Marketer & press/Public Relations
What is PR?
Public relations is all about managing reputation. A career in this involves gaining understanding and support for clients, as well as trying to influence opinion and behaviour. People working in PR use all forms of media and communication to build, maintain and manage the reputation of their clients, this is very important. It is all about reputation, its the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you.
Typical Tasks
-Planning, developing and implementing PR strategies.
-Liaising with colleagues and key spokespeople.
-Answering enquiries from media, individuals and other organisations, often via phone.
-Researching, writing and distributing press releases to targeted media.
-Collating and analysing media coverage.
-Writing and editing in house magazines, cases studies, speeches and articles.
-Commissioning market research.
-Maintaining and updating information on the organisation's website.
Working Hours
The working hours are generally 9am to 5pm but can often increase depending on workload, with some unsocial hours. You may have to attend events in the evening or be on call at the weekends in order to deal with the aspects of it.
Salary
The average salary is around £18.000 to £20,000. This is a typical graduate entry-level role. Senior management positions, such as PR director/head of corporate affairs can range from £40,000 to £100,000+. The salaries in PR can vary depending on the setting and the region.
Job Requirements
No set qualifications are required to become a public relations officer, but most entrants tend to have a degree or an HND.
what is Marketing?
Typical Tasks
-Liaising and networking with a range of stakeholders including customers, colleagues, suppliers and partner organisations.
-Communicating with target audiences and managing customer relationships
-Sourcing advertising opportunities and placing adverts in the press or on the radio.
-Managing the production of of marketing materials, including leaflets,posters and flyers.
-Writing and proofreading copy.
-Organising photo shoots
-Arranging the effective distribution of marketing materials.
-Organising and attending events
-Monitoring competitor activity.
Working Hours
Working hours for a marketer is generally 9am to 5pm, some evening work and weekend work may happen when you have to organise events and attend them.
Salary
Marketing trainees start on salaries around £17,300 to £19,000, the average salary for a marketing director is £86,165, this is because they have so much experience.
Job Requirements
A degree or HND in advertising, business or management, communications, IT or computer science, marketing and psychology, may be helpful.
Events and social occations
When you are working in PR or Marketing, you will be spending a lot of time at different events you may be the first one to arrive and the last one to leave. It is an important part of the job to make sure everything is organised.
Speaking to the media.
In this job you will be speaking to the media and the press a lot and it is very important that you build up a good relationship with them, but also to put the brand or person you are working for out there for the right reasons.
Target Audience.
In this business it is so important you know your target audience and to understand what they like. Therefore the brand that you are working for will be able to direct their products to them so that they sell and so they build up an target market for them.
How are they different?
In PR you can either have an 'in house' or an 'agency'. In House means that you will be focusing your attention on a single brand, and you will be playing a much bigger part. You will also liaise more with other internal departments. In an agency, as a executive/manger/director you will work with over numerous brands. You will also work at a distance from your client base. You may wish to have a dedicated department to deal with your PR or by an agency to maximise coverage.
Relationship with journalists, stylists and editors
Having a good relationship with journalists, stylist, editors and the press is so important in this job, because you are always going to be using the press and journalist when you are promoting your brand or a certain item. You also need to build up a relationship with them and to be know as someone they can ask a favour of and be trust worthy in order for you to feature your brand again in their magazine for example.