Jordan Farbowitz
June 24, 2021 | 01:58:22
There are many skills that are valuable at a B2B (business-to-business) PR agency. Whether it’s that keen news sense or superb research chops, it’s important for B2B PR teams to master a diverse skill set and to have an aptitude for fast learning. Yet at many specialist agencies, some characteristics are more important than others. Here’s our nominations for desirable traits of a PR specialist who is focused in the B2B sector.
What’s the top priority of a PR specialist, if not making staying on top of the news? Without it, there’s nothing to track or pitch. Of course, this is true for nearly anyone on the front lines of public relations, but it’s more specialized in B2B. It’s why they’re always checking for updates, even off the clock.
Our B2B PR specialists track major media outlets and writers on Twitter, subscribe to scores of newsletters, buy analyst reports, and follow whitepapers on relevant topics. We also use monitoring services to catch breaking stories in areas of interest to client companies. On our team we’re following trends and breaking news in ad tech, digital security, SaaS, and more. Then there are the trends in our own PR and comms industry, so there’s plenty of information to digest.
Supply chain optimization PR? Monetization tech for convergent media? What about automated customer communications management for highly regulated industries? In B2B especially, understanding a given industry can require a deep dive. Not everyone comes in as an expert in, say, ad tech or cybersecurity, but after a thorough onboarding (and a few years of experience), it comes more naturally. Above all, it’s essential to understand the revenue model(s) of a given business, its competitive sector, and the problems and challenges they solve for their customers, because they can be quite complex.
Since many B2B PR agencies work in the tech space, they’re also fans of clients’ technology, and sometimes their best critics. You don’t need to be a programmer or a data engineer in this business, but it pays to be fluent in tech and to understand the rapidly accelerating cycles that drive the business economy.
Knowing how to create, interpret, and communicate research findings is an essential PR skill. Here again, it’s more detailed and specialized in B2B work. Familiar with the Gartner magic quadrants? Know how to synthesize market data in a single slide? Happy to structure a business customer survey to assess the value of key service differentiators? Then you’ll probably do well in B2B public relations. Data often drives news, so B2B PR requires expertise in interpreting it as well as creating it. We collaborate with survey and other market research partners to create relevant insights and fresh data for clients to make news, share with customers, or drive a leadership position in their sector.
A B2B PR specialist HAS to be an excellent, fast, and productive writer. Even in the age of Tik Tok, one of the most important parts of the job is producing clear and coherent content, especially if it’s about technical products or services. There’s a good reason for the cross-pollination between journalism and PR, because we produce a great deal of content, from press releases and bylines to pithy email pitches.
Yet there may still be a skills gap when it comes to quality writing. A Tech Marketing Council study shows that 62 percent of B2B tech organizations struggle to find writers who can deliver thought leadership content. Which leads us to the final trait on the list.
You’ll often hear B2B PR agencies promise to make key executives “thought leaders.” It’s true that tapping the expertise and point of view of a business principal or entrepreneur can be transformative for a business brand. But making a thought leader goes beyond excellent writing. It’s more than getting a client executive in the news. Real thought leadership is about harnessing the power of ideas, insight, innovation, and influence. Check out Richard’s post on PR tech and tools for thought leaders, or Dorothy’s original thoughts on how great thought leadership campaigns are made.