After 3 Years at Media Buffet PR, Here’s the Difference Between Public Relations in College and in the Real World!

Pursuing a career in public relations was my dream back in high school. After earning my bachelor’s degree in communications from LSPR, my goal was to start my career as a PR professional at a PR agency.

In the world of PR agencies, we’re challenged to always be creative, solve problems, adapt to a fast-paced work environment, and collaborate with various parties simultaneously.

Supported by a healthy work environment and great leaders, these challenges haven’t been obstacles for me at Media Buffet PR. Instead, they’ve fueled my drive to achieve the best results.

Read also: My Story of Working at a PR Agency in Jakarta | Kiara Zalfa’s Personal Development Journey at Media Buffet PR

Media Buffet PR is a place where I’ve gained a wealth of experience. That’s because I’m not limited to just one industry—I’ve had the opportunity to work across various sectors.

During my nearly three years at Media Buffet PR, I’ve had the chance to work with clients from a variety of fields—ranging from finance, oil and gas, and beauty to Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms and e-commerce platforms. Here are some of the experiences I’ve gained while working at Media Buffet PR.

Public Relations in the Real World

Public Relations Has a Broad Scope

While pursuing my bachelor’s degree at LSPR with a major in Public Relations, I learned a lot about PR practices—from writing press releases to crisis management, publicity, and PR events. But it turns out PR isn’t that simple. Since joining a PR agency, I’ve discovered there are several things I didn’t learn during college.

These include conducting insight surveys, creating briefing documents for various types of content, developing talking points for company stakeholders, collaborating with the media and communities, selecting the right KOLs, and even choosing the right merchandise to represent the brand.

In addition, PR has now expanded into the digital realm, known as Digital Public Relations. This means that PR is no longer just about media publications or brand awareness—all of which are now conducted and achieved online.

Digital PR is about integrating public relations with digital marketing. Following Digital Public Relations, there may be new terms or fields of study related to PR in the future. Therefore, as PR professionals, we must always stay up-to-date with the latest trends.

Read also: 5 Common Mistakes in Implementing Digital Public Relations

PR Strategies and Activities Vary by Company

At first, I thought doing PR was just about writing press releases, speaking in public, organizing events, and building relationships with the media. However, while working at a PR agency, we often created pitching proposals for different clients. This means PR activities can be tailored to specific objectives and target markets.

Before developing a strategy, we need to understand a brand’s customer behavior, the media channels they use, and what competitors have done as a benchmark—so we can create activities that align with their interests.

For example, when I handled a client in the oil and gas sector targeting business owners, in addition to writing press releases, we also reached out to business communities and collaborated with media outlets that share the same target market.

It’s a different story when we handle clients in the beauty industry. The beauty industry in Indonesia is closely tied to Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), so in addition to issuing press releases, we also frequently collaborate with beauty and lifestyle KOLs to achieve a digital presence that outperforms competitors.

Press Release Listicle

Writing a press release isn’t just about corporate matters or hard-selling a product. This approach is often overlooked by journalists. There are several key points to consider when writing a press release to ensure the mutually beneficial relationship between PR professionals and journalists remains strong.

Read also: Between Public Relations and Journalists: More Than Just a Mutual Need

When I was handling clients in the financial industry, one of the challenges was repurposing content that had already been written. One alternative was to write press releases in the listicle format. This involved writing about financial tips—a topic I hadn’t even studied during college.

In fact, this writing style is more popular with the media because it doesn’t come across as too “salesy.” Additionally, according to research by Semrush.com, articles in listicle format simplify the SEO process, as listicles have a higher chance of appearing on the first page of Google.

Those are some of the experiences I’ve gained while working at Media Buffet PR. I hope this article helps you in your career as a Public Relations professional! Stay tuned to the Media Buffet PR blog and social media for even deeper PR insights in the future!

Written by Sinka Sutandang, Public Relations Consultant at Media Buffet PR