The core responsibility of a PR professional is to build relationships with a target audience – typically customers, the media, analysts and top influencers within a specific industry. This may be done in-house or through a PR agency.
You might be wondering how PR and project management go together. PR professionals often have to juggle multiple campaigns and clients.
They can benefit from an understanding of project management principles to increase professionalism and efficiency. PM principles help them to manage scope, create effective timelines, delegate tasks and solve problems.
An instructor-led PMP boot camp is an ideal solution for project managers looking to improve their skills and acquire PMP Certification. It teaches PMP concepts in a short, intense and rigorous training course.
Managing scope
PR campaigns and strategies are often complex and consist of many different tasks and steps. This is why it is so important for a project manager to determine the scope of a project and stick to it.
Poorly defined scope and objectives can result in many problems, including going way over budget. It helps project managers to use project management software that helps them to stick to scope and prevent costs from being exceeded.
Creating effective timelines
Meeting deadlines is a critical factor in PR. Rushing to meet a deadline may result in work that is less than satisfactory and this is when project management software can make a difference.
Project management software can support the PR manager in planning a campaign calendar. The calendar can include publishing dates of press releases, planned events, media placement schedules etc. Calendars can be edited to keep up with new deadlines and changing schedules.
Project management tools help with tracking a project, keeping to a schedule as well as coordinating with other departments.
Shared team calendars can help keep all employees aware of deliverables when tasks are shared interdepartmentally and dashboards allow project managers to stay in control. Project management software can thus greatly enhance collaboration
A project management solution, like Workfront, helps to eliminate unnecessary status meetings. They can be done in real-time, in one place, and they’re accessible to everyone involved.
Managing tasks
Effective delegation of tasks leads to more efficient functioning of a PR team. When tasks are divided evenly, the load is lessened for all. Having a detailed project management system is necessary for the communication of tasks.
There are many tools that can assist project managers to assign projects and track their progress. They enable users to easily share files, make and report changes and hopefully to avoid long, confusing email chains.
Proper internal coordination is essential for success in PR. Clear channels of communication enable employees to ask questions and leave comments.
Problem-solving
Every organization has shortcomings and project managers are able to find internal and external weaknesses. They are trained to recognize obstructions and find ways to deal with them. The feedback tools they use enable them to get to the source of an issue and address it directly.
Once a project manager identifies an obstacle, a solution must be found and an execution strategy must be mapped out for implementing it. This includes identifying who will be responsible for each task as well as when and how it will be done.
A platform that allows employees to offer opinions also provides project managers with insight to help them resolve issues and to figure out how to improve results in the future. Eliminating obstacles and creating an effective workflow helps companies to save time, money and effort when it comes to public relations.