Abbott (University of North Texas)

Before I boarded the plane to attend the Public Relations Student Society of America National Assembly, I asked myself, “What am I doing here?” Traveling is fun… Meeting new, young professionals is fun… but what I was honestly searching for was a way to strengthen my chapter at North Texas.

After speaking with other chapters in the same position, I realized our chapter struggled in one key element: engagement. The lack of reaching out and retaining local members was at the heart of our problems; therefore, I decided to begin planning (strategically, of course) to help engage our chapter.

Now what do I mean by engagement? In this context, engagement is measured by the number of active paid member who frequently attend events and meetings, participate in tours and fundraisers and represent the chapter via PRSSA resources (Twitter chats, online forums, etc.). In short, engagement is member activity.

To specifically monitor the engagement process, we broke it down into three categories:

PR Strategies, making measurable goals and objectives. By using specific numbers, the chapter will have goals to strive towards. In my case, I’m planning to increase active membership by 10 members. Also, I plan to host three fundraisers, seven speakers/presenters and three Skype chats with fellow PRSSA chapters.

Educate, spreading the work. Reaching out to freshmen is a great place to start. By arranging presentations for beginner-level classes, I plan to draw more attention to our organization in order to keep it strong as seniors begin graduating. Educating the underclasses will increase awareness and help to reach our goal of 10 new members and ultimately, strengthen the brand of PRSSA at the University of North Texas. Another way to apply our goal of education is to explain the lingo of public relations. Many people who are not in the field do not understand a lot of what is said. For example, strategic communications is more than talking with people. Strategic communications is a process for PR practitioners developed using objectives, attack plans, tactics and more. It’s more than what some may think, and I feel explaining the PR jargon is where the education starts.

Outreach, getting others on your side. I know I can’t do it alone. My executive board can not do it alone. We will need help. To start, reaching out to other chapters is the perfect chance to learn, grow and connect with other young professionals.

Striving to engage our chapters should be the goal for the PRSSA brand as a whole. It will not always be easy to put the above into action and not all chapters are the same, but in general, engaging active membership is the foundation for a strong PRSSA community and a notable, recognizable society on campus.