PUBLIC relations (PR), as an industry, is growing. While the industry worldwide (as represented in the Holmes Report’s annual Global Top 250 report) only reported 5-percent growth in 2015, we are expected to continue growing. According to the first Global Communications Report, a comprehensive survey of more than 1,000 senior PR executives around the world, the worldwide PR agency business will grow from its current estimated size of $14 billion to $19.3 billion over the next five years.
At the start of every year, it is always useful to take a close look at some emerging trends that have been identified by some PR and communication experts, and identify which ones will accelerate change in our practice of PR and propel us to grow even faster and further in the next few years.
In the last few years, we have seen how digital and social media have transformed the way people interact with one another, as well as the way they receive, curate and consume information and entertainment. Especially in both the local and US elections last year, we saw the massive psychological and sociological effect that social media carried over voters. Social media wasn’t just a place to seek out and share information, but a platform to support and reinforce their own political views or challenge those that oppose theirs.
This clearly underscores the fact PR must include this communication channel as one powerful tool for targeting and engaging audiences, for spreading news and information, and to shape and influence perceptions and opinions. It becomes even more important as Filipinos spend more time on social media than anyone else in the world—4.17 hours every day, as reported by the Digital Global Review by We Are Social and Hootsuite.
Thought leadership remains relevant
Digital and social media has given people access to a wealth of information, but the content that resonates the best with them is the ones that they find valuable, educational and engaging. That’s why thought leadership—when companies or their management position themselves as leaders or experts in their industries—has become key not only to business-to-business organizations, but even to consumer-product companies. Producing and distributing useful and relevant content that address their target market’s needs and concerns now become a foundation for a strong, expert and engaging brand.
More than that, this ensures they have a rock-solid reputation. According to Dorothy Crenshaw of Crenshaw Communications, “Today, consumer and business brands need to be seen as leaders and many have seen how an army of influencers can not only propel a business forward, but insulate reputation in the event of a reputation crisis. They must offer ideas and inspiration, not just great product and services.” Translated into PR, this means we must continue to focus on executive visibility and leadership and we must make sure that reputation management is built into every PR program.
‘Micro-influencers’ will grow stronger
Influencer marketing will become even stronger this year as more organizations and PR agencies leverage influencers not only as a distribution platform, but also as contributing content creators who talk about their brands, products and services in their own unique perspectives and voices.
However, PR experts must learn to identify authentic influencers who can actually connect with their followers and the target audiences, instead of just those with large social-media audiences. There will be less demand for celebrities or the overused and commercialized influencers because the public can now tell that these people are just being paid to be “voices”. Explore tapping “micro-influencers”—ambassadors who may not have millions in reach but who are more trusted within social, demographic and values-driven networks—and you may be rewarded with stronger engagement numbers and business results.
Live video continues to grow
Video has been a top trend for a number of years now and it will continue to grow, especially with its success on social media. A recent report from Cisco predicted 75 percent percent of the world’s mobile traffic will be video by 2020. For 2017, live video will also shake up the industry, with more and more platforms creating the capability to live stream. With Facebook Live, Periscope and, most recent, Instagram Live, you can broadcast directly onto social media and in real time, eliminating the need for costly production and time-consuming editing. Audiences also enjoy the raw, unfiltered content, as they see this as more real and authentic. It’s up to brands to carefully strategize and plan out their edited and live-video strategy and continuously execute creatively.
Content will be multiplatform and multichannel
It is no longer enough to rely on a single platform to promote your brand or company. With the countless platforms emerging in recent years, we will see less selling and more storytelling from PR to engage customers in the channels they are in. With audiences getting their news from a wealth of sources (publishers, social media, e-mail, messaging apps, etc.) through a wealth of devices (TVs, newspapers, magazines, phones, tablets and even smartwatches), the one-press-release-fits-all approach will not work. Related to this is content personalization, which uses customer data or behavioral insights to create not only offers and promotions, but brand customized content for distribution through social-media or e-mail channels. This means the role of PR practitioners must transcend their typical responsibilities; they must now also know how to develop content marketing, production and distribution skills.
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the UK-based International Public Relations Association, the world’s premier association for senior communications professionals around the world. Joy Lumawig-Buensalido is the president and CEO of Buensalido & Associates Public Relations.
PR Matters is devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your questions or comments to askipraphil@gmail.com.