The demand for PR specialists is predicted to grow by 6% by 2033. However, working in a remote PR team means moving quickly and staying flexible in a fast-paced world. Meaning, when news breaks or trends shift, you can’t wait around. You need strong systems, sharp talent, and the right tools to keep things running smoothly.
But how do you make that happen while managing remote teams? Are you finding the balance between quality work and keeping things efficient?
It’s a challenge, but it’s not impossible. With the right hiring tactics and some smart workflows, you can build an agile team that’s ready for anything.
This guide dives into practical ways to hire and keep great talent. You’ll learn how to create high-quality content quickly, simplify media outreach, and make the most of AI tools to stay ahead of the curve. Let’s get to it.
Create High-Quality Content, Fast
In the PR industry, creating content that resonates is no easy task. Tight deadlines, brainstorming blocks, and juggling multiple projects can make the process stressful. Add in the complexity of working with a remote team, and it’s easy to feel like you’re falling behind.
However, AI tools come super-handy for this. Platforms like AgilityPR can help you stay ahead by offering tools to create smarter workflows and generate content faster. With Agility PR you can:
- Create content drafts (in minutes, cutting hours from your writing process).
- Optimize your content (for tone, style, and SEO to make it more impactful).
- Automatically translate content (ensuring it’s ready for global audiences).
So, creating content drafts fast with AgilityPR means your team can skip the blank-page struggle. The platform uses AI to generate initial drafts for articles, press releases, and social media posts, giving your team a solid starting point to build on.
Then, you can optimize content in a simple way too. Your team can analyze the content for tone, readability, and keyword usage, ensuring your message is clear, impactful, and aligned with audience expectations. This means less time revising and more time focusing on strategy.
Finally, you don’t need to spend time and resources on translation of content. You can do it automatically with AI, connecting with global audiences without the hassle of manual translations. AgilityPR’s AI tools provide accurate and culturally sensitive translations, so your message stays consistent, no matter the language.
Simplify Reaching Out to Media Contacts
Once you’ve nailed your content, the next challenge is getting it in front of the right people. Yet, reaching out to media contacts can feel like finding a needle in a haystack. It’s one of the biggest pain points for PR teams, and when you’re working remotely, it’s easy for outreach efforts to fall through the cracks.
But, it doesn’t have to be that way for your team!
Nowadays, AI tools can make this process faster and more targeted. Some tools can analyze your content and match it with journalists who are likely to care about your story.
Instead of your PR team manually researching and building lists, they can sort potential contacts based on relevance and past engagement. This saves time, and improves the way your team operates. By a lot!
What’s more, your team can even personalize the media pitches more effectively. There are platforms that allow you to analyze journalists’ previous work, and craft messages with AI that stand out and actually get opened. With fewer generic emails and more focused efforts, your outreach success rate will be significantly higher.
Use AI to Monitor Brand Mentions
Tracking your brand’s media presence can feel like chasing shadows for your team. But, with an AI-enabled media monitoring platform, your team doesn’t have to guess where your brand stands anymore.
They can use it to pull in every article, mention, and trend, giving you a complete view of how your brand shows up in conversations and headlines. (Yes, even the obscure ones.)
Also, your PR team needs to pay attention not just about what’s being said but also how. Let’s say you have 200 brand mentions over a month. If they analyze every brand mention separately, it’ll take a huge portion of their time!
However, there are tools that analyze sentiment, audience engagement, and even how likely a mention is to drive action. Your team can use them to get quick, actionable insights! This is super helpful to know if a trend is worth jumping on or when to respond strategically to coverage.
With a platform like Agility PR, it’s also super simple to set up a dashboard that works for your team’s specific needs. Customize it, keep it interactive, and skip the one-size-fits-all reports. Your team will stay informed and ready to act fast.
Keep Up With Keyword Trends on Social Media
Staying on top of keyword trends is vital if you want your PR efforts to stay relevant (and impactful). Social media moves fast, and conversations can shift in minutes. By tracking the right keywords on LinkedIn, X, or Facebook, you’ll know what your audience cares about, what they’re sharing, and what they’re ignoring. This helps your team spot opportunities and avoid missteps in your brand messaging.
Tools like Twitter Analytics or Google Trends can give your team a clear picture of popular topics, hashtags, and phrases that drive engagement in your niche.
But, AI-powered platforms make this process even easier. They can track social media engagement patterns, benchmark your performance against competitors, and offer insights that turn raw data into action. For instance, AI tools can flag emerging trends early, helping your team fine-tune your messaging before your competitors catch on.
Make Learning and Development a Priority
Keeping your PR team sharp means investing in their growth. Trends shift quickly, and so do the tools and strategies that drive effective campaigns. You need to continuously offer training opportunities for your crew. This way you’re helping your team keep up, but also showing them you care about their professional development (and that matters!).
A well-trained team adapts faster and delivers better results.
You can start with reputable courses like HubSpot’s PR and marketing certifications or LinkedIn Learning’s communication-focused modules. Some organizations, like PRSA, offer workshops and resources specifically designed for public relations professionals.
Look for programs that teach both foundational skills and emerging technologies, because you need both to succeed.
Make the process simple. Identify gaps in skills by surveying your team or reviewing past performance. Set clear goals for training, track progress, and encourage peer sharing. When you prioritize learning, you build confidence and expertise across your entire team.
Attract and Keep Top PR Talent
After exploring ways to boost your team’s agility, it’s time to focus on the backbone of your PR success: talent. Without the right people, even the best strategies fall flat. Attracting skilled professionals and keeping them engaged is all too important, especially in a remote setup.
Hiring for PR means finding people who thrive under deadlines, communicate clearly, and can adapt when the unexpected happens (because it always does). You need to build a team that stays motivated and grows with your organization. The better your hiring process, the better your results.
But once you’ve hired them, how do you make sure they stick around? Offering development opportunities, flexible work policies, and meaningful work is a start. Let’s get into details.
Use a Hiring Platform
Sorting through resumes, scheduling interviews, and managing paperwork (especially for global teams) can turn into a logistical headache. A hiring platform simplifies the process by giving you tools to post jobs, review candidates, and even track the entire hiring funnel in one place.
If you’re hiring internationally, using an Employer of Record EOR service can help. They handle compliance, payroll, and tax regulations across different countries. Reputable platforms like Multiplier or Remofirst make this process a breeze. But, before you get to use one, make sure you read a review to make sure it’s a good fit.
Candidate Skills to Look For
When hiring for your PR team, the right skills can make all the difference. Look for candidates who are excellent communicators. Both written and verbal.
And this goes beyond polished emails. They should be able to adapt their tone to match different audiences, from media contacts to clients. Strong research skills are another must, as PR pros often need to dig deep into trends and industry insights.
But how do you spot these qualities? Interviews alone might not cut it. Include a test task that mirrors real-world scenarios, like drafting a press release or identifying relevant media contacts for a campaign.
Pay attention to how they approach feedback on these tasks. Flexibility and attention to detail are just as important as the final product. And don’t overlook soft skills like adaptability and teamwork. Ask about times they handled unexpected challenges or collaborated on tough deadlines.
Pro tip: Make these tasks specific to your team’s needs. If your campaigns focus heavily on data, see how well they can translate statistics into compelling stories. The right mix of skills and attitude will set them and your team up for success.
Use AI to Screen Resumes
Sorting through resumes can take hours, but AI tools can cut this time significantly. Software like Workable, Greenhouse, or Pymetrics scans applications for keywords, qualifications, and experience levels, giving you a shortlist of top candidates faster. This doesn’t mean you lose control. You can customize filters to prioritize qualities important to your team.
AI also helps you identify patterns. For example, if most of your successful hires have experience with crisis communication, you can make that a priority in your screening process. And if you’re worried about bias, many AI tools now include features to reduce it, focusing solely on qualifications and skills.
Use AI as a first step, but always follow up with personalized interviews to get a complete picture of each candidate. Combined with the right hiring tactics, these tools save you time without compromising quality.
Embrace Strong Company Culture
Your team’s culture sets the tone for how people work, connect, and grow together. In a remote setting, this matters even more. You can’t rely on casual chats in the office, so you need to be intentional about creating a culture that supports collaboration, respect, and trust.
Research by Anker Huis shows that working remotely is closely tied to employees emotional well-being, with 52% of employees reporting high levels of stress, isolation, or burnout. Start by making communication easy and frequent. Regular video check-ins, shared team goals, and a little humor can go a long way.
Then, celebrate achievements, both big and small. Whether it’s closing a deal or completing a tricky campaign, take a moment to acknowledge the team’s effort. You could send out virtual shoutouts, offer small perks, or even host online events. Think fun, not forced. Actions like these show you care and build a sense of belonging.
Most importantly, stay true to your company’s values. People want to feel their work aligns with something meaningful. Be open about your mission, listen to your team’s input, and treat them like equals. A good way to keep goals visible and easy to track is by integrating a visual management software into your daily operations.
Last but not least, small things, like allowing flexible schedules or giving space for creativity, show that you value them as individuals. Conducting a workplace culture survey can provide valuable insights into how employees perceive the current environment and highlight areas for improvement.
Wrap Up
Building an agile remote PR team takes effort, but the results are worth it. You can’t settle for old methods anymore. Instead, you need to focus on sharpening workflows, hiring top talent, and tapping into tools that make a difference.
With clear communication, a culture of trust, and smart use of AI, you’ll empower your team to tackle challenges confidently. Every step you take to strengthen your processes and people adds up. Ultimately, you have the tools to succeed. What matters is how you use them. Build your team with care, stay flexible, and prioritize growth. The results will speak for themselves.
