Not long ago,  I changed jobs from being a Community Manager of a niche social networking site to being part of a team establishing the in-house press office of an existing organisation.

Are working in PR and Community Management actually that different?

There are 3 core practices that I think are integral to both:

1. Setting goals and measuring them

Whilst setting up a press office it has been vital to set ourselves realistic yet challenging goals. They’ve helped us to keep focussed in working towards realising the visions and values of the organisation. Setting targets like how many press hits we want to achieve and the different kinds of publications we want to achieve them in has motivated us to constantly strive to do more, to meet and exceed those targets.

A Community Manager also needs to set achievable goals. Looking at the number of interactions, return visits, and content added on a monthly basis will help you to understand which of the tactics you use to engage the community actually work. Being able to take a step back and objectively view how you are achieving your goals is vital for staying on target, and understanding how the work you are doing contributes to the work of the organisation as a whole.

2. Tailoring your message

Working in PR absolutely requires you to tailor the message you are sending out, dependent on what you are trying to communicate and who the audience is. Often that audience will be a journalist, who you want to write about your story – often understanding what would interest them specifically and why they would be interested in your story is the key to seeing your story end up in print.

When engaging an online community, it is often important to the members that they feel their experience with the community is a personalised one. Some communities will have the technology to personalise a member’s homepage so they see data relevant to them, but all will require the community manager to understand what the members are finding interesting and of use, and to continue tailoring what they add to the site to meet those adapting needs.

3. Building relationships

Perhaps the most important thing we have done in our first 6 months setting up a press office has been building relationships. Putting in the groundwork and spending time listening to and understanding a wide variety of stakeholders, including other teams and members of the organisation, press departments at other organisations and relationships with key trade media, has helped us in reaching our goals. I would absolutely call it one of the main priorities of a press officer.

A Community Manager’s bread and butter is building relationships. Whether that be between themselves and individuals or groups in the community, or supporting the growth in relationships between members themselves, this will be the main focus of the community manager when trying to reach their goals, because in online communities it is often those relationships which actually keep people coming back for more.

We’re delighted to announce that Impress London has sold out of tickets!

This means that while you may have missed out on a ticket, we will be opening up a waiting list in case there are some dropouts.

To get your name on the waiting list, simply email impress@brightone.org.uk and we’ll add you on.

If you were one of the lucky ones to grab a ticket first time round, but are now unable to attend, please let us know asap so we can give the ticket to someone who can make it.

Either way, it’s going to be a full house and a fantastic event!

Supporting Impress London will gain companies vital recognition and trust as delegates look for opportunities and careers within a rapidly growing and increasingly competitive industry.

Sponsors and supporters will gain:

• Valuable engagement of Marketing, PR and Communications students and graduates from London and beyond
• A wide range of opportunities to demonstrate products and get involved with relevant sessions throughout the day
• Strong and influential positioning within graduate job market and the wider PR industry
• The multiplier effect of exposure via our media partners and the event video reportage
• Inspiration from the people driving the leading edge of the PR industry

A range of packages and opportunities to support individual elements of the event. We have some innovative ideas to help companies achieve maximum value, so please download the sponsorship pack:

Impress London Sponsorship Pack (PDF)

Legendary kudos can be gained from supporting the event  itself or post event party. Lanyards, note books, competition prizes, and anything else we can devise together!

If you have any further questions about sponsorship or want to discuss opportunities available, please contact Ben Matthews at ben@brightone.org.uk

We’re delighted to announce Edelman UK as the host of this year’s Impress conference.

Edelman is the world’s largest, independent PR company – with over 3,200 people in 52 offices worldwide and 260 people in their London offices.

A big thank you to the whole team for letting us use their rooms for the day and we look forward to some interesting sessions in fantastic surroundings!

A one-day conference run by Bright One, the volunteer-run communications agency for the third sector, the event will be taking an in-depth look at what’s really going on in the PR industry and how you can become a part of it.

The event aims to help answer these questions and more:

• Have you got what it takes to make it in the PR industry?
• What skills do you need to learn and demonstrate to impress potential employers?
• Which sector of PR is right for you?
• What’s coming next and who is the ideal PR professional that agencies want to employ?

We hope to answer some of these questions and more in a lively atmosphere with a range of PR industry leaders in attendance. We will be bringing you speakers, panelists and participants from big brands and the PR industry and will give them a place to discuss, debate and give you a unique insight into the world of PR.

More updates will be coming soon, but in the meantime make sure you book your place!