The Ultimate Guide to Professional Development for Marketing & PR

How to Be a Better

Marketing & Pr Professional

Professional Development Guides

from

We know you want to

BE AWESOMEat your job!

So, we picked the brains of some marketing & PR experts to find out how they've gotten so good.

elliott BellDirector of Marketingat The Muse

ashley CobertPR Account Executive for Primum Marketing

Communications

naomi garniceCreative Services Manager

at TP Orthodontics, Inc.

Paolina MilanaContent Marketing & Audience Engagement Strategist for YP

And compiled it all into the

UltiMate gUiDe to Professional DeVeloPMent FOR MARKETING & PR.

Are you ready for it?

it'll be a HUge help to your career.(And only take a little time to flip through.)

Whether you’re just getting started or you’re ready to move to the top,

First, we’ll talk about the skills you need.

And then we’ll give you the resources to make it happen.

let's get starteD.

So what skills does one need to develop to be a superstar marketer

or PR mogul?

Well, there are

tHe oBVioUs ones.

Having a good set of CoMMUniCation

s k i l l sis necessary.

While the latest tools and tech gadgets are useful, what matters most is the message. To that end, I've further developed my content

strategies to speak to target audiences in ways that resonate with them, and I've taken the time to write professionally and personally for other

social and online platforms.

I remember studying self-monitoring in a communications class in college. I never expected how important that would be, especially when you're working with clients. You have to be willing to adjust to your audience. How you speak to media contacts, client contacts, and your boss are all very

different. The more you're able to adjust and present yourself most appropriately in any given situation,

the more successful you'll be in PR.

KnoWinG eveRytHinG

you cAn About

B r a n D i n g iS AlSo Key.

Branding is a very simple concept, but can be one of the hardest skills to master. It essentially boils down to how you make people think and feel about your company. It goes beyond a name, logo, tagline—even beyond the

products you're promoting. I think about brand in terms of every touch point with our customers. How do people feel when they read about us online or talk to our customer service? It should be consistent, postive, and always

representative of who we are as a company.

but there are other skills that people tend to

oVerlook.

Knowing some key

s a l e s s t r at e g i e scan do you wonders.

You have to:

Understand what makes people tick

Be able to sell your message like you

would sell a product

Be comfortable cold-

calling (or emailing)

potential partners

I actually started in sales and believe that was the best thing I could have done for my career as a marketer. Marketers "communicate" in an ideal world where everyone loves what they have to say. In reality, most people are too

busy or don't care about what you have to say. Sales gave me the ability to understand what

clients really care about and how to reach them.

Having some

teCH skillsis becoming increasingly

valuable.

Knowing the newest in social media

Understanding SEO and other online

marketing strategies

Learning how to market in a mobile

world

Staying on top of today's ever-evolving tools and technologies—while challenging—is a must. Working with the guys at AppNRG helped me learn and develop useful skills

related to mobile technologies and market-ing. Deciding to create my own website from

scratch—rekindled my inner techie.

you should also know the ins and outs of

analytiCs.

Knowing how to measure the impact of different campaigns

is vital in figuring out what works—and what doesn’t.

It's really important to be comfortable with data because it should play a role in everything you do. Every time you spend money or time doing something in marketing, you should be able to

track it and show a positive ROI. If you can't, then you probably shouldn't have been doing it.

but in the marketing & PR world, the ability to

Make ConneCtions might be the most

important skill of all.

The larger (and stronger) your network is, the easier it will be to form partnerships and get people to spread the word.

I'm continually expanding my professional network online by bulking up on quality contacts

on LinkedIn and sharing my own approach to content marketing with weekly posts to my blog,

More than Words.

I meet with as many people in my field as I can. I don't care what company they work for or what industry

they focus on. I love finding out what their challenges are, how they are solving them, and most

importantly, just what we are both working on. Great ideas and chances to learn come from some of the most interesting places if you go and look for them.

now that we're on the same page about what skills you need, let's talk about

HoW to get tHere.

We asked our experts what resources have been helpful along the way,

and pulled together an

offiCial resoUrCe gUiDe for your marketing & PR development.

Books to reaD

Earlier this year, I read a book by Peter Shankman, Can We Do that?!. It's not a new book, but it explores some crazy PR ideas and stunts that are still very relevant. After a couple years of

working at an agency, it's easy to revert to execution and forget about brainstorming. It's very important for

your clients, and for your own sanity, to constantly be searching for that new

idea. This book served as inspiration for me and reinvigorated my creativity

after hitting a lull.

Blogs & MagaZines to reaD

In an effort to continue honing my brand strategy and content marketing skills, I've become seriously addicted to a couple

of magazines and blogs. inc. is basically the rolling stone of marketing strategy

pubs. Articles feature leaders throughout the marketing and social media industry.graphic Design Usa helps me sharpen my creative edge by showing the latest trending design and production effects.

eVents to attenD

Any event that allows you to meet and greet with media is ideal. Meeting media contacts in person in a

casual setting allows you to mingle without the pressure of getting a story. Establish the relationship over drinks

before pitching them a story.

Classes to take

Write emails that People Will Actually Read

A Data Driven Approach to PR

introduction to Seo

email Strategy Development

Web Analytics: Measuring the Full

customer Journey to understand Roi

Foundations for a visual PR Strategy

Classes to take

10 essentials for Getting Started in content

Marketing

no news? no Problem! Maintaining Great Media

coverage year-Round

How to create a brand Strategy that Works

linkedin for brands and businesses

true influence

More Followers, More engagement, less time!

eXPerts to folloW

eXPerts to folloW

Follow any media contacts you are

pitching.

now—it's time to go out into the world and get better at roCking yoUr Career!

(We know you can do it.)

And, if you want a little more help along the way?

Keep up with for the advice you need to build the career you've

always dreamed of.

Get career Advice

browse Marketing & PR

Jobs

Sign up for classes

All photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

or follow us on: