What Is a Public Relations Strategist?

“Jill, what is a PR strategist?” As a PR consultant with 30 years’ experience, it’s no surprise when people ask me about public relations. My expertise means I can answer all those usual PR-related questions like “What is Digital PR?” and “What is a Media List?”. But today’s big question is all about PR strategists. So what are they exactly and what do they do?

What Is a Public Relations Strategist?

Simply put, PR strategists develop tactics and strategies to improve a client’s reputation. Their role includes tasks like online marketing, event co-ordination, project management, and content creation. With a watchful eye on industry trends and current events, PR strategists are always ready to steer their clients or in-house teams in a new direction.

People commonly confuse PR strategists with PR advisers, but there’s a major difference between the two. Let’s take a look.

PR Advisers and PR Strategists: What’s the Difference?

A PR adviser (sometimes spelt PR advisor) suggests effective ways for clients to perform reputation management and improve their public profile. However, advisers probably don’t implement their advice. Instead, it’s left to clients to form tactics and strategies by themselves. But this can lead to a major PR crisis that even multi-billion-pound companies like Boeing struggle to handle.

In 2024, when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) determined that Boeing failed to meet quality control requirements, the plane operator’s initial statement was poorly received. PR experts at the time,  like Sjors Mahler, commercial director at PR.co, said it lacked technical detail and empathy.

So how would a PR adviser operate in this situation? They would advise Boeing on the best ways to handle the bad publicity. However, a PR strategist wouldn’t stop there. After giving great advice, they would plan and execute an effective crisis PR campaign too, and handle the whole thing from beginning to end.

Be Proactive, Not Reactive

Unlike PR strategists, PR advisers are more reactive than proactive. A PR adviser would respond to Boeing’s bad publicity when it hit the headlines. In contrast, a PR strategist would plan, develop, test, execute, and monitor a PR strategy as soon as the FAA’s six-week audit was announced. Experienced strategists would ensure Boeing was ready to combat the bad publicity before the audit’s poor results were published.

Now we know what PR strategists are and how they differ from PR advisers. Let’s see what services strategists provide.

What Does a PR Strategist Do?

Public relations strategists are highly flexible people. They transition between a variety of PR-related tasks including:

Coaching Clients

PR strategists will coach clients on their interview technique to ensure they can handle tough questions while staying calm. This prevents clients from causing a PR blunder through fluffing their answers.

Organising interviews

PR strategists will organise press conferences, events, interviews, and other engagements for clients. And they also arrange interviews in reputable newspapers and magazines, as well on television programmes like BBC News.

Generating Publicity

PR strategists will develop, distribute, and promote marketing materials like press releases and media kits.

Assessing Strategies

PR strategists keep a close eye on TV, radio, newspapers, social media, website analytics, surveys and polls to see if their strategy is working. If necessary, they use feedback gained to change tactics and improve results.

Powerful Network-Building

PR strategists, like me, have a black book bursting with powerful connections including journalists and media outlets. We always have someone to call and know the right way to pitch to a journo in order to get coverage.

Project Management

PR strategists develop effective PR campaigns and project manage them from start to finish. They attend meetings, brainstorm ideas, write and edit content, monitor expenses, and assist with other tasks to meet short-term targets and long-term business goals.

It’s clear that these PR professionals are experts when it comes to planning and executing strategies to boost profiles. So the question is: how do you find one of these results-driven PR strategists?

How do you choose a PR Strategist?

Looking to hire a PR strategist? Here are eight simple questions you can ask to ensure you find the best person to lead your PR activity successfully.

1. Are you qualified?

Many PR strategists usually have a PR-related degree such as Communications, Journalism, Business, Advertising, Marketing and, of course, Public Relations. Remember that degrees aren’t the only way to show expertise. Some candidates will also have work-based qualifications like a NCTJ Diploma, (like PR Superstar.)

2. Do you have relevant work experience?

A PR strategist’s portfolio showcases their best work. There should be evidence of media coverage, TV coverage, and podcasts, conferences and crisis comms.

PR portfolios should include work experience in different industries. This proves the candidate can adapt to each business instead of treating every one the same. For example, my portfolio shows I’ve worked with a range of different businesses from entrepreneur and TV reality star Ann Kaplan to a global recruitment company.

3. Do you have social media?

Social media shows whether clients were satisfied with a PR strategist’s work. So take a look at LinkedIn, profiles to see if there are any endorsements by clients.

4. Is PR research hard?

If a PR strategist says research for campaigns is quick and easy, beware. PR professionals invest quality time in research because they’re watching out for fake news and false information.

Some people ask AI for information instead of spending time doing their own research. That could get them arrested. I’m not kidding. Last year, New York City’s AI chatbot gave illegal advice to businesses. If a PR Strategist followed that advice, their tactics and strategies may have led to criminal charges for clients.

5. Do you offer a personalised service?

A whopping 76% of consumers are frustrated when their service isn’t personalised. Clearly the public loves it when interactions are tailored to them. That’s why PR strategists ensure every PR campaign is designed specifically for different target audiences. A good PR pro will never copy and paste plans from one campaign to another.

6. Are you proactive?

By monitoring online tools like Google Trends and Reddit Pro Trends, proactive strategists spot the latest trend long before the competition does. You don’t want your PR person jumping on a trend when it makes headlines. At that point, it’s almost old news.

7. Should we have a long-term PR strategy?

PR Strategists should focus on building a good reputation over time. As E-PR Online’s CEO Irina Proskurina said, ‘The value of PR extends beyond immediate numbers, emphasising long-term brand reputation and loyalty, which ultimately contribute to sustained business success.’

Short-term thinking is risky because it may cause PR disasters like The British Museum’s meme attempt. The reputable, popular museum was accused of being unprofessional and sexist. The swift backlash against an almost 300-year-old institution shows that no one is safe from being ‘cancelled” by social media.

8. Could we have a chat?

PR Strategists have many skills and abilities, but communication is the most important. If they can’t communicate, they won’t understand your organisation or help you connect with your target audience.

You’ll see how a PR strategist communicates by arranging a video call or an offline interview. Have they been honest on their CV, website or social media? Find out by asking relevant questions. For example, my LinkedIn page shows I speak five languages. Feel free to talk to me in any of them!

 Fortunately, asking PR strategists to answer all eight questions will reveal who to hire. The best candidates will say ‘yes’ to each question, showing they are qualified, experienced, adaptable, proactive, hard-working, and willing to communicate.

PR Strategists: The Key to PR Success

Public relations strategists are adaptable, well-connected, multi-talented, and excellent communicators. They are the heart and soul of effective PR campaigns. Unlike PR advisers, strategists implement campaigns from start to finish, giving them the power to improve and maintain public profiles for years to come.