What do PR and Podcasting have in common? Actually, a lot

By: Dani Lirette, Account Supervisor

On the surface, it may seem like public relations and podcast production have nothing in common. Sure they both fall under the communications umbrella, but what else? With invested experience in both fields, I have found many ways the two interlap and contribute to one another. Whether you are interested in PR or podcast production, these five key points may spark inspiration in your career journey. 

• Brainstorming

The communications field often demands creativity, and there is no exception for PR and podcasting. In PR, professionals get to brainstorm campaigns for their client or ways to garner earned media. For podcast production, new episodes are always coming out which calls for  constant ideas. Spot On!,the health and wellness podcast I produce, is targeted to college students, so I brainstorm topics that would interest my friends and peers. 

• Editing

Although the type of editing may differ between PR and podcasting, this step cannot be ignored in either. In PR, editing your written work is essential. Grammar needs to be top tier or your client will lose trust in you as a professional. The stronger your pieces of writing, the better your credibility will be in PR. Podcasting requires editing of audio. In the same way as PR writing, it needs to be smooth and have no mistakes, or you will lose the trust of your audience. Perfection is expected and anything less will not be tolerated in both industries. 

• Working with a client 

The client is the first priority when working in PR and in podcast production. The client is at the center of every decision in PR. Remember, you are representing their brand so everything must go through them. With podcast production, you are framing the way your client is perceived. It is your job as the producer to make sure their words are represented accurately. In both cases, words cannot be spun, because honestly and transparency are the most highly valued qualities. 

• Spreading the word

Public relations is, on a basic level, getting more positive attention for your brand. To do this, you need to spread the word to raise awareness with the hope of convincing customers to buy or use your product/service. In podcast production, success is in the numbers. The more plays and downloads your podcast gets, the higher it gets on the charts and the more sponsors become interested. 

• Going above and beyond

Above everything else, you must go beyond the work expected of you to stand out. Taking the extra hours to perfect your writing or editing skills shows commitment to the client and consumers. When granted the role of producer for Spot On!, I took the job seriously and devoted a lot of time perfecting the craft. Because of this Spot On! now has 17K downloads and climbing in our second season. 

These five parallels laid out provide proof that two unrelated careers can share so many key qualities. Doing both PR and podcast production has led me to discover the many overlaps that exist within the communications industry. Both fields value diverse knowledge and creative thinking, and I am so excited to continue growing and learning more.