The PR industry means different things to different people.
Depending on development in technology or your unique industry, public relations can be handled in any one of a dozen different ways.
What never changes, however, is that every year brings a slew of huge developments to the world of PR. And 2018’s shaping up to be a big year.
Join us, today, as we take a look at five of the biggest issues in the world of PR right now, and how they look set to develop over the course of the next year.
Media Fragmentation
We live in an age of skepticism, especially when it comes to news and media outlets.
With so much talk being directed towards ideas like “fake news” and bipartisan news sources, the big question on everybody’s lips is “Who can you trust?”
In 2018, make sure the answer is “You”.
Keep in mind, as the internet has grown over the years, it’s become easier to get information from sources that match your exact ideology. You can’t be everything to everyone, so be reliable, be consistent, and be useful.
The Evolution Of Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing focuses its energies on influential people, instead of traditional target markets. Having become popular over the course of 2017, it’s been derided by certain PR and media companies for rewarding wealth instead of good ideas.
While many brands might not stop pushing influencer marketing, expect to see a shift towards more authentic campaigns, as well.
Artificial Intelligence
Has there been a year in the last decade when AI wasn’t the next big trend in any industry?
2018 is set to be another banner year for artificial intelligence in the PR industry. Data science is already a big part of how we predict consumer interest, and machine learning is at the heart of it. Voice intelligence, meanwhile, continues to improve and looks likely to feature in media relations more and more.
Expect high-end PR offices with stronger marketing goals to continue earning on exceptional work in 2018.
PR Value, Stacking Up Against Social Media
One of the biggest problems with modern PR is the idea that anybody with some social media knowledge can be a PR consultant.
As marketing departments have latched onto this concept, they’ve also begun to ratchet down their budgets.
Expect to see high-end PR offices with stronger control over their marketing commanding bigger paychecks for better work in 2018.
The Big Question: Paid or Earned?
Editorial content, PR, and advertising that suffer from a lot of crossover, at the moment.
Paid placement, where advertiser listings are guaranteed to appear in search results, is a popular option. That said, there’s some disagreement as to whether it’s viable in the long term, as users have been slower than expected to take it up.
Earned PR refers to media outlets and other parties referring to your brand based on their own impressions of your services. This means positive publicity, engaging stories, and profile pieces. The attraction with this type of PR is largely that it comes across as less artificial than paying for mentions.
Whichever direction the market takes in 2018, expect to see more of this debate.
Discover Better PR Industry Insights, Today
Public relations is a living, breathing thing. Always changing, year after year.
Whatever 2018 has to offer, we’re excited to experience it with you.
Interested in learning more about how you can use improved PR techniques to improve your business? Check out our other PR blog pieces, or get in touch to hear about our search engine optimization, social media management, and web design services.
