IN last week’s column we tried to answer the letter of Katherine, who is in corporate communications and is always looking for new ways to improve herself. She was asking about the PR trends for 2016, which we answered in last week’s column.
In the article “5 PR Trends to Look Forward to in 2016,” Seth Arenstein listed the following:
- Smart storytelling = avoiding content pollution
- Content marketing will reach saturation point
- PR’s measurement tech bubble will burst
- A good man or woman will be hard to find and pay
- The rising importance of video, mobile, good writing and engagement
We also mentioned that we would have another column on how we can improve as public-relations persons in 2016.
Indeed, after knowing these trends, what can we do to become better PR practitioners in 2016?
“With public relations being the discipline that never slows down, many PR pros have already taken stock of the many innovations of 2015 with a careful eye toward how these trends will continue to evolve in the coming year,” Mark Renfree said in an article for PR News.
He said, “while there are still some technologies and strategies that aren’t available to every communicator—budget, talent, time and C-suite considerations are still a hurdle for many communicators—every PR pro can take a few small steps in the New Year to improve their work and prove their value to clients and bosses.”
Renfree listed “Four Small New Year’s Resolutions for Success for 2016” that PR practitioners can blend in their daily routine and keep them on top of the game:
1 Pick up the phone. When sending out your media materials, it will be good to keep in mind that incorporating multimedia and making your releases visually appealing plays an important part in increasing your pickup.
More important, Renfree said it may be a good idea to go back to basics and pick up the phone. This year “take the time to pick up the phone and give a reporter a ring,” he said. “It may not be as easy as an e-mail, but you can be sure they heard your pitch and you go a long way to build a proper relationship with the reporter.”
2 Publish smarter, not more. Renfree observes that “we’re hitting a saturation point in terms of branded content, especially in social media. Algorithms are changing to push overly commercial content away from everyday users, which makes organic reach even harder to achieve.”
With that, it’s no longer about how active your brand is; it’s about doing what PR does best—building relationships with audiences by satisfying a need and solving problems. The more you put its values behind your content, the less you’ll have to publish to achieve the same engagement.
3 Ditch data mining for enlightened interpretation. Measurement was one of the hot topics in 2015. With all the software and technologies available to gather an almost endless stream of numbers—think likes and followers—the question now, said Renfree, is “so what?”
Instead, he suggested that we “put more thought in the data you collect; work on refining your interpretation skills to really excel in 2016.”
4 Embrace video. With video viewing increasing, especially in social media, it is time to embrace it. “There are so many options out there—from cost effective to cost prohibitive—that many communicators should a least consider its use in 2016,” Renfree said.
This year “it will be less about having the production budget of a Michael Bay movie, and more about finding the right platform and video content to fit your budget. If you’re cash-strapped, but have a decent social following, give Periscope or Snapchat a try. There are plenty of ways to create compelling video without a large investment.”
We would like to add another resolution for 2016, for which we were inspired by an article by Bill Murphy in Inc.com: Be optimistic. Every New Year, after all, is all about hopefulness and confidence in the future, and “we can resist pessimism, assert control and learn to appreciate setbacks as what they really are—opportunities.”
Here are some of his suggestions on how to make it happen in his article “Essential Habits of Highly Optimistic and Positive People: Lessons for 2016.”
Prune your social-media accounts. “We spend a lot of time on social media now,” said Murphy, “and it affects our positivity for better or for worse.”
His advise: “Take stock and prune—especially when we’re talking about media and organizations. Unfollow social-media feeds that routinely post negative thoughts, and follow more positive people and organizations instead.”
Write letters of gratitude. “Gratitude is the strongest predictor of well-being,” Murphy said. “One practical exercise you can do to boost gratitude is to write a real, meaningful gratitude letter to someone every few weeks.”
Ask whether someone is just trying to rile you up. “Outrage is the new funny,” Murphy said. “Many organizations’ social-media goal is to make a post, a picture, or video go viral—and even more than humor or inspiration, outrage goes viral.”
If you want to become more optimistic, “think before you react online, and understand that a lot of riles up now exists for that purpose, prompting you to share it and contribute to the domino effect of pessimism.” Also, in organizations, stay away from those who constantly complain and try to get your opinion about another person. They are dangerous, and don’t be quoted.
Find a supportive community. Spending time “with supportive people who share our passions can help us be happier in the moment, and more optimistic about the future,” Murphy said. When “I” is replaced with “we,” illness becomes wellness.
Hard work defeats failure. If we want to feel more hopeful about the future, “sitting back and obsessing about our most recent failure isn’t going to get us there,” Murphy said. “Instead, when we commit ourselves to a task at hand, it shifts our mental focus from the failure to the mission—and carries positivity with it.”
Serve others. “One of the most practical ways to be more hopeful about the future is to realize that you can make a difference in people’s lives,” Murphy said. “By focusing on helping others, we gain the added benefit of increasing our own levels of happiness and optimism.
In the end, “it doesn’t matter how nice our clothes are, the car we drive, or how many square feet our house is,” Murphy tells us. “Far more important is the quality of social relationships we have in our life. Invest time and energy to build strong relationships with others. Those relationships will help us all to be more optimistic about the year ahead.”
After all, relationships are what being a good PR and good person is all about.
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the UK-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior professionals around the world. Millie Dizon, the senior vice president for Marketing and Communications of SM, is the local chairman.
We are devoting a special column each month to answer the reader’s questions about public relations. Please send your comments and questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.