Getting the most out of PR internships

It’s that time of the year when students whether pass outs or still in their graduation period are running here and there looking for an internship in the best sort PR companies in Delhi. People tell them to get an internship for the experience but what they don’t tell is how to convert these internship opportunities as a chance of grabbing a good paying job in one of the top PR companies in Delhi. Here are a few steps that will help you in making the most out of your PR internships:

• Try to be available as much as you can

Interns with the right amount of enthusiasm and efficiency in their attitude are the ones who will be considered more eligible than the ones with overconfident or with under confident attitude. PR professionals work in a team, and while working at times, you need to volunteer for other tasks too with a smile because all this will get you the attention of the seniors which will eventually lead to seniors delegating more tasks to you giving you an opportunity to demonstrate your creative potential. Completing the tasks in a hurry will lead you nowhere but completing them with efficiency will surely guarantee your presence for the next job.

• Familiarize with the organization and staff properly

All know how tough it is to enter the industry, so better not be overexcited and instead try conversing with the other employees. But before conversing make sure you know the workings and different personalities with their level of works in the company. Most employees in PR consultants in Delhi appreciate feedbacks and suggestions but make sure to do so in a rather polite way. Different personalities have different approaches to follow so if once got rejected don’t insist for your suggestion again and again as it may irritate the seniors. PR involves long hours and high pressure of work, so it’s better to familiarize with the team thus making work more fun.

• Don’t let your focus deter

One of the key requirements for a good employee is that he/she is focused on their work and completes the work as desired by the team. Your focus on work is reflected in the questions you ask and suggestions you give so make sure to do relevant talks only. If your team has allocated you a fairly important task, then this indicates you have surely done something worth appreciating. So make sure you continue with the achievement regime because this is the stage where each step is being crucially monitored.

• Wear the positive look always

At times there are times during your internship when you might not be doing the most glamorous job, and in the beginning, it might be difficult without knowing anyone in the workplace. The key here is to stay positive and be a person who has a smile and not a grin all the time on his/her face. Keep it clear in mind your happy and optimistic approach is what will work wonders when the time comes for your seniors to assess your suitability for the long run.

3 Key trends that will affect the World of Public Relations

With technological advancement and digitisation at its pace, the world of many industries including that of Public Relations (PR) is changing rapidly. With this rapid pace of changes taking place here are the 3 main trends that will have an impact on PR professionals, especially those working in PR companies in Delhi:

 1. Convergence

There are changes happening all around the PR firms in Delhi. While traditional below the line agencies are providing the social media and digital services, creative agencies, on the other hand, have hired digital experts, creative folks and sponsorship strategists. In totality, PR companies in Delhi are indulging deeper into brand strategy as well as in offering new services such as creative, design; video and digital PR. Convergence of a variety of services is also a threat to PR firms. Because the more the company expands its service offerings, especially in technology, more are the chances of clients and potential clients moving in a conflicting space. PR consultants in Delhi need to handle this as the accountancy and legal practices have.

2. Video- the new star element in storytelling

PR professionals are the storytellers. They tell the target audience stories about their clients through selected media. However, as the way of how people consume media and stories have changed so has changed the pattern of storytelling in PR industry. Many recent reports and studies suggest that people watch at least one video every day and by 2020, 75% of mobile traffic will be video driven only. This leads to the fact that live videos are the trending topics racking up billions of views on Facebook, Instagram and other platforms. With such a high inclination towards video, it is obvious for the PR firms in Delhi to start using video and other visual tools- such as infographics, images and slideshows in their PR campaign.

3. Reputation is the key concern

Reputation management will gain its prominence as a PR service offered by PR companies in Delhi. The service has already been there, but in such a volatile and negative world, its importance is ever increasing. From media coverage to political changes to cyber-attacks to online reviews, businesses, governments, organisations and individuals will rely on PR professionals to build, protect and enhance their reputations. PR firms need to enhance and improve their skillset to provide deeper and more accurate reputation auditing, management and recovery services, in a coherent and sellable way.

What journalists desire from PR professionals?

Having good media relations is the essential quality looked out in every PR professionals serving to the PR cosultants in Delhi. And, to build the best and the most successful relations among media It’s not a prestigious background but a proper understanding of the balance concept that is required. The concept of balancing the traditional skills of doing PR with digital PR skills will only guarantee great relations with journalists in the overall media kingdom. In terms of PR climate in PR companies in Delhi, things certainly have changed from typewriters to Twitter over the years but despite the changes the experts suggest that the primary methods for interactions with media persons are the ones that still garner success. Here are some points highlighting what exactly the journalists’ desire from PR professionals:

Traditional needs to go hand in hand with digital PR

Just like the fact that a healthy body needs a well-balanced diet with a proper mix of fruits and vegetables, a PR professional working in one of the PR companies in Delhi, striking an exact balance between digital and real life connections is exactly the same. Journalists receive almost a thousand mails in a day with most of them getting ignored and sending same mail again and again will do nothing but will ruin your connection with the journalist as he will completely ignore you by transferring your mail in the spam list. Instead of doing this if you drop down a mail and also make a phone call it will translate into getting a realm of good results as this will generate a personal touch in the minds of media professionals. But you can’t even ignore online platforms and social media at all. The more you are aware of the happenings on the social media portal, the more will you be able to elevate your relations with the media personnel. 

How journalists categorise sources

According to the latest survey by a reputed organization, when looking for sources for a story, journalists usually prefer online sources more than the traditional ones. Journalists prefer online press kits (containing photos, digital portfolio of information and other resources) first rather than going with the emails containing press release. It’s not that PR pitches are a thing of past they are still in trend as they generate creative story ideas in journalist’s mind. To supercharge your PR pitches it’s essential to inculcate them with the sensational, breaking or seasonal news. Another good way of highlighting PR pitches is to make them short and furnish them with a link to the online press kit.

Social media is a mirror of client’s reach and credibility

Social media pages and profiles are of prime importance when interacting with the journalist regarding a client. If you are touting your client as an international expert with 100 Facebook fans and 200 Twitter followers only, then the journalists surely would term your PR pitch as a fraud. So make sure to get your clients enough visibility on their social media pages. No matter how many research a client has done or how many books they have written, it is the number of fans or followers that scream your expertise in any language.

Effects of Social Media on Public Relations

Studies suggest that social media is an integral part of the lives of PR professionals these days. Almost 80% of the PR professionals feel that social media is absolutely necessary in their day to day lives and that they cannot do their job without it. Most of them admit that they don’t even feel the need to do the fact-check when they use social media. Social Media has definitely had its impact on the public relations industry over the years. There have been quite a lot of changes in the PR industry due to the emergence of social media. Let’s take a look at some of them:

1.      Direct Contact with people – Social media encourages interaction. Professionals get to be in direct contact with their clients/ customers through various social media platforms. With social media providing a wide variety of marketing tools in platforms like Facebook, Twitter both public relations and advertising can be specifically targeted for a unique customer base. Hence, most PR Companies in Delhi practices the rule of interacting more and more with the target audience to increase the chances of their social media posts reach-count to go higher and higher. Therefore, social media provides the means to save money when trying to reach your people because you won’t be paying for people who aren’t interested to see your stories.

2.       Creating engaging content – Let’s face it. The hunger for engaging content that grabs the reader’s attention is increasing every day. With the ease of opening an account on any number of social media platforms as well as creating a blog – everyone looks for stories that create a bond with their audience. And if possible, these stories have not been told before. PR is no longer able to shoot out the same story for every journalist to use. But, the good news is that when you get this right, the entire world will start sharing your article with you. And that is possible now only if you digitalize your work sphere.

3.      Integrating services. By now we all know that social media encompasses a wide variety of essential elements that we use on a daily basis for work and otherwise. It is forcing many different PR firms to broaden the scope of their organisations. Especially, the PR Consultants in Delhi are including different aspects of social media to their business. PR agencies are integrating advertising people, digital marketing people, and big data specialists into their teams to provide a complete package for their customers. Gone are the days when most PR firms stuck strictly to PR work. That is because social media efforts require the full team.

We can see how social media’s effect on PR industry is increasing every day. Social media is definitely not going anywhere, and hence it is only wise for the PR industry to slowly but smartly integrate social media into their sphere of work. So for all the PR Companies in Delhi, you’ll need to think bigger, do more, and constantly look for the stories that can become game-changers in your business and for your clients.

How to secure a good internship in PR industry

Every year, thousands of media and communication students along with their CVs are all prepped up to find the best possible internship in the best Public Relation (PR) firm from a huge lot of PR companies in Delhi. This is perhaps the most important time in everybody’s career with every single move being crucially judged and scrutinised. However, this can be a positive thing for your budding career as hard work done during this initial period and can land you with great employment opportunities. Here are some tips that will help you secure an internship in the best possible PR agency in Delhi:

1. Remove the clutter from your CV

Whether you are a recent school or university pass out or seeking a change in career path, one thing to be clear with is the fact that the CV is a concise view of your educational and work experience till date. Even if it might not contain anything directly relating to PR the key trick here is to highlight specific achievements and identify how these skills can relate to the PR practice. Don’t make it too long instead keep it punchy and concise. PR involves pitching client’s ideas to journalists, and your CV gives you the first opportunity to pitch yourself to employers.

2. Remove unnecessary things from your social media profile

According to many recent research and studies, people spend most of their time in updating and surfing on their social media accounts. Hence, your social media profile is a mirror image of the person who you are. No matter how liberal and fun-loving your employer might look like, but they won’t accept a person is posting shameful photos across the Internet. So beware, if you have something like that in your social media profiles, remove it at the earliest because social networking sites are one of the first places employers will look after they have seen your CV.

3. Try to familiarise with the workings of the agency

When applying for an internship, the company you choose from the many PR companies in Delhi always has the opportunity to quiz you on their client base, competitors, campaigns among other related questions. So it’s best to be prepared beforehand.  Most company websites provide information about their workings even if not it’s your responsibility to dig up a little. Adequate preparation will not only calm your nerves for the interview but will also show your enthusiasm and passion for working with them.

4. Don’t forget to do the follow-ups

In a day PR Consultants in Delhi get thousands of internship applications and responding each one of them is simply not possible. Here, you need to take charge remind them about your application and try to familiarise with them. While doing so, make sure to keep your tone positive and friendly. This quality of being proactive and following up again translates to enthusiasm in you.

5. Try to improve your interview skills

Interview practice is crucial before facing the actual interview round. Have a friend or family member prepare you with the competency questions well in advance. This will help you in boosting your confidence and giving right answers. The trick is to be clear, concise and calm and these can only be achieved with adequate preparation.