PR professionals often lament that they're misunderstood. Even during a time where everything seems to be changing, many people—especially those that work outside of the industry—think they know exactly what PR does and how: research clients, spin a story, write press releases, and reach out to the media.
Responsibilities are in flux as the industry's sphere of influence expands, specifically through social media. What was once true about the industry may not be true any longer, and it never has been very simple to understand.
With that in mind, we queried our audience on Twitter and Facebook, asking for some fun facts about PR that most people don't know. Here are some of our favorite answers:
- PR is not about spinning. It's about telling a truthful story about a brand and/or person. - Emanuele Breccia, @Emanuele227
- As a PR professional, you're more of a conductor than a soloist. - Laura Wasson Warfel, @lwwarfel
- Each day you have an opportunity to exercise any/every one of your communications muscles (writing, speaking, creating, designing, strategizing, planning, presenting, etc). - M Gabrielle Wood
- Our jobs occasionally give us access to VIPs and you find out most of them are human beings, too. - Corinne Kovalsky, @kovalskyc
- It's not a 9 to 5 job. You do PR everywhere you go. - Lauren Robinson, @Lauren5Robinson
- What makes it fun is that every day is different. - Jonathan Charles, @ebrdcharles
Follow Brian Greene on Twitter: @bwilliamgreene
Thanks for this, Brian. So many to add…it’s not synonymous with media relations. It’s not the same as marketing. There is a code of ethics (for PRSA members). It’s not synonymous with publicity. Our jobs are not the same as what Samantha does for a living on SITC or what Kerry Washington does on Scandal. Good pros are 90% listening and only 10% speaking/writing. There is such a thing as bad publicity. I could go on…Thanks!