What is the difference between communications and public affairs

Forging strong connections with the public is a fundamental component of business success. This is why public relations and public affairs matter.

Those in public affairs or public relations roles not only lay the groundwork for potential relationships to form but also nurture existing connections so they flourish and become solid partnerships driven by trust and loyalty. While public affairs and public relations work toward similar results, they are distinct roles.

As their names suggest, public affairs and public relations both entail interacting with the public. Public affairs relates to matters that affect the public directly, such as legislation or public administration. Public relations bridges the gap between the public and an organization. Because of this, public affairs roles typically align with noncorporate entities, such as government agencies or nonprofits, and public relations is commonly associated with the business sector.

These alignments tend to dictate the specific jobs that aspiring professionals pursue in public relations or public affairs. For instance, the business nature of public relations leads individuals toward corporate career paths, such as communications assistant, social media strategist, or marketing specialist.

Conversely, individuals interested in public affairs may pursue jobs more in tune with government or nonprofit entities, such as lobbyist, government relations monitor, or community affairs manager.

Professionals in public affairs and public relations aim to establish solid public relationships built on a foundation of trust. Without trust, the information shared might be ignored or not wholly considered. For businesses, this can affect their bottom line. For a government agency or nonprofit, it can harm its effectiveness in accomplishing policy goals.

Even though public affairs and public relations are different concepts, they share important traits. For example, individuals in public affairs and public relations positions rely on creating, developing, and executing campaign strategies that aim to elicit a specific public response. While definitions may not be the sexiest topic, I think it actually matters more than we think.

Understanding the work we do and the value we contribute is foundational to setting up expectations — an area fraught with difficulty for communicators and PR practitioners alike. Gini argues that there is really no difference between PR and communications — her definition for public relations includes everything from media relations, to stakeholder relationships, to reputation management, crisis communications, internal communications and social media outreach.

This would set up a potentially risky situation of unclear roles and responsibilities or disconnects between service delivery and expectation. Not to mention that lumping all of these external and internal activities in one undifferentiated bucket undervalues the unique skill set and focus of internal communications.

I would tend to use the terms public relations and communications very differently: in my mind, all public relations is communication, but not all forms of communication are PR. I appreciate Gini putting the issue on the radar as an invitation for practitioners to have this conversation and help refine how we define our work.

Another industry leader, Shel Holtz, has also recently done a lot of worthwhile work in this area, particularly focused on defining the scope for employee communications. For example, an internal newsletter or bulletin lets each employee know what is happening in each department, or alerts staff to any upcoming special visitors or events the organization has scheduled. Externally, you may do everything from writing annual reports to send to investors, to participating in community working groups for civic matters.

If you select a career in public relations, you will work closely with management in identifying, building and nurturing relationships between the company and various publics. Obviously good communication is inherent in this capability — both writing and speaking. This sole function is often referred to as media relations. Consider your strengths and what you enjoy when determining which educational or career path is more suited to your skills, experience or aptitude.

If you have experience as a journalist or enjoy understanding how the media work, public relations is a good fit — but you will need persuasive skills and the ability to verbalize well, in addition to keen writing. If you are better at writing than speaking, or have other creative skills such as graphic design or video editing, corporate communications is a better path.

A natural communicator is an invaluable resource for all internal and external communications.