As public relations professionals, it’s our job to wear many hats simultaneously – media relations specialist, social media community manager, website copywriter, event planner, SEO consultant. You name it, we probably do it.
But one role permeates each hat we wear: news junkie. We scour the news to spot opportunities for our clients, keep tabs on reporters and stay abreast of the happenings in our communities. We do this not only because it’s our job, but also because we crave new and interesting information about a variety of topics.
Since we’re often immersed in the business of clients, it can be difficult to stay on top of the latest news within our own industry. Here are some of our favorite stories about the communications industry so far this year.
Public Relations
Public relations is a great field in which to work. In fact, PR ranks fifth among the hottest careers to watch in 2013 (PR News), and employment for PR specialists is expected to grow by 23 percent by 2020.
Despite this positive outlook, our field has also made news recently for being one of the five most stressful jobs (NBC News) – right behind military personnel and generals, firefighters and commercial airline pilots. Perhaps contributing to this stress is the ever-blurring line between PR and advertising. Even Richard Edelman announced a change of heart about paid media (Edelman’s 6 A.M. Blog), saying PR and advertising should partner.
Social Media
Managing brands’ social media accounts has become a standard part of the job for those in PR. We probably don’t go a day without saying one (or all) of these terms: “post,” “like,” “tweet,” “hashtag,” “pin,” “share,” “follow.” Actually, “hashtag” was named 2012’s Word of the Year (The New York Times) by the American Dialect Society, proof that we’re not the only Twitter nerds using the term.
Over the holidays, Facebook rolled out several changes to its mobile app (The New York Times), which is used by a staggering 600 million of its users. The revamped app more closely mirrors Facebook’s desktop browser version, giving on-the-go posters more options for tagging, sharing, uploading and sorting content.
Further proof that PR isn’t just a 9-to-5 job, weekends are the best times to post on Facebook (Ragan) in most industries. If you’re a brand page manager for companies in the fashion, retail, technology and health & beauty industries, consider yourself one of the lucky few, because for most others, it’s a weekend world.
In hopes of competing with Facebook, Google is requiring people to use Google+ (The Wall Street Journal). Now, when people create a Google account to use services like Gmail, YouTube and Zagat, they’re also given a public Google+ page.
Writing
At the core of any PR professional is a strong writer. Our clients rely on us to write news releases, media kits, press pitches, website copy, blog posts, Facebook posts, tweets, testimonials and more.
To accurately communicate our clients’ news and secure media hits, we should consider using these 10 words and phrases that compel reporters (PR News). Journalists hate PR buzzwords like “revolutionary,” “cutting edge” and “pioneer,” especially words and phrases that aren’t even used correctly (Poynter). Keep the sales lingo out of PR materials.
Another way to use our writing skills to increase clients’ visibility is search engine optimization, or SEO. Simple tweaks to keywords, tags and formatting can make a huge difference in the eyes of Google’s algorithm. The next time you write a news release, incorporate these 6 SEO content tips (PR Newser).
It’s a good thing we are such news junkies, because researchers say reading the newspaper actually makes you happier (PR Daily). Here’s hoping you have a happy and healthy 2013!
I’m always happy when I’m reading my hometown paper, the San Francisco Chronicle (www.sfgate.com). But then, even though I’ve embraced all things social media, I still love reading my hard copy newspaper with my morning cappuccino at the breakfast table every morning. Try it, you’ll like it! Thanks for a great post. Cheers, David