Being a PR professional or running your own agency can be an awesome gig, but we all need a shoulder to lean on at times – whether it’s to get advice on best practices, learn the best ways of dealing with a crisis, or just to network and make connections.
But which online PR and communications communities provide the most value for professionals looking to make inroads?
As luck would have it, we’ve tabulated a list of some of the world’s most vibrant online PR communities below. We focused mostly on LinkedIn groups along with a few other great communities not on the social platform.
Let’s dive in.
The Top PR and Communications Communities on LinkedIn
There are a ton of industry groups on LinkedIn, and the PR industry is no exception. Here’s a sampling of some of the most vibrant and valuable PR communities on the professional networking site.
Note: We’ve ranked these communities in order according to membership numbers, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Group X is qualitatively better than Group Y.
Public Relations and Communications Professionals
Founded: 2008
Membership: 485K+
Admin(s): Alex Clemens, Jason Overman, Warren Logan
Moderated by members of Progress Public Affairs in California’s Bay Area, at nearly 500,000 members Public Relations and Communications Professionals is by far LinkedIn’s largest PR and comms professional group. While the large member base can be a huge bonus when asking questions of the community, it also means the group can sometimes get a bit spammy.
PR Professionals
Founded: 2008
Membership: 131K+
Admin(s): Niveen Saleh, Clear Communications Co.
PR Professionals is an excellent LinkedIn community that tends to have higher member engagement and quality of posts than many other groups, with posts regularly receiving dozens of reactions and comments. There are plenty of examples of PR pros reaching out to colleagues for advice, job and freelance opportunities, and professional development/thought leadership webinars and articles.
PR Daily
Founded: 2011
Membership: 96K+
Admin(s): Amy Urban, CMO; Silvia Pittman; Kimberly Egan, Ragan Communications
PR Daily is one of the communications industry’s most trusted media brands, so it’s unsurprising that one of LinkedIn’s most happening PR communities is run by the same folks. This group focuses mostly on comms-related news and discussions, but it also discusses the latest and greatest comms tools, platforms, events, and conferences.
Public Relations Professionals
Founded: 2008
Membership: 79K+
Admin(s): Richard Williams, comms strategist
Founded back in 2008 to share PR and communications-related ideas and best practices, Public Relations Professionals is run by Richard Williams of Connect2 Communications in Wake Forest, NC. It features a rich group of nearly 80,000 members discussing everything from boycotts of beer brands to highlights of their own work, although member engagement can be a bit thin at times.
Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR)
Founded: 2009
Membership: 41K+
Admin(s): Alex F., CIPR; Liam Taylor, CIPR; Elena Badulescu
Managed and moderated by the U.K.-based Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), this community-led discussion forum for PR practitioners is meant to facilitate knowledge sharing and spur debate across a range of issues across PR, comms, and reputation management.
The Public Relations Forum
Founded: 2008
Membership: 34K+
Admin(s): Steven Spenser, PR professional
The Public Relations Forum lays claim to being “LinkedIn’s oldest and largest fully moderated and spam-free PR group” with more than 34,000 international members. The group says it doesn’t accept every membership request, instead evaluating each prospective member by screening their professional credentials. But it should be noted that most groups on this list don’t automatically accept requests to join.
Posts are also not automatically published – definitely a good thing, considering the amount of spam posts that can show up in some LI groups. The group says all posts are reviewed for relevance and compliance prior to publishing.
PRNEWS Group
Founded: 2009
Membership: 26K+
Admin(s): Danielle Sykes, Associate Publisher; Nichole Schuman, Senior Editor; Megan Sigg, Marketing Manager, Access Intelligence
The PRNEWS Group is run by the publication of the same name. It was designed to facilitate better connections and idea sharing around topics such as crisis management, media relations, social media, media measurement, employee relations, writing, and media training. The group puts a particular emphasis on improving the skills of its members in these areas.
Public Relations, Corporate and Media Community
Founded: 2009
Membership: 16K+
Admin(s): Ray N., Globee Awards; San Madan, Globee Awards
This group focuses on fostering connections between PR, marketing, and advertising professionals. It is run by representatives of the Globee Awards, an awards program aimed at business and technology-related categories.
PRWeek US
Founded: 2009
Membership: 9K+
Admin(s): Steve Barrett, PRWeek VP; Tracie Palmer, Haymarket Media senior director; Rob McKinlay, Haymarket media head of audience engagement
Run by the publication of the same name and launched in 2009, PRWeek on LinkedIn is a space for PR pros to network, stay updated, and learn the latest tips and best practices, along with staying current on new content from one of the PR industry’s leading trade publications.
Other PR and Communications Communities
Valuable PR and comms communities aren’t just on LinkedIn, of course. Here’s a sample of some of the other great online neighborhoods you can explore as a PR and communications professional.
IABC
The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) hosts The Hub, an online community of PR professionals that’s perfect for online collaboration, peer-to-peer networking, and knowledge sharing. PR pros regularly take to The Hub to ask questions and receive solid feedback from their industry peers around the world.
Profitable PR Pros
Some great PR and comms groups are also on Facebook, and Profitable PR Pros is one of them. Founded by Jen Berson of Jeneration PR – which gets our vote for best agency name ever – this group focuses more on the business end of PR, including content on how to launch and scale your PR and comms business.
PR Council (PRC)
The U.S.-based PR Council is slightly different than most organizations on this list, in that it accepts companies – typically agencies – as members, rather than individuals. It currently provides business intelligence, best practices advice, networking opportunities, and professional development programs for its more than 130 member PR agencies.
PR Couture
PR Couture has existed for more than 15 years and was acquired by Jeneration (the agency owner of Profitable PR Pros, above) in 2022. It calls itself “the industry-leading platform for communication professionals ready to lead with authority and get paid accordingly,” and, just like Profitable PR Pros, focuses on helping members build their businesses and careers. Advice from PR Couture is tailored to three types of visitors: The agency owner, the PR professional, and the neophyte.
Spin Sucks
Initially conceived as a blog back in 2006, Spin Sucks has evolved into a full-fledged PR community made up of agency leaders, digital media professionals, marketers, strategists, and other comms and marketing professionals. Members can sign up to get advice from industry experts, get freelance or agency referrals, and learn more about the organization’s “PESO Model” (an integrated comms approach that’s an acronym for Paid media, Earned media, Shared media, and Owned media).
Women in Public Relations
Another Facebook group, Women in Public Relations is a Canadian organization focused on providing a platform “for women in PR to raise their visibility,” developing solutions to gender inequality, and closing the gender pay gap.
The Weekly PR
A Substack newsletter with more than 2,000 subscribers, The Weekly PR offers a hand-picked – one even might say human curated – batch of the latest and most impactful PR news from the week. It’s curated by Bethanie Durham of North Agency.
Whichever group you choose to join, we’re sure you’ll find value from being exposed to a hive mind of like-minded professionals willing to share expertise, experiences, and knowledge.
Don’t see a group you particularly love on our list? Give us a shout and let us know.
