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The differences between community relations specialists and marketing communications specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a community relations specialist, becoming a marketing communications specialist takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a marketing communications specialist has an average salary of $53,993, which is higher than the $49,344 average annual salary of a community relations specialist.
The top three skills for a community relations specialist include press releases, event planning and community events. The most important skills for a marketing communications specialist are digital marketing, project management, and graphic design.
| Community Relations Specialist | Marketing Communications Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $49,344 | $53,993 |
| Hourly rate | $23.72 | $25.96 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 19% |
| Number of jobs | 28,509 | 95,444 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Average age | 42 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
A community relations specialist is responsible for handling the organization's community engagements by facilitating fundraising events, volunteering acts, and charity programs and partnerships. Community relations specialists also write content for public and media promotions to promote brand awareness and the company's mission across the community. They should also be updated with the current events and situations to identify events and strategies that will help stabilize the society's condition. Since this type of job requires interacting with community people, a community relations specialist must have excellent communication skills to respond to their inquiries and concerns.
A marketing communications specialist is an individual who is responsible for creating all the marketing materials that are distributed to customers to increase brand awareness for the company's products or services. To create these materials, marketing communications specialists must collaborate with graphic design teams. They are required to track their marketing performance so that they can identify ways to improve their marketing strategies. Marketing communications specialists must also set up interviews and press conferences as part of their marketing campaign.
Community relations specialists and marketing communications specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Community Relations Specialist | Marketing Communications Specialist | |
| Average salary | $49,344 | $53,993 |
| Salary range | Between $34,000 And $70,000 | Between $36,000 And $80,000 |
| Highest paying City | Alexandria, VA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | Delaware |
| Best paying company | City National Bank | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Government | Technology |
There are a few differences between a community relations specialist and a marketing communications specialist in terms of educational background:
| Community Relations Specialist | Marketing Communications Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Most common major | Business | Communication |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between community relations specialists' and marketing communications specialists' demographics:
| Community Relations Specialist | Marketing Communications Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 25.3% Female, 74.7% | Male, 28.0% Female, 72.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 5.3% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 9.6% White, 67.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 10% |