Most people have heard of PR without being sure what it actually involves. Public relations is how organisations build, manage and protect their reputation, earning coverage and attention rather than paying for it.
From working with the relevant journalists to managing crises quickly and launching successful PR campaigns, PRs help brands earn trust and connect with the right audiences.
Today’s PR industry is fast-paced, creative and constantly evolving. One day you could be launching a new product, the next you might be pitching a story to the media, preparing a spokesperson for an interview or helping a brand respond to breaking news.
PR goes beyond media coverage. It combines media relations, digital communications, thought leadership and reputation management to support wider business goals.
If you’re thinking about a career in public relations, wondering what the job actually involves, or just curious about the industry, this guide covers what you need to know. We’ll explain what PR is, why it matters, what the role looks like day to day, and five practical steps you can take to get started.
Key takeaways
- PRs shape what a brand says and influence what others say about it.
- PR differs from advertising because it earns attention through credible stories and media relationships rather than paying for space.
- A PR professional’s week can include writing press releases, pitching to journalists, preparing spokespeople, planning campaigns and responding to breaking news.
- There is no single route into PR. A degree in PR, communications or journalism helps, but practical experience, strong writing and genuine curiosity matter more to employers.
- Today’s PR is judged on outcomes rather than coverage volume – website engagement, share of voice, sentiment and lead generation all count.
- Most PR teams use a media intelligence platform that combines media database, media monitoring and reporting solutions all in one place.
What is PR (Public Relations)?
Quick answer
PR is the practice of building, managing and protecting an organisation’s reputation through strategic communication. Unlike advertising, it earns attention through credible stories and journalist relationships rather than paying for space. A modern PR role covers media relations, thought leadership, reputation management and measurement.
The word “reputation” is doing a lot of work in that definition. It covers what an organisation says about itself, what journalists and customers say about it, and the gap between the two. PR is the job of narrowing that gap.
Unlike advertising, where businesses pay for space to promote their products or services, PR focuses on earning attention through credible, engaging stories. This could mean securing media coverage, arranging interviews, sharing company news or creating campaigns that get people talking. The aim isn’t just to generate headlines, it’s to build trust and create meaningful connections with the audiences that matter most.
Today’s PRs do much more than work with journalists. A modern comms role usually covers:
- Media relations – pitching stories, building journalist relationships and securing coverage.
- Thought leadership – positioning spokespeople as credible voices in their sector.
- Reputation management – monitoring media coverage so issues are caught while they are still small.
- Measurement – proving what the work achieved, not just that it happened.
PR has evolved alongside technology, with digital platforms, data and AI helping teams identify trends, monitor coverage and measure results more effectively. While the tools have changed, successful PR still relies on creative storytelling, strong journalist relationships and earning trust.
PR vs advertising
| Aspect | Public relations | Advertising |
|---|---|---|
| Who controls the message | The journalist. You pitch, they decide what to write | You do, word for word |
| What it costs | Time and relationships. The placement itself is free | A media spend, priced by reach |
| Why people believe it | A third party chose to write it, which reads as endorsement | Everyone knows you paid for it |
| How long it lasts | Indefinitely. Coverage stays searchable for years | As long as the campaign is funded |
| How it is measured | Coverage, sentiment, share of voice and message pull-through | Impressions, clicks and conversions |
| Where it goes wrong | The story never runs, or runs on an angle you did not choose | The audience scrolls past it |
Why is PR important?
Quick answer
PR matters because reputation is built by what other people say about you, not what you say about yourself. Coverage a journalist chose to write about carries credibility that paid advertising cannot buy, which is why PR supports awareness, trust and long-term growth at the same time.Your reputation can change overnight as news travels quickly, social media amplifies conversations and audiences expect organisations to be transparent and authentic. A strong PR strategy helps organisations respond to opportunities, manage challenges and maintain trust when it matters most.
PR also supports wider business goals. A successful campaign can:
- Increase brand awareness with the audiences you are actually trying to reach
- Position spokespeople as thought leaders in their sector
- Drive website traffic and generate qualified leads
- Build share of voice against competitors over time
Rather than simply securing media coverage, today’s PR focuses on creating measurable outcomes that support long-term growth. As the industry continues to evolve, PRs are increasingly using media intelligence tools to identify trends, understand audiences and demonstrate the value of their work.
What do PRs do?
Quick answer
PRs find the story, find the right journalist, and prove it worked. A typical week can include writing press releases, pitching journalists, preparing spokespeople, planning campaigns and responding to breaking news. Most teams do the first half in a media database and the second in media monitoring.
In practice that means a lot of moving between tasks. No two days are the same. You might write press releases, pitch journalists, prepare spokespeople, plan campaigns or respond to breaking news while working closely with marketing and leadership teams.
A big part of the role is understanding what makes a story newsworthy. Journalists receive hundreds of pitches every day, so PRs need to identify the right media contacts, tailor their approach and provide information that is relevant to each publication’s audience. Building strong relationships with journalists takes time, but it’s one of the most valuable skills you can develop in the industry.
PRs also research the media landscape, monitor coverage and measure campaign performance using media databases and media monitoring tools to identify opportunities and demonstrate impact.
While technology and AI are becoming part of everyday PR, they don’t replace the human side of the profession. Creativity, curiosity and strong communication skills remain at the heart of successful public relations. The best PRs know how to spot a great story, build lasting relationships and communicate with confidence.
What tools do PRs use?
Quick answer
Most PR and comms teams use a media intelligence platform rather than a stack of separate tools. A media database helps you find and reach the right journalists. Media monitoring tracks the coverage that follows and proves what it achieved. Knowing what these do, and being able to talk about them, will help you in an interview.
The examples below come from Roxhill’s media intelligence platform, but the categories are the same whichever one you end up using. Being able to talk about them in an interview will make you far more useful in your first PR role.
- Media database – holds journalist profiles, beats and contact preferences, so you can find the right people to pitch and build targeted press lists instead of sending the same release to everyone.
- Media monitoring – tracks brand, client and competitor mentions as they are published. Smart Folders sort coverage automatically by campaign, spokesperson or keyword, and a Slack integration pushes relevant mentions straight into the channel your team already works in, which matters when a story is moving quickly.
- Press release tracking – once a release goes out, a press release tracker shows which journalists opened it, who clicked through and what coverage followed, so you can report on results without tagging articles by hand.
- AI-assisted research and analysis – AI tools built into the platform take on the manual work: labelling the tone and themes of every mention, pulling a daily news stand of relevant national coverage, and giving you pre-pitch research on a journalist’s beat, recent bylines and preferences before you write a word.
These tools move quickly, so it is worth keeping an eye on the latest product updates to understand how the tools PRs rely on are changing.
What is an example of a successful PR campaign?
Treatwell - “No Shame in Being Type B”
What happened?
To launch its international booking service, Treatwell needed a reason for journalists to care about a feature announcement. It commissioned research through OnePoll, surveying 2,000 UK adults, and set the results against its own booking data. Over half described themselves as planners, but 47% of appointments are booked within 24 hours, this is a gap between how people see themselves and how they actually behave.
How did Treatwell respond?
On 22 July 2026 a “beautician brigade” lined the Gatwick Express
concourse at London Victoria, one of the UK’s busiest summer departure
points, with signs reading “You forgot your pedicure. We didn’t.” The
timing and the location were both deliberate: peak getaway week, in front
of exactly the travellers the data described.
Why did it work?
The stunt gave picture desks an image and the research gave reporters a story, so the same campaign worked for consumer and trade media at once. It ran in LBB Online and PBL Magazine, and the survey was syndicated to national outlets through 72Point. The product feature was never the pitch, it was what the story happened to be about.
How do you start a career in PR?
Some people study PR or communications at university, while others move into the industry from journalism, marketing or completely different careers.
What matters most is developing the right skills, gaining practical experience and showing employers that you’re genuinely interested in the industry. Employers are looking for curious, proactive people who can communicate well, think creatively and build strong relationships.
If you’re ready to take the first step, here are five practical ways to kick-start your PR career.
5 steps to starting your PR career
1. Master essential PR skills
Success in PR depends on strong communication, creativity and relationship building skills. Developing these core skills will prepare you for a fast-paced industry.
- Build strong relationships: Develop your communication skills and learn how to build lasting relationships with journalists, clients and colleagues.
- Strengthen your crisis communication skills: Understand how organisations respond during challenging situations and how clear, timely communication can help protect a brand’s reputation. Our crisis communications playbook walks through what to do in the first hours and the ninety days after.
- Develop digital PR skills: Familiarise yourself with digital PR, social media, content marketing and AI tools to understand how today’s communications landscape is evolving.
2. Gain hands-on experience
Practical experience helps you build confidence, strengthen your portfolio and stand out to employers. Internships, volunteering and personal projects all show employers you’re ready for the industry.
- Complete internships or work placements: Gain first-hand experience by working with a PR agency, in-house communications team or marketing department. Our list of the top PR agencies in London and the UK is a good place to start looking.
- Volunteer your skills: Support charities, community groups or small businesses with their communications to build practical experience.
- Create personal projects: Start a blog, write about PR campaigns or develop your own campaign ideas to showcase your creativity and writing skills.
3. Build your personal brand and professional network
Building your network can help you learn from others, discover opportunities and stay up to date with the communications industry.
- Develop your personal brand: Share industry insights, inspirational campaigns and professional achievements on platforms like LinkedIn.
- Attend industry events: Go to networking events, webinars and conferences to meet relevant journalists and PRs to expand your knowledge.
- Join professional communities: Become a student or early career member of organisations such as the CIPR or PRCA to access resources, events and career support. The CIPR is the UK professional body for individual PR practitioners, and the PRCA is the trade association for PR agencies and in-house communications teams.
4. Stay informed with industry trends
As PR changes quickly, knowing what’s happening in the industry can help you make your pitches sharper and your interviews better.
- Read the trade press: PRWeek, PRovoke and Press Gazette cover campaigns, agency moves and what’s happening to the journalists you’ll be pitching.
- Follow the journalists you want to work with: Read their recent work before you pitch to them. Journalist profiles pull together their beat, recent bylines and how and when they prefer to be contacted, and Roxhill’s Journalist Assistant lets you ask what angles they’re taking and how to frame your story for them. That homework is the difference between a pitch that lands and one that gets deleted.
- Learn to spot a trend before it peaks: Media interest in a topic rises and falls, and timing a pitch to that curve matters as much as the pitch itself. Trend analysis tools show when coverage of a keyword spiked in previous years, so you can plan around it rather than react to it.
5. Develop a strong work ethic and adaptability
Being organised, adaptable and able to work under pressure will help you meet deadlines and build a reputation as a reliable PR.
- Manage your time effectively: Learn how to prioritise tasks, meet deadlines and manage multiple projects at once.
- Develop your problem-solving skills: Stay calm under pressure and be prepared to adapt when plans change or unexpected situations arise.
- Pay attention to detail: Check your work carefully to ensure every press release, email and campaign reflects the organisation’s brand and reputation.
Build these skills, get hands-on experience, stay close to how the industry is changing – and you will have everything you need to build a successful career in public relations.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to build a career in PR?
There’s no fixed timeline for building a PR career. Many people secure entry-level roles after a degree, internship or work placement, but developing your skills and industry knowledge is an ongoing process.
What qualifications do I need to work in PR?
A degree in PR, communications, journalism or marketing can help, but it isn’t essential. Employers also value practical experience, strong communication skills and genuine enthusiasm for the industry. Being comfortable with the tools of the job helps too, so it is worth understanding how a media database and media monitoring fit into a PR’s week before your first interview.
How do I deal with a PR crisis?
Act quickly, but don’t panic. Have a crisis communications plan ready before you need it, agree clear holding messages and keep stakeholders informed as the situation develops. Be honest, take responsibility where it’s warranted, and use media monitoring to watch coverage and sentiment in real time so you can judge how your response is landing.
What are some essential PR strategies for beginners?
Start by understanding your audience and what your organisation is genuinely able to say that is new or useful. From there, find the right journalists for each story, build relationships with them over time and keep your pitches short and relevant. Digital PR – search, social and content – should sit alongside traditional media relations rather than replacing it.
How important is having a professional online presence?
A professional online presence helps you build your network and showcase your interest in PR. LinkedIn, and a portfolio or blog can demonstrate your skills to potential employers.
How can I improve my PR writing?
Strong writing comes with practice. Write press releases, blogs and social media content regularly, and read trusted industry publications to understand what makes a story newsworthy. You can also attend our in-person and online events with leading journalists, where you can hear first-hand what, how and when to pitch.
How important is creativity in PR?
Creativity is central to PR. Developing a campaign or pitching a story, original ideas are what help you capture attention and stand out with both journalists and audiences.
How do you measure the success of a PR campaign?
PR success depends on its objectives. Alongside media coverage, PRs measure metrics such as website traffic, audience engagement, share of voice, sentiment and lead generation to demonstrate campaign impact. Most of that work happens in media monitoring, which catches relevant coverage as it appears and measures it, while a press release tracker links each release directly to the coverage it generated, along with opens and click-throughs.
MEDIA INTELLIGENCE YOU CAN TRUST
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MEDIA INTELLIGENCE YOU CAN TRUST
We’re with you, every step of the way
One login. Multiple solutions.
Roxhill’s all-in-one media intelligence platform will save you time, highlight your impact, and drive your business forward.
Click a product to explore its features.