7 Traps Stopping You from Being a Press Officer.
“My belief is that communication is the best way to create strong relationships.” — Jada Pinkette Smith.
A lot of people cannot define what a press officer’s job is. This communication profession is in fact, easier to explain and to understand than we think. The press officer has to protect an organization’s public image, especially when it has a lot of attention through the new medias. It requires knowledge, training, and skills about social networking in order to effectively deal with events that may affect a company’s image.

Usually, there will be a lot of tough problems at first for those just starting their career in press or a related area. This, of course, will be not that easy to get over. What you are supposed to do is pay enough attention to them and try to avoid them as hard as you can.
You will find below, some advice according to experts of communication. These are some key points to consider when talking about things you should avoid.
- Information will be of no use in a jiffy

Young press officers should learn to be sensitive to the time, because there are a lot of things happening at once on social media platforms. Make sure you are able to catch up with the latest stories so the information you get is what the people need currently.
2. Don’t stick to traditional mode

In days gone by, it was easy to put media careers into neat categories, like broadcasting or printing. Today, newspaper reporters are forced to shoot videos for websites, and TV reporters are required to use Facebook or Twitter to post breaking news. Traditional media companies are having to learn how to build their brand on the Internet. Even writers have to learn how to create web-friendly headlines, and make sure their content is designed for SEO.
Setting NHK as an example, it used to only operate terrestrial and satellite television services, but nowadays it is extending its platforms to Facebook and some other online social media platforms. Traditional media is gradually losing its audience, which means it won’t be a brilliant choice if you just stick to traditional mode. As a press officer, you are also not just supposed to be limited to traditional mode. If you want to improve yourself and be more qualified for this profession, your mind has to be always open to new things.
3. Building your own social network takes time

Building your own social network takes time. Same goes for building your reputation. Its a marathon not a sprint. In order to build your own social network you have to get to know a lot more different groups of people, run in a lot more different circles. After that your words can be effective.
For this point of view, Logan Paul could be a great example as an American YouTuber and internet celebrity. Although his career has nothing to do with that of a press officer, things really matter are how he built his own social network. Paul’s television and film work includes guest appearances on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Weird Loners, and roles in films The thinning and The Space Between Us.
By the time he attended college, his youtube channel only had attained a modest following. As time went by, he had been trying to post more and more videos on different social media platforms. And in 2014, his career began to take off thanks to those videos posted on the vine, and he even dropped out in that year just to pursue a career as a full-time social media entertainer.
According to the date from wikipedia, by April 2014 he had attained 10500 Twitter followers, 361,000 Instagram followers, 31,000 likes on his Facebook page, and about 150,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel. Logan had spent 2 years on creating his fan base and even The Great Wall wasn’t built up in a day. As a press officer, the rules are the same. It takes both great time and efforts to build your own social network.
4. Official words sound cliché

Whenever you are writing articles or speaking in public, always be creative with the words that you use. Even though you have to professionally deliver your presentation, try your best to beautify your words. People tend not to pay much attention to a dull speech, but are likely to engage in interesting and humorous stuff.
5. Always be aware of fake news

Every moment there’s fake news in the air, which means it’s very common that a press officer would be faced with some crisis. If you are professional, you should know how to kill these fake news stories in time without any hesitation. Also, should you be cautious, be prepared all the time for stopping fake news, you are on the half way qualified.
6. You may have to deal with tons of stress

As a press officer, you should learn how to deal with your stress because deadlines dominate your world. You should be dealing with different personalities who want many different things and are highly demanding. When the client is in trouble, you have to rally quickly to put out lots of fires — again, crazily stressful times.
7. You may lose yourself

Choosing this job means you have to live a life that might vague your own individuality and ideologies. Too often you will end up trying to fit in rather than stand out. One has to compromise in order to work this out.
As with all jobs, there are great rewards to be won as well as significant sacrifices to be made when pursuing a career as a press officer. Bear these tips in mind so that you’ll find it easier to have a deeper understanding about this area or maybe get promoted in future!

