Alexis Walsko is a great success story.  She has grown her company, Lola Red PR to be a highly recognized PR firm.  She has helped many businesses get noticed and has been working with the fast growing Smashburger company since they started expanding into Minnesota.

Not only does she help other companies get noticed, but she has done well for herself.  Having been a co-host on the popular “Shop Girls” radio program, featured on MyTalk 107.1 FM on Saturday mornings in the Twin Cities for the past few years. Talking about the latest in shopping trends locally and nationally.

Alexis loves new challenges and also has a heart for helping non-profit companies get attention. So how does she do it all?  Where does she get the time and energy for all of it? Learn more about Alexis by checking out this 3-part interview of her with “Faces of MN” host, Joel Carlson.

In part 1 of her interview with Joel Carlson, Alexis talks about her childhood and her early entrepreneurial spirit. Her college years and how she started Lola Red PR.

In part 2 of Alexis’ interview, she talks about the connection of PR with marketing and social media. Discusses why she is passionate about working with non-profit companies and explains how she got connected with the fast-growing company, Smashburger.

In part 3 of Alexis’ interview, she talks about shopping, her love for chairs and why she feels people pay retail price for some things. Alexis talks about her passion for glitter and how it got started. She ends with talking about Pinterest and her prep for the “Shop Girls” radio show on MyTalk 107.1 FM.

Christina Sandok is a specialist in authentic design. Her company, Style Architects, helps companies achieve better branding and presentation of themselves to the public.

She presents a very professional and tailored image, and she aims to share her skills, and those of her team,  with her clients so that they are always putting their best foot forward. He company covers a variety of areas, from personal assistance to assisting entire companies.

Her skills have caught the eyes of many, and so she also has had the opportunity to work with magazines for photo shoots and is also used as a source for sharing her ideas with their readers. How though did she get to be so successful and become so recognized for her skills and abilities?

In part 1 of the Christina Sandok interview, Christina talks about how her early years helped her develop her interest and passion for authentic design. She then finishes in talking about what led her to start Style Architects and what it’s focus is.

In part 2 of the Christina Sandok interview, Christina talks about her company, Style Architects, and what kinds of things that they offer to businesses. She answers some style questions and shares some of her personal favorites.

In part 3 of her interview, Christina Sandok talks about staring her business, Style Architects, where you might be surprised to find her shopping and then ends with giving a tour of her new office space.

Have looked at some of the job descriptions lately for Social Media jobs? If you want a good laugh, you should check some of them out some time. There have really become 3 distinctive groups when it comes to these listings.

1. Postings that are realistic in scope and compensation.
2. Postings that ask you to know PR, Social Media, E-Mail Marketing, HTML, etc. and have 6-8 years of experience.
3. Postings that compensate poorly.

The first group is the group that are the ideal job postings. The company has a proper grasp of what they are really looking for and understand the compensation required to get good and experienced talent for that role. They understand that social media is more than just posting “stuff” on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and so forth. Strategy, development and execution are required to handle this role properly. Some level of professionalism and prior experience is also required to help ensure good quality posts and responses to the public.

The second group is looking for someone that knows and does everything. There are no doubt some people that have ALL of these skill sets, though probably very few people, and the bigger question is, can they do each of them well?  Some of this type of job description can come from a business that doesn’t know if they can financially justify having one person handle all of their social media activities exclusively, and not have any other responsibilities.  Depending on the size of the company, that could be true, but if more and more responsibilities are added, that individual will be more divided in their thinking and may do many thing fairly well instead of being excellent at one specific role.  The lines of PR and Marketing are starting to blur, especially with Social Media. So these roles could be put together, but then to add HTML, webinars, blogging and so forth to the “mix”, that’s a lot of work for one person to be responsible for and be highly skilled at. Are they going to be allowed to go on vacations, sleep or ever leave the office?  It may be what the company needs, but is it realistic to have all of that on one person?

The third group are companies who may have heard about this “Social Media thing”, and are expecting someone who graduated out of High School or is currently in college, to come in and be an intern for next to nothing and do this for their company.  The postings can be like “Do you have a passion for Facebook and Twitter?”.  They want something, anything to be done so that they can say they have a Facebook or a Twitter account. So you’re an established, possibly a million dollar company, and you want someone that has never worked for you before, someone that has not had any professional working experience, be the “voice” of your company online? Really? You’re fine and comfortable with that?  Sadly, these companies probably don’t know the real value in getting good help in this area of their business.  So they’re probably in just a hurry to just get someone to do this “stuff” for them.  As the saying goes, you get what you pay for, and so they probably will not get good results, and will just then give up on Social Media because of that.

The Social Media job market is still a relatively new sector, and will eventually level out as to expectations and compensation.  So if you’re in that sector, patience and diligence is required.  Get what your worth and what you deserve.  What do you think of the current job listings for social media positions?

Happy Friday everybody! Welcome to the Twitterview of @bworden who’s Tweeting from Orlando FL today. Lets roll!

Q – #1    So tell us @bworden, for those that missed your video – http://youtu.be/oNnM3SNscmA where did you grow up and attend HS?

Brooke:    I grew up in Lanesboro, Minn. It’s this gorgeous little town in southeastern MN with more than 20 B&Bs!

I grew up on a farm one mile west of Lanesboro. The MN state bike trail runs through the farm I grew up on.

My daughters have a pony named Smore and he lives in Lanesboro. He looks like a hippo.

I graduated from Lanesboro HS in 1989. There were 22 peeps in my class.

I encourage everyone to come to Lanesboro and take pictures of my dad’s cows. That’s what the tourists do.

Q – #2    Wow!! 22?? When did you first come to Mpls? Where did you attend college and what did you major in?

Brooke:    I moved to St. Paul in the fall of 1989 to attend Hamline University, the oldest university in Minnesota. Founded 1853

I got a double major in English and political science. I have a liberal arts degree.

I moved to Uptown after I graduated. Lived there for three years and then moved back to St. Paul.

Q – #3    Did you intern anywhere while you were in college? What was your 1st job out of college?

Brooke:    I did! I am a huge fan of internships. I was an intern on John Grunseth’s gubernatorial campaign. Fun times.

I also interned at the MN Chiropractic Association around the time Hillary Clinton was doing healthcare reform.

We did a letter writing campaign to Hillary Clinton trying to get chiropractic care included in health benefits.

also did an internship at the firm I work for now. Back then, it was called Mona, Meyer, McGrath & Gavin.

My first real job out of college was at Accenture in management consulting. It was so awesome to land at a global firm!

Q – #4    So what is your role at @WSmpls, and has the economy affected how you do your job?

Brooke:     I am a VP in the financial services practice @WSmpls. I work on on FS and government clients.

The economy has made everyone laser-focused on results and value, on doing more with less.

The economy has had an enormous effect on the issues I work on for my clients. My specialty is retirement.

Since the crisis hit in 2008, the retirement security issue has really come into focus.

The economy made the 2010 Census a much more difficult campaign as well because of home foreclosures.

Q – #5    What else makes the Census a tough project to tackle? Do people get confused with the forms?

Brooke:    The census was tough because distrust of the federal government was at its highest level in 50 years when we did it.

The census form itself was very simple in 2010. It was only 10 questions and took about 10 minutes to complete.

Research shows that survey participation in general is down. You have to really work hard to show the benefits.

Some people didn’t trust that the census was confidential. We counted everyone, regardless of citizenship status.

People feared their answers would be shared with law enforcement or ICE, but by law, all census data is confidential.

Q – #6    Lets shift gears. Some of your FAVORITE(S): Restaurant, store, comfort food, non-MN city, recent book or movie, hobby.

Brooke:    Well, I love core power yoga. That has been my obsession for the past month or so.

I really love the store Brooks Brothers. People don’t always think of it for women, but it is my favorite.

OK and for comfort food, you must try Hill Country Chicken in NYC. The most amazing fried chicken ever!

Hill Country Chicken is at 1123 Broadway in NYC. http://www.hillcountrychicken.com You can play with a Lite Brite!

You can get these little baby pies–apple cheddar, whiskey buttermilk, bourbon pecan, texas billionaire!

You go down in the basement and they have all these awesome board games from the 1980s! I was there Tuesday night.

I also really love the key lime pie at Kincaid’s in Bloomington near @WSmpls. Am I going on too much about food?

Q – #7    I don’t think ANYBODY can Tweet too much about food! :) If you could have lunch w/any person (dead/alive), who & why?

Brooke:    OK, alive would be my mentor John Deveney from New Orleans. He’s actually here in Orlando right now!

John’s firm did all of this amazing work around Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill. His work matters.

This one is a little more unrealistic, but I would love to have lunch with Diana Ross. I really dig her music.

would love to have lunch with JFK, RFK, Abraham Lincoln, Jackie Kennedy, JFK JR, Princess Diana.

@JoelECarlson:    Wow! Impressive work by John. Well we have to close, but thank you for your time and comments today. Say hi to Mickey!

Brooked:    I will say hi to Mickey. I can see him out my window by the pool. Fun chatting with you Joel.

Sorry for the #TweetScare today @KellyGroehler! So lets start out from the beginning! Where did you grow up and attend school?

Kelly:    Thanks. spent childhood in Adrian, MN. Left in 10th grade; graduated from ROCORI H.S. But Adrian will always be home.

Q – #1    After H.S, what did you go on to? Did you know what kind of profession that you wanted to get early in life?

Kelly:    Original plan: sports broadcasting. But I turned down Emerson College. Suzy Kolber at ESPN has my childhood dream job.

Took intro broadcasting class at SCSU (TOP-NOTCH mass comm school). Hated it. I sat in my advisor’s office, crushed.

she suggested PR: Either ask the coach a question as a reporter, or help the coach answer it. That was my PR awakening.

graduated ’93 with a B.S. Mass Comm, PR emphasis/minor: Human Relations from SCSU. Accredited in Public Relations 1998

but I don’t do sports PR. I enjoy being a plain ol’ fan, but I do respect well-handled team PR. To wit: #YANKEES. :)

Q – #2    Great that you found your calling! :) What then was the first job that you got to apply your newly acquired skills?

Kelly:    internship at St. Cloud Hospital; learned I don’t enjoy health care PR. Dad was patient at that time, so didn’t help.

then, 8-month internship at @padillaspeer. A fantastic, grounding experience. I recommend for any graduate.

Q – #3    Take us down the road from the SC Hospital to you getting to end up at Best Buy. How did you know you were a fit?

Kelly:    From @padillaspeer, did short stints at a St. Cloud ad shop, then in Brainerd at Russell & Herder. Back to PSB in ’96.

I was at PSB from ’96 to ’05. Amazing experiences; manufacturing, tech, labor negotiations, supply chain, change mgmt.

learned so much about the value of good communication, and the role of intangible assets like reputation to biz goals.

most importantly, learned to think and speak the language of business, and how to explain PR in those terms.

Best Buy – came here in ’05 to help build corporate PR capability, reputation mgmt & comms strategy for sustainability

understanding how sourcing, supply chain, labor, manufacturing works helped immensely in a retail environment.

Q – #4    Nice! With your experience, how have you seen technology/internet change how PR is done? Has it effected the quality?

Kelly:    It has affected quality. we get caught up w/new channels like SM. Adoption curve; PR principles needed more than ever.

There is an adoption curve while we all figure out the best way to approach a new channel: earned, paid, owned, or all.

the lines between paid-earned-owned are fuzzier than ever with social media.

Principled PR approach to SM – audience, message, prioritize, focus, proactive, relevance, perseverance – will prevail.

I’m happy tech is here to stay; we need to adapt PR principles to new ways of engaging stakeholders & sharing stories

Q – #5     In your mind, when a CO. is hiring a Social Media Manager, what should be the top skill – PR, Marketing, cust serv?

Kelly:    Depends on where the position is staffed. I don’t think social media warrants own department. It’s a set of channels.

If it’s in PR, I’m looking for a PR manager with experience integrating social media into communications strategies.

It’s highly unlikely we’d ever seek a social media manager, or seek to create a position so specific to one channel

Q – #6    Good points! Lets shift gears.  Please reveal your own @vanityfair version of “My Stuff”. What’s your “stuff”?

Kelly:    have you ever seen one of those lists? I was kidding – we’d be here all day

Q – #7    It was new to me, but I’d figure that I’d play. :)  FAVORITE(S): Restaurant, store, comfort food, recent book or blog?

Kelly:    Restaurant: MSP – @travailkitchen, Manny’s, Fuji Ya, @Barbette, @tilia. NYC: Balthazar, Del Posto, Republic (noodles!)

And I LOVE the cereal milk soft serve & compost cookies at @momofuku Milk Bar, East Village NYC

comfort food: Anything Ole whips up (mac/cheese, Spinach-scallion-jalapeno pizza, marinara). Also love roasted chicken.

recent book: I’m ashamed to admit I have a list a mile long on my iPhone, but haven’t cracked open a new one in 1 year.

I do read @Fortune & @VanityFair issues cover to cover. NatGeo, too. I reread Salem’s Lot this summer (favorite book).

favorite blogs: Same Rowdy Crowd, Smart Politics, Daily Beast, HuffPost. @freshtart to drool. @judy3x for crazypants.

ah! One last comfort food: @Aveda tea.

Q – #8    Busy mom! To close, what’s one goal that you have, personally or professionally, that you hope to reach soon?

Kelly:    Happy, well-adjusted teenage boy. T-minus four years to go! Professionally: an overseas assignment and a CCO role.

@JoelECarlson:    Thanks SOOO much for your time and comments today Kelly. I hope that you reach your goals soon. Have a good week!

Kelly:    Joel, this was fun. Thanks very much for the opportunity!

Hi @prchck123 (Heather) and everyone following #jectv today! :) Lets get started.

Heather:    Sounds great! Glad to be here.

Q – #1    So @prchck123, tell us first where you grew up, attended school and what your first job as an adult was.

Heather:    I grew up on the east side of the Twin Cities. Went to @AugsburgCollege. First job in PR was working @mysticlake doing promotions

Or more specifically, dressing up in costumes running games on the floor of the casino.

Or what I like to call character building. I actually learned a ton in that job

Q – #2    When and how did you know that you wanted to be involved with PR work?

Heather:    Before going to college I wanted to train horses. When I realized you couldnt make a living I focused on something I loved – talking.

As learned more about PR I fell in love. I loved learning how people think and how to reach them.

Now more than ever, I am happy about the field I picked. It is an exciting time as a communicator.

Q – #3    What kinds of clients have you been able to work with? Any types that are a bit challenging?

Heather:    I have had the chance to work with amazing brands from @officemax to @kempscows. I think every client is challenging in its own way

Q – #4    What effect would you say Social Media has had on the way PR is conducted now?

Heather:    companies are trying to figure out how to use these tools in an effective and authentic way.

Social has help companies gain direct access about their customer’s perspective of their brand and service.

PR peeps have had to become multifaceted in how they communicate and what solution they give. Media relations isnt always the answer

Q – #5    More about YOU: Favorite(s) – Restaurant, store, comfort food, recent book or blog and TC neighborhood.

Heather:    Restaurant :@labellevie_MN, Store: St. Croix Saddlery , Comfort Food: Mac and Cheese, Book: Gamestorming, Neighborhood: Hugo

Blogs – I love @mnprblog because it connects the community http://bit.ly/1xFeSD and total guilty pleasure is http://bit.ly/17gPIb

@heavytable is great for capturing the local food scene. heavytable.com

Q – #6    Lets now discuss the @MNAlphabetBash coming up next week. How did it get started and what groups are involved with it?

Heather:    I am also slowly launching a blog for @mnalphabetbash. It is slow to start but we are getting there. http://bit.ly/nyYBm3

I created the @abcbash11 6 years ago because I saw a need for collaboration with orgs in the marcomm/PR/creative space.

We currently have 9 orgs involved in the #abcbash11 @minnesotaprsa, @adfedmn, @iabcmn, @midwestdma, @mnama, @mwmcorg, @mimatweet

And @mnwift and @friendsofmmpa are also involved with #abcbash11

Also thanks to @clreps who corrected me #abcbash11 is our hashtag not our handle as I accidentally referenced.

Q – #7    What kind of growth has there been with @MNAlphabetBash over the years, and what can people expect this year?

Heather:    Our goal when we launched in 06 w @MinnesotaPRSA @IABCMN @AdFedMN @MNAMA was 250 people. We knew we had something when 400 came

We have grown @MNAlphabetBash every year. 2010 saw 600 people. We expect around 650 this year. Sponsorships have been huge for us

#abcbash11 always has great food (48 ft buffet), cocktails, conversations, 40+ door prizes. dessert bar alone makes it worth coming

Q – #8    What would be your 1-Tweet pitch for newcomers to come to the @MNAlphabetBash next Thursday? Link for tickets?

Heather:    Oh wow — that is a great question @joelecarlson. First here are #abcbash info. 8/11. Doors at 5:30. http://bit.ly/wPGl9

Attend the @MNAlhapbetBash and I promise you will leave well-fed, with many new connections and amazing pride for this community

Heck I even know a couple who are celebrating their one year anniversary at the #abcbash11. Nice to see we brought them together

Q – #9    Nice job! :) Getting back to you, do you have any professional or personal goals that your working on to achieve soon?

Heather:    Personal — I have started riding horses again (something I gave up a few years ago). My biggest goal to start jumping again.

Professional – I want to find new ways to infuse creativity and thinking into my team.

Creativity is a challenging process and the ole’ giant post-it/everyone shout out ideas isnt working for me anymore:)

I am totally looking for suggestions on both pieces

Q – #10    Ideas=paycheck might help with creativity. :) j/k  To close, for students in PR, what advice would you give them to grow?

Heather:    LOL. So true

Students should remember two things social media is a massive help but can also hurt — especially when looking for jobs

I check out every Twitter and FB account for resumes I get. It is amazing what people out on their pages.

Social can help a student impress and learn about the people they are meeting with but NEVER underestimate that face to face meeting

That personal connection is so huge and important when connecting with the biz community

@JoelECarlson:    Thank you so much for your time and comments today. Have a great week, and see you next week at @MNAlphabetBash. :)

Heather:    Thank you so much! Looking forward to seeing you (and all those following at the Bash).

I will also offer one free admission to the first person who tells me what my personal goal is:)

@JoelECarlson:    Hello everyone! Welcome to the Food-Friday Twitterview with my Food Blogging guest @EatDrinkLifeLuv (Lynne). Lets get started!

Lynne:    Hi Joel and everyone in the Twitterverse!

Q – #1    Lets start from the beginning @EatDrinkLifeLuv, where did you grown up and where did you go to school?

Lynne:    Born in Duluth, MN, moved to the Twin Cities about age 6, grew up in St. Anthony Village, went to college @ U of MN.

Q – #2    @EatDrinkLifeLuv Isn’t it Da’lute? :) So what did you study at the #UofMN?

Lynne:    My dad still calls it Da-lute. :) And I still visit both of my lovely grandmas there (one age 86, the other age 91)!

From the U of MN I have a BA in journalism/public relations.

Q – #3    So after college, what kind of work have you done, and who have you worked for?

Lynne:    I worked w/various non-profit orgs for awhile then started my own communications consulting biz 6 years ago

Through http://t.co/iB49a63 I do all types of communications, writing & PR

And a colleague & I just started http://t.co/kan01Jx and are writing web content & working w/business messaging

Q – #4    So you’re saying you have lots of FREE TIME right? j/k  :) What kinds of businesses do you prefer to work with?

Lynne:    I enjoy working w/businesses that will pay me. = ) I REALLY enjoy working with small to med. businesses, esp. locally.

Q – #5    The best kind! :)  Lets now shift attention to you and your blog: @EatDrinkLifeLuv. When did you start it, and what is it’s focus?

Lynne:    When my hubby & I first started dating we were watching @BravoTopChef Masters & started cooking the food ourselves.

What started as a fun Wednesday nite ritual, turned into a blog about one yr. ago when I needed a creative outlet.

I write about our cooking adventures & the restaurants we visit around the country.

Q – #6    So a real family-bonding cooking experience. Do you have some specialties? What cities have you been able to visit?

Lynne:    K & I have definitely become a great team through our cooking/eating experiences!

There are so many foods/recipes to try we almost never cook the same thing twice. We do good gnocchi, pasta & pot pie.

We’ve visited Seattle, Chicago, Atlanta, Vegas & most recently our honeymoon where we ate our way thru New York City.

Q – #7    Share 1 item/meal from each city that you enjoyed.

Lynne:    The tasting menu @ Atlanta’s Woodfire Grill, gorgeous trout amandine @ Bouchon in Vegas, local honey from Seattle…

We ate at Le Bernardin in NYC, but my favorite meal was @ Anita Lo’s Anissa & @Mariobatali Manzo in Eately

Q – #8    It all sounds good! FAVORITES: Restaurant(s), store, comfort food, national chef, recent book or blog.

Lynne:    Our top 3 fave Twin Cities restaurants are: @piccolo_mpls @HeidisMpls and Bar La Grassa. We LUV @pizzanea too.

I don’t like to shop so my fave store is probably @LindenHillsCoop Nat’l chef Jose Andreas = pure entertainment!

Great recent book, “Blood, Bones & Butter” and I dig all of the #MNFoodBloggers blogs! Also Tastespotting.com

Comfort food? My grandma’s homemade yeasty dinner rolls or raisin-y Easter bread.

Q – #9    If you could invite 1 person (dead/alive) for a meal with you, who would you invite, and why?

Lynne:    Maybe @Mariobatali Rumor has it a meal with him is a joyful party with never ending, amazing food & free-flowing wine.

Or maybe @NeilTyson so I could learn anything & everything about space. It would be a fascinating meal!

@JoelECarlson:    Well thank you @EatDrinkLifeLuv for your time and comments today on #jectv! Have a great weekend, and keep on cookin’!

Lynne:    Thanks Joel! Have a great weekend!