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Public Relations Plan

Huong Cao
Client: GMU Writing Center

Client Portfolio
Professor Christina Wenks
COMM 391
FALL 2017
 About Huong Cao

About Huong

Huong Cao is a public-relations professional whose communication

strengths fall in researching and developing new strategies and
tactics that help clients generate visibilities. Cao is pursuing a
Bachelor of Arts degree in communication with a concentration in
public relations. As a student, Cao had a unique opportunity to
work on a team project where she was responsible for providing
social-media evaluation and recommendations to enhance social
media presence of the Computer and Communications Industry
Association. During her first internship, Cao assisted in organizing
a successful fundraising event. Beside her innovative ideas, Cao
excels at writing newsletters, press releases based on Associate
Press style, marketing materials, and social-media content. She is
also familiar with using Adobe Indesign and Canva. Cao wants to
help her clients reach their goals by offering them her ideas and
the ability to utilize skills in writing, planning, social media, and
design to turn ideas into great campaigns.
 Client Overview

About The Writing Center

-The Writing Center (TWC) works with students on writing for any course
as well as resumes, cover letters, and personal statements.
-TWC focuses on sharing strategies for composing, revising, writing, and
proofreading, so writers can use what they learn even after they leave the
center.
-TWC gives workshops on topics that include outlining, developing a thesis,
building an argument, incorporating sources, revising, and proofreading.
Objectives
-Increase traffic to GMU TWC Twitter account
-Increase traffic to GMU TWC website
-Increase numbers of student visits
-Increase numbers of qualified students from different backgrounds and
majors applying to become a peer tutor
Problems
-The location of TWC is not visible
-Even though TWC receives recommendations from faculty members in
English Department and Honors College, TWC still needs to reach out to
more qualified students, especially students studying sciences or
multilingual students.
-TWC has well-established communication channels and resources for
students. However, many students are not aware of TWC and their
resources.
Opportunities
-Even though TWC’s location is not visible, TWC can utilize effective
communication strategies so that students can understand the benefits
from TWC services and find the location.
 Client Overview

-With the well-established communication channels and resources that

TWC has, other departments could still help the center promote these
resources.
-TWC services are beneficial to students and faculty members especially
during exam seasons.
Target publics
-The target public is restricted to GMU population, segmented into
students, faculty, and staff.
Strategic plan
-Position TWC as a supportive and ideal working environment, which
provides tutors with self-development opportunities and meaningful
relationships, by highlighting experience of tutors
-Message strategy and key words TWC needs to highlight:
• Being a tutor in TWC can help students develop great relationships
with each other as well as students
• Tutors at TWC forms a supportive community
• Tutors at TWC receive great training and encouragement from the
administration
-Find new communication channels that could promote the communication
channels of TWC
-Produce promotional materials that could reflect the supportive working
environment at TWC and the benefits that students receive when coming to
TWC
Tactical plan
-Produce a professional tri-fold brochure that TWC could distribute at some
events such as Welcome Week or Mason Orientation
-Interview tutors about their tutoring experience and create a news article,
social media posts, blog posts based on the interviews conducted
 Client Overview

-Create a contact list of other departments where client could reach out to
regarding hiring needs or promotional purposes
 PR Materials

A Tri-fold Brochure

A Contact List
A News Article

Social Media Posts

Suggested tactics to

utilize these materials

A recruitment flyer
Tri-fold Brochure

-Distribute this brochure to

students at Welcome Week
Fair
-Reach out to Mason
Orientation regarding their
support in giving out the
brochure at new student
welcome orientation
-During the first few weeks
of a semester, one or two
tutors can sit at a booth in
Johnson Center to interact
with students.
-Give out brochure after
Road Show, workshops
Recruitment flyer

Flyers can be shared on

TWC social media
pages. Client can also
send emails to contacts
below regarding
sharing/retweeting the
flyer or ask them to send
an email to faculty
members/students/clubs
(flyer attached)
 News Article

For Immediate Release (TWC website/ Fourth Estate)

January 20, 2017
Huong Cao
Hcao4@gmu.edu

Tutoring to Discover Oneself

Having a part-time job in addition to dealing with exams probably sounds

familiar to many college students. Despite the fact that part-time jobs often
result in a busy schedule, working part-time after classes may come with
professional benefits that most students are looking for such as building an
impressive résumé. Some part-time jobs also help students discover
themselves while growing professionally, and being a writing tutor is one of
them.

At the beginning of each new semester, the director of the George Mason
University Writing Center, Dr. Susan Lawrence recruits students who would
make excellent tutors. According to Dr. Lawrence, qualified peer tutors are
always in need, especially tutors who are multilingual and specialize in
different areas of study. “There are many multilingual writers who meet all
the requirements to become wonderful tutors,” Dr. Lawrence said.

A multilingual tutor working in the Writing Center, Luz Mueller, shared in an

interview the experience she gained from being a tutor. “I had thought that I
only looked at student papers and pointed out the errors that they had, but
in reality, it is the relationship that I have developed with students that help
them grow in their skills as writers,” Muller said.

Besides having meaningful relationships with students, Muller knows

herself better as a writer and as an instructor throughout the tutoring
process. “You definitely grow as a student and as a member of the
academic community,” Mueller added.
 News Article

In addition, Madeline Graham, another tutor working in the Writing Center,

shared that tutoring is a part-time job that helps someone grow and gain
self-awareness. According to Graham, tutoring brought out her good
qualities such as patience and empathy. “I realize that I have the ability to
make others feel calm when I interact with stressful students,” she said.

Another benefit of being a tutor is to become a better communicator. “As a

tutor, I often interact and learn to communicate with people from all walks
of life,” Graham said. “I have learned to ask questions and started
conversations in a way that is useful to the person I am talking to, instead
of just telling others they are right or wrong. I also become better at telling
what others are thinking.”

For students who want to be a writing tutor but do not think that you are
good enough, Mueller used to have similar thoughts: “I never thought that I
would be good enough to do it. It is similar to when I think I do not believe I
write very well,” Mueller said. However, she also added that in order to be a
writing tutor, you do not need to be an expert in writing or know everything.
What you need is a passion for learning and sharing what you learn with
others.

The experience of Muller and Graham proved the social and professional
benefits that tutoring could give students even though this type of part-time
job often gets overlooked.
 Social media posts

Twitter Caption: For those who have a passion for writing and sharing your
knowledge, Luz Muller, our Spanish tutor has wonderful stories to share
with you. #MeetourTutors
(Link of interview blog post)

Social media caption: Wondering how being a tutor is like, Madeline

Graham said it was even better than she had expected. Read her
experience at (Link of interview blog post)
 Tutors Interviews
Blog Posts for TWC
b it b it
#MeetourTutors (To be published on TWC website, Facebook caption)

Luz Muller
Why did you decide to be a tutor?
I was invited to apply for the Spanish Tutor position by one of my
professors. The first thing that struck my mind was: “What a great
opportunity for me to develop my skills and to grow not only as a student
but also a member of the academic community.”

Had you ever imagined that you would be a tutor?

I never thought that I would be good enough to do it. It is similar to when I
think I do not believe I write very well. However, a professor saw in me the
motivation that I had to learn and to keep growing and also the capacity to
share the information that I already had.

Is being a tutor different from what you had thought?

I had thought that I only looked at student papers and pointed out the errors
that they had. But, in reality, it is the relationship that I have developed with
the students that help them grow in their skills as writers. Being a tutor was
much more involved than I had expected and I really like that. I like that a
lot!

Do you think being a tutor is challenging?

In order to be a tutor, you do have to be a good at writing. However, you do
not need to be an expert or know everything. You also need to know how to
get knowledge. Being a tutor is a process of learning.

What do you gain from being a tutor in addition to your relationship

with students?
I like the experience. You learn to know yourself better as a writer and as
an instructor. You definitely grow as a student and as a member of the
academic community.
 Tutors Interviews
Blog Posts for TWC
b it
What do you think about students' motivation in writing?
We have a lot of students with different levels of motivation for writing. One
thing that I have heard from students on a regular basis is “I am not a good
writer.” I often tell students that it is not about being a bad writer. It's about
discovering your skills in the writing process. You have areas of knowledge
that evolve all the time and we discover them through writing. Also, nobody
is a perfect writer. Every single piece of writing can be improved.

Do you think that encouraging writers is a part of tutoring?

Yes. It is a big part of encouraging and asserting the skills that students or
writers have already had.

What do you think about the writing process?

It involves lots of critical thinking, creative thinking, how you relate to others
because you always have to be aware of your audience. You have to know
who you are writing for as well as the purpose of writing. Do you want to
convince someone, inform someone or defend your viewpoint? There are
many things in the writing process and everybody has different level of
writing skills. What the writing center does is that we hone those skills and
build upon them. We work side by side with the writers to move from where
they are and see them grow.

How is the working environment in The Writing Center?

It is an environment where you are encouraged all the time. We do have
lots of training opportunities which give us more skills to improve ourselves.
There is also a lot of care from the administrator. We, peer tutors, learn
from each other. I think that we have our own community in some ways. It
is a good experience particularly for me, because I do not have many
opportunities to involved in other activities on campus.
 Tutors Interviews
Blog Posts for TWC
b it
#MeetourTutors

Madeline Graham
1. Why did you decide to be a tutor?
I actually saw the job position on my own. Normally what happens is that a
professor will recommend a student. However, I knew that the writing
center existed. I really enjoy providing feedback to my classmates as well
as talking about writing. I was also looking for a new job. I thought let's go
and see if the writing center was hiring tutors. I did not know what the
process would be. I went up to Dr. Lawrence and asked: “Can I become a
tutor here? How does that work?”

2. Have you ever imagined that you would be a tutor?

Writing has always been my strength. I came from a family of writers and
we spent lots of time talking about writing. I did have confidence when I
applied for this job but for those who want to be a tutor but do not feel
confident enough, my advice is to spend time talking about writing a lot with
friends, classmates, and professors. The best thing you can do is to
discuss the writing process with someone, which will increase your
awareness of writing and how writing works.

3 Is your experience in being a tutor similar to what you expected?

I was really excited to be a tutor but I have to say that it is even better than
what I thought it was going to be. I remember the first thing that I said after
I started tutoring was “how gratifying being a tutor is". When I am tutoring, I
feel like I make a difference and contribute in a meaningful way. Before
being a tutor, I have never had any feeling like that in my life. I also feel like
I am growing as a person and as a writer.

4. Could you be more specific of/about how tutoring helps you?

It makes me become a better communicator. I am much better at
communicating with different kinds of people. As a tutor, you interact with
every kind of person you can think of. I talk to people from all over the
 Tutors Interviews
Blog Posts for TWC
b it
world or from different backgrounds. I learn to communicate with them. I
learned to ask questions and started conversations in a way that is useful
to the person I am talking to, instead of just telling others they are right or
wrong. I also become better at telling what others are thinking. In addition,
tutoring has brought out the good qualities in me such as patience and
friendliness. I realize that I have the ability to make people feel calm when I
interact with stressful students. This also helps me become a less anxious
person.

5. Does tutoring benefit your social life?

I have met very cool people from all over the world. I have known two
Chinese students who I became good friends with. We did not hang out
outside the Writing Center but we talked about each other’s life. One of
them even invited me to go on vacation with her. I also like seeing students'
improvement and students get excited to tell me about their progress.
These relationships are wonderful.

6. In addition to good writing skills, are there any skill needed to

become a good writing tutor?
Empathy. You need to be able to look at papers and situations from a
student’s point of view. From empathy, you will gain patience and
understand that everyone has different backgrounds and writing
experience. What may be easy for one person may not be easy for
another.

7. Do you have any advice for students who think they are bad at
writing?
For students who think that they do not need to write, I hope them know
that in the professional world or in most disciplines, they will have to write
at some points. Any idea a person has needs to be expressed in written
words at some points. Having a good idea is worthless if you cannot
communicate that good idea to others. For students who think that they
cannot write, I want to share with them that writing is a teachable skill.
There are concrete techniques and systems that you can learn. The
 Tutors Interviews
Blog Posts for TWC
b it
reason that I can write is that there are people in my life who teach me
techniques and rules. I have to be told the rules over and over again until I
remember them.

8. What do you think about the working environment in the Writing

Center?
It is a real community here. Before working as a tutor, I did not feel I was a
part of campus at all. I did not have any friends. I just came to class and left
as soon as I could. But now, I have a community on campus that I feel I
belong. We are friends to each other, talking to each other, and ask each
other for advice.

9. Do you think that multilingual students are able to teach writing?

No one has to be an expert in writing in order to do this job. You will learn
expertise when you work here. But being a good reader and a good
communicator is important. Also, multilingual students need to recognize
the benefits they bring to this job as someone who speaks more than one
language. Sometimes, they can relate to multilingual students easily while
native English tutors need to make lots of efforts to understand. They also
may be better at explaining certain concepts. I hope multilingual students
could recognize these things.
 Contact List

Name Colleges/Departments Email Address

Martha Bushong, Volgenau School of Mbushong@gmu.edu
Director of Engineering
Communications
Anne Reynolds, College of Humanities Areyno12@gmu.edu
Director of and Social Sciences
Communications
Carrie Grabo, Department of History Cgrabo1@gmu.edu
Undergraduate and Art History
Coordinator
Tracy Mason, College of Science Tmason11@gmu.edu
Associate Dean,
Strategic
Communications
Katherine Johnson, School of Business Kjohns32@gmu.edu
Marketing &
Communications
Coordinator
 Sample Letter to
Contacts

Above is an email sent to Martha Bushong, the director of communications

at Volgenau School of Engineering

The client can utilize this contact list by sending out email regarding
support in recruitment efforts. To be specific, when the client needs to hire
tutors, the client can share the above recruitment flyer on TWC social
media channels (page 7), then email these contacts to ask for support by
sharing or retweeting. This tactic supports recruitment efforts of client as
well as increases visibility for TWC social media channels.
 Note of thanks

Thank you Dr. Susan Lawrence, director of The Writing Center, for giving
me an opportunity to work with you on this public relations project and
providing me with great support. I hope that my strategies and tactics could
benefit you as well as The Writing Center in some ways.

I also want to thank Luz Muller and Madeline Graham for meeting with me
for interviews, sharing with me your experience, as well as supporting my
project.

Lastly, I hope to say many thanks to Professor Christina Wenks. Your

guidance and support are tremendously helpful to me. I’m wholeheartedly
grateful for each piece of advice and feedback.