PR Pros: Greta Snell On The 5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career As A Public Relations Pro
Engage in strong communication and writing, both internally and externally. Communication is at the foundation of solid client, colleague and media relationships. As PR pros, we must be able to communicate effectively and often with all different parties. You can be concise but more frequent to ensure your account teams and client contacts are always in the know. As far as writing, everything we do derives from strong writing — pitches, strategies, content, social, you name it. If you can write well and in many styles, you are halfway there.
Have you seen the show Flack? Ever think of pursuing a real-life career in PR? What does it take to succeed in PR? What are the different forms of Public Relations? Do you have to have a college degree in PR? How can you create a highly lucrative career in PR? In this interview series, called “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career As A Public Relations Pro” we are talking to successful publicists and Public Relations pros, who can share stories and insights from their experiences.
As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Greta Snell.
Greta has more than a decade of experience in public relations and strategic communication and serves as the Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Dittoe Public Relations, a national PR agency based in Indianapolis. As an agency leader, she supports business strategy and planning while also managing strategic PR campaigns for clients across all industries — from restaurant and retail to higher education and healthcare.
Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I’ve been a writer and newsie my entire life. Even as a kid, I’d write newsletters about what our family was up to and send them to my grandparents who lived further away. Ultimately, I enjoyed telling stories just as my paternal grandfather did as the editor at his local paper for many years. I found my way into a journalism class in high school and eventually pursued a journalism degree. During college, I found my place in PR classes where I could marry my strategic thinking more readily with my love for telling stories and connecting with people. Through internships and explorative networking, I landed a post-grad internship at my current agency and am proudly still with them today as a vice president.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company?
These kinds of questions always induce a certain kind of blank page in my brain! However, I will say that in the last 12 years, I’ve been able to experience all sorts of interesting things — from running red carpet events and chauffeuring celebrities around to writing about topics far above my level of expertise. I’m constantly challenged in agency PR. There are no limits to what we can do and learn. I love that no matter what my role is within the agency or how long I’ve been in the industry, I will always be learning. No client, experience, media outlet, and so forth are the same.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
We pride ourselves on personalized and individual pitches to heavily research media contacts. Yet, sometimes the pressure and urgency of our work can get the better of you. While I can’t recall a specific incident, every time I made a typo — especially inserting the wrong name — in a pitch, I immediately had a pit in my stomach. I learned the importance of efficiency and productivity as well as attention to detail early on in my career. You have to be quick but also accurate.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
My favorite part about agency PR is that no two days are ever the same and working at an agency that doesn’t pigeonhole itself into one industry or client type means that’s even more true. I thrive in organized chaos, it’s one of my greatest strengths and greatest faults (just ask my husband!). In one day, I could be attending a fun feature segment with a client at a local TV station while coordinating a national interview for another. I might write a fun blog post and pivot to a technical thought leadership byline on behalf of a CEO. While it’s easy to think the most exciting projects are the flashy clients on the roster, the reality is that ideal clients come in all forms and the most ideal clients are often the ones you least expect to be.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Servant leadership is integral to every position within our agency. We lead from this place of stewardship over emphasis on position or self. We emphasize empathy, foresight, awareness and other key attributes. By doing so, we can connect with our peers and clients in ways many only dream of. I also embody a yogic mentality. As a yoga teacher and avid practitioner, I strive to bring a high level of intentionality and mindfulness to my work, from communication to execution. This keeps me, my teams and my clients more grounded and focused on end-goals.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. For the benefit of our readers, can you help articulate what the different forms of PR are?
One of the biggest misconceptions is that public relations is just like marketing. It’s not, but they work best when they are integrated together. Same with social media marketing, which is another core service of Dittoe PR. My career is rooted in media relations and earned media — storytelling at its core — which is critical to a strong PR strategy. Additional forms of PR come with content creation, thought leadership campaigns, community relations and more.
Where should a young person considering a career in PR start their education? Should they get a degree in communications? A degree in journalism? Can you explain what you mean?
The most common pathways we find are degrees in journalism or English. Writing is one of the most powerful skills you can bring to PR. If you can write well, you can excel rather quickly in PR. From pitch writing to technical writing, we must be versatile in the way we craft content. However, I will say that PR is very experiential. If you have the soft skills — strong communication, results-driven work ethic, etc. — and eagerness to learn, you can learn the tactical side with time. I’m more than a decade into my career, and I’m still learning. It’s a wonderful thing!
You are known as a master networker. Can you share some tips on great networking?
Be confident and assertive in how you communicate with people. Enter conversations and meetings with the belief that you deserve to be a part of the conversation and have a seat at the table. Even as someone who hovers between being an extrovert and an introvert, I believe in the power of connection, and I exude that in networking situations. Confidence in yourself takes you far.
Lead generation is one of the most important aspects of any business. Can you share some of the strategies you use to generate good, qualified leads?
Results-driven work generates the best kind of leads. So much of our business is by referral and introductions that stemmed from quality experiences with our team. Similarly, even cold leads are often won based on proven track records with current or former clients. Do good work and you’ll find the correlation is high in business development growth. Another is to know your worth and stand firm in that. Our business grew exponentially when we started owning our worth externally with prospects.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career As A Public Relations Pro” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
It’s hard to focus only on five, but if I were to be very selective, here are my top five:
- Have guts, tenacity and confidence to get the job done. PR moves ultra-fast, so we have to be assertive, persistent and eager to challenge ourselves to make bold moves.
- Engage in strong communication and writing, both internally and externally. Communication is at the foundation of solid client, colleague and media relationships. As PR pros, we must be able to communicate effectively and often with all different parties. You can be concise but more frequent to ensure your account teams and client contacts are always in the know. As far as writing, everything we do derives from strong writing — pitches, strategies, content, social, you name it. If you can write well and in many styles, you are halfway there.
- In an agency setting, you are expected to “work with a sense of urgency.” It’s a mindset though, as we understand not everything is urgent. However, a couple ways this mindset applies are to always reply to client, media or partner communications in a timely manner and consider all projects important in their own right. Everything works together, and if left untouched for too long, the opportunity might pass us by.
- Strategic and critical thinking. We are often tasked with problem solving or the need to adapt in order to move the needle in the right direction. The ability to think strategically or critically on client topics, tactical execution and more are crucial to success in PR.
- Know how to present solutions not problems. Be resourceful, anticipate questions, weigh options … and communicate solutions alongside any challenges you need to address.
Because of the role you play, you are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I mentioned earlier that I’m an avid yoga teacher and practitioner. When I began practicing yoga 10 years ago, it positively affected all areas of my life, including professionally. When I completed my yoga teacher training four years ago, it boosted my leadership skills and public speaking. Growth can come from experiences you don’t always expect it to — and I’m indebted to yoga for so much personal growth that, by extension, supported me professionally too. That is why, if I could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, it would be collective and daily meditation in motion… by everyone. If everyone took even 10 minutes a day to meditate and/or move with intention, I absolutely believe the world would be a better place. This practice clears the mind and allows you to make better decisions, have better perspective, lead by a better example and so much more.
This was really meaningful! Thank you so much for your time.
PR Pros: Greta Snell On The 5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career As A Public… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.