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As a PR professional and founder of RemotePRJobs.com, I am keenly aware of just how COVID-19 has truly disrupted the entire PR and Communications industry. In conversations with agency owners, seasoned PR pros, and more junior folks who are just breaking in, the sentiment is the same in that layoffs and furloughs have been unbridled and existing strategies have been put to the wayside. However, the good news is that PR Pros have not only rebounded, but they’ve found ways to evolve, adapt, and flourish once again. 

Here are some of the tried and true strategies I’ve seen recently that are working, and things to consider in your own practice: 

1. Adding legitimate value during a crazy news cycle. Obviously. This is not exactly shocking, but I don’t mean try to spin or stretch the angle to fit what’s happening in the news cycle. Whatever you're pitching must add meaningful value to not only the media, but the audience they’re writing for....

Oftentimes, companies have public relations roles reporting into the CMO. Why? Perhaps the hire is junior so it doesn’t make sense to report to the CEO, or maybe the company doesn’t understand the key differences between PR and Marketing so assumes it falls within the same business unit. The reasons for reporting into a CMO can vary, but the truth is that both the company and PR professional are best set up for success when there is a direct line of communication to the CEO, whether that is by structure or access. 

As a seasoned veteran of the PR industry, I've worked with PR professionals that have either reported into the CEO or CMO. From this experience, I can tell you precisely what works really well and what doesn’t. 

That said, wherever your PR function sits within your business structure, it’s imperative that they have, at a minimum, a dotted line and access to the top and here’s why: 

• PR is not Marketing and has different...

We previously wrote about two of the five lessons Black Friday can teach PR Pros in this blog post. Tips included listening and adapting to your audience’s needs, as well as why it’s important to start promoting early and often. 

Here, we round up the last three tips PR Pros can glean from the most hyped shopping day of the year:

3. How to zoom out, see the big picture, and find empathy

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s more important than ever for a brand and its leadership to exercise empathy in their words and sentiments. During a year that has shattered so many families, it’s more important than ever to give retail employees time home. Many stores have decided to move their in-store Black Friday deals to purely or mostly online. By recognizing the magnitude of the situation at-hand and sacrificing potential sales all in the name of employee care and support, brands are exercising their empathy muscle and winning the hearts—and...

It’s that time of year again when consumers scour digital ads and in-store promotions and retailers look forward to customers opening up their wallets. But with everything that’s happened in 2020, this holiday season will look a little different. 

The good news is, not all is lost. Retailers and stores have adjusted their strategies for this year’s Black Friday, and PR Pros should take note. 

Here’s part one of what Black Friday can teach PR Pros: 

1. How to listen and adapt to your audience’s needs swiftly 

Consumers are leery about in-store shopping, so many have turned to online shopping for their purchases. According to Digital Commerce 360, “consumers are poised to spend $198.73 billion with online retailers this holiday season; a 43.3% year-over-year jump from $138.65 billion for the same November-December period in 2019.” To accommodate this change, many retailers have opted to modify their Black Friday deals to be...

RemotePRJobs.com delivers more than 120+ freelance, part-time, and full-time remote opportunities to PR Pros every month; expands offers to serve graduating college students with entry-level jobs and internships

LOS ANGELES—NOVEMBER 16, 2020—RemotePRJobs.com, a subscription-based job site for the remote Public Relations and Communications workforce that offers 120+ remote PR, Communications, Social Media, Content, and Copywriting jobs every month, recently reported a massive increase in job postings and 30% jump in membership since its inception in 2018. During COVID-19 specifically, the company has been able to provide job opportunities for PR professionals that have been furloughed, laid off, and/or decided to transition to primarily freelance work. The company also recently expanded into internship and entry-level opportunities for graduating seniors in partnership with higher ed institutions.

“RemotePRJobs.com was initially built to serve the remote, freelance...

Oftentimes, these two closely related marketing terms are used interchangeably. But the truth is, there is a stark difference between Public Relations (PR) and Communications. When making a hire for your business, it is important to differentiate and understand how both are impactful, yet serve different purposes for your business’s needs. 

Here’s the breakdown.

What is Communications?

Think of Communications as the overarching umbrella that covers all different types of Communications functions, such as: events, sponsorships, social media, content, and yes, PR. Communications also sets the strategic messaging for your business—the themes, messaging strands, and most salient points you want your audience to know about your business, product, or service. 

So when you say you need to hire someone for Communications (i.e., Director of Communications, VP Communications), you could very well be speaking about any of those important tools. It’s somebody...

Business leaders often tell me they have an opinion about something in their industry, but don’t feel that it’s relevant enough to their business or bottom line to speak out about it. My response is generally “that’s fantastic, you’re embodying a thought leader—let’s find a way to share that thought or opinion.” However, I’m often met with “ehhh, my opinion doesn’t matter. I want us to focus on the product only.” The problem with this mindset, is that your opinion DOES matter. A lot! 

What many don’t understand, is that opinions and well-formed thoughts can ultimately be a huge driving force in acquiring business and building a company, if used correctly.

I know I’m not the only PR professional to experience this scenario and turn my efforts into education about what thought leadership is and why it’s important. So here it is—here is why it’s important and how it can ultimately...

Today Tesla announced that they dissolved their PR team - the first in the auto industry to make such a move and choose not to speak to the press. Exact reasons were not stated but many can speculate. It’s fairly common knowledge that Elon doesn’t respond well to criticism, and also that the Tesla PR team is one of the most cycled through teams in tech history. We’ve seen this “resistance to PR” before in different capacities, for example, Apple PR not speaking on certain items and other companies choosing to execute reactive Communications only. 

But, nothing at all? 

Obviously Elon is a man of surprises and is often critiqued by the press for his harsh comments and off the cuff tweets, but from a PR perspective, it begs a few questions: does this matter? Does not having PR impact the bottom line? Is this strategic or or a brash reactive move?

My initial reaction to this news as a PR professional was: 

“What happens when inaccurate...

by Michelle Garrett, Consultant and Writer, Garrett Public Relations  

Brands in hot water – it happens FAR too often. CrossFit. L’Oreal. Burger King. Just a few of the brands that have faced a crisis in 2020. 

Each time one of these stories makes the news, the cry from PR pros everywhere can be heard – “Why didn’t they consult their public relations team BEFORE this happened?” 

In many cases, the mess they created could’ve been avoided had the brand consulted its resident PR pro. But, if the public relations team is brought in after the crisis has been created, there’s only so much they can do. After the fact, they need to struggle to salvage what’s left of the company’s reputation. 

And fast. More than half of consumers expect your business to respond to a crisis within an hour. More than a third say a brand should respond within 30 minutes. 

Gone are the days when the PR team could go...