Each conversation inevitably includes some measure of the key skills needed to succeed in public relations. And while some have changed over time, others remain the same.
So for all of you who have asked over the last few months, here are the key skills needed to succeed in an industry under tremendous pressure to change.
1. Read. It sounds basic. But the best way to understand the media is to read it daily, hourly, and by the minute. Set up RSS feeds. Download media apps. Bookmark media favorites. Start each day with The Wall Street Journal, and end it with AP. Know the news and how it's reported. And learn journalism's standards of how information is gathered, vetted, and reported.
2. Write. Every day. All day, if you can. The key to improving writing skills is to write all the time. I started my career by writing a book. It took eight months at 14 hours a day, and required me to write, rewrite, edit, and write again each chapter. It was a crash course in writing that consumed more than 2,500 hours and gave me a jump start on the 10,000 hours needed to master any pursuit.
3. Get edited. Often and always. Even after a 25-year career in public relations, I make sure all of my work is edited, and edited heavily. Editing exposes weaknesses, improves clarity, and breaks lazy habits.
4. Stay current. This week, I had a chance to listen to the first Internet broadcast of a radio show -- an episode of NPR's "Science Friday" that first aired 20 years ago. Even then, the transformation was on. The Internet was a breaking story as thoughtful people considered how it would transform human communications. It has, and the pace has only quickened. The iPad, Google TV, next-generation blogging. They're all accelerating the rate of change, and causing us to learn more, more quickly, and try new things every day.
5. Learn instant re-prioritization. In our business, refresh rates hit quickly. Plan your work, but be forewarned. You have to be able to shuffle priorities in order to capitalize on breaking news, address client demands, and meet changing expectations.
6. Think more like a newsroom and less like an advertising agency. Public relations fails the moment bias is seen or promotion is obvious. We're the insidious few who control the story and tell it invisibly, without the crass hand of promotion. Think beats, news flow, and assignment. Forget about offers, come-ons, and schemes.
It's all pretty simple stuff that takes minutes to consider and a lifetime to master. But where are the other four skills? Check back in a week to see them.
All good points, well made, Greg. The one I think is the most powerful is "Think more like a newsroom and less like an advertising agency." Often, PR people -- newbies and old pros alike -- make the mistake of not realizing that they are writing for journalists, not the general public. The general public will get to read only what journalists decide to run with, so you have to convince the editors and writers that your story has credibility and merit. Looking forward to Part II of this post. Regards, Frank
ReplyDeleteHi Greg – Great list. I’d like to add the following three skills that I find essential, regardless of whether we’re talking about traditional PR, social media, or other form of communications:
ReplyDelete1) The ability to think strategically and map PR to the business objectives: This starts with understanding the business goals. So, ask some questions such as:
• What are your primary objectives for the company?
• What do you hope to accomplish within the next 18 months?
• What are the most important initiatives the company is undertaking during the next 18 months to achieve your revenue goals?
• Is there a particular product line that you’re focusing on to achieve revenue goals?
• What are your top three priorities moving forward?
• How do you see us being of value here?
• How can we help you achieve your goals?
If the company is extending its reach into a new industry segment, for example, you need to ensure your PR strategy maps to that business goal. If the sales team is tasked with selling a high margin product – and you’re focused on promoting a commoditized offering because it’s a hot topic – you may need to adjust your strategy to ensure it maps to the company’s sales objectives.
2) The ability to make fact-based decisions about PR strategies and campaigns: There is nothing strategic about guessing or being creative. Don’t get me wrong, creative campaigns are essential. My point is creativity needs to be driven by real data that reveals how the current program is performing, where the program needs to go, and how the creative campaign will drive bottom-line results for the client company. Even with limited budgets, PR professionals must make fact-based decisions about short- and long-term PR programs. They need to push beyond simply tracking metrics. The insights delivered through PR measurement data and analytics should shape a company’s PR strategy. This is the information that helps drive new insights that can transform and significantly improve PR programs.
3) A clear understanding of how their client/company compares to the competition: When you measure the results of your PR efforts against the success of your competitors you have the data you need to respond to competitive threats, identify weaknesses in your program, and make the adjustments necessary to achieve more. Say your company is getting good media coverage overall, but your analysis shows that you’re falling behind the competitors in one key publication. After looking more closely, you see that one particular journalist continually writes about the competition, but never writes about you. You realize that you need to work hard to build a relationship with this individual to drive coverage in that key publication so you don’t lose out to your competitors. You may have a sense for this already, but by studying this particular journalist’s articles, you can identify what he requires for a story and go to him armed with information. By using what you learned during your coverage analysis and letting that dictate your approach to media relations you’ll be working smarter and getting better results.
My advice to PR professionals who are entering the field, or who are already in the field, is that regardless of whether you’re doing traditional PR, digital PR or social media, the most successful PR professionals are the ones who have the ability to get the type of results that move the business forward. Now, we know that strategy is left to the senior pros, but the sooner you can get your mind around how to be strategic, the brighter you will shine.
These are great points. Thanks for the feedback.
ReplyDeleteNice list, but I see 6 key skills, not 10. ;)
ReplyDeleteThere are now! http://blog.gregoryfca.com/2010/12/four-more-key-skills-for-pr-pros-in.html. Obviously my trick to get people to come back to my blog didn't work. ;)
ReplyDelete