Public Relations Job Descriptions
An earlier article attempted to detail and define the numerous job titles one can find in the public relations field. With the encyclopedic number of titles, how does one describe the work of these?
Another previous article quoted the 30,000 member Public Relations Society of America’s definition of PR – “Public relations is a strategic communications process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”
That’s the common goal of each position. Here’s a description of some of the major jobs within the PR profession. Account specialist, manager and/or director are generally positions at public relations agencies at which the individual is assigned to and responsible for one or more clients. Depending upon the contract with the client, the position may spend all or part of its time working with the client.
Corporate communications specialists are by definition a position within a company. Unlike some descriptions, this title is vague because it usually encompasses a diverse range of duties. These could include media and community relations, event management, press releases, speech and other presentation preparations, and shareholder communications,
Content specialists spend most of their time writing and editing articles, blogs and emails for their employers. Storytelling is also a critical part of their job.
SEO specialists serve a critical role in driving traffic to a company’s website through the use of keywords that generate pertinent search results for customers and potential customers. To be successful, the SEO specialist must continually scrutinize webmaster tools as well as the web presence of competitors.
PR analysts, as the name says, must have a clear understanding and awareness of their target audience so they can measure changes in customer likes and dislikes and adapt to them as quickly as possible.
Media relations directors cultivate and nurture credible relationships with local, regional and national media. Being successful at this can result in more frequent dissemination of news releases. In times of crisis, media are also more inclined to give a trustworthy source to the benefit of the doubt.
Internal communications specialists or managers have the responsibility of clearly and credibly connecting with company employees. They are responsible for crafting a strategy and fulfill it by producing in-house communications which could include newsletters, video news magazines, email blasts, an internal website or a combination of these.
Event managers organize and put on events that serve to personally connect with customers or potential customers. They work in concert with others like the media relations director, social media director and public relations director in publicizing and giving visitors to the events meaningful information that causes them to do business with their company.
Social media directors plan and implement strategies utilizing social media that not only increase a company’s online presence but also result in visitor interest and ultimately sales for the organization.
In the nonprofit arena, among the things a fundraising manager does is to collect stories from clients and share them with current and potential donors in the organization’s newsletter, website and/or emails to generate heightened interest in increased giving.
These are but a few of the many examples of different PR job descriptions. Another way to learn more and particularly certain ones is to conduct an online search for a particular description.
