Consumer PR might have the glamorous reputation, but the sector's business side has plenty of opportunities too. Heather Baker explores this often overlooked career choice
PR is a popular career choice with a glamorous reputation. Thanks to branding success stories like Apple, Aston Martin and Coca Cola, the consumer side of PR gets plenty of glory. But under the radar is a little-known aspect of PR which is central to the sector.
Business-to-business (B2B) PR presents a unique set of challenges but is often overlooked as a career choice. That said, for anyone excited at the opportunity to rub shoulders with successful entrepreneurs and work alongside expanding businesses, B2B PR could be a satisfying and engaging career.
The disciplines of consumer and B2B PR are similar, but there is a huge difference in environments and markets. In consumer PR, the fight for the media's attention can be a blood bath, and what's hot today can disappear from sight overnight.
In B2B, the competition is no less vigorous but it often plays out in a more subtle way because business communities are served by specialist publications, niche blogs and websites. These allow greater scope for long-term relationship building and issues management. It's just as creative as consumer PR, but can be more interesting, allowing you to develop a speciality in a particular field.
Day-to-day, writing plays a huge part in the job. In a single day you could be expected to write a snappy media release, an entertaining case study, blog or letter to an editor. In between that you'll more than likely need to pick up the phone or draft emails to pitch new ideas to a harassed reporter who goes from naught to angry in three seconds, giving you with a very small window in which to impress.
But working in the sector is not just about issuing press releases. These are simply the daily nuts and bolts of the bigger picture – campaign management. Once you've worked your way up the tree a little, you will need to design activities to manage the relationships between clients and businesses. PR professionals need to understand the issues affecting their industries and help their clients craft a position that supports their business and appeals to their target audience. Putting this into a strategy and rolling it out is the next step.
Good communication skills are essential to any job in PR. Emails, phone calls, conference calls and meetings with client marketing and sales teams keep everyone on the same track and maintain a steady stream of material to develop into stories for clients' target press. And there's a lot of thinking on your feet involved in smart campaign management – if an angle isn't gaining traction, why? How can it be refined?
People who succeed in B2B PR are ambitious and excited at the prospect of understanding how companies operate. They are shrewd analysts with a desire to be challenged every day. B2C PR's celebrity-fueled campaigns and magazine features, therefore, are in sharp contrast with B2B, where you live or die by your ability to conceive effective campaigns drawn from a comprehensive knowledge of various industries and a real understanding of how business works.
Often, B2B PR is more about your personal aptitude than your academic achievements. The most basic but essential skills and attributes for a career in PR include literacy, confidence and an enthusiasm to learn. A degree isn't always essential, but often helps you get your foot in the door.
B2B PR has not promoted itself enough and, as a result, the industry is grappling with a skills shortage. But it's good news for prospective employees because salaries are typically higher than those in the rest of the industry.
Heather Baker is the founder and managing director of TopLine Communications
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