10 Essential Skills Communications Pros Need Today & Tomorrow

March 9, 2016

in CSC News,

College Sports Information Directors of America

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10 Essential Skills Communications Pros Need Today & Tomorrow

The list of 10 essential skills for future communications professionals applies to those in the corporate/agency industry. However, many of the points and skills listed below are also applicable to college athletic communications professionals.

See online: 10 Essential Skills for the Future of PR, by Arik Hanson via prdaily.com

A lot has changed over the past four years. In Internet years, that's an eternity.

In 2012, I wrote a post titled "10 skills the PR pro of 2022 must have." It was based on trends I'd seen with clients, tidbits I'd picked up in talking to industry friends and bits of information I'd stowed away from online articles and posts.

Here's a new list of skills for the PR pro of the future (with notes about what's been updated and deleted from that initial list in 2012).

Social advertising copywriting skills and an ability to manage social media advertising campaigns
Video and audio production skills
Ability to lead exploration of new media and tools on behalf of your organization
Ability to create effective social media content and manage social content systems
A deep understanding of traditional, digital and business analytics
Understanding how to produce reports that make sense to clients
Ability to develop a visual style for brands online
Ability to write clearly for external and internal audiences
Managing virtual teams and the ability to work effectively as part of a virtual team
Identifying and collaborating with influencers from Instagram to YouTube to bloggers

Calendar

Important Dates

All Events +

06/23/26
/
11:59 P.M.
M/W At-Large Academic All-America National Ballot Voting Deadline (NCAA, NAIA, College Division)

06/30/26
/
11:59 P.M.
M/W Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-America National Ballot Voting Deadline (NCAA, NAIA)

07/07/26
/
12:00 P.M.
W At-Large Academic All-America Announced (NCAA, NAIA, College Division)

07/08/26
/
12:00 P.M.
M At-Large Academic All-America Announced (NCAA, NAIA, College Division)

07/14/26
/
12:00 P.M.
M Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-America Announced (NCAA, NAIA)

06/07/26
/
All Day
2026 CSC Unite Convention in Las Vegas

06/08/26
/
All Day
2026 CSC Unite Convention in Las Vegas

06/09/26
/
All Day
2026 CSC Unite Convention in Las Vegas

06/09/26
/
11:59 P.M.
Baseball Academic All-America National Ballot Voting Deadline (NCAA, NAIA)

06/10/26
/
All Day
2026 CSC Unite Convention in Las Vegas

06/16/26
/
12:00 P.M.
Softball Academic All-America Announced (NCAA, NAIA)

06/16/26
/
12:00 P.M.
M/W At-Large Academic All-District Released; National Voting Begins (NCAA, NAIA, College Division)

06/16/26
/
11:59 P.M.
M/W Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-America Nomination Deadline (NCAA, NAIA)

06/23/26
/
12:00 P.M.
M/W Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-District Released; National Voting Begins (NCAA, NAIA)

06/23/26
/
12:00 P.M.
Baseball Academic All-America Announced (NCAA, NAIA)