It seems like every time I tell someone I’m a communications account coordinator, they either nod their head in tune with a short, confirming comment that ends the conversation, or they ask, “what even is that?”

When I was in college, the overall perception of communications was that it was just an easy major people chose when they didn’t know what to do and that it wouldn’t be beneficial. I didn’t major in communications, so I can’t speak to how easy the college courses are (and I’m sure it varies depending on the person and school), but I can tell you that communications involves a wide variety of marketing, content creation, planning, writing, media and social media skills. This means that a communications major could prepare you for a variety of careers and that communications professionals can come from all backgrounds and skill sets.

Take me, for example. I majored in fashion management with a concentration in brand management and marketing and a minor in journalism (people said the same critical things about my major), and now I work as an account coordinator at a PR agency. My major and my career may not seem to line up, but in reality, I learned a lot of skills in my marketing, consumerism and journalism classes that prepared me for my career in communications.

What does a communications agency do?

As a full-service, strategic public relations and marketing communications firm that focuses on blending traditional communications and social media, Clairemont offers a variety of services, including:

• Content Strategy and Creation
• Communications Strategy and Corporate Positioning
• Community Relations
• Crisis Communications
• Event Planning and Execution
• Executive Thought Leadership
• Internal Communications
• Media Relations, Publicity and Promotions (Traditional & Social)
• Message Development and Spokesperson Training
• Professional Award Writing
• Social Media
• Writing and Editing

What does an account coordinator do?

As a communications account coordinator, my job is to help clients communicate their brand, values and products to customers, employees and the public by executing strategic communications plans that help our clients meet their goals.

That sounds pretty vague, so to put it bluntly, every week I am responsible for roughly:

• 1-2 client blog posts
• 1-2 client articles
• 2-3 client Facebook posts
• Facebook community engagement
• 1-2 company blog posts
• 1-2 company social media posts on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
• 1-2 client calls, or more, if needed

Every month I am responsible for:

• Creating and shooting content for Facebook
• Creating monthly trackers to report what we did for our clients that month
• Updating blog calendars with new ideas
• Maintaining awards calendars

And we also have short-term projects or unplanned projects that pop up throughout the year. Other tasks I perform as an account coordinator include:

• Sourcing influencers and creating campaign guidelines
• Assisting in the process of naming organizations and writing corresponding taglines
• Designing strategies, campaigns and content plans for clients
• Writing and pitching news releases
• Writing video scripts
• Vetting and documenting speaking opportunities
• Creating reels
• Writing award entries
• Drafting LinkedIn posts

… and pretty much anything else our clients need! But that’s what I love about working at an agency – getting to work on a variety of projects and using my wide range of skills every month. There’s always something new and exciting waiting around the corner, and I can’t wait to find out what our next project will be!

In need of someone to up your communications, media or social media game? Learn more about our services here and contact us!