The public relations jobs available in marketing recognize that a company’s “public face” involves more than just a smart press release when a new product or service is made available to the public. In the era of social media website and 24-hour publicity, public relations professionals often work within marketing departments to help ensure that the company is putting its best foot, and best message, forward. To that end, there are some really compelling PR jobs that involve more of a focus on sound marketing strategy and excellent customer outreach year-round.
Customer Outreach Specialist
Public relations professionals are often thought of as people who create a corporate message and make that message evident in standard press releases, but this is only one dimension of their jobs in the current economy. Another key task that public relations experts can take on within an organization is known as “customer outreach.” This part of the business is intertwined with customer service and technical support, social media, and more traditional marketing campaigns. PR professionals use their extensive communications and behavior science backgrounds to craft an approach to customers that is accessible and approachable, relatable, and useful.
Outreach specialists often focus on the written copy found on social media profiles and company websites, and they’re often found working alongside customer service managers to help improve the scripts and processes that customers encounter when they need any kind of assistance from the company’s support staff.
Social Media Manager
Increasingly, social media is the first place people look for a company’s public message and their customer support. PR specialists therefore are a crucial part of any social media strategy. Thanks to their knowledge of corporate communication and messaging, public relations professionals make excellent social media managers. In this career, they will leverage their PR skills to craft slick Facebook posts or Twitter tweets, and they’ll work on creating a strategy that increases click-through rates to the company’s website, enhances the user experience, offers better support through direct messaging, and showcases the company’s products in a way that’s visual, viral, and easily shared among the users of any given social media site.
Public Relations Advisor
A company’s public relations staff is always working to craft the best possible message for the organization, whether it’s to promote new products, announce and describe new strategies, or even handle a public relations “crisis” due to bad messaging or a rogue employee. Their services are actually very useful to the team that manages the company’s social media presence. After the PR person has managed any company triumph or tragedy, they’ll next begin working to brief social media experts on how to post status updates about the issue, support users regarding the issue, and create a cohesive and consistent message that furthers the company’s long-term interests, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Related Resource: Social Media Marketing Jobs
Excellent Opportunities Exist in Marketing for PR Professionals
The public relations profession is increasingly expanding into marketing, social media, and customer outreach. As more and more companies use their marketing strategy as a sort of public relations proxy, the advice and expertise of those with a degree in this field can help organizations be consistent, remain approachable, and offer the best possible service and persuasive marketing to potential new customers. For this reason, the public relations jobs available in marketing are increasingly focused on social media and consultation with various non-PR departments.
