10 Yetis Insight Blog: 6 Practical Tips On How To Get Into PR

The world of public relations is one which is often a bit of a mystery, even in the present day when we are all pretty much pros on the subject due to figuring out how best to represent ourselves on social media, from posting the odd selfie to draw in the likes through to the latest health or beauty network marketing scheme.

PR has always had a glamorous, if a little shady edge to it; people want to be part of the cool crowd and, to say you make people and brands famous for a living is pretty cool. Of course, all those with a little more knowledge and experience of the industry will know there’s a whole lot more to it than that, but there’s no doubt that the public relations field is a great one to build your career in.

So… how do you get here? Is it all Absolutely Fabulous? And have you got even a whiff of a chance if you’re not the stereotypical moneyed and privileged Chelsea party girl?

Here’s the truth about what you need to build a career in PR…

1.Understand what PR actually is

PR is not all parties and glamour, even if you get a job in an agency that specialises in throwing glamorous parties for the rich and famous. There’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears that goes into all aspects of public relations, no matter what kind of account or activity you specialise in. It’s a good idea for you to know the ins and outs first; do your research and make sure you really understand what will be expected of you. Make sure you know the different avenues, such as in-house and agency, as life can be very different in each of these.

2.Every little (experience) helps

Intern your little heart out, because experience is what will make all the difference when trying to get a job in the field. Most jobs in PR are busy and frantic and require a lot of multi-tasking, so most of the time employers will want people who can hit the ground running and pick things up very quickly, with minimum hand holding. The only way you can really figure out whether you’re suited to PR and build up your case is to clock up plenty of experience.

3.Don’t get taken for granted!

Because PR is such a popular field, many companies and agencies will take advantage by expecting interns to work for free. If you can find a great company who’ll offer their worth in experience with big, dream brands, it’s fair enough that you might decide to take the hit. If it’s just a run of the mill company offering you a week of making tea and coffee and posting letters, think twice about what you’re really getting from it, whether they are paying you or not. Experience needs to be the real deal.

4.Don’t give up if you don’t have a degree

Spoiler: You don’t need one. In fact, our own Head of PR and all-round media whiz, Shannon Peerless, didn’t go to uni. Instead, she’s clocked up almost a decade in the industry and won a host of awards in the process, now running the Yeti PR show. This just proves that university qualifications are not the be-all and end-all, you just have to prove yourself in other ways.

5.Multi-skill

If you’re going to make it in PR, you should consider multi-skilling to understand at least basic principles of SEO, content marketing and social media so that you can easily switch on to campaigns which cross platform campaigns and make a great impact. Just being able to write well is not enough; you need to understand the whole process of PR and all the benefits, far beyond just growing brand awareness and getting people talking. There’s a whole lot more to it now, and you need to understand the value you can bring and be able to bring it.

6.Get media-savvy

Nothing is a bigger turn-off than a PR wannabe having no idea about the media world. If you can show you’ve got stuck in with media-friendly projects, from freelancing for small publications through to running your own blog or influential social media account, you will be able to show that you have a good contextual knowledge of the media and PR machine.So there you have it! It’s never too late and it’s certainly not the narrow, elitist field that it often gets mistaken for. Anyone can build a successful career PR, providing you’re prepared to work hard, think harder and never give up.