10 PR Training Courses

The core of your PR team’s duties is to write and send press releases to the media to keep them informed about your products and services. Teach them about the process of writing news that will appeal to the masses with the help of this Mitti (by SafetyCulture)’s course, The 5 C's of Writing News for Mobile Audiences.

This public relations training specifically focuses on the process of writing news articles to be served to mobile audiences. Because, like it or not, people nowadays are more likely to read news on their smartphones than in newspapers. It discusses in detail the “5 Cs” of effective mobile news writing – conversational, considerate, concise, contextual, and chunky. Learning these writing techniques can help your team turn complicated, high-level information into simpler language. It also includes tips on how to structure punchy headlines and easy-to-digest content that their audience can easily pick up.

This Mitti (by SafetyCulture) technical writing training course was based on the science of microlearning. The course lessons are distributed in short bursts, focusing only on one topic at a time. This makes training PR teams easier since they can easily complete their training in minutes, not days or weeks.

• Scope: The “5 Cs” of effective mobile news writing, ways to simplify high-level information, tips to structure punchy headlines

You might want to consider enrolling your new team in Coursera's Introduction to Public Relations and the Media Specialization if they have little to no experience with public relations. This course will give them a foundational understanding of the field, including the principles and theories relevant to the practice, and the origin and trends affecting the industry. They’ll also learn how to work with the media and create necessary collateral crucial to building your brand’s reputation, like writing a press release and collecting media contact lists. Your team will earn a certificate after completing the course and the required hands-on project.

• Scope: PR principles and theories, origin and trends relevant to practice, how to work with media, how to create media collaterals

Part of the responsibilities of PR specialists is to handle a company’s crisis communication strategy and make sure there’s a seamless plan in case a crisis hits them. PR Academy created its course on Crisis Communication Diploma to help PR teams gain a deeper understanding of the different types of crises and how they can negatively impact a company. A course instructor will also guide your team through different influencing strategies to avert a crisis through scenario planning exercises.

The course package includes online lessons, live workshops, tutorials, and access to their  online library. The only thing to take note of about this PR training course is that it’s not free and comes off as a little pricey.

• Scope: Different types of crisis, ways crisis can affect a company, how to avoid a crisis

Social media is the best platform to generate publicity and reach a wider audience, which is why your PR team should know how to use it to create a powerful PR campaign. Help your team roll with the punches of social media with Mitti (by SafetyCulture)’s Social Media and Electronic Communication course.

In this PR training course, your team will get to explore the power of social media platforms and how they help businesses market their brands to a wider reach. They’ll be guided through different strategies to secure effective social media engagement, like taking advantage of some platforms’ free social analytics, using a consistent tone of voice, and creating content that matters to the public. It also includes some social media etiquette and social customer care tips that your PR team should be familiar with to prevent any social media issues that might end up affecting your brand image.

This social media course is specifically designed for retail employees. But if your business falls under a different industry, you can always use Mitti (by SafetyCulture)’s course authoring tool to edit the content and change some processes that are specific to retail. You can also add some instructional strategies like game-based quizzes, a course timer, or a leaderboard to make the learning experience for your team more fun and exciting.

• Scope: The power of social media platforms, strategies to increase social media engagement, social media etiquette, social customer care tips

Mitti (by SafetyCulture)’s Social Media Policy is a good follow-up course after taking the Social Media and Electronic Communication course. It can be your team’s guide to make sure that they’re not violating any social media standards when promoting your business and building brand awareness online.

This PR training program unpacks social media policies and guidelines, which your PR staff should know by heart. It tells them what they can say or do online, as well as how to respond to crises through digital means. It also emphasizes the importance of protecting company information to prevent the risks of hacking and data laws. The last part of this course talks about basic social media etiquette, followed by a helpful guide on how to handle personal social media accounts at work and how to do it like a pro.

Mitti (by SafetyCulture) used creative and interactive elements in this course, like animated graphic designs, games, and quizzes to make sure that PR specialists remained engaged while taking this training. It’s an effective way to combat the boredom commonly associated with learning and instead make it a fun experience for your team.

• Scope: Social media policies and guidelines, how to protect company information, basic social media etiquette, professional handling of personal social media accounts

PA Training’s Effective Press Release Writing is geared toward helping PR professionals write effective press releases that work. It explores the process of writing clear and readable news in the right format and using storytelling to get into the mind of its audience. There’s also a rundown of some useful tips on how to deal with journalists and successfully sell press releases to them. The final section focuses on methods for connecting with the media and ways to spread the brand's message to a large audience online, such as tweeting links and including bullet points in emails.

It will take about seven hours to complete this course, which is delivered online through Zoom.

• Scope: How to write press releases that work, storytelling news format, tips to deal with journalists, how to connect to media, using online channels to spread the news

Anyone looking to learn the ropes of building a successful PR campaign can greatly benefit from the PR Campaign Planning course by Chartered Institute of Public Relations. This PR training course explains how to pull off an effective PR campaign from scratch. Then, it proceeds to discuss how to set precise campaign objectives, conduct research, and use the findings to develop creative concepts. Your team will also gain a solid understanding of the importance of evaluating the effectiveness of their PR campaigns.

The course materials include lectures, case studies, useful tools, and templates. For higher learning engagement, your team will also get to join some group activities where they can share experiences with other PR specialists and use the skills they’ve learned.

• Scope: Creating PR campaigns from scratch, setting PR campaign objectives, the importance of conducting research and evaluation of PR campaigns

The PR Training Academy is also a great place to learn more about planning and creating effective PR campaigns and events. Their course on Creating Amazing Events delves into the process of running successful events, from planning the venue to creating a guest list and sending invitations. It also includes some tips on how to associate the media with such events, making sure that they’ll make enough noise and effectively reach the masses. Purchasing this PR training course will give your team access to learning materials they can study anytime and anywhere. They’ll also receive a certificate upon course completion.

• Scope: Planning the venue, building guest lists and invitations, associating media to events

PR events are great, but sometimes, they can draw very large crowds. Guide your team on how to handle big events or product launches with the help of Mitti (by SafetyCulture)’s Crowd Management course.

This PR training course goes over the step-by-step process of planning and preparing for big events, like hiring security, assigning a person who will respond to potential emergencies, and setting up lines. It also shows your team some strategies and techniques during an event to make sure that everyone in your event has a safe and good experience. Additionally, your team will learn how to communicate with the participating customers and monitor them through wristbands or raffle systems.

Even with all the preparation and precautions in place, accidents can still happen. This crowd management training course shows your team how to respond to emergencies and alert local law enforcement in case something bad happens.

This course follows self-paced learning, allowing your team to decide when and where they’d like to learn more about crowd management. It can also be accessed by pretty much any gadgets they prefer, like smartphones, tablets, and laptops.

• Scope: Planning and preparing events, strategies during an event, handling emergencies