The Wonderful World of PR (Part 3) - roles and responsibilities

What is PR? blog series by final year student Lindelani Moyo. Read part 1 and part 2.

In this third and final instalment of our fascinating 'The Wonderful World of PR’ series, we'll explain the differences between the terms 'agency' and 'in-house' as well as the responsibilities of modern PR careers and average salaries for PR graduates.

Explaining the difference between agencies and in-house

'Agency' and 'in-house' are common PR terms which are used to explain the working environment, and students will come across these when discussing placements, internships and graduate jobs. 

Working in an agency and working in-house are two very different experiences. 

• In-house: Working in-house usually refers to the public relations practitioners who work within a company's internal team, such as ‘Tesco's Corporate Communication Team’. The internal team promotes the company, and the company assists them financially.

• Agency: Companies that don't have an internal communications or PR officer, or who need a greater level of supprort, will typically outsource public relations to a PR agency or consultancy, hiring them to fulfil their PR activities, run specific campaigns or maintain an active press desk function. Or a mix of all three! 

Social media and public relations

The rise of digital PR and social media coinsided with the emergence of the 'influencer marketing# industry, which is now prevalent across every social media platform. Due to the rapid growth of TikTok, for instance, an 'average' person can become a 'celebrity' seemingly overnight, and influencers have grown in profile, from bloggers to vloggers and then into Instagrammers. 

There are more PR jobs in social media than ever before, working with or for companies and public figures who may need external management and communications support, and social and influencer engagement activities are central to many campaigns and PR related activities.

Social media influencers can be found in nearly every sector, look at Love Island's Dr Alex George for example; a contestant on the popular TV show, he is now a health influencer working with the NHS and the UK Government. If you find out which area you have a passion for, e.g. fashion, tech, automotive, beauty then you can look into specific companies that are hiring for social media and influencer executives, or PR executive roles where this may be part of the mix. Working with social media influencers can benefit many businesses, and even charities and cause campaigns, because it allows them to expand their reach and increase awareness, understanding and stakeholder engagement across multiple social media channels, whilst also increasing traffic to their website, footfall into stores and enhancing their reputaiton. 

Current PR careers

As the field of public relations has evolved, so have the job titles and responsibilities. For example, as social media grew in prevelancy, so did the position of 'Social Media Executive'; likewise, as influencer marketing grew in popularity, the role of 'Influencer Marketing Manager' arose. Here are some careers that BCU Media public relations graduates go into: 

• PR Account Executives - Public relations account executives can work for and with several companies at the same time. Public relations account executives manage social media campaigns, distribute press releases to the media, and seek to sway public opinion on behalf of their clients.

• Social Media Managers - Social media managers are the key players in leading a company’s social media strategy with the aims of increasing their client’s digital engagement with their audience, managing their online presence and boosting their online visibility. Analysing audience data, managing digital campaigns, creating engaging content, and developing a strategy are all common tasks for a social media manager.

• Content Writers - Content writers work with businesses to identify their style of voice and are in charge of designing, publishing, and editing various forms of content for a company's target audience. Emails, articles, ads, blogs, and website copy are just a few examples of the types of materials that content writers will create.

• Marketing Executives - Marketing executives plan and implement marketing strategies to increase a company's sales. A marketing executive's duties vary depending on their employer, but they typically collaborate with workers from other departments such as sales, advertisement, logistics, and market research.

• Digital Assistants - Digital assistants support their digital team in responding to customer and internal staff queries, reporting any troubleshooting problems, and publishing digital material. Writing content for a company's intranet and social media pages, updating databases, and conducting market analysis are amongst the key duties of a digital assistant.

 

What are the average salaries for a PR graduate?

Please note that these income figures are only provided as a guide, differ from location to location, business to business, and are based on current data.

 

• PR Account Executives 

Graduate/Entry/Junior public relations account executives can earn around £18,000 to £24,000 in their first two years.

 

• Social Media Manager

Assistant/junior social media managers can earn around - £19,000 - £25,000.

• Content Writers 

Junior content writers can earn around - £18,000 - £23,000 in their first two years.

 

• Marketing Executives 

Junior marketing executives can earn around - £17,000 - £23,000 in their first two years.

• Digital Assistants 

Entry level digital assistants - £19,000 - £24,000.

A PR degree like BCU’s BA (Hons) Public Relations and Media will prepare you for a career working in PR, in social media and / or working with influencers - in fact, many areas of the communications sector! And once you start, there is great potential for development and an exciting career in the wonderful world of PR.

The Wonderful World of PR (part 2) - skills and studying

What is PR? blog series by final year student Lindelani Moyo. Read post one here.

In this second post in the series, we will look at the differences between public relations, marketing, and advertising, listed the skills you'll need in the industry right now and what you’d learn on a PR degree.

 

Explaining the difference between Public Relations, Marketing and Advertising

We discussed what public relations is in the previous post and acknowledged that PR is its own discipline. It is also important to recognise that:

     

Public relations is not advertising.

  And

Public relations is not marketing.

 

These areas to intersect but they have distinct differences:

 

• Advertising: Advertising is a one-way communication strategy that uses paid media techniques such as commercial placement, television advertisements, and social media ads to communicate the selling of a business's goods or services to its target customers and prospective buyers.
  
  

• Marketing: Marketing refers to the activities that a company engages in to encourage customers to purchase a product or service. The "marketing mix" is the foundation model for this term, which includes the four "P's": product, location, positioning, and promotion, but notice there's no "PR"! Companies use these marketing tools to pursue marketing objects in their target markets.

Marketing alongside public relations has developed over the years and has become increasingly far-reaching and multifaceted in its methodologies to capture the interest of its target audience.

How can Public Relations help a company?

As briefly discussed in part 1, public relations can assist a company in establishing relationships with the public and developing a strategy to engage and communicate with its stakeholders in order to influence and drive their decision to work with, shop with, and support it.

Here’s an example:

Imagine you’re opening a new restaurant. PR can invite bloggers, food critics and local journalists to the launch with the hope that they'll enjoy their meal and dining experience so much that they'll write about it and share it with their audience on social media.

The important thing to remember is that these invited guests are under no obligation to discuss their restaurant experience, so posting it will earn you exposure through their organic tweets. 

Source

Why chose a career in Public Relations?

It's easy to recommend public relations as a career to someone who enjoys using social media and wants to work with celebrities, but it's also an interesting subject to study, and earning a degree in it can provide you with many transferable skills and prepare you for an exciting career... and one that can pay well!

For those who consider themselves to be 'creatives types'. there's plenty of opportunities in PR. You'll need to come up with innovative ideas, develop memorable campaigns and create compelling content that makes people stop, think, laugh and even change their attitude or behaviour. There are also opportunities for you to work more closely with a brand on the art and design side if you believe that's where your talents are better suited, or you can pivot and use your organisational skills to work within an operations team and map out all of the steps required to resolve a crisis. In fact, if you can stay calm under pressure, you could have a whole career in crisis communications!

The impact of the pandemic has demonstrated that public relations is a resilient industry, as recruiting for roles continued, and PR practitioners were able to operate from home and execute campaigns effectively. The importance of clear and consistent communications became more evident than ever before, and PR professionals has a very important part to play in helping the organisations they represent navigate their way through the challenging and changing landscape.

What skills are needed in PR?

Source

Every year, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) produces a survey on data collected from professionals across the UK on issues that are impacting on the PR industry. 

According to the CIPR, the top five skills that you will need in this current industry are: 

• Copywriting and editing: Copywriting is the process of creating original content to appeal to a target audience. Editing is the process of selecting and altering information in order to create a finished piece of content. 

 

• Media Relations: Media relations can be described as a company's interactions with editors, reporters and journalists.*
  
  

• PR programmes/campaigns: Campaigns/programmes in public relations are a collection of activities aimed at achieving a specific goal, usually influencing public opinion or managing public perception.
  
  

• Crisis, issues management: The term "crisis management" refers to a situation that began as a problem but has since been elevated to a crisis that requires immediate attention in order to be resolved.

 

• Strategic planning: Strategic planning is an organisation's process of refined planning by defining their strategy to pursue a specific objective. 

What would you learn on a PR degree? 

Since the PR industry is constantly evolving, it is likely that the modules of the PR degree you select will be tailored to the demands of the industry at that moment.

• Communication - Not only will you learn how to correctly communicate with other PR professionals and the media, but you'll also learn how to write a compelling press release. You'll also learn how brands promote their products and services to a variety of audiences, and manage their reputation within a digital environment.

 

• Creativity - Content is a prime feature when working in public relations and it is likely that you will be working on your editing skills and learning how to create compelling content that will garner the interest of a variety of audiences and be using different media forms to do it, such as photography, blogs and infographics.
  
  

• Industry practice - PR degrees tend to develop your understanding of the media and will teach you about communication theories and how you can apply them to real-world issues in the field.

 

Choosing to pursue a PR degree will allow you to learn about the ins and outs of the field whilst also preparing you for real-industry work. Many opportunities will be provided for you to network with some of the UK's top PR firms, work on real campaigns, and pitch ideas to clients.

Find out more on how the PR and Media course at Birmingham City University will prepare you for a fast-paced and rewarding career.

 

*Media Relations

 

The Wonderful World of PR (part 1) - history and evolution

What is PR? blog series by final year student Lindelani Moyo 

Do you actively use social media? Have you watch a celebrity attend a new restaurant opening recently on TikTok, or dream about working with influencers? If you are reading this blog post that means you are interested in PR – ‘Public Relations’ and are seeking to find out more about it... 

For all the students who are buzzing with excitement to start a public relations course in September, this three-part series will be your informant and attempt to cover some public relations basics and all its juicy parts so that you can gain a better understanding of what public relations is, and how it works. 

Part one will provide an overview of the history of public relations, as well as how it has evolved digitally over time, and why it is more important than ever in today's world. 

 

Image source

 

What is PR?

 

Public Relations, also known as ‘PR’, can be difficult to define. This is due to the global perceptions from both PR professionals and their publics.

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) defines Public Relations as:

“Public Relations is about reputation - the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you.

2Public Relations is the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics.”*

 

What public relations is not

There are many misconceptions as to what public relations is and what it entails thanks to the media's consistent promotion of negative public relations practitioner stereotypes.

 

Image source

 

According to the CIPR, 60% of public relations activity is within events** and this has not been hidden on-screen, however, that activity is ranked 10th on a list of 18!

Unfortunately for the many students reading this who may have become interested in public relations due to the media presenting it as being a ‘glamorous career’, a role perfect for a ‘multitasker’ who wants to be confidants with celebrities, attend high status parties, constantly jet setting, and somehow ends their day with a martini in their hand and a smile on their face, this is a fictitious version of PR.

Alas, whilst some aspects of public relations actually involve planning events like new restaurant openings or, managing government press conferences, public relations is much more than that. Some parts are glamourous, but it all takes hard work!

Public relations also involves creating content for brands, managing a crisis, executing multi-channel campaigns, running social media accounts...the list goes on. There is something for everyone, and you don't have to necessarily be a specific kind of person to succeed.

The very brief history of PR

To grasp the significance of public relations and the way it has influenced and altered our perceptions of the media and communication we need to take a look at its past.

Public relations activity can be found in Aristotle's writings on “the art of rhetoric” in Ancient Greece. Also, the British abolitionist movement used print media to persuade public opinion in the late seventeenth century.

Edward Bernays, the nephew of neurologist Sigmund Freud, used his uncle's psychological theories to develop public relations strategies, and became one of the leading practitioners in the field who helped to contribute to PR and pioneer it into the industry that it is today. 

Another is Ivy Lee, an American public relations expert who campaigned for the explanatory approach to public relations, setting a precedent for the PR practitioners that followed him. The emergence of mass media at the turn of the twentieth century helped the birth of the conventional public relations industry more familiar to us now.

Although the art of controlling communications to influence others has existed for many decades, the mutual acceptance and comprehension of public relations being a profession still lags behind some of the older professions, such as law. 

 

Traditional PR vs Digital PR 

Traditional PR refers to the strategies used by public relations practitioners to gain a company exposure and manage public opinion through media channels such as broadcasting (e.g. television and radio) and print (e.g. magazines and newspapers). An example of this involves a PR practitioner writing and distributing press releases to media outlets like newspapers, magazines and radio stations in the hopes of earning coverage for a story or announcement. Millions of people still listen to the radio during their commute, watch the news after work, and read the newspaper on the train, demonstrating the relevance of traditional media and the importance of traditional media tactics in world today’s world.

Digital PR arose as a result of PR's evolution with the digital age. Digital PR is an internet-based strategy which raises a company's visibility to their audience through online methods such as influencer outreach, social media campaigns, and search engine optimization (SEO). Since digital PR is conducted entirely online, PR practitioners have access to a variety of online channels, including online news outlets, websites and social media platforms. As the internet never sleeps, social media has helped to promote brands with little to no direct financial expense (although time is money, and to get content seen, budget is needed), making digital PR a great method for companies to build their brand perception both on and offline. 

Traditional and digital PR both have the same basic goal of increasing brand awareness; the methods and manner in which these goals are measured and achieved differ. 

 

Why does public relations matter?

To stay afloat, a company must get its product or service in front of its target customers and the general public, but how will they do this if they are unknown? This is where public relations plays a crucial role. Public relations is fundamentally about understanding stakeholders and building relationships, and it can assist a company in developing a strategy to engage and communicate with the people important to their success, in order to influence and drive their decision to work with, shop with, and support it.

 

“No matter the size or success of an organization, having a public relations team is necessary to build trust with your customers.”***

 

Public relations can boost public confidence in a company’s credibility for a smaller cost. If a public relations professional gets a company mentioned in the news for example, the public will be more aware of the topic or item, which creates a talking point and can then go on to generate leads that are more effective than advertising because they will have reached a broader audience that they may not have initially targeted or had access to.

Stayed tuned for part two in this series... 

 

* (CIPR) 

** Events: PR Activity

***Three Reasons Why Public Relations Matters 

Industry Advice - Reflections from PR Guest Talks at BCU

In the blink of an eye, January has passed us by and in university, the month was filled with assignment deadlines and of course we are in our third national lockdown.

 

The second semester of BCU has just begun and as I loom towards the end of one of my modules (Communication Management) an idea came across me to form this industry reflections post. As BCU PR students, we have been lucky enough to sit-in live video interviews with our lecturer Kelly and many guest speakers from the PR and communications industry throughout the past semester. Some of these talks included BCU PR graduates who have successfully secured their entry roles and have been a beaming beacon of hope for us third-year students in particular.

 

I learnt a lot from the talks and felt they gave great pieces of advice that we as students could apply in our lead up to entering this dynamic industry and our professional careers. I will only share a couple of take-away quotes from each interview but if you’re a BCU PR student I recommend listening to all of them to gain a greater understanding of the industry if you haven’t already (they're saved on the PR and Media course page on Moodle). 

I have left the companies Twitter handles below, in case you want to give them a follow (which I encourage if you’re on the prow for work experience!)

There's a lot to cover, so I will be sharing a second blog post soon. Onto part one... 

 

Maddy McCrann-Smith and Karlie France from Spottydog Communications @spottydogcomms

“Don’t just write a cv and a cover letter and send it out to any job that fits your criteria. Just  focus on a few and put a lot of time into that, make it personal to the company.”

 

Maddy and Karlie are both previous PR graduates at BCU, Maddy graduating in 2008 and Karlie was in the class of 2020. They kick off the video discussions with their growing experience of the industry and gave us upcoming graduates some great pointers when it comes to applying for roles. They advised on how to apply the research you’ve found about the job into your CV’s and tailoring it to specifically suit the company, against the standard ‘one-size-fits-all’.

 

Natalie Smith from Spottydog Communications @spottydogcomms

“I recommend doing content writing opportunities from home.”

“Volunteer to help out with other people's social media accounts.”

 

Natalie is part of the most recent BCU PR graduates. She was always proactive in gaining industry experience during her time at university and recommends developing your experience in content writing as this is such a huge part of PR. Small companies and micro/macro-influencers often need help handling their social media profiles, and Natalie suggests assisting them to get a sense of how things work when it comes to social media management.

 

Chris Brown from ColmoreBID @ColmoreBID

“Just because you’ve not had work experience working in an agency doesn’t mean you haven’t got communication experience."

 

Look deeper into how you can apply your professional skills (although they may not have been gained in this specific industry) when explaining your experience in job interviews. There may be an aspect of your degree that you can draw on, a group presentation that you have led, any societies on which you have sat or a part-time job. Apply those perspectives and mention your transferable skills to prove that you are indeed suitable for any role.

 

Melissa Lawrence from Taylor Bennett Foundation @PRstarsTB

“The industry is woefully undiverse and sometimes when you go into an agency as a minority you are the only one, or one of a few”

 

Melissa is the CEO of the Taylor Bennett Foundation which is a charity that supports (BAME) black, Asian and minority ethnic graduates with pursuing a career in communications. Although the ethnic diversity within the PR and communications industry is growing it still remains very low. When you enter the industry remember to speak up/speak out if you feel that something is not right, or, can be done more effectively. This will not only make your colleagues feel more comfortable in the workplace, but it could also open the eyes of someone who may be in a position of privilege.

 

Bex Williams from WPR Agency @WPRAgency

“Be articulate and professional at all times”

 

WPR is a very familiar agency to us BCU students as this is where Kelly began her PR career, starting as a graduate account executive and leaving as head of home and lifestyle! WPR currently have two BCU graduates employed there: Nicole and Rachel (who have been guest speakers on talks with us previously).

 

Once you graduate and enter the industry you will be coming in as a graduate account executive. Around the office, you should be able to demonstrate that you are articulate and know how to act in professional settings. By doing this your company will feel comfortable taking you to client meetings and begin to develop your role requirements.

 

I hope this summary of some of the guest speakers we had last semester is useful, and keep your eyes peeled for part two...

 

 

The post was written by ​Lindelani, final year PR student at BCU School of Media.

 

You can follow her PR and university journey on:

Twitter: @digital_linde & @girlsinmedia

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/lindelani/

Personal Blog: lifewithlinde.com