Defining The Roles of PR Professionals and Their Partners

nity-manager-is-not”>a Community Manager is Not” – especially the comments – I started thinking about the grey areas between the roles of PR professionals and those under the departments and titles of

Community

Marketing

Social Media

In the post, Jen states

“‘Community’ is not marketing, support, PR, product, or communications, but it sure plays a role in all of them, and should have a seat at the table for each area in order to bring the voice of the user/member/participant to the forefront.”

So it could be said that

Marketing lets people know about the conversation

Public Relations sets the messaging

Social Media is the platform/location of these conversations

Community keeps the conversation going

Support answers any follow up questions

Creating conversations is also a part of sales, which Rick Rice has noted is quite similar to PR, but the term public relations and PRSA’s new definition (which I’ve discussed before) works for several roles under the areas noted above:

“…strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”

That may include facets of community, marketing, social media, etc.

Keith Smith recently noted in aHolmesReportpost that “…when you block out the white noise that surrounds the multiple channels in which we all operate, that we are coming to a confluence that places PR practitioners where they need to be; at the very heart of corporate and customer communications.”

Aren’t community, marketing and social media professionals at the heart of this communication as well?

As a fairly new industry professional, what I would like to know is:

How do PR and other noted industry veterans + HR and recruitment professionals distinguish the differences between roles under these categories?

I’d love your feedback.

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