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Five Essential skills for a modern PR professional

January 16, 2019

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Technology is constantly shifting and the PR landscape is forever evolving. Despite the new tactics and changes in the communication landscape, there are some skills that will always remain essential for PR professionals.

To be successful in PR, you need a dynamic set of skills including but not limited to research, writing, people skills, and tech savvy. PR professionals who want long-term success and growth need to be flexible, and they need a desire for continuous learning. Here are six essential skills for a modern PR professional:

Empathy

Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, to understand their thoughts, feelings and experiences. As a PR professional, empathy is necessary to understand and get in touch with your target audience. . Empathy means not viewing the findings of the research through the lens of your own feelings and experience, but through the eyes of your target audience.

Writing

This is a given. PR professionals are constantly producing written content for the pubic. Whether it’s a press release, blog, email, or social media caption, it is important the the words that we deliver to the public or press are engaging, interesting, and well-written. Proper prose is a must in PR. To be a good writer, practice makes perfect. Reading a lot also helps improve your writing skills.

With the proliferation of different online platforms, the landscape of PR and communication professionals has changed rapidly. From the way people consume news to how journalists find story ideas, everything is different. Understanding the ins of outs of social media, best practices, and how audiences and media personnel engage with different platforms is crucial as a PR professional.

Social media monitoring is a valued service that PR firms can provide to businesses. Social media monitoring has many functions, from competitor analysis, to evaluating what people are saying about a brand, to getting information about customer support and sales. Social media monitoring can be a very useful skill to have as a PR professional to boost your career.

Curiosity

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it also advanced the PR professional’s career. Curiosity is a must when it comes to being a standout PR professional. There are so many ways to learn if you are open to it, and learning new things open doors to many opportunities. An active investment in learning, whether formal or informal, is necessary to a successful PR professional. It always helps to know more about the industry you’re working in, the industry your clients are engaged in, and what’s happening in the wider world.