Clown.

Some people may think of PR professionals as “flappers” or “clowns (or so I have been told this week.)They don’t see the behind the scenes work, and think that the news magically appears on reporters desks. The public sometimes thinks that our only purpose in a company is to speak to them when something goes wrong.

Although calling us clowns seems distasteful, in some ways it’s true. We juggle, a lot. There is always something that needs to be updated, sent out, or created. A campaign is always being created, tweeked, measured or changed and a company always tries to respond to its customers.
That’s where we come in.

We are constantly deciding which medium is the best for our market. Do we take on Twitter? What about Facebook? A blog? Once that question is decided three or for more pop up. Who is going to update them? How often? How are we going to respond to comments?

Juggling social media is not our only task. Along with getting Google Alerts with comments from Facebook, we write press releases, fact sheets, backgrounders, position papers etc. for reporters. Do we get credit? No, but that is not the point. We all know when a story we helped with airs, and that little smile comes across our face.

Along with the daily multi-tasking of social media and helping create news, we must keep our clients and the stakeholders informed. Newsletters get written and sent out, conference calls get made and meetings with power points get presented.

Looks to me like we are juggling.

Lets add in another clown-like trait, tight-rope-walking. There is a fine line in Public Relations. Not only between what is ethical and what is not, but how to keep your personal life and work life separate. With social media, keeping comments to yourself do not exist, especially if you choose to put them online. Many people have lost their jobs for saying something inappropriate or posting a picture online.

It may not be painted in clown makeup, but PR professionals have a smile painted on their faces, epically during a crisis. We are responsible for getting the news to you, the public during difficult times. Even if that makes us upset, mad, angry etc. We have to put on a normal face, to talk to you.

We also have big shoes to fill. The people who have practice PR well have set the bar high for soon to be graduates. You may not know their names because they have not been in the news, and they are not famous like Charlie Sheen, but they handle situations with class and grace. Their shoes are like clown shoes to me. Maybe one day I will be able to fit into them, but at first young PR professionals might be awkward and trip or stumble.

So you see, when people call us clowns to them it may be an insult. I respond by saying yes: I juggle every day, I also can walk a tight rope, wear a smile and have big shoes to fill. In a way, we are clowns, it just depends on your perspective.