About: PR and Social Media Marketing and Adriana Gallegos

About My Public Relations and Social Media Marketing Web site:

My Web site has two components; the first one  is about  my professional background (Bio, Services, and Client Work);  the second part is my blog, located on the home page, in which I write about the following:

  • new communication and social media tools, trends, and strategies;
  • successful and not so successful PR/marketing campaigns; and,
  • travel and tourism promotion communications strategies and tactics.

About Adriana Gallegos:

I’m a bicultural and bilingual (Spanish) public relations and marketing professional with over 7 years of experience. I have worked with a wide range of clients: hotels, government agencies, nonprofits, embassies, corporations, and tourism boards.  I understand how media works from both sides–the TV reporter and the PR professional perspective. I’ve managed various teams to develop and implement strong strategic communications plans that have been results driven. Thanks to my strategic communications approaches I’ve helped Latino Veterans get jobs; helped some save on their energy bills; given some Latinos more of a voice in Washington, DC; alerted some to travel dangers abroad; and helped Spain, Italy, and Thailand better market its products in the U.S. market.

For the past three years I  have been using social media tools and strategies to connect brands, products, issues, and services to evangelists and targeted niche audiences. I blog about new trends in marketing, tourism, travel, public relations, and social media.

I’ve also been asked by the Embassy of Thailand; Howard University; and the National Council of La Raza to give seminars about how to effectively use social media.

I was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Growing up I spent all summers in Spain since my mother is from Burgos. Also took some courses at the University of Alcalá de Henares in Madrid.  I consider both New Mexico and Spain my  home. Truly bicultural.

 Social Media/Consultancy Experience from 2010 to present:

Thailand Trade Center USA (TTC)-www.thaitradeusa.com
Social Media

  • Created and implemented the social media strategy and plan to promote Thai products, businesses, and services in the North American market.
  • Web content management/SEO; and improved the Web site’s look and feel.
  • Blogged and managed its Facebook and Twitter pages; increased Facebook fans by 500% in 3 months.

MAYA PR & Marketing Firm
 Project Manager(Dept. of  Education)

  • Designed, implemented, and facilitated a local and national marketing strategy to get the message out about the 150 billion dollars available in federal student aid.
  • Recruited a marketing team to implement the local strategy targeting Latino and Native American low-income communities in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
  • Oversaw and managed financial budgets; direct contact with the client; made sure that the project met all deadlines and was on budget.

Italians in DC (IDC) (www.italiansindc.com)
Social Media

  • Created the overall social media strategy to increase this network’s visibility online; improved the Web site’s content and design. Implemented and managed YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and a forum.
  • IDC has been recognized by the Italian Embassy since increasing its online visibility.

Iberostar Hotels & Resorts (www.iberostar.com)
Social Media Strategist

  • Created the social media marketing analysis plan for the U.S. market.

Life in Italy (www.lifeinitaly.com)
Social Media Strategist

  • Conducted market research to better understand its target audience; created surveys to get feedback on how to improve the Web site.
  • Managed its social media-YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (Veterans Health Administration)
Social Media Specialist

  • Analyzed, developed, executed and managed social media initiatives.
  • Built and monitored relevant social media benchmarks; analyzed and reported on the effectiveness of social media.
  • Facilitated online conversations and events to make sure conversation and content were engaging and relevant.

Hojiblanca Olive Oil(www.hojiblancausa.com)
Communications Manager

  • Managing its social media strategy and content; Web site management; media relations work
  • Created the entire corporate press kit

Work Experience

Accenture
Washington, DC
Digital Marketing Specialist
Feb 2011- Oct. 2012

  • Produced and organized podcasts and webinars; organized events and conferences for high-level executives.
  • Strategized on how to get the best ROI.

U.S. Department of State-Bureau of Consular Affairs 
Washington, D.C. 
Press Officer
Sept 2008-Sept 2010

  • Served as the point of contact for all the inquiries coming from the media and the State Department Spokesperson’s Office; developed messaging on several international issues to be used during media interviews.
  • Monitored and analyzed current events and public and press opinion to write talking points for our spokesperson.
  • Convinced the bureau to do the first interactive town hall meeting with students; coordinated the videotaping and editing of it; used social networking sites to engage people to watch the video.

Marco de Comunicación 
Madrid, Spain 
Online Communications Associate
Oct 2007-July 2008

  • Worked with online client hotels.com to brand its services in Spain; created some integrated communications strategies to brand its tagline “Wake up Happy”.  All communication was done in Spanish.
  • Created a media relations/marketing strategy plan along with other PR firms from the UK, France, Portugal, and Germany; hotels.com received worldwide press coverage.

MAYA PR & Marketing Firm
Washington, D.C.
Senior Account Executive
Sept 2005-Oct 2007

  • Managed five public awareness campaigns that targeted the Latino and other communities; increased Freddie Mac’s program “Welcome Home” enrollment by 125%; organized the first ever town hall meeting with DC mayoral candidates and the Latino community; and organized other events with different government agencies.
  • Created and managed successful partnerships with several NGOs and businesses.
  • Produced an Emmy-nominated documentary about the Latino community in DC for the Mayor’s Office.

U.S. House of Representatives, (Henry Cuellar, D–TX)
Washington, D.C.
Deputy Press Secretary
Jan 2005-Sept 2005

  • Framed the congressman’s press strategy and spearheaded his outreach to Latino constituents by serving as the spokesperson for all Spanish media.
  • Implemented the first series of video conferencing meetings, a way for the congressman to stay in touch with the constituents.

KGNS-PRO 8 NEWS (NBC) 
Laredo, TX
TV Reporter
Jan 2004-Jan 2005

  • Shot my own video, edited, wrote, reported, researched, and recruited people to be interviewed on camera.
  • Produced an undercover piece with the police chief on out of control teen partying across the border in Mexico.

Education:

Georgetown University
Washington, D.C.
Masters of Arts in Public Relations & Communications
May 2010

  • Concentrations: Global/Social Impact Communications
  • Engaging in Social Media

University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM
BA/Broadcast Journalism & Spanish Literature
May 2003

  • Concentrations: Mass Communications/Spanish literature
  • New Mexico Broadcast Scholarship

Language/Technical/Volunteering Skills:

  • Spanish- write, read, and converse fluently; Italian-basic conversational.
  • Microsoft Office; social media management (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr, Pinterest, Google Plus, YouTube, Foursquare, forums and blogs); Final Cut Pro and Mac iMovie (video editing); Organic SEO; and use WordPress for creating blogs and Web sites.
  • Helped with fundraisers, canvassed, and translated for President Obama’s 2008 campaign.