How to Become a Public Relations Professional in the Digital Age and During a Pandemic?
During a pandemic like this, Public Relations plays a strategic role in conveying all information related to COVID-19. One of PR’s roles is to effectively formulate and implement public communication programs.
PR professionals must be capable and always ready to face all challenges—both visible and invisible. The current COVID-19 pandemic has plunged society into a state of uncertainty, complexity, and confusion regarding the progression of the coronavirus, which has already taken hold and spread widely across the globe.
The Trend Toward Digitalization
The presence of the internet in our lives, coupled with the rapid development of information technology, has become a powerful tool for PR professionals to build communication with audiences and enhance corporate/organizational reputation. Current trends in digital media are significantly influencing the flow of information. Due to the speed of information dissemination, it’s not uncommon to encounter hoaxes circulating on digital media, particularly on social media.
Google Research Reveals……
The number of new internet users increased by 40 million in just one year! Not only that, but according to the e-Conomy SEA 2020 report, 56% of internet users are not from metropolitan areas. So, what skills must PR professionals master today?
First, Hard Skills in Public Relations
- Understanding social media is key! You don’t have to be an expert, but at the very least, a PR professional should understand the basics of how social media works—especially major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok. Plus, you should grasp the fundamentals of SEO for a website.
- You also need to be able to analyze current trends—especially information circulating on social media. The bottom line is, you have to stay up to date.
- Another hard skill you must master is public speaking. You’ll frequently interact with public figures, the media, and give presentations to clients. What would happen if you couldn’t speak in public?
- It wouldn’t be PR if you couldn’t write and craft news stories. Yep, these are essential skills you must have because PR tasks inevitably involve writing press releases, content for social media, copywriting, briefings, and articles. Moreover, there are so many hoaxes circulating about COVID-19, and it’s our responsibility to debunk them.
Second, soft skills
- A PR professional must have strong time management skills, because all clients and projects are equally important to the company. If you can’t manage your time, projects will face delays.
- Although PR professionals are experts at speaking, this must be balanced with the ability to listen. An effective way to learn to be a good listener is to engage in frequent discussions to understand others’ viewpoints from various perspectives.
- They must be able to adapt to changes in order to overcome every problem. This is in line with what Charles Darwin said
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
Those are some of the essential skills for today’s PR professionals that you should know. In your opinion, aside from the skills mentioned above, what else should PR professionals possess in the era of the pandemic and digital transformation?
