Public Relations officers have a reason to smile. Post liberalisation, the number of public relations firms has shot up in India. The availability of jobs has gone up; and so have the salaries. The profile too has become better.
There was a time when public relations officers were more like liaison men. Their job was to organise late night cocktail parties, get cinema tickets for the boss’ wife, arrange rail tickets, and ensure that the employers’ children get into good schools.
All this has changed. Public Relations now is getting organised as a profession. The focus now is building the image of the company. There is stress on professionalism. No wonder, the profession is becoming attractive for young media students, especially girls. There are two key reasons for this: the first is regular work hours. The girls don’t have to work late into the night as happens in journalism. The second is that the public relations firms today offer reasonably decent starting salaries.
But this does not mean that anyone can become a public relations officer. The pressure to deliver is high. To succeed, and to earn the respect of fellow colleagues, a public relations officer is required to perform the following nine responsibilities:
1. Planning and developing PR strategies: A public relations officer needs to develop a comprehensive public relations strategy, which should be goal-oriented. The strategy, and the activities that the PR department will undertake to realise the goals, must have the nod of the top management.
2. Digital visibility: The public relations officer must ensure that the company is visible on the net. The company’s policies, products and customer-related decisions should be published on a well-designed website, which is compatible with different browsers and different devices. There should be no distortion in the look and feel of the site. The public relations officer must also ensure that the website figures high on search engine result pages, and that the customers of the company are able to reach it with ease. (Read also: A wake up call for PR professionals)
3. Media relations: The image of a company depends upon the kind of notice its gets in the media, and a public relations officer has to work hard to get positive press for the company. He should be able to build close and personal relationships with reporters, and ensure good coverage. There are four activities that he is expected to perform while dealing with media:
a. Craft press releases: A key responsibility of the public relations officer is to craft a press release, which can be used by journalists to prepare a news report. Initially, the press release was physical. Today, it is digital. It can be e-mailed and published on the company’s website. The press release need not be text-based. It can be a video release or an audio release, depending upon the media. It can also be re-purposed for being shared on social media. (Read also: It’s time to reinvent the humble press release)
b. Answer media queries: The public relations officer must keep himself well informed about the company’s activities so that he can answer media queries quickly, and satisfactorily. The media can be quite nasty when it does not get information on time. It may get even more upset if the information provided is sketchy or incomplete.
c. Collate media coverage: A public relations officer must scan all information related to his company. He must also browse all reports published about rival companies or about the industry in which he works. He must compile this information, and submit it to the Company MD. Trade information is a valuable resource, and the public relations officer should carefully monitor all reports.
d. Organise press conferences: The public relations must know how to organise a press conference. This involves developing a press kit, fixing a venue, writing the MD’s speech, inviting the press, and managing the press. (Read also: 3 reasons to hold a press conference)
4. Publish house journal / newsletter/annual reports: The public relations officer must bring out an in house journal that informs employees of the important company activities. It should also include write ups about the families of the workers, upcoming events, meetings etc. Today, the journal can also be converted into a digital newsletter and emailed to all employees, besides being published on the company website.
5. Internal public relations: The public relations officer is also expected to build congenial relations with all employees and to interact with them on a regular basis. The interactions should be to improve information dissemination within the company.
6. Production of publicity material: The public relations officer should undertake the production of publicity brochures, hand-outs, direct mail leaflets, promotional videos, photographs, films and multimedia programmes. He can either do this in house or outsource the work to an external agency.
7. Reputation management: The public relations officer today also has to browse the social media platforms, and respond to comments posted by customers. The response should be in real time, and must address the grievance of the customer properly.
8. Crisis management: The public relations officer must be reactive. He should respond swiftly to any development that may show his company in a negative light. The response has to be made in consultation with the top management of the company. Often, the public relations officer may find the management’s stand unacceptable. But he must be flexible, and carry out the management’s bidding in the best interests of the company.
9. Foster community relations: The public relations officer also needs to build harmonious community relations by organising events and regular community activities.
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