Intern Diary: Important Skills For PR Professionals to Pick Up During the Pandemic

The pandemic has disrupted the lives and aspirations of millions of youngsters across the globe. A silver lining, if one can call it that, is that working from home has given most of us the opportunity to pick up new skills for free and virtually.

New LinkedIn job posting data reveals the most in-demand jobs in the world — and which jobs have seen the biggest spikes in demand over the past month. According to the July 2020 data, the top in-demand skills include data science, business management, and communication.

We asked the youngest members of the PRecious Communications team which learning skills should communications professionals be sharpening and here’s what they have to say.

Building Websites and Augmenting Online Presence

When the circuit breaker started, I finally found enough time to devote to activities I enjoy doing but never got around to it. I decided to re-introduce myself to WIX, which is an easy-to-use website developing platform. Even though I am familiar with a few coding languages, including HTML, Python and Java, I tend to prefer WIX.

The platform does all the hardcore backend for you, leaving content development and layout formatting to the user. Having a project in mind aiming to promote the artworks of a young artist Creblur, whose works mesmerise me with their rich metaphors conveyed through the joyful play of lines, reflections and bold colours, I spent about five days to create the website. Even though a lot of work still should be done to improve the website rankings through Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), I am proud of the accomplished work and hope to continue improving in this sphere going forward.

Anastasiia Tsilyk – Junior Client Executive, PRecious Communications

Improve Visual Creativity Using Digital Tools

When I was a student, I used to avoid getting the chance to manage powerpoint-related group tasks due to my insecurity on my visual creativity skill since I’ve always felt more comfortable in doing research and analysis. But as everything now is online – from online classes and training to concerts and even tourism events, it’s fascinating how invaluable visual creativity using digital tools has become.

The popularity of social media has reinforced the importance of visual storytelling to create a lasting impact. There are plenty of options to choose from – from Adobe’s suite of creative tools to Canva – which offers easy drag-and-drop features and layouts to design social media posts and presentations. As a communications consultant, we need to be well versed with at least a few such tools. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it.

Debra Johannes – Client Executive, PRecious Communications

Creating Impactful Videos

How we present ourselves and our ideas play an integral part in staying on top of the communications game. Faced with high levels of competition from other agencies, communication professionals must sharpen their presentation skills.

In this day, where content is king, entertaining and compelling videos have the potential to draw more eyeballs than written content. Videos could be used for making prototypes which could help enhance presentations for the client. While video creation and editing skills do seem irrelevant for a communications professional to pick up at first glance, it will most definitely create value for both the team as well as clients.

S Priyashini, Junior Client Executive, PRecious Communications

Making Insightful and Engaging Newsletters

Sending a newsletter is one of the best ways to engage clients, employees and the community, keeping them informed on the company’s activities. It’s a concise way of telling the audience about how the company is, and it doesn’t have to be designed in such a way to seem extravagant, but it should have the main message you want to convey.

There is a lot of work which goes in creating an insightful and engaging newsletter. From planning the content such as client success stories, news and thought leadership updates to the design elements and creating the database, one can pick several digital communication skills when involved in this process.

Rinaka Gustavano – Management Trainee, PRecious Communications

Social Media Marketing Expertise

As we all get comfortable with working or studying from home, our devices have become our best friends. Social media has become a source of entertainment, networking and even news sharing. As PR professionals, we must look at everything as an opportunity to communicate effectively. Social media has the potential to amplify content that is typically distributed via press releases and emails.

Merely knowing how to use these platforms is not sufficient. One needs to know who uses these platforms and what content will help to target specific audiences. More importantly, we should learn to use these platforms to understand what is trending and what moves our audiences so that we can better appeal to them.

Contributed by Thiviya Sri, Junior Client Executive, PRecious Communications

Researching Quickly and Effectively

Virtually every day of my internship is an exercise in running targeted and efficient searches – something I feel communications professionals should hone as part of their skills arsenal. This is because most mornings start with media monitoring sprints for multiple clients, sifting through mountains of haystacks for relevant shareworthy needles.

I’ve had to pick up various tips and tricks to scan through oceans of information while balancing speed and accuracy – Google’s advanced search tools and Cision became my best friends. Beyond media monitoring, researching media targets for pitching and qualifying events for clients is also a part of the daily job scope. Knowing the right search terms to use and the critical information to look out for makes a massive difference in terms of the search outcome, as well as the time and effort you spend getting results.

Tisha Martinez – Junior Client Executive, PRecious Communications

Planning and Creating Webinars

The current pandemic and the restriction on physical meetings have made webinars a popular medium to connect with a broad audience cost-effectively. I recently had an opportunity to assist with creating a bi-monthly webinar series where leaders from various industries will get together to discuss relevant issues and share case studies surrounding Digital Transformation (DX).

For me, it was my first taste of what truly goes on behind the scenes and to tackle the numerous tasks that lead to the episodes. I got the opportunity to communicate with various stakeholders and ensure that the messaging is aligned across the board. I have learnt so much from this experience, from design and logo creation to project management and understanding Zoom’s Webinar platform.

Toh Liu Han – Junior Business Development and Marketing Executive, PRecious Communications

Learning New Technology and Software

The most eye-opening revelation that this pandemic has shown me is my younger sister – 16 years old – learning to code as part of her school curriculum. It struck me that technology is continuously evolving and that the upcoming generation has a greater understanding and natural skills in adopting new technologies.

In my previous internship as an SEO analyst, I was exposed to coding and analytics software for the first time. The company was inexperienced but was willing to invest in those tools for me to learn. I realised that the ability to quickly and effectively learn new technologies (software, coding language, etc.) is an imperative skill. I believe that it is essential for any profession, as innovative software is developed and released (such as Tableau for analytics) frequently.

Wilson – Junior Client Executive, PRecious Communications