What Does a Public Relations Specialist Do?

Posted by Jesse Matthews on November 26th, 2018

Public relations is daunting to many. Especially if you don’t have any idea what exactly a public relations specialist actually does. At its most simplistic, public relations is putting your face or brand in the best light so it connects, in a positive way, with the public. Public relations relates your products to the public. However, it’s easy to understand why a public relations specialist is viewed in an complicated, unfocused manner. Often, PR specialists themselves do not clearly communicate what they do on a daily basis.

As public relations specialists ourselves, Edith Press believes in straightforward PR. Throughout the years, we noticed many public relations agencies and freelancers make PR too complicated. It’s true, public relations can be complicated and fragmented when working with a large company which manufactures many different SKU’s. However, there is no need to make PR complicated when working with small fashion and beauty brands. Many public relations specialists work with small mom-and-pop local businesses and also Internet brands. Today, many brands are launching exclusively online. Newly launched fashion, lifestyle, and beauty brands deserve honest, nimble, and trouble-free public relations. All too often, these new brands founded by one or two people are on a budget and they don’t have the time or resources to be taken advantage of by shark seeking PR - take the monthly retainer, pretend, what they are doing is complicated, and deliver no results. New brands on a budget need to due diligence research to find a beauty public relations specialist who are willing to work with them.

Email pitching is one of the core principles of a public relations specialist and agency. PR specialists get their clients noticed by pitching their products to editors, writers, tastemakers, and influencers. Most pitches are conducted via email and also by sending physical samples and a press kit. However, most press kits these days are digital - sent via email. One of the hardest parts of public relations specialists is pushing ‘send’ on a great pitch you personalized, and hoping the writer or editor on the receiving end opens the email. As elementary as it sounds, sometimes public relations revolves around someone opening and responding to an email - most writers and editors loathe phone calls. Also, it’s important to keep in mind that editors are flooded with hundreds of emails a day. It’s virtually impossible to read and respond to every single virtual correspondence. And that’s why follow-ups are so very important. Diligence and discipline are two characteristics that make a good public relations specialist.

As a brand founder, you want your products to land in the right hands. The right hands are people such as editors, writers, bloggers, who spread the word about your products. When they learn about your product or service, and if they like it, they are likely to write about your brand in magazines, style and beauty sites, and perhaps show off your products on Instagram. This is also why it’s important to be prepared to send samples to writers, influencers, etc. Free samples are part of the public relations game - you have to know that and budget it into your production. Sometimes a free sample garners media attention, and sometimes it doesn’t. For example, if you just launched a new body scrub, add several extras during production. Your Beauty Public Relations specialist will let me know who and when to send them to.

A nimble, well-rounded public relations specialist understands that not all businesses and brands need complicated PR. Instead, it should be straightforward. A new brand needs backlinks from well established websites. Hopefully many of the pitches a public relations specialist sends, there will be a few that are interested in the new brand. Brands need to also understand that PR takes time. It’s not always an overnight success. If you are searching for a public relations specialist, and you are a small business, find one that is willing to work with your brand and within your budget.