logo
logo
Sign in

Understanding the roles of PR in an organisation

avatar
BBS Communications
Understanding the roles of PR in an organisation

Read this guide to learn how your business can benefit from working with a top public relations agency


If you run a business, you should consider working with a top public relations agency. PR professionals shape the image of an organisation. They also build a brand and spread the messages of the organisation they are working for. This helps reduce negative publicity. The PR person at a small company may have to do all the roles of public relations – media contact person, cheerleader, the deflector of criticism and more. At larger corporations, staffers can have specialised roles to do different organisational needs.

 

Technician or manager

One way you can divide up roles is between communication managers and communication technicians. Communication technicians are public relations writers. They turn out newsletters, press releases, website content, blogs, speeches, and social media posts. Communication managers handle the bigger picture. They assess the PR goals and the problems to solve and determine the best PR strategy required.

 

Organisational missions

Another way you can segment PR is by looking at the different roles to accomplish. Here are some roles a PR company can accomplish for you.

 

Crisis management

This deals with emergencies that affect the organisation. They help the company or the organisation establish policies for dealing with various emergencies such as who gets to talk with the media, how management shares information with their employees and more.

 

Relationship management

This service establishes strategies for building relationships and maintaining those relationships with crucial segments of the public such as reporters and customers.

 

Image management

Image management professionals in a public relations agency work to present the company as compassionate, socially responsible and involved in the community they serve.

 

Resource management

This segment looks at the resources and budget for the PR of the organisation and figures out how to make the best out of the budget.

An organisation requires its PR team or consultant to fill more than a single role. Shaping the image of the company and managing relationships can generate a lot of goodwill for the company. When negative news or a crisis breaks out, the role of PR has to be the minimisation of any blowback or damage from the events.

 

Skill sets in PR

Different roles in PR call for different skills. PR communication professionals have to be good writers. They need to write messages with strong imagery and use evocative language that steers the audience to the point the company wants them to reach. The technicians execute the strategy put in place by managers.

On the other hand, managers are more into the bigger picture. They do not have to be good writers but they set the goals for the people who are good writers. Managers sit at the management table and discuss strategies and how to improve the image of the company and build relationships given the resources they have.

Sometimes, managers can watch for potential threats within the top public relations agency they work for or their clients’ success and craft a strategy to solve the problem. The roles are not bound by anything but opportunity and ability. Skilled technicians may change from image to relationship managers in different situations.

collect
0
avatar
BBS Communications
guide
Zupyak is the world’s largest content marketing community, with over 400 000 members and 3 million articles. Explore and get your content discovered.
Read more