Public Relations Specialist

Marketing is like running for office. To reach voters, you can either advertise yourself on TV, or you can activate a grassroots network of people to organize support for your campaign. Usually, it takes a combination of both to win the election.

That’s the basic principle behind marketing: To propagate their message and maximize their reach, companies often utilize both paid advertising and free publicity. As a Public Relations Specialist, you’re in charge of the latter, which requires creating and promoting a positive image for your company by getting people — including customers, critics, and the media — to show, say, and write nice things about it.

Unlike a Public Relations Representative, who usually works at a PR agency, you’re typically on staff. At a corporation, your job is to promote products and services. At a government agency or nonprofit organization, on the other hand, it’s raising public awareness of activities, issues, and accomplishments.

Either way, the Public Relations Specialist is paid to get the word out with the following daily duties, which are designed to create news, generate word of mouth, and establish a positive reputation: monitoring print and online publications for media mentions; writing and circulating press releases, articles, fact sheets, and newsletters; managing relationships with Reporters, Journalists, and Bloggers; organizing press conferences, speaking engagements, media appearances, and interviews for executives; serving as a media Spokesperson; writing speeches; and creating and distributing press kits.

Basically, you’re a corporate sieve: The Public Relations Specialist filters the inquiries that come in and the messages that go out, all in order to control the quality of your company’s image.