If you were to describe the position for the communicator of the present - and future - in a new media environment, how would you do it? The open positions I usually come across are for marketing, communications and public relations. I thought it would be worth exploring how a standard communications / media relations job description would look like in a new media world.
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Position Overview: Create, curate, network, execute, and facilitate communications strategies to tell the company's story and interact with its communities, using multiple communications media (verbal, written, digital and events).
Essential Accountabilities: Develops, champions, interacts with, engages and measures global communications in support of organization's operations - which include activities to support business A, business B, and business C - as well as the priorities of its communities and information ecosystem.
Examples of communications deliverables include:
- Building an information and communications ecosystem for market conversation alignment across new media and networks; creating content guides, FAQs about customers, communities and partners; developing a presentation and speaking coaching practice; documenting company stories, and working on business-creation announcements
- Press releases and social media releases, videos and technical deep dives, podcasts, crisis communications in a 24/7 news cycle, blogger outreach guides, articles, posts, comments, social tagging best practices, search engine optimization guides
Other duties and responsibilities include the following:
- Build proactive relationships with key new media members and publications, including blogs, to enhance organization's conversational index and draw positive attention.
- Collaborate with leaders, peers, and communities in business A, including compliance, investor relations and legal as required for content creation and relationship development.
- Identify strategic and proactive opportunities to increase awareness and membership, and enhance relationships that support the revenue growth of the organization's operations.
- Assist in the resolution of customer service inquiries from customers, vendors and third parties by partnering with customer service teams.
- Contribute to the effectiveness of the global communications function, including participating in general departmental deliverables and forums.
Position Requirements:
Education: Bachelor's degree in Journalism, Communications, or English is required. MBA or other business training or certifications is a plus.
Work Experience:
Must have at least seven years of experience in communications, public relations or media relations (corporate, agency, government), and at least 18 months of experience publishing online. That includes a combination of comments, posts to forums and social networks, and a personal or group blog.
Experience in a professional role creating content, publishing, executing, and measuring the business impact of communications is required.
Experience in specific industry, particularly business A & B, and familiarity with the questions and conversations that surround its news ecosystem is highly desirable.
Personal Competencies:
- Sound business judgment and news making skills
- Ability to lead in a fast-paced, 24/7 news and potential crisis-communications environment
- Willingness to listen, collaborate with teams and communities at all levels
- Excellent verbal, interactive, and written communications skills
- Left and right brained with willingness to experiment
- Ability to make sense of data and act upon it
- Solid relationship and persuasion skills
- Strong customer service orientation
- Ability to think connectively, create context and listen for the details
- Must be flexible and adaptable to change in a rapidly evolving world of media
- Perseverance, resilience, and great sense of humor
The most important characteristic borrowed from Olivier Blanchard:
- Applicant is more excited about engagement, building an internal
practice and finding out about your business’ pain points than he/she
is about firebombing you with the full scope of their new media
skills’ awesomeness
What do you think? What am I missing? Did I go far enough? How do you hire the right public relations candidates?
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