Post job

Public relations vs communications coordinator

The differences between public relations and communications coordinators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a public relations and a communications coordinator. Additionally, a public relations has an average salary of $48,383, which is higher than the $47,075 average annual salary of a communications coordinator.

The top three skills for a public relations include press releases, web content and facebook. The most important skills for a communications coordinator are customer service, web content, and event planning.

Public relations vs communications coordinator overview

Public RelationsCommunications Coordinator
Yearly salary$48,383$47,075
Hourly rate$23.26$22.63
Growth rate8%8%
Number of jobs22,72139,790
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 75%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age4242
Years of experience44

What does a public relations do?

Public relations is a strategic way of developing and maintaining a client's or company's public image through media coverage, appearances, and press releases by designing and developing events to raise funds or to spread awareness to the public regarding products, brands, or individuals. It involves research and evaluation of programs including financial, marketing, employee, or government relations using topics of public interest and news items. Due to our present technological innovations, public relations now use webinars, blogs, and downloadable resources under one convenient website.

What does a communications coordinator do?

A communications coordinator is responsible for overseeing the communications department's operations, developing the brand image, and monitoring press releases, company articles, and other related marketing materials for business promotion and visibility. Communications coordinators actively interact with existing and potential clients, negotiate contracts, and build profitable partnerships. They also develop strategic procedures for creating the business' online presence, organizing promotional events, and media conferences. A communications coordinator must have excellent communication and organization skills to maintain a good reputation and customer satisfaction.

Public relations vs communications coordinator salary

Public relations and communications coordinators have different pay scales, as shown below.

Public RelationsCommunications Coordinator
Average salary$48,383$47,075
Salary rangeBetween $32,000 And $72,000Between $34,000 And $63,000
Highest paying CityRichmond, VAWashington, DC
Highest paying stateVirginiaNew Jersey
Best paying companyEdelman Financial EnginesMicrosoft
Best paying industryProfessionalGovernment

Differences between public relations and communications coordinator education

There are a few differences between a public relations and a communications coordinator in terms of educational background:

Public RelationsCommunications Coordinator
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 75%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common majorCommunicationCommunication
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

Public relations vs communications coordinator demographics

Here are the differences between public relations' and communications coordinators' demographics:

Public RelationsCommunications Coordinator
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 36.1% Female, 63.9%Male, 29.4% Female, 70.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 5.3% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 5.3% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage12%12%

Differences between public relations and communications coordinator duties and responsibilities

Public relations example responsibilities.

  • Manage LinkedIn profile updates and new leads.
  • Manage all copywriting elements for live broadcasts and promotional commercials.
  • Create an official office page on instagram to facilitate interaction with students.
  • Track and analyze local talent and trends on social networking sites (MySpace, YouTube).
  • Coordinate multiple marketing campaigns (SEO, CPA, CPM) and optimization of organic search traffic.
  • Edit and create YouTube videos for clientele, creating proper titles and tags to increase viewership ;.
  • Show more

Communications coordinator example responsibilities.

  • Launch and manage the corporate Instagram account @ xcelenergy.
  • Manage and maintain the admission website by using basic knowledge of HTML and web editing templates.
  • Co-developed regional, national and international trade show strategy including logistics, management, qualifying leads, communications and ROI tracking.
  • Contribute brand appropriate content for: blog, instagram, and twitter.
  • General administrative and marketing duties including sending e-marketing campaigns, updating intranet and SharePoint sites, and publishing public relations newsletters.
  • Monitor the daily work of the travel agency booking agents.
  • Show more

Public relations vs communications coordinator skills

Common public relations skills
  • Press Releases, 22%
  • Web Content, 12%
  • Facebook, 5%
  • Event Planning, 4%
  • Blog Posts, 4%
  • Twitter, 4%
Common communications coordinator skills
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • Web Content, 7%
  • Event Planning, 6%
  • Press Releases, 5%
  • Patients, 5%
  • Community Events, 5%

Browse arts, entertainment, sports, and media jobs