Community Relations Manager Vs Public Information Officer

The differences between community relations managers and public information officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a community relations manager and a public information officer. Additionally, a community relations manager has an average salary of $71,899, which is higher than the $56,725 average annual salary of a public information officer.

The top three skills for a community relations manager include patients, medicare and business development. The most important skills for a public information officer are press releases, web content, and community outreach.

Community relations manager vs public information officer overview

Community Relations ManagerPublic Information Officer
Yearly Salary$71,899$56,725
Hourly rate$34.57$27.27
Growth Rate8%8%
Number Of Jobs32,850129,237
Job Satisfaction--
Most Common DegreeBachelor's Degree, 77%Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average Age4242
Years Of Experience44

What does a Community Relations Manager do?

Community Relations Managers take care of the company's relationship with a specific community. Often, they are employed by a nonprofit organization, and they take care of the community that the organization serves. They are in charge of coordinating with community leaders to identify the people's needs, creating programs that would address these needs, and raising funds for their projects. Community Relations Managers oversee the implementation of the company's community projects. They manage the project's budget and workforce allocation. Community Relations Managers ensure that the good relationship between the company and the community is maintained at all times.

What does a public information officer do?

The primary job of a public information officer involves the promotion of a positive public image on social media. Public information officers offer significant information during a crisis. They collect facts and distribute them to the media and organize special events like awards ceremonies. Typically, they work for large organizations and government agencies. They maintain their online presence that can be part of the duties of public information. Also, they can work for long hours on an irregular schedule, especially when the incidents or situations affect the organization.

Community relations manager vs public information officer salary

Community relations managers and public information officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Community Relations ManagerPublic Information Officer
Average Salary$71,899$56,725
Salary RangeBetween $47,000 And $107,000Between $38,000 And $83,000
Highest Paying CityWashington, DCFairfield, CA
Highest Paying StateNew JerseyDelaware
Best Paying CompanyNVIDIACity of Fairfield
Best Paying Industry-Professional

Differences between community relations manager and public information officer education

There are a few differences between a community relations manager and a public information officer in terms of educational background:

Community Relations ManagerPublic Information Officer
Most Common DegreeBachelor's Degree, 77%Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most Common MajorBusinessCommunication
Most Common CollegeStanford UniversityNorthwestern University

Community relations manager vs public information officer demographics

Here are the differences between community relations managers' and public information officers' demographics:

Community Relations ManagerPublic Information Officer
Average Age4242
Gender RatioMale, 30.5% Female, 69.5%Male, 43.7% Female, 56.3%
Race RatioBlack or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 74.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 5.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 75.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage16%16%

Differences between community relations manager and public information officer duties and responsibilities

Community Relations Manager Example Responsibilities.

  • Manage social networking, such as Facebook.
  • Plan and execute project grand openings and manage all social media platforms (Facebook/Twitter )
  • Manage the creation and display of both user-generate and resort-developed videos for YouTube.
  • Maintain strong working relationships across all departments to manage successful on-site opportunities, content and multimedia asset development and spokesperson requests.
  • Provide a strong database of community, affordable housing and economic development opportunities for bank to meet CRA goals.
  • Provide continuing education to patients and families regarding palliative/hospice care services and placement options.
  • Show More

Public Information Officer Example Responsibilities.

  • Manage agency's social media pages (Facebook/Twitter).
  • Manage multiple websites and associate SEO; direct all brand photography to publicize and promote the resort.
  • Serve as college spokesperson managing crisis communications.
  • Lead implementation of a robust membership database to support organization strategy and decision making.
  • Interview featured alumni, manage copywriting staff and editorial calendar, and coordinate photography.
  • Create and maintain the college's blackboard intranet site.
  • Show More

Community relations manager vs public information officer skills

Common Community Relations Manager Skills
  • Patients, 19%
  • Medicare, 10%
  • Business Development, 8%
  • Community Events, 6%
  • Health Fairs, 5%
  • Local Community, 5%
Common Public Information Officer Skills
  • Press Releases, 16%
  • Web Content, 10%
  • Community Outreach, 5%
  • Press Conferences, 4%
  • Graphic Design, 4%
  • Emergency Operations, 4%

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