So PR in Non Profits is where I would like to end up too. When I chose marketing as a possible degree path, I felt that as an outsider, with little knowledge on how marketing really works, the non-profit sector is where I’d like to ideally end up at, especially as they are all about giving back to the community.
Our lecture this week, demonstrated the importance of communications and public relations in the non-profit sector.
This includes developing and maintaining the fundraising side of this, using technology and social media outlets to extend the reach and ensure they are targeting a large variety of demographics. PR in nonprofits has also seen an increase in paid advertisements, this is largely caused by social media outlets and paid Facebook and Instagram adverts. Another PR aspect, is paying social media bloggers to advertise a particular fundraising event. This is also evident in fundraisers such as the Hospital Research Community Lottery, where they have Cosi from South Aussie with Cosi giving tours, and Lucy Cornes from She Shopped – another large Instagram based blogger, who has a following of over 50,000 people (She Shopped, 2017).
A point made in the lecture that I do feel and also agree with, is that that non profit PR is quite competitive. There are so many charities and fundraisers these days, that may confuse and put off potential targeted people, however I do feel that by doing things correctly, like the Hospital Research Community Lottery have done, they can have a point of difference. This is also evident with them selling out before the closing date, often within just weeks, as stated on their Facebook page.
Now to Government PR, something that does not fascinate me as much as non-profit PR (sorry for anyone reading this that is working in government PR at the moment, it is just not for me personally!)…
The lecture this week, showed that the primary focus for PR in the government sector is to encourage citizen support and co-operation. I feel that this is a simple back to basics with PR, where a lot of their focus is to maintain that brands reputation (Johnston, 2014). In this case though, they are trying to maintain the governments reputation.
This is a little different to corporate PR, as corporate PR is primarily dealing with large businesses who are not state or nation government owned. However, institutions such as Centrelink and the ATO would fall under government PR as they are all entities of the government. Johnston (2014) also says that often in government entities, PR teams will carry a variety of positions, starting at a junior level and going up to senior given the diversity of activities that the PR team may need to participate in.
Overall, this week has given me a clearer idea that non-profit PR, despite being competitive, is ultimately where I would like to end up. To know that I am giving back to the community and my organisation has the same morals of helping others out is where I would love to work.
Jemma's PR Blog 