Twitter May Change, but the Approach Remains the Same

Cross Post from the Strategic Social Media blog

There has been much chatter as of late in the Twitterverse and the blogosphere about a Twitter turning point following Ashton Kutcher race against CNN to break 1 million Twitter followers, and the welcoming of Oprah on the micro-blogging site. Now Twitter, a once geeky niche community with a common purpose of developing relationships, sharing information and dialoguing, is now where all the cool kids are.

But what does that really mean for Twitter or the thought leaders who “were here before Oprah?” Will this medium become less helpful for businesses? Has Twitter become just another platform for celebrity gossip and popularity contests? According to Twitterholic, seven of the top 10 tweeters with the most followers are now celebrities, including Britney Spears, Shaquille O’ Neal and John Mayer. As Twitter makes its way into mainstream media, it will become increasingly challenging to filter through the “noise.”  Techworld reported Twitter visits jumping 24 percent in one day after Winfrey made her first tweet, and 37 percent of those people were new tweeters.

Despite the fact that Twitter has seen a 752 percent growth in 2008, the purpose of Twitter remains the same. It is still a platform where people in niche communities can come together and share information. No matter what “noise” exists in the Twitterverse, tweeters still have the power to select what noise they choose to filter in and out. The fundamental ideas of community and how to reach out to communities are the same.

For businesses that see the value of social media, of Twitter specifically, the increase in Tweeters can only mean bigger benefits and broader outreach. Meaningful engagement with these communities require the same POST (people, objectives, strategy, tactics) methodology that it always has. Here are some fundamental basics to keep in mind that will maintain the value that Twitter has always offered.

Research
Researching your targeted audiences and finding the appropriate niche communities that already exist will become more important as more “noise” enters the Twitterverse. Find the need out there and fill it. Sift and track discussions to evaluate which conversations would be appropriate for clients to integrate themselves into. Evaluate what is already going on, where the conversations are and what communities already exist. By doing this, you will find which communities your customers are a part of so that you can reach out and start building a relationship. It is all about finding the right people to target and dialogue with.

Content Production
As more and more businesses (hopefully) find social media a necessity, the greater amount of content will be available for consumers and a greater amount of content to choose from. It will be important for businesses to keep interesting and relevant content coming to their consumers. With content production, it is important for businesses to integrate themselves in the conversation but also understand that the user will be dictating where the conversations will go. Hannah Smith, an associate from Conkling, Fiskum and McCormick spoke to our class about her Tillamook social media campaign where they relied on the fans to create the content. By utilizing the Tillamook Cheese fan base and finding interesting user-generated content to share, @TillamookCheese always has interesting tweets that keep their followers interested.

Adapting to Change
Social Media is an ever-changing medium that you can’t control. The expectations and need for these tools are always evolving. Businesses must look to the future and create a strategy about what you want your community to look like and how do you want it to grow. Listening to your targeted audience to appropriately adapt to changes as the next wave of technology is just around the riverbend.

What are your thoughts about Twitter’s recent changes? How do you think businesses can help customers filter through the noise and give them what they want?

Can Dominos Save The Domino Effect?

   

Photo courtesy of www.pbase.com/ fremietfr/image/54683629

 

 

 

It was only a few days ago that the Twitterverse exploded with criticism about a corporation not listening to its consumers with the #amazonfail fiasco.  Now, “The Domino Effect,” as Brian Solis has dubbed this case, further proves the value of listening and monitoring social media for corporations.

Videos of two Domino employees and their “food preparation” techniques have invaded the web.  While I am sure that spitting in my pizza sauce and sprinkling my sandwich with boogers has been a long-standing fast-food restaurant practice, seeing images of the actual act can be hard to stomach.  

In my Strategic Social Media, we are currently talking about the importance of monitoring and listening (convenient that in the last week, we’ve had two great examples.)  While I applaud the VP of Dominos for listening, his response to the viral videos did not address the true questions and concerns its customers were talking about. Obviously, those two employees would be fired immediately for actions.  Knowing that those employees are no longer part of the Domino brand doesn’t suddenly reinstate my faith in the company.  The VP made a comment on one blog and made an official statement on its Web site hours later. While this is a far cry from how Amazon has handled their PR blunder,  how are these statements reassuring customers? How is this dialoguing with its customers? Dominos is using one-way communication to tell its customers, “No, this isn’t our brand. These are just the actions of two employees. They’re getting arresting for ruining our brand.”  What about the 125,000 employees in 60 countries? What is Dominos doing or saying to ensure us (its customers) that this type of behavior isn’t happening elsewhere? How is Dominos going to restore the faith of its customers in its brand? While these two employees may have spilled the fart-filled pizza sauce, how are you (Dominos) going to clean up the mess? Move past the blame and start taking responsibility and rebuilding your brand.

Dominos needs to use this opportunity and negative publicity to show its customers that they hear what we are saying.  Create a Twitter account and start conversing with customers on issues of sanitation, brand loyalty and employee relations.  As Brian Solis writes, “the video and outlying conversations will escalate before they dissipate.” So Dominios should take this chance to be part of the conversation.  Marcel Lebrun recently said in a presentation to my strategic social media class, that listening is not just about gathering information.  By listening, you are sending a message that you care.  But to go one step beyond beyond that, you must respond and address the issues that people are talking about. Be part of the conversation, regardless of where that conversation may go. These conversations need to be tailored and personalized so that people believe that those videos weren’t an accurate representation of the brand. I’ll end with one final thought from the wise Lebrun, ”your brand is the sum of conversations about it.” 

What do you think? What can Dominos do to bounce back? Can they bounce back?

UPDATE (4.15.09 3:50) Dominos president sends a sincere message to its customers about the videos. Is it enough? Are you, as a consumer, satisfied with this apology?

The Final Hurdle: Teamwork Success

Photo Courtesy of Lowry Lou http://www.flickr.com/photos/87704480@N00/192719734/

After four years of going to classes, making new friends, and learning about public relations, my college education is sadly coming to an end. But before I can turn the tassel from right to left, I must put the PR skills I have acquired into action.  I am taking the capstone class of the PR sequence at the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication, PR campaigns. This class teaches you to utilize your PR and research skills to create a public relations campaign for a local client. 

What is unique and “realistic” about this course is its format.  You are assigned to be part of a team and you meet regularly with the client and team members to create and implement a public relations plan.  While becoming an expert on the organization, creating a PR plan and implementing that plan may be a daunting challenging, working as part of a team can also present itself as a challenge.  While many of us have been working independently for most of our educational journey, with the exception of a few, undoubtedly painful group projects, the real world of public relations will require us to work predominately in a team environment. 

I asked my Twitter followers “What do you think are the keys to successful teamwork.” And here is what they said:

Strong Communication

Pretty much a consensus on how good communication is necessary for success.  Discuss and establish a form of communication that works for everyone. From there, you can set guidelines.  For example, my PR campaigns team decided that we would use a wiki to host all of our documents, bookmarks and dialogues.  Additionally, we would use e-mails as our primary form of communication.  Everyone must be cc’d and e-mails must be returned within 24 hours.  By setting these guidelines, we open a clear channel for communication.

Be a team player

It is important to remember that you are part of a team.  Negative attitudes or an unwillingness to be receptive to diverse opinions will show through in your work. To be the best team member, the entire team must agree on the objective, goals and expectations of the campaign.  Check your ego at the door and realize that you are coming together with one common purpose. Openly listen to other people’s thoughts and ask clarifying questions to make sure that everyone is on the same page and that the best ideas are getting used!

Take Responsibility

It’s okay to screw up.  We’re all human. We all make mistakes.  In a team setting, it is even more important to own up to your mistakes and take personal responsibility. By owning up to your mistakes, you earn the respect of your team members and their support. Instead of spending time placing blame, you can put that energy into your campaign!

I am excited to cross this final hurdle and work with a collaborative and supportive team this term! Do you have any additional tips for working in a successful team environment? 

Out with the traditional and in with the new media?

 

Photo courtesy of www.newspaperdeathwatch.com/

For those of you who follow me on Twitter, you know that I anchored my final show for Duck U Sports, a University of Oregon student-produced television variety show, this week.  I made the difficult decision to forgo my electronic media major in order to focus on developing my PR skills by taking more PR classes for my last term of college.  But the decision was not only difficult because I LOVE anchoring and news, but because I wondered if having these “traditional media” broadcasting skills would set me apart as a job candidate. 

But the recent closure of the Rocky Mountain News jolted me back into reality of the changing media realm.  Of course, this Denver paper is not the first.  So I wonder, with the shift of traditional media towards new media, are my traditional electronic media skills becoming irrelevant? Even more, are my traditional “PR” skills becoming irrelevant?

So what DOES this new shift towards new media mean for traditional media professionals? Or to journalism students?  Should journalism students even learn traditional media skills anymore like writing a press release or pitching to the media? Instead, shouldn’t we focus our energy on learning how to write a social media release or pitching to bloggers? Or are these basic skills still the same?

While I recognize a major shift from new media to old, I believe the basic skills are still the same.  I believe that old dogs CAN learn new tricks.  Regardless of whether or not you’re writing a social media release or writing a traditional press release, you are still writing.  The basic writing essentials still apply.  Same with pitching.  Successfully pitching to bloggers still requires intense research on targeted audiences in order to tailor your pitch effectively.  Despite believing that the basic PR skills are still the same, I do believe that you also can’t be stuck in your own ways.  So was it wise for me to focus on developing new skills in PR rather than earn a double degree in a field that may soon be obsolete? The world of media is changing and you best get on board or you might be printing your last edition! 

What does this new trend mean for journalism students? Should J-students not really even learn about traditional media or the basics still the same?

Passion, listening and curiosity. OH MY! The keys to client service excellence: Part I

One of the unique aspects of working for the student-run PR agency, Allen Hall Public Relations, is the opportunity to work directly with clients.  This experience provides young PR pros the chance to build skills and practice handling the challenges of client service.  Leo Bottary, author of the Client Services Insight Series, was asked by Kelli Matthews last year to give her PR Campaigns class, the capstone course of the PR sequence at the University of Oregon, some tips on client services.  I recently Skyped with Leo to discuss the importance of client services and how PR students can start building the skills necessary for client service success.  In part one of my podcast, we focus on how passion, listening and curiosity are the keys to successful client services.  

Check out part 1 of the interview:

Podcast

Thanks for listening! Do you have any additional client services tips for students?

Twitter Dos

 

Photo Courtesy of http://www.yourseomentor.com/social-marketing/are-you-a-twitterholic-twitter

 

Hi. My name is @amandaip and I’m a Twitterholic.  I’ve officially traded my favorite procrastination pastime, Facebook for Twitter.  But the wonder that is the 140-charcter micro-blogging social networking site is that I’m actually learning about my field of PR rather than just the gossip of the day.  But just like those who post not-so-flattering pictures on Facebook, people have made plenty of blunders on Twitter as well.

 I recently saw a post on the Network Solutions blog that told stories about twittering gone bad.  The stories made me cringe! I mean, funeral updates in real time? So while that post teaches you some lessons on what not to do…I think I’ll focus on my top four things to do.

Live Twittering

I love live blogging at events! Live blogging allows readers to get real time information on what’s happening at an event! Especially if there isn’t much media coverage of the event, live blogging can offer audiences/fans another forum to follow the event.  For many readers, real time blogging fuels a greater personal connection with the event as they are getting a front-seat, backstage, VIP scoop of the event.  Jason Falls, director of Doe-Anderson, tweeted live updates to connect fans of Robby Gordon at the Baja 1000 race.  The “Beam Twitter Tracker” was the only continual resource of race updates of the event.  The coverage received high praises from the Twitterverse and the media!

Getting Feedback

The beauty of real-time communication is getting instant feedback on just about anything.  Posing questions and asking about product stirs conversation and often times enlists honest and credible feedback.  When the University of Oregon’s daily paper, The Oregon Daily Emerald, went on strike last week, I was looking to get an interview with a member of the board of directors.  However, my colleagues and I were having trouble landing that interview.  So I asked tweeps if anyone had spoken to a member of the board.  Within minutes, I got tons of replies that gave me information or sent me links to get more information.  Turning to the Twitterverse for information is simply turning to another information platform.

Personal Branding  

Photo Courtesy of oceangrand.org/

Like Facebook, Twitter gives tweeps a chance to show their personality and build their personal brand.  But unlike Facebook, Twitter also offers corporations a chance to build a corporate brand! Comcast comes to mind when talking about corporate branding.  When Comcast had that not-so-flattering video of the Comcast technician plastered all over YouTube, the company had to do something drastic to regain the loyalty and faith of their customers.  Meet @comcastcares, or more accurately, Frank.  Frank is now the face of Comcast. Well, at least the Twitter face.  Now Comcast customers can turn to Frank to assist them with problems or answer their questions.  Customers can now build a loyalty and a connection with an individual instead of a corporate brand while being completely honest and transparent.

Share information

Twitter isn’t about shameless self-promotion.  The occasional “hey, check out my blog post” is okay but the Twitterverse is more a place of conversation and about sharing information.  You can build credibility by sharing valuable information that adds to the conversation.  Sharing meaningful and interesting information can build your social networking and connect you with people in your field.  I turn to Twitter as a news source and for the buzz around the water cooler.  When Facebook decided to change their “terms of use”  it was not the famous social networking site where I first learned the news.  I read about the uproar on Twitter from confused and angry tweeps.  

What are some other Twitter dos? 

Lock Up Your Future: Job Hunt NOW

 

Photo courtesy of uothbr via Flickr

When is it time to start prepping for your future? That’s the question that this year’s University of Oregon Bateman team (better known around the J-school as “the Bateman girls”) is asking with their grassroots PR campaign, Lock It Up: Lock Up Your Future. This PR campaign is part of the Public Relations Students Society of America (PRSSA) 2009 Bateman Competition.

 

I volunteered at the Lock Up Your Future Campus Day, more specifically the college fair portion. Two schools brought their 8th grade class to the University of Oregon to get students thinking about college at an earlier age. Watching the students crowd the college information tables asking questions and getting pumped for the prospect of a higher education was such an exciting scene to witness. These are students who may have been told by their parents to “get grades” and/or “take AP classes”to better their chances at getting into college and earning scholarships. But that day, in the basement of the Student Rec Center, you could see the light bulbs go on, all on their own.

 

Photo courtesy of margolove via Flickr

4 years after I went through the college-hunt process myself, I sit here doing it all over again. Only this time, it’s for an entry-level position. While middle school-ers are now encouraged to start thinking about their future education, college seniors seem a bit less enthused about prepping for their future. I’ve been told over and over again that THERE ARE NO JOBS. Talk about a downer! So what motivating factor do I have to get myself researching and apply for an entry-level PR position? YOU have to motivate yourself. In high school, we had our families and peer pressure to motivate us to go to college. But now, no one is telling you what to do. No one is sending you brochures about their agency or calling your house to ask if you’ve been thinking about applying to their company. You have to make ALL the effort and focus on the ultimate goal: landing a job! 

 

Seniors are busy. No doubt about that. But now is the time when you have to work harder than ever before. Because the effort that you make today will determine what your life will be like 6 months from now. Graduates applying for an entry-level position use the same skill set as students applying for college.

Research
Finding a job is important. But finding a job that is right for you is even more important. In order to find a job that suits your qualifications and find a company that has clients, ethics and a culture that fits with you, research must be done.

Company Web site
To find the best information from the horse’s mouth, look at the company’s Web site. Not only will you get a gander at the company’s client list, but you’ll find their mission statement and staff bios that will give you an idea about the company’s culture and values.

Google Search
Google the company you’re interested in. Google will compile a great list of additional information including articles, blog posts and general web postings.

Gauge their financial position
In this economy, it is important to take a look at where the company stands financially within their industry. So for publicly traded companies, information on their stocks can easily be found through sites like Yahoo! Finance. Finding out information on whether their stocks are up, if they are planning on expanding or downsizing, or if their market share is expanding or declining will allow you to evaluate the longevity of the company.

Use Social Networking Sites
While J-students at the University of Oregon have been busy building their social media skills, social networking sites can actually help with your job-hunt process. Use PR Open Mic and Twitter to listen for new opportunities. PR Open Mic has a group called Jobs & Internships where PR Pros post available jobs and internships and also “seeking”requests. There are many posts from college graduates seeking job opportunities in various states.  Heather Huhman is always posting great internship and entry-level job opportunities on Twitter.

Information interviews
Informational interviews are a great way to get your name out there! The purpose of these interviews is for you to get information about the field and about the company. These interviews are another step in your research process. These interviews should not be used to ask for a job! This is an opportunity for you to get your name out there and to let the company know that you are assertive about your future and expand your professional network. These interviews also give you an opportunity to practice your confidence for job interviews.

Apply
While researching companies is important, don’t spend all your time doing it. Before you know it, you could have a huge list of companies you “want” to apply to but have yet to actually apply to any. So spiff up your résumé  and rework your cover letter to fit the company you’re applying to.

Students: How are you motivating yourself to find a job? What other resources are you using to help with your job-hunt process?

Facebook sings “Have a little faith in me”

Last week, when word got out that Facebook had changed its terms of service earlier in the month to grant itself the right to own all user content, Facebook users were outraged.  I’ll admit, I was a bit fired-up about it myself! But why? For me, I think I got a little caught up with all the raged tweets about ownership and privacy violations.  Not to mention the fact that my rights as a user to terminate my account, along with all the content that goes with it, was being taken away.  But after reading Mark Zuckerberg’s response on his blog to the thousands of user-protests, I found myself saying “well, duh?!”

Photo Courtesy of http://www.we-magazine.net/2008/09/30/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-im-we-livestream/

“When a person shares information on Facebook, they first need to grant Facebook a license to use that information so that we can show it to the other people they’ve asked us to share it with. Without this license, we couldn’t help people share that information.”

I think people are under false illusions about Facebook, primarly because of the privacy settings that users are allowed to control.  Just because your profile is on “private,” does not mean people can’t see it. There are so many loopholes to the Internet that nothing is completely private.  You are posting it on the Web, where everyone has access to any information you choose to put on it.  So regardless of the fact that Facebook may own that not-so-flattering picture of you from freshmen year of college, anybody that might have accessed that picture from the time you put it on the Web could use it against you.  It isn’t the “insiders of Facebook” you should worry about. You can worry about anyone that may have come across any content on your page at any time.  In fact, Zuckerberg states that users need to have a little more faith in the company: 

In reality, we wouldn’t share your information in a way you wouldn’t want. The trust you place in us as a safe place to share information is the most important part of what makes Facebook work.

From a PR standpoint, it would be foolish for Facebook to actually use content from its users without their knowledge. Why, that’d be a PR nightmare! Can you imagine the outrage that would occur if Facebook used some incriminating photo of a user on a sleezy Web site or sold a photo of a user to advertise for some company without their knowledge?  Part of what makes Facebook such a phenomenon is that its users feel that it is a safe forum to share information with friends and family.  So why would Facebook be dumb enough to sabotage that trust?

In my PR classes, we are constantly told that you need to be careful about what you put on the Web because a digital footprint, unlike footprints in the sand, cannot be washed away by the tide.  So perhaps my PR classmates and I are more aware of the “publicness” of the Web than the average college Joe.  But seriously, use your common sense. Facebook isn’t a private, elite forum where you can freely share information with whom you choose.  In fact, I would argue that it is safe to say that nowhere on the Web is entirely “private.” So if you have information that you don’t want people seeing or that you yourself wouldn’t want to see 10, maybe 20 or 30 years from now, don’t put it on the Web! I think Roderick Ordonez of Technical Communications summed up the lesson learned:

“just be careful what you post or put on the Web. The Web is a great way to socialize and share data. You just never know who will use that data and for what purpose, regardless of where you put it or what service you choose to use—and that holds true even with or without a TOS.”

 

Live your life or sweat over your college GPA?

 

Photo Courtesy of http://blog.lib.umn.edu/baili009/architecture/

Lately, I’ve been up to my ears in stress with my current school work, Allen Hall PR, finding a job, registering for my last term of classes, thesis, and the list goes on.  And then last week, something HUGE happened.  I didn’t do an assignment! It wasn’t an “I totally forgot about this assignment” thing or “I talked to my professor and she gave me an extension” thing. It was just an “I had to prioritize” thing.  I’ve spent my whole life mastering school. I got great grades to keep my parents happy and it made me proud as well. I’m good at the school thing. But as I reach the end of my academic road, I find myself wondering, how important are my grades?  What if I am good at the school thing? Does that mean that I’ll be equally impressive in the job world?

I ran across a great blog post by Janet Aronica scrolling through the Twitterverse yesterday about the importance of college GPAs.  Although the title drew me in immediately, it was really the first paragraph that had me hooked and thinking “this sounds JUST LIKE ME”.  I asked myself the same questions the night before while once again on an intimate date with my true love, my iBook G4:

1.    Why am I home on a Friday night?
2.    I want a job.
3.    Do I really care about this stupid assignment? Will this assignment get me a job?
4.    Do employers care about my stupid good GPA?

As seniors, we have more on our plates than ever before.  Because in addition to all the extra-curricular activities we’ve taken on, we are also learning the most challenging academic content and oh yeah, finding a job in this impossible market.  And of course, finding a job is a full-time job in itself, right? So how does one prioritize? How do you decide if getting an A on this assignment is worth the extra effort when you could be exerting that effort towards finding a job that will affect you a year or five years from now? My classmates and I have been told by professors that unless you have a stellar GPA, and I mean STELLAR GPA, you shouldn’t put it on your résumé. Krista Berlincourt, another senior at the University of Oregon says that she’s been told that a GPA is only important if you have limited real-world experience.  While others like Hannah Smith and Josh Damis say they’ve been told it is “tacky” to put your GPA on their résumé.  While this does not apply across all fields, in public relations, employers are more interested in your experience than they are in a number on a piece of paper.  Karen Nethersole, Esq., CEO and founder of Full Circle NY was recently quoted by Heather Huhman saying

“An employer also needs to look for well-rounded candidates who can demonstrate what they are doing beyond school that shows some kind of leadership. It’s not just about GPA or the courses taken. It’s about what you are bringing to the table.”

 

Photo courtesy of: http://teacherweb.craven.k12.nc.us/GCF/JenaR/PolicesProcedures.html

Similar to high school seniors applying for colleges, an applicant with a high SAT score and decent GPA won’t guarantee them entry. It’s all the activities, the gravy, that gets them through the door. So as college seniors, shouldn’t we be focusing more on building our portfolios, which essentially requires us to perfect our school assignments, and looking for a job? Because once we land ourselves that interview, the employer will be focusing on our knowledge, our compatibility with the company, and what we can bring to the table. The employer won’t really care if I got an A+ on a press release I wrote for a PR class.  Like Janet, every job interview I’ve had in public relations, the interviewer will ask me why I chose PR, what do I love about PR, what blogs do I read, what sort of PR experience I have– “no one has asked about my GPA.”

 

I’m not suggesting that there should be a complete disregard for grades. Afterall, grades can be an accurate reflection of a person’s work ethic, talent, capability and commitment.  But I believe that effort made towards finding a job is more worth our efforts, right now.  Finding a job and making yourself a marketable candidate requires diligence, patience, commitment, research, persistence– all qualities that employers look for as well.  School is about the education, not the grade attached.  I think it is more important to focus on learning and acquiring skills that will be valuable when you enter your field than it is to focus on the grade earned.

What do you think about the importance of a GPA? Employers: How much does a GPA matter?

Pick Me! Choose Me! Hire Me! Part II: How to interview an agency

I recently sat down with Allie Cefalo, a recent University of Oregon graduate now working for SHIFT Communications in San Francisco, California to chat about how to market yourself in an interview and how to choose the right agency to work for.  Allie shared some important questions that every prospective candidate should ask their prospective employers.  As much as you are interviewing for a position with the agency, remember that you are interviewing the agency as a fit for you as well.

With the economy in its current state, all graduating seniors are just crossing their fingers for a job, any job! But being smart about smart agencies you choose to apply for will help you stay employed in this unstable economy.  Social media is reinventing the way companies handles their marketing.  In a post by Todd Defren titled “Will Social Media Help PR Weather the Storm?”

Todd says that marketing executives know that now is the time (to use social media) to rally and reassure customers and prospects. While finding a job is important, it is even more important to work for a company that will endure these hard economic times. Allie discussed a couple of questions crucial to ask your prospective employer to evaluate the longevity and future promise of a company: 

How do you use social media to communicate internally within your agency?  Social media should be an integral part of any campaign.  While it is obvious by now that social media is a key tool to communicating with your customers, learning how a company uses social media to communicate internally can show their social media savviness.  This savviness proves innovation and adaptability, which are key components to the survival of agencies today. 

What kind of team am I interviewing for? Before you enter an interview, it is important to do research about the position you are applying for.  By asking this question, before the interview or even during, you can tailor your answer and the discussion of your skills to pertain to that position specifically.  Allie gave an example about applying for a tech PR position.  Tech companies are often applying for numerous awards in a year.  By asking your interviewer whether or not they are planning to submit for the blank award, you show that you are educated about the field and what your duties might entail.  In addition, you can add that you have experience working on awards submissions. 

What are some other questions that interviewees should ask? What else should we learn about a company before we apply?