Just What Exactly Does a PR Professional Do?

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If you are a hair dresser or a plumber, you generally don’t have to explain to people what it is that you DO for a living. But when you are in public relations, that’s not always the case. People often ask me what it is that I do each day. Some think I go to a lot of meetings, eat out a lot, or get my clients gigs on the Today Show.

Even my own children don’t exactly get what I do. The other day my daughter wrote in a school project that her mother “works from home.” When I asked her to write that I had a PR company she said no one would know what that was. She finally agreed to say I had my own company – enough said.

The dictionary describes public relations as “The professional maintenance of a favorable public image by a company or other organization or a famous person.” But it’s really much more than that.

Yes, PR professionals help clients maintain a favorable image, but unlike an advertising agency, we don’t do it through paid media, rather through what we call “earned” (or free) coverage. We do this in a number of ways, through press releases, media pitches, blogging, social media, events, and award nominations, to name a few.

We work as strategic partners with clients, learning about their business, creating a PR plan and develop key messages. If there is a product or service involved, our job is to create and build awareness. If there is the possibility of something bad happening, we work with clients to mitigate the damage. This doesn’t mean we try to whitewash a problem, rather we help them to find ways to respond in the best way.

There are a number of ways we work to accomplish these goals. As I mentioned earlier, we work with the media to get positive coverage. Many of us are former journalists and we have long-established relationships. We know what is a good news story and what isn’t.

We create content, whether it’s through blogs, ghost-written bylines or press releases. We respond to media inquiries and, when needed assist with crisis management. Some PR folks engage in social media, posting to client’s various Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other accounts. We also look for opportunities to get our clients nominated for awards (which again leads to positive press), and some of us engage in event planning.

What we don’t do is work in a vacuum. When clients hire a PR firm, they should expect to work with them to develop those key messages, be available when interview opportunities come up and respond in a timely manner.

While we can never guarantee that our work will get our clients on the front page of the Wall Street Journal or New York Times, we can help to increase a client’s visibility, which in turn will help them to stand out above the competition and become top of mind when clients/customers are looking for their product or service.

Susan R. Miller is founder of Garton-Miller Media, a full-service, South Florida based public relations firm. Susan is a former journalist with more than 30 years of experience.