Photo by Maxim Potkin ❄ on Unsplash
Matias Rodsevich (CEO of PR Lab in Amsterdam) predicts the top 3 trends PR practitioners should take note of this year includes human-centric movements, fake news predominance and understanding the multiple media channels and their environment.
1. Human-centric movements
The first emerging trend is a shift from people capturing singled out events, to now creating human-centric movements. This transformation focuses on human experiences (be it in the digital world or real world), which helps to keep a cultural connection to the world around us. Globalization does not stop forming despite the pandemic and this trend secures the acceptance of different cultures, cohabitation and engagement with audiences in new ways and in real-time.
This gives PR the great opportunity to have a real impact on the target audience.
More ideas are born, which are data-driven and backed by the use of technology, which increases the reach of these ideas. What is more, the two-way communication that some platforms offer are perfect for responses and striking fruitful back-and-forth communication that will certainly lead to an improvement in the process of PR campaigns. Human-centric movements are a strong and steady trend that’s being practiced more and more and is an even greater opportunity for PR strategies to prosper and PR specialists to follow.
2. Authenticity in The Midst of Fake News Predominance
In the era of information, it is no longer a battle of who will get access to the most information, but rather who will get access to the right sources. Authenticity is a key metric for the success of a brand, and in that sense, a key trend that is nurturing the industry. PR specialists need to make sure that brands have an authentic voice, whether they truly believe in what they stand for, keeping in mind that everything promoted about a brand needs to be checked.
This urge for fact-checking is a tool to separate the legitimate brands and websites from the ones that have hidden incentives. If a slip-up is made, the audience will notice, and their response can severely damage any attempt at expanding a brand’s presence online.
Authenticity is a by-product of two key areas: growing use of AI and the pandemic leading to a shift in content marketing.
Technology aids us in learning more about our target audience than ever before, but there is a dissociation. PR experts are still needed to secure that a human connection is made, one that AI cannot replicate. That way brands will personalize their messages and content in general and do so in a way that is much more authentic.
The pandemic led to a shift in many directions we did not expect. The change in branding, messaging and content overall has made the audience, in the form of consumers, burnt. They are now more critical and suspicious of information, because of the abundance of fake news and misinformation that exists in the online space.
This is why authenticity has been called for and brands need to make sure they go the extra mile for that. Otherwise, consumers will be unforgiving in the event of non-authentic content.
3. Follow Various Channels to Identify Media Opportunities
This trend of being aware of the various media channels is now more important than ever and there is a plethora of channels to be aware of. As previously mentioned, authenticity is a driving factor for audiences. They have become sensitive to any piece of information, content, or other story that feels insincere, and are prone to being frustrated from the deception that occurs when falling into the trap of “fake news”.
A way to ensure authenticity is to pay attention to as many channels as possible. This will help in singling out the ones that are more trustworthy and credible and will additionally secure PR experts in the credibility of their own pieces of content.
The more media channels you keep an eye on, the more you can identify credibility in those platforms and the more credibility you will have in your own work. What is more, you will be able to secure more media opportunities. From the right journalists, for the right content.
So it is important to pay attention to media channels because they are the opportunities you will have to spread the right content at the right places with the needed credibility and authenticity, which will secure the engagement of your audience.
For more trend predictions by Matias, please visit prlab.co.
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