The first public relations specialists. General characteristics of the functions of a public relations specialist
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
The content of the professional activity of public relations specialists is one of the urgent problems of the theory and practice of public relations. Without clear ideas about the content of this activity, it is impossible to determine the main directions and specific guidelines in the professional training of the relevant specialists. In the specialized literature, many authors pay sufficient attention to the content side of the professional activities of public relations specialists. Here are some of the most significant, in our opinion, points of view on this problem, which give a more or less clear idea of it.
First of all, one should turn to one of the modern classics of the theory and practice of public relations, Sam Black. In his book An Introduction to Public Relations, he identifies ten main areas PR, which make it possible to obtain the most general ideas about the content of the professional activities of public relations specialists and the content of their professional training. These areas are:
1) public opinion;
2) public relations;
3) government relations;
4) public life;
5) industrial relations;
6) financial relations;
7) international relations;
8) relations with consumers;
9) research and statistics;
10) mass media.
More specifically, Sam Black expresses the content of the activities of professionals in the field of public relations in the tasks facing them. According to the classic, the main tasks PR cnecialists are:
1) consultations based on an understanding of human behavior;
2) analysis of possible trends and prediction of their consequences;
3) study of public opinion, expectations and views of society and development of recommendations for the implementation of necessary measures;
4) establishing and maintaining mutual communication based on the reliability and completeness of information;
5) prevention of conflict and misunderstandings;
6) promoting the establishment of mutual respect and social responsibility;
7) harmonization of personal and public interests;
8) improving friendly relations with staff, suppliers and customers;
9) improvement of industrial relations;
10) attracting qualified personnel and reducing staff turnover;
11) expansion of the market for goods and services;
12) maximizing profitability;
13) formation of corporate identity.
1. Programming, including problem analysis, setting goals, identifying groups of people whose support or mutual understanding the organization needs, and planning the necessary activities.
2. Relationships established and maintained with different groups of people and organizations, which is essential for collecting, correctly assessing information and making recommendations.
3. Preparation and publication of publications, reports, articles, and other information materials for external and internal groups.
4. Establishment of information dissemination systems through the press, radio and television, professional publications, formation and maintenance of publishers' interest in information.
5. Organization of the release of publications, films, programs, multimedia, photographs in close contact with experts on these issues, which requires knowledge of the technical aspects of production.
6. Organization of special events such as press conferences, exhibitions, demonstrations, ceremonial meetings, awards, etc. This requires careful planning and coordination, attention to detail, preparation of special booklets and messages.
7. Preparing speeches for others and being able to give speeches.
8. Research and evaluation related to the ability to collect information in a variety of ways, including work in the library, interviews, informal conversations, the use of public opinion researchers.
In this aspect, the list of job responsibilities of a specialist in the field of public relations is important from a practical point of view. It:
1. Writing and editing. Drafting press and broadcast announcements, feature articles, newsletters for employees and external stakeholders, letters, communications to Web site and other intelligence services, shareholder and annual reports, speeches, brochures, film scripts and slideshows, articles in professional publications, institutional advertisements, and product and supplementary technical materials.
2. Relations with the media. Contacts with representatives of the media, magazines and Sunday supplements, with independent writers, as well as with representatives of professional publications. The purpose of such contacts is "to persuade the relevant publications or mass media to publish (or broadcast) news and stories about the organization (these news and stories can be prepared by the organization itself). Responding to requests from the media, checking published materials and access to influential sources of information.
3. Research. Gathering information about public opinion, trends, emerging issues, political climate and legislation, media reports, special interest groups and other matters relating to the shareholders of the organization. Browsing the Internet, operational information services, government electronic databases. Planning research programs, conducting surveys, organizing orders from research firms.
4. Management and administration. Drawing up programs and plans in cooperation with other managers; identifying needs, setting priorities, identifying community groups, setting goals, and developing strategies and tactics. Administration of personnel, budget and program schedules.
5. Consulting. Recommendations to the top management of the company on the social, political and regulatory environment; holding consultations with the management team on how to avoid a crisis (and how to respond to one if it occurs); working with key decision makers to develop strategies to manage and respond to critical and painful issues in a timely manner.
6. Special events. Organization and holding of conferences to discuss news, meetings, open days, grand opening of exhibitions, etc. with "cutting the ribbon", celebration of anniversaries, events related to the transfer of donations to charitable foundations, visits of dignitaries, contests and competitions, programs awards and other special events.
7. Oral presentations. Speaking to various groups, assisting others in preparing speeches, and managing a dedicated speaker's bureau to provide a "platform" for the organization in front of its important audience of listeners.
8.. Production. Creation of communication tools based on knowledge and ability to use the possibilities of multimedia, including visual and design tools, photography, layout and desktop publishing systems; recording and editing of audio and video information; preparation of audiovisual presentations.
9. Training. Prepare executives and other staff speakers for working with the media and public speaking. Improvement in other employees of the organization of their oral and written speech. Assistance in making changes to organizational culture, policy, structure and process.
10. Contact. Acting as a liaison with the media, the local community and other internal and external groups. Acting as an intermediary between the organization and its key stakeholders: listening to their concerns, negotiating, resolving conflicts and reaching agreement. Acting as a hospitable host when meeting guests and visitors of the organization; organization of their leisure.
The above areas of professional activity of specialists in PR, their functions and duties are in the nature of a simple enumeration based on empirical experience. Undoubtedly, this information is of great practical value and gives a general idea of the content of the professional activities of public relations specialists. But for a deeper theoretical understanding of this problem, systematization and a certain classification of the functions of the professional activity of PR specialists are necessary. Research attempts of this kind have been made in a number of publications by domestic theorists and practitioners of public relations. In particular, Professor I.P. Yakovlev proposes to divide the functions of public relations specialists into two groups.
The first group combines the functions of collecting and analyzing information (work at the input of the system). These include the following features:
1) research of public opinion, analysis of statistical data, generalization of the results of sociological, psychological, economic and other studies;
2) study of legal, economic, political and other documents;
3) scanning publications in the press on issues important to the organization;
4) contacts with journalists, representatives of government bodies, investors, social groups, social movements;
The second group combines the functions of disseminating information (work at the output of the system). Here are the following features:
1) preparation of information materials (brochures, articles, press releases) for the press, governing bodies, investors, etc.;
2) informing the public about the goals and problems of the organization at press conferences, in the media, in mail, etc.;
3) improvement of relations with consumers (participation in the creation and placement of advertising and promotion of goods on the market, organization of special events, etc.);
4) information impact on deputies and executive authorities for the adoption of more advanced laws and decisions.
Further, Professor I.P. Yakovlev, in accordance with the well-known in foreign practice PR a four-stage algorithm for developing a specific program, public relations or RK campaigns proposes to single out in relation to the process of activity in the field PR the following features:
1) research, related to the collection, processing and analysis of information;
2) planning, related to the definition of goals, objectives and the development of an action plan for their implementation;
3) organizational, consisting in the participation of a specialist in the "implementation of the planned activities;
4) expert, manifested in the evaluation of the effectiveness of the work done and the identification of new problems that need to be addressed.
And finally, according to the third basis, the system of social relations, IP Yakovlev singles out economic, political, cultural and social functions. The scientific value of the proposed classification, in our opinion, lies in the fact that it allows us to approach the analysis and practical implementation of the functions of a specialist in PR complex, in their close relationships and mutual intersections.
The reputation of an enterprise, profitability and even the very existence of an enterprise can sometimes depend on the degree of support from the public (in particular, from consumers). PR-specialists serve to protect the interests of business from negative public opinion, implement the policy of maintaining a positive attitude of the public towards the activities of the enterprise and its products.
Recognition of the increasing importance of good public relations for the success of the enterprise is the basis for the creation of a whole department of public relations, headed by a PR manager. PR-specialists are employees of such a department and conductors of the PR-policy of the enterprise. It is they who bring information to the media and the public, allowing to form a favorable image of the enterprise in the eyes of the general population. These employees communicate directly with the media, consumers, and other members of the public, explain the company's policy, and resolve disputes in conflict situations with investors. Public relations is understood not only to bring to the audience information about the history and activities of the enterprise, targeted propaganda, informational advocacy of the interests of the organization, but also feedback. By establishing feedback with the public, PR-specialists improve the formed image of the enterprise in the eyes of a certain audience. The tasks of PR-specialists also include the implementation of a program of information support for the promotion of goods (services) on the market. Based on the analysis of public sentiment, many products were "born" within the walls of the PR department, i.e. even before production.
Although there are no specific standards for evaluating a person's suitability for a job as a PR specialist, it is still desirable to have a liberal arts education. Therefore, PR specialists are, as a rule, former journalists, sociologists, psychologists, etc. Sometimes they are former employees of advertising agencies. The main requirements for the candidate are the ability to clearly and clearly express thoughts both orally and in writing, communication skills, energy, creativity and enthusiasm, self-confidence, ability to work in a team. It may also require knowledge in the specific area of entrepreneurship in which the enterprise specializes. Newbies usually start out as a PR assistant. They maintain the company's PR archive, collect information for speeches and brochures. Having gained experience, they can already independently write the texts of news releases, speeches and articles for publication, assist the PR specialist in the implementation of PR programs developed by the PR manager. Specialists must have at least three years of experience in this field and pass internal certification.
Currently, about two-thirds of PR professionals work in the field of trade and advertising. The highest demand for PR-specialists is in big cities where mass media and other means of communication are developed. However, there is a trend towards a uniform distribution of this position in all areas and regions of business.
INSTRUCTION PR-SPECIALIST
I. General provisions
2. A PR specialist must know:
2.1. Fundamentals of a market economy, entrepreneurship and business.
2.2. Fundamentals of Marketing.
2.3. General PR methodology.
2.4. The place of the PR-department in the structure of the enterprise.
2.5. Methods for determining target audiences.
2.6. Basic PR tools (mass media, corporate newsletter, associations, entourage, information, etc.).
2.7. Principles of planning PR, PR-campaigns.
2.8. Methods of organizing and conducting PR-campaigns.
2.9. The structure and functions of the media.
2.10. Methods of working with the media.
2.11. The procedure for organizing and preparing press releases, information messages, holding briefings, press conferences, media kits, backgrounds.
2.12. Basic principles of client PR, internal corporate PR, crisis PR, other types of PR.
2.13. Basic principles of working with a competitive environment.
2.14. Fundamentals of journalism.
2.16. Computer technologies and software for automated information processing (texts, databases, etc.).
2.17. Fundamentals of ethics, sociology, psychology, philology.
2.18. Business correspondence rules.
2.19. The composition of information that is a state, official and commercial secret, the procedure for its protection and use.
II. Job Responsibilities
PR specialist:
1. Implements the PR strategy developed by the PR manager.
2. Collects information about the external image of the enterprise.
3. Conducts surveys of target audiences in accordance with the adopted plans.
4. Tests consumer attitude to products (services) in focus groups.
5. Collects statistical data about potential customers and competitors.
6. Classifies consumers by target areas, systematizes information about consumers.
7. Prepares materials for official communications for publication.
8. Establishes contacts with representatives of the media, places the necessary information in the media.
9. Participates in exhibitions, presentations organized by the company, or in promotions organized jointly with other companies.
10. Prepares texts of speeches, materials (including slides, films) for press conferences, press releases, etc.
11. Examines publications about the company, its products and services in the media, prepares reviews and submits them to the PR manager.
12. Prepares reports and proposals for various projects.
15. Performs official assignments of a PR manager.
III. Rights
PR-specialist has the right:
1. Information about all performance indicators of the enterprise.
2. Get acquainted with the documents that define his rights and obligations, criteria for assessing the quality of performance of duties.
3. Submit proposals for the improvement of the work related to the duties provided for in this instruction for consideration by the management of the enterprise.
4. Require the management of the enterprise to provide the organizational and technical conditions necessary for the performance of duties.
IV. A responsibility
The PR specialist is responsible for:
1. For improper performance or non-performance of their official duties provided for by this job description - within the limits established by the current labor legislation of the Russian Federation.
2. For offenses committed in the course of their activities - within the limits established by the current administrative, criminal and civil legislation of the Russian Federation.
3. For causing material damage to the enterprise - within the limits established by the current labor and civil legislation of the Russian Federation.
Basics of PR. It is important to learn the basics of PR at the very beginning of your career. Introductions, briefings, guidance from senior colleagues, and experience gained on the job will help you master these basics.
Planning and evaluation skills. They are key to making PR accountable and measurable.
Writing skills. A PR specialist will definitely have to write press releases, reports, speeches, letters, etc. An illiterate press release can serve as a pretext for criticism of the organization. To produce corporate publications (newspaper, magazine, brochure), a PR specialist needs basic knowledge of printing to make the choice of publication more professional.
Presentation skills. It is necessary to hold a large number of presentations, meetings, competitions, where the employee must be able to speak, make announcements, etc.
Media communication skills. The practice of communicating with the media allows you to achieve coverage of information and successfully conduct interviews. The specialist must be competent to hold or participate in a press conference.
Communication skills with PC and electronic means of communication. A PR specialist should be well acquainted with all the new advances in information technology that affect the way we communicate with each other.
Reputation management. In every definition of the essence of PR, reputation comes first. PR professionals need to understand the importance of reputation, how reputation is built, where it fits on the corporate balance sheet, and how it can be lost.
Project management. Most PR programs have multiple parts, and the PR professional needs to have project management skills in order to meet deadlines and budgets.
Business knowledge. Every branch of the national economy has its own characteristics, and a specialist needs to have a clear idea of what is the best practice in his field.
A regional restaurant chain approached a recruitment agency with a request to find a public relations specialist for them. Develop a list of required professional and personal qualities for a candidate for a vacant position.
The qualities required by a specialist can be divided into 3 areas:
Communicative sphere. This sphere, in my opinion, is the main one, because a public relations specialist constantly has to have connections with other people and the ability to establish and maintain contact is necessary for a specialist. It consists of:
the need to communicate with other people
capacity for empathy
ability to listen to another person
oratory
ability for non-verbal communication
optimism
sense of humor
personal charm
Emotional-volitional sphere:
self-control, self-control
emotional balance
need for achievement
self confidence
Cognitive area:
common sense
a living, searching mind
mental flexibility
ability to deal with several problems at the same time
attention to detail
initiative
creativity
Of course, it is often very difficult to determine which area this or that quality belongs to. For example, such an important quality as organizational skills. It is difficult to attribute it to one of these three spheres, it is woven into these spheres and integrates them. Therefore, such a division can be considered conditional, formal.
public relations specialist
The administration of a small town, together with an environmental public organization, is conducting a PR campaign “Save water - the source of life on earth”. The purpose of the campaign is to raise public awareness of the value of water resources and reduce water consumption by city residents. Develop communication tactics for a PR campaign.
As you know, absolutely everyone in Russia understands two things - politics and football. Everyone knows how to run a country and how to win the World Cup. However, sometimes one gets the impression that in the field of PR, or, in Russian, public relations, every first one is a major specialist. There is an opinion that this profession does not require any special skills, except for a well-suspended tongue. Let's try to figure out if this is really the case.
Demand
Payability
Competition
entry barrier
prospects
The image of the profession and its essence
The image of a creative loafer, whom the language has brought to a stable salary, has become firmly rooted in society. In another interpretation, the public relations manager is the anecdotal “PR girl.” Like any copy of the Western model, before taking its rightful place in Russian reality, the profession of a PR specialist has come a long way through criticism, misunderstanding, tacit acceptance - until the realization of its necessity.
And what kind of incomprehensible public is this and why do you need to contact it?
If we give a clear definition, then Public Relations is the provision of a favorable information environment around the subject.
Both a private commercial company and a state structure can act as a subject. In addition, a separate project can become a subject, be it a book, an art exhibition, or even an invention.
The market economy, among other things, brought foreign business models to the Russian reality and established new rules of the game. And one of these 
rules - transparency of companies' activities for investors, the state, consumers, and society. It's not just about tax returns and annual accounts, it's also about ensuring that there is sufficient information about the company and its work, forming a positive public opinion, creating the right reputation and increasing the company's weight and credibility. This is when it comes to business. Government structures, of course, have their own rules, but these structures do not exist in an airless space - and in one way or another they are obliged to inform the public about their actions.
We live in the information age. And the task of a PR specialist is to make information work for him, and not vice versa.
Communication with advertising
PR activity is at the junction, communication and. By the way, quite often many people confuse advertising and PR. Moreover, according to the latest version of the educational standard, the specialty that bachelors receive is called "Advertising and Public Relations".
Unlike advertising, PR does not set itself the task of selling, "selling". His task is to form an opinion, to correctly convey information. Therefore, a PR specialist must first of all learn how to work with information. It is necessary to develop the skills of searching and processing information, learn how to present it correctly and competently: at the next stage, he will have to select exactly the audience that needs this information, choose the method of information delivery. And after all this is done and the message goes "to the masses", he must get feedback from the "public".
When choosing this profession, you must be ready to play the role of a man-orchestra every day. A PR specialist is a press secretary, copywriter, event manager, strategist and journalist all rolled into one. Of course, ideally, managers should work in a team - and that everyone should have their own function. But the desire to save human resources and “optimize” the business leads to the fact that most often all these functions are combined in one employee.
What to read
What books should you read before deciding to choose this particular profession? Oddly enough, here it is best to recommend fiction, and not at all textbooks and “work notes” of honored figures in the field of communications. It is unlikely that today something better has been written about the career of a PR specialist than the book “Smoking Here” by Christopher Buckley, and something more interesting has been shot than the film “Wag” (there are several translation options for the title of this film into Russian, in the original it sounds like “Wag the Dog”). And in order to get rid of unnecessary illusions, the book by George Orwell "1984" is obligatory for reading.
Practice or theory?
Although in recent years almost every major university has opened a department of "Public Relations", higher education in this area has not yet achieved serious success. And most often, PR-specialists get into the ranks from related fields - from journalism, sociology, even philology. Moreover, only recently really useful and serious textbooks have begun to appear, which are most often based on the experience of their authors. After all, initially PR in Russia was built almost on an intuitive level. Foreign developments helped, but their adaptation to Russian reality also took a sufficient amount of time.
Public relations is a strictly practice-oriented specialty. You can try to understand the basics of communication theory, learn (finally!) the rules of the Russian language, memorize the structure of Maslow's pyramid of needs, and so on. But only practice allows you to really understand what's what in this area. At the same time, “knowing everything” will never work. PR is a constant learning from one's own and others' mistakes, it is analysis and introspection.
What to study
Let's try to translate these arguments into the plane of knowledge and skills that need to be acquired and developed.
Of course, communication skills are at the heart of everything: personal communication skills, negotiation skills.
Be sure to also learn how to work with sources: documents, the media and their representatives.
Let's not forget about competent oral and written speech: jokes about the already mentioned “PR girls” were born mainly from press releases with grammatical errors and unsuccessful attempts to negotiate with journalists.
The choice of the target audience most often follows from the strategic and marketing objectives. Therefore, you still have to delve into the essence and specifics of the company you work for. Yes, and horizons should be expanded in any case. Information delivery methods are standard in most cases, but no one will stop you from inventing something new. This is where creativity begins...
You can talk endlessly about the tasks that are set for a PR specialist in the course of daily work. Moreover, each area has its own specific issues and problems that cannot be known to an outside observer.
Work experience
You should start accumulating experience already in the course of your studies. In no case do I call for skipping lectures in search of work, but I also do not advise neglecting various internships.
PR specialists can find work under the wing of the company and become full-time employees (most often they are assigned to marketing departments so that they are closer to the consumer). Or they can join a team of their own kind in one of the many communication agencies.
It is clear that the great work of shaping public opinion starts from small things - from assistant work, from preparing press releases and editing other people's texts, from coordinating work in preparing events. In the future, functions and responsibilities will grow exponentially - and the time will come for planning, searching for non-standard solutions, and process management. This path is approximately the same for a full-time employee of the company, as well as for the project manager of the agency.
The media is the main tool and lever of work. Therefore, it will be quite useful, at least for a short time, but to fit into the shoes of a journalist, that is, to visit "on the other side of the barricades." Even to be a freelance writer for a local newspaper. The experience you gain is invaluable anyway.
prospects
There is a lot of controversy right now about whether the PR profession in its current form will die out with the advent of the era of social networks. Discussions and round tables are held, workers frantically study the Western experience of working in the virtual space. Even beautiful definitions of new activities are given - SocialMedia Marketing, New Media PR. And it is no longer possible to ignore these new ways of delivering information and receiving feedback. But learning to work with them is possible and necessary.
***
Until now, PR-specialists often face a lack of understanding of their mission and their work on the part of the very “general public” with which they try to contact every day. However, one has only to think, and it becomes clear that most of our judgments and opinions are the result of the subtle and painstaking work of PR managers. Think about what book or movie you discussed with your friends yesterday. Are you sure that you learned about them directly from space? Recall what motives prompted you to go or not go to the recent elections. Think about why you bought and read this particular magazine today or went to this particular news portal. As newsmakers like to say, no comment.
If you still have even the slightest doubt that the profession of "PR specialist" is your calling - do not rush. After all, then all your life you can regret the lost years for training and work in a specialty that simply does not suit you. To find a profession in which you can maximize your talents, go through online career guidance test or order consultation "Career vector" .
A public relations specialist is a specialty that came to us from the West along with the development of market relations. Some 15 years ago, not everyone understood what this position was, and they often confused the duties of a PR manager with the functions of a press secretary. Not surprisingly, even getting such a specialty as a public relations specialist at a university was not so long ago impossible.
In our country, such specialists were simply not trained anywhere, and for the time being, certified journalists, marketers and other related professions coped with their functions. But, as they say, demand dictates supply. And today, many universities issue their graduates in public relations. So what are their responsibilities?
As a rule, a PR manager, as it is also called in large companies, is responsible for one of the following areas: internal corporate PR, which is based on personnel management, or public relations outside the company. Both of these areas are within the competence of a PR specialist, but require several other approaches and methods of work. Let's consider them in more detail.
intracorporate PR
In short, it is the public relations specialist who is responsible for the atmosphere that reigns within the company, whose duties lie in maintaining the company's impeccable reputation among its employees; identifying and preventing unexpected changes in the corporate environment; generating new ideas to maintain and develop the team spirit through close contacts with the staff; assistance in resolving contentious issues between staff and management, bridging the gap between them; to facilitate the adaptation of the team to the changes that occur in large companies almost continuously.
ExternalPR
This is a slightly different field of activity, in which it is the public relations specialist who is responsible for how the company is perceived by society. This requires him to perform the following tasks: presenting the company to the public as a socially responsible public institution; establishing mutual understanding of the organization with those with whom it contacts; instant reaction to "emergency" situations when it is necessary to "save the face of the company"; fight against rumors and black PR; control of all promotions and events of the company.
As in the first, and in the second direction of activity, a public relations specialist must have full information, no matter what type it is and no matter what source it comes from. Information is a key tool in public relations work. One way or another, using information, a public relations specialist manipulates collective or public opinion, creates or destroys stereotypes, and works on the image of his organization.
Among the qualities that help to achieve success in the field of PR, first of all, it is necessary to highlight sociability, organizational and oratory skills, rich imagination and equanimity.
