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8 Pros and Cons of Public Relations Specialist

A public relations specialist is someone who represents a particular brand. They’ll provide information to the public an act as a liaison to their employer so that everyone knows what is going on. It is an easy way for a brand to improve their image and potentially increase revenues. If a small business is trying to break into a highly competitive market, a PR specialist can provide a tremendous advantage. This will, of course, come at a cost. Here are the key points to consider when looking at the pros and cons of a public relations specialist.

What Are the Pros of a PR Specialist?

1. It gives a business instant media credibility.
The public relations specialist is going to be networking will local media sources and developing relationships. This allows a business to have a better chance to get their press releases and other marketing materials published in such a way that prospects see the content as a real story that is interesting instead of it being just another advertisement. The instant media credibility of a PR specialist cannot be over-stressed.

2. A brand can begin to recover from a failed project.
Mistakes are always going to happen. Humans aren’t perfect creatures, even if we often think that we are. A PR specialist helps a brand be able to minimize the damages that happen when mistakes occur because they are able to be the face of an organization. The general public sees another imperfect human instead of a business from which perfection is expected and this alters the perception to protect sales.

3. You can hire virtual PR specialists today.
In the past, you’d have to bring someone in, usually on a full-time basis, in order to have the public relations needs of a business met. Today a business of any size can benefit from having a PR specialist thanks to the virtual teams that are available. You can contract out these services, receive the benefits, and avoid the full-time costs of bringing another employee on-board.

4. A PR specialist can dramatically improve profitability.
People like to purchase items from companies that seem to relate to them on a personal level. Companies that seem cold and distant often see fewer sales than companies that seem warm and engaging. Having a PR specialist can lead to improved profitability because they can change a cold reputation into a warm one.

What Are the Cons of a PR Specialist?

1. You’re going to need to give them some extra decompression time.
Being a public relations specialist is a tough job. It’s highly stressful, often ranked in the Top 10 of the most stressful jobs in the world today. High levels of constant stress will wear down even the best PR specialists over time. If you want to keep a good specialist around, then an employer is going need extra decompression time to recover.

2. There is no guarantee of success.
Even the best PR specialists are going to struggle to have a business recover from certain mistakes. The business world is inherently volatile and a quick fix might never happen. It is very possible for a brand to invest into a high quality public relations specialist and never see any results from that investment. This is especially true if a third party specialist is being used for recovery purposes.

3. You’re going to get what you can afford.
The best PR specialists come with a hefty price tag. Their services are beneficial, but they aren’t always affordable – especially for the small business owner or the sole proprietor. Cheap PR specialist services may actually be worse than having no PR specialist services whatsoever. Low rates or salary demands increases the chances of having an inferior result occur.

4. Sometimes a public relations specialist is completely unnecessary.
There are times when the benefits of having a PR specialist around is clear. Then there are times when the work a PR specialist does could be completed internally with existing resources. Blogging, marketing outreach efforts, press conferences, and other tasks can all be given to other people to complete.

The pros and cons of a public relations specialist show that if you can afford one, the benefits typically outweigh the disadvantages. Just be careful about hiring someone who automatically promises fantastic results. Always ask for references, work samples, and other reference materials to make sure you hire a great specialist that still fits in with your budgetary demands.

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