PR Industry is nowhere to go and will continue to grow rapidly

With the digital wave spreading all across the nation, the industries have switched most of their work from touch, feel and visit world to all virtual to keep up their competitiveness on a global level. Speculations are rife that with the digital booming, the downfall of Public Relations (PR) is to happen very soon. Thankfully, to the benefit of the professionals working in the PR industry, PR is nowhere to go and it will remain there till the very end of businesses. And, the recent PR industry report by Public Relations Consultants Association of India stating the industry value to double up and be at INR 2,100 Cr by 2020 confirms the constant growth of the industry and impending evolution of the PR industry in the coming future.

The digital has surely transformed the way PR campaigns and activities are happening these days but the fundamentals are still the same. Hence, instead of being dead, the PR world is still breathing and evolving with the advent of newer services like social media and digital platforms. While fundamental PR campaigns and activities will drive the future growth, other forms, such as social media, digital, and content-driven campaigns are going to be credited for nearly 25 percent of the revenues. Hence, far from being dead, the world of public relations is growing and evolving, especially with the advent of newer services like digital and social media.  

The growth predictions of PR industry are not just based on vague promises but are instead part of a deep and detailed research done after analyzing the status of various industries linked to the genre of Public Relations. The Information & Communication Technology tops the list of contributing sectors and is providing around 20% of the overall revenues accrued by the PR Industry. Firms providing financial services have contributions of around 12% while the third in contribution line is the consumer goods sector that provides nearly 9% for this sector. To clear the picture of past it’s better to take a step back and analyze the past performances and then take a step forward. The previous charts of the PR sector also registered an industrial growth of 13% in 2016 and 19% in 2017. This clears out the scene and provides a righteous view for PR experts. In fact, with more and more technological transformations taking place in public relations, the industry will continue to remain relevant and become innovative and creative in serving the diverse and dynamic needs of their clients.

In the present scenario, one simply can’t deny the PR practices and along with it’s also extremely important to rope in the righteous PR agency that carves out the best of the PR campaign as per the needs and budget and pitches in the right media channels to touch in the right audiences like that of industry leaders, investors, customers and VCs.

How to Start PR Career Effectively

Beginnings of a new journey can be either daunting or extremely blissful depending on the way we handle and deal with the situation approaching. This is especially true when one steps out of the classroom and is ready to face the industry and make their way into it. Yes, it’s the career choice, planning and then finally starting it that concerns most of the graduates and soon to be graduates. And, the problem becomes even more severe when they are left with no job placements or offers in hand. This is the time when the students get confused and are left with no option other than blindly walking on their career path deprived of any guidance.

To lead the pack with some value, it’s advised to start preparing in accordance with the market demands by following these simple steps:

Prep up with some homework

Before entering the market, it’s better to gain some knowledge about the same well in advance. For this, the students need to speak to the PR industry professionals from different managerial posts to discover what all qualities they demand in recent graduates and what all skills are must to have. One can also acquire knowledge about the challenges and work environment of the industry. All such pre-hand studies will help a graduate take job interview in any PR agency with utmost confidence.

Self-assessment will benefit brilliantly

Before heading for an interview, analyze your inner being, all the strengths and weaknesses need to be clearly defined. Some PR professionals gain expertise in writing and speaking while, others are good at dealing the digital world and strategic planning. The fresher’s should not just follow others blindly but instead they need to do efforts to pave a path to the genre that best defines their passion.

Get clear with what all needs to be achieved

Start off with defining the short to medium term goals, and analyze if they can really be achieved or are way too easy to achieve. It’s necessary to set on the goals for all that needs to be achieved in the next 3 years of journey as a PR professional. Every organization is looking for employees whose dreams and goals are well coordinated with that of the organization. So, it’s important to get clear with what is one demanding with his/her career.

Get linked to the professional bodies

This will help the students gain better links for their profession. Target should be placed on the professionals and institutions that can help achieve both the short and the long term objectives. The entry into the well-to do institutions will guarantee better networking skills that will ultimately weave your path to career development.

Increase the online presence

Social media, especially platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn are one of the most powerful networking tools in the PR world. They not only allow connecting with PR experts, but also keeps a person updated the industry trends, ups and downs. To gain an easy entry into the industry, it’s necessary for a fresher to start building their online PR community network on reputed sites with well to-do experts.  Caution- never post anything undesirable on such networks, otherwise it will completely ruin the career prospects.