In this blog post, Head of PR and Outreach, Jennie, takes us through the must have qualities to work in this exciting specialism!

5 SKILLS THAT WILL TAKE YOU FAR WHEN WORKING IN DIGITAL PR & OUTREACH

I have worked in search and digital PR for the last 9 years now and, during this time, have had the pleasure of working with some incredible people in the industry! Aside from the essential skills: building strong relationships, having a creative flair and strong interest in news and social media, there are some key skills that separate the natural PR specialists from the rest.

We may all have our own ideas on how who makes the best PR specialists, but these are the five skills that I have personally noticed the most successful people in Digital PR & Outreach possessing.

Curiosity

I find that the best people to generate increase client results and come up with new ways of acquiring them are the ones that are curious. People who constantly look for new opportunities, immerse themselves in the clients they work on and think outside the box when they go hunting for opportunities to maximise results.

While creativity is important across marketing, in PR & outreach the pressure is particularly on to create something no one has seen before! People with natural curiosity will be the ones that are always looking for the newest opportunity to fit their clients’ brands into conversations and act upon the chance to stand out.

A never give up mentality

Digital PR and link growth is very much a numbers game where the success of a campaign is measured in different figures. Clients will set specific KPIs to meet and we will have our own internal goals set as well. People with a ‘never give up’ mentality will do everything in their power and never give up until these goals are met. If something doesn’t go to plan, they revise and look to new angles to make it work. Once they’ve reached the goals, they don’t stop there but keep pushing for even more results.

When you’re struggling through a campaign you’re finding particularly difficult to get off the ground, a never give up mentality is what prevents you from going back to the client without the results they wanted. This is the quality that drives you to get the best results in (what can be) an unpredictable industry!

Adaptability

Digital PR and SEO is an ever changing and fast paced industry to work in. When I started in the industry, using black hat tactics and paying for links wasn’t uncommon. In fact, it happened all the time! Long gone are those days and plenty of changes have come in to play so you need to be able to stay on top of the game and ahead of competitors. Therefore, it is crucial to be able to adapt and constantly be thinking of creative ways to overcome any challenges and remain a key player in PR throughout your career.

Resilience

In PR, there is always a plan of action for the work that we carry out for our clients. However, often these plans get interrupted by unforeseen complications (looking at you COVID-19) so it’s crucial to be able to handle setbacks and overcome them. It could be something like having the first three journalists you outreach to saying no to a campaign you strongly believe in. People who are resilient and keep going until they find the right hook and the right journalist to cover the story are those who’ll gain results.

Positivity

A positive mindset will go a long way in Digital PR. You need to try to always see the possibilities rather than limitations! I’ll be honest, there are times when I initially thought a campaign wasn’t going to work but that’s how you set yourself up to fail before even trialling something. Those who go in with a positive attitude and belief that it’s going to work are in with a higher chance of succeeding and, when things don’t go to plan, they can pick themselves up again and learn from their mistakes!

A positive mindset also helps build great relationships with press contacts! Being able to approach conversations in a positive way opens the door for more engaging conversation that will serve you well press release after press release.

Digital PR and link growth is fun, and I love working in my specialism, but it can be a challenge that these particular skills are ideal for! For our campaigns to be a success, we need people with the above skills to achieve the best results for clients and grow businesses.

Find out more about our Digital PR offering here, and if you feel seen reading the above skills, check out our current role opportunities!

Want to hear more about our PR service or general opportunities?