You read that right. I’m an introvert. And I’m a PR, although I do like to shout loudly about being a communicator more broadly! But how does an introvert get into PR?
It’s a question I’ve asked myself many times since I first got into PR in 2006. How does the shy and retiring type fit into the schmoozing and mwah-mwah world of PR, dah-ling?! In short, because there’s so much more to PR than the schmooze.
I’ve been spurred to write this now, in the midst of Covid-19 lockdown, after a catch up with fellow introvert and social media strategist Paul Sutton. We have similar aged kids, young enough to still want lots of attention, plus plenty of hands-on support to get through homeschooling work. Lockdown itself doesn’t really bother me. The inability to find any time to myself (without going for a run) is excruciating! It seems this is common ground we share (except the running bit!).
How does an introvert get into PR?
Rather obviously, I applied for a PR job and got it. But I applied for the job within a company where I’d been temping for a while, sticking my oar into pretty much anything that intrigued or baffled me, and made it quite clear I was passionate about what was going on - and that I could help them do it better, if they’d let me. Oh my, what a career-cocky 20-something I was!
Thankfully, these brave entrepreneurs had faith in my willingness and together with the rest of the team we went on a pretty epic start-up to buyout journey together. There was much press coverage, entrepreneur profiling, customer case study placing, stat wielding and industry opinion stating along the way. And I did it with hardly any training.
No PR training?
Strictly speaking, no. I had no foundation in PR, but I had come from being the GM in a restaurant where I’d been leader, coffee maker, order taker, marketer, budgeter, stock-taker, shift creator, customer charmer and receiver of much chef grief (it comes with the territory).
So yes, I knew how to talk to people, how to present information, how to get to the point, but I didn’t know how to write a press release or how to pitch a story.
I had my CIPR membership paid for and some of their courses duly added to my diary. But after a day practicing ‘how to sell in stories’, once back in the office the first journalist I phoned was so obnoxious I bailed on the rest and went back to emailing. Coverage duly followed.
Media relations as an introvert
Practicing media relations as an introvert is exhausting. Had I entered the PR profession pre-email I wouldn’t have lasted long; I’m certain of that.
There’s no doubt that while media relations efforts benefit enormously from spritely personalities and happy small talkers, actually what the media want most is…
new, relevant and timely information for their readers
delivered succinctly and completely
preferably (but not essentially) exclusively
with hi-res images or video
ideally backed with stats or third party commentary to aid credibility
a human interest angle or case study
cute animals and kids help, but see point 1: relevance!
Good news or bad news? It doesn’t really matter as long as there’s a gripping or aspirational story at the crux of it.
PR is more than publicity
And so I find myself reflecting on what is the job of a PR. Which in turn leads to the necessary, but not often or loudly enough stated fact: PR is more than publicity.
In his book Content Marketing for PR, Trevor Young compiles a beautifully long, yet not necessarily exhaustive, list of the many and varied facets of PR. Public relations, you see, means anything and everything that influences or affects how an organisation is perceived by its ‘publics’ (stakeholders to you and me).
So yes, it helps that you know how to write a press release (read structured storytelling), but there’s so much more to the bigger picture too. And at the heart of it all is your brand reputation.
Public relations as an introvert
What I’ve really learned is the elements of public relations that I love the most and I’m best built to deliver. Public relations as an introvert leads me to PR strategy and planning, seeing the whole picture, knowing which card to play now and next, when and where structured storytelling plays its part, and how audience perceptions and consumer mood are shifting and can be addressed.
Oddly for an introvert, the one ‘front and centre’ element of PR I have always enjoyed has been acting as a company spokesperson. Most recently I’ve played this role as a travel industry commentator. And latterly via IGTV for Coconut delivering PR and marketing tips. I’m not afraid of the camera or mic, but the media schmooze still makes me nervous all these years in!
Some would say it’s the thrill of the chase. I say it’s all in a day’s work!
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