How to future-proof your marketing career by upskilling in PR
Are you in a marketing role and are looking to enhance your existing skillset? Want to future-proof your career? Then upskilling could be the way to go. In this blog post, we look at how adding PR to your role and CV, can help you achieve this.
WHY UPSKILLING IS KEY
Upskilling involves developing your existing skills to progress in your current role while adding value to the company you work for.
There are many benefits to upskilling. From an employee’s perspective, you’ll be able to progress your career and personal development without having to change jobs.
Additionally, you’ll keep up to date with your industry, gain more knowledge and confidence. All which will ensure/contribute you feel fulfilled in your role and remain a key asset to your company. You’ll be able to share your wisdom with the wider team and be seen as an expert within your field.
‘Marketing and sales teams are valuable assets and need to be nurtured to ensure performance and retention. It’s easier to train the staff you already have in the skills they need than to continuously hire new ones’ (Source: Digital Marketing Institute.)
Happy employees often equal more productivity - plus, the new skills that you learn and apply to your role, will add value to your company. So investing in their staff is a win-win situation.
Upskilling also allows you to remain competitive, so when/if you’re looking to apply for a new role, you’ll be equipped with digital skills that help you stand out in a crowded job market.
According to EMR Recruitment, ‘organisations are struggling to find workers with the right skillsets for hard-to-fill roles, with nearly half of businesses saying they’re not as agile as they need to be due to a lack of skills, and the overwhelming demand for digital skills both now and into the future is only going to exacerbate the issue.’
This means that upskilling will become increasingly important in the next few years. The more digital skills you can show, the more attractive you’ll be as an employee.
TAKE A PROACTIVE APPROACH
You’ll probably already know there are many ways in which you can upskill - and depending on the size of the business you work for, this can range from an SEO course to a copywriting workshop.
If your company believes that the activity will benefit your role and the business, then they’re likely happy to sponsor it.
Take a proactive approach and figure out what gaps there currently are in your existing skill set, what you want to grow your expertise in, and how it will help you progress.
But also what direction your company is heading in. What are their current goals? By demonstrating the above, you’ll be able to present your suggestion to your manager in a clear and well-thought-out manner.
PR AND MARKETING GO HAND-IN-HAND
One field which presents you with the perfect opportunity to not only upskill, but also help grow your company, is PR.
PR is short for "public relations" and refers to the strategic communication from an organisation to the public to maintain or cultivate a public image and/or respond to public discourse (Source: Hubspot). Securing press coverage comes with a range of benefits, which include:
Reach potential customers who've never heard about the company before.
Test new audiences - which gives your company invaluable data you can use in marketing.
Boost the company’s SEO. Being featured online means the company will be much more discoverable when someone is searching for products just like theirs.
Appear credible to customers and stockists alike - having a third party talking about a brand is more viable than coming from the brand directly.
Build trust with customers. With UK consumer confidence remaining near-record low this is more important than ever.
Marketing and PR are two separate entities, but they do go hand in hand. So if you have the capacity to take on PR, then you’re in a brilliant position to advance in your role and add invaluable PR experience to your CV.
Some companies outsource their PR, by working with a PR agency or a freelancer. An agency will usually charge £2,000 upwards a month, depending on what retainer you’re on. And the agency will require a point of contact within the company you work for, who will be able to provide them with information, images - and sometimes samples when needed.
But many businesses also handle press in-house, often by a member of the marketing team.
The great thing about PR is that it doesn’t require any previous experience. Good organisational skills and a keen eye for detail will get you far in the world of the press.
Most communication is done by email, and when you get into the swing of it, you’ll find that you can be super efficient with your PR. So adding PR to your area of responsibility shouldn't take up too much extra time weekly.
In order to successfully pitch to the right editors and journalists, you will need to have access to up-to-date press contacts and feature details. The database will ensure you send timely and relevant pitch emails and gain the coverage your company desires, whether that’s product placement or profile interviews.
At PR Dispatch we equip eCommerce businesses with PR expertise and press contacts so you can easily pitch directly to the press.
Our PR Membership allows you to make PR part of your strategy and build long-term press relationships to maximise coverage and control key messaging.
This means that bringing PR in-house can be a seamless and cost-effective process.
Want to receive our monthly PR calendars straight to your inbox, and be the first to know about our free live workshops?