What does a publicist do?
Public Relations Supervisors are responsible for implementing the media and public relations strategy of an organization. Their duties include developing public relations campaigns, organize public relations events, assist in emergency response planning, updating documentation, monitoring media, improve management of press office, and manage media databases. They are responsible for assisting with journalistic content writing, refine internal processes, and track public relations activity performance. They help prepare reports as well as undertake competitor and market research.
Publicist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real publicist resumes:
- Manage publicity plans for fiction and non-fiction trade paperback titles.
- Manage and write copy for client social media platforms and ECPR's social media deliverable, which involve SEO streamlining.
- Book non-fiction author media tours.
- Photograph events for the instagram account.
- Maintain appropriate media lists, clips and coverage reports.
- Post on Facebook and other websites to promote events & products
- Pitch and coordinate print pieces for national magazines, weekly and daily newspapers
- Secure placements in magazines, newspapers, television, radio and online outlets.
- Set up and update client Facebook accounts to increase traffic and spotlight career happenings.
- Draft press kits, proposals, biographies and post-event evaluations and recommend changes for future campaigns or events.
- Design media list for a NYC artist/ photographer 6-10 marketing consultant for a NYC fashion designer project gig 4-10
- Collaborate with producers and editors, write press kit materials for clients including releases, biographies, media alerts.
- Participate in client meetings and brainstorming sessions, as well as acted as the liaison between contacts and clients.
- Promote authors and their books (primarily non-fiction, health and psychology) to radio, web, and print media.
- Create summaries of publicity campaign efforts, fnances, results and media clips in each market to contribute to company database.
Publicist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 30% of Publicists are proficient in Press Releases, Press Materials, and Public Relations Campaigns. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Organizational skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Publicists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Press Releases, 30%
Press releases & media alerts-Industry experience - Fashion, Beauty and lifestyle etc.-Social media guidance-Coordinating numerous press opportunities/interviews
- Press Materials, 7%
Create custom media distribution lists, and distribute press materials and perform research required to establish and maintain effective distribution.
- Public Relations Campaigns, 5%
Developed and executed tailored Public Relations campaigns for small businesses, entrepreneurs, start-ups and innovative product launches.
- Instagram, 5%
Maximized use of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram for The White Squirrel.
- Twitter, 5%
Utilized Facebook and Twitter accounts to advertise upcoming events.
- Writing Press Releases, 4%
Demonstrated responsibilities for writing press releases, and launching meetings
Common skills that a publicist uses to do their job include "press releases," "press materials," and "public relations campaigns." You can find details on the most important publicist responsibilities below.
Interpersonal skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a publicist to have is interpersonal skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "public relations specialists deal with the public and the media regularly." Publicists often use interpersonal skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "partnered with the event planning class to increase student involvement by creating strong interpersonal relationships. "
Organizational skills. Many publicist duties rely on organizational skills. "public relations specialists are often in charge of managing several events or communications at the same time, which requires excellent skills in coordinating arrangements.," so a publicist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways publicist responsibilities rely on organizational skills: "composed and distributed press releases and organizational biographies to solicit publicity. "
Problem-solving skills. publicists are also known for problem-solving skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to publicist responsibilities, because "public relations specialists sometimes must explain how a company or client is handling sensitive issues." A publicist resume example shows how problem-solving skills is used in the workplace: "provided on-site technical support and issue resolutions for various public and press events. "
Speaking skills. publicist responsibilities often require "speaking skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "public relations specialists regularly speak on behalf of clients or their organization." This resume example shows what publicists do with speaking skills on a typical day: "coordinate author events (book signings, speaking engagements) and occasionally serve as media escort. "
Writing skills. A commonly-found skill in publicist job descriptions, "writing skills" is essential to what publicists do. Publicist responsibilities rely on this skill because "public relations specialists must be able to write well-organized and clear press releases, speeches, and social media posts." You can also see how publicist duties rely on writing skills in this resume example: "write and oversee the publicity writing and distribution of press releases and other publicity-related communications for the company at large. "
The three companies that hire the most publicists are:
- Paramount6 publicists jobs
- The Walt Disney Company5 publicists jobs
- Amazon3 publicists jobs
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Compare different publicists
Publicist vs. Social media internship
In a social media internship, the primary role is to take part in managing a brand's social media platforms for public relations. One of their primary duties is to craft informative and captivating content while under the supervision and guidelines of a manager or supervisor. Furthermore, there may also be instances where an intern must participate in devising strategies that would bring more public recognition to the brand, such as social media campaigns to boost sales and improve client base.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between publicists and social media internship. For instance, publicist responsibilities require skills such as "press materials," "public relations campaigns," "writing press releases," and "publicity materials." Whereas a social media internship is skilled in "facebook insights," "social media marketing," "linkedin," and "hootsuite." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Social media interns tend to make the most money working in the education industry, where they earn an average salary of $33,136. In contrast, publicists make the biggest average salary, $52,774, in the media industry.The education levels that social media interns earn slightly differ from publicists. In particular, social media interns are 2.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a publicist. Additionally, they're 0.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Publicist vs. Media coordinator
A media coordinator acts as a communications professional in charge of developing and implementing target communications and advertising for various media platforms. Media coordinators plan, implement, and monitor the social media strategy of an organization. They discern the most successful media outreach and establish advertising partnerships and business deals. They aim to increase their respective companies' brand awareness, strengthen their advertising campaigns, improve their marketing strategies, and increase their sales.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, publicist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "press materials," "public relations campaigns," "publicity materials," and "press coverage." Meanwhile, a media coordinator has duties that require skills in areas such as "facebook," "digital marketing," "social media marketing," and "social platforms." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, media coordinators earn a lower salary than publicists. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, media coordinators earn the most pay in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $48,229. Whereas publicists have higher pay in the media industry, with an average salary of $52,774.In general, media coordinators achieve similar levels of education than publicists. They're 0.6% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Publicist vs. Community relations coordinator
A public relations coordinator or community relations coordinator is an individual who is responsible for promoting or creating a public image for individuals, groups, or organizations. Since businesses are major contributors to communities and fundraisers, public relations coordinators are required to handle donations requests and build a marketing platform for the company. They must work with advertising representatives and other members of the media team to help promote the image of the company to the community. Community relations coordinators are also required to handle charity events such as blood drives or hold a corporate carnivals to benefit cancer research.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, publicists are more likely to have skills like "press materials," "public relations campaigns," "writing press releases," and "photo shoots." But a community relations coordinator is more likely to have skills like "patients," "admission process," "medicaid," and "community organizations."
Community relations coordinators make a very good living in the hospitality industry with an average annual salary of $50,326. On the other hand, publicists are paid the highest salary in the media industry, with average annual pay of $52,774.community relations coordinators typically earn similar educational levels compared to publicists. Specifically, they're 4.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Publicist vs. Marketing communications specialist
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.
Types of publicist
Updated January 8, 2025
