2023 will undoubtedly be a year to remember, albeit hopefully not nearly as much as the ones we’ve all just been through. Add this to ongoing changes in consumer behavior, the persistence of remote work schedules, and global threats like the growth of fake news and misinformation on social media platforms, which will still be a continuous battle for everyone in the industry.
Similar to other fields, Public Relations (PR) is continually changing and necessitates adaptation to new technologies and trends. After a projected recession in 2022, brands across all industries have had to adapt, evolve, and pivot to fulfill forthcoming PR trends and get their sales in the spotlight. So to know if your brand is ready, here are some of the PR trends we foresee becoming more prominent in the coming months:
- Media outlets will depend increasingly on contributed articles.
With the rise of digital media and social media platforms, traditional media outlets have experienced declining revenues and shrinking budgets. This has led to a reduction in full-time staff and resources as media companies seek to cut costs and adapt to the changing landscape.
As a result, media outlets may increasingly turn to contributed articles as a way to fill their content needs without incurring the costs of hiring full-time staff. Contributed articles, also known as guest posts, are pieces of content written by external writers and submitted to media outlets for publication. They can be a cost-effective way for media outlets to access high-quality content on a wide range of topics without having to employ a large team of full-time writers.
Yet, it’s worth noting that contributed articles are not a panacea for the challenges facing the media industry. Media outlets still need to ensure that the content they publish is accurate, relevant, and engaging, regardless of who writes it. They also need to maintain high editorial standards and ensure that contributed articles meet these standards.
It’s possible that media outlets may rely more on contributed articles in the future as they seek to adapt to the changing media landscape. Moreover, this is just one of many strategies that media companies may use to stay competitive, and the industry is likely to continue evolving in response to new challenges and opportunities.
- Quantifying the effects of PR on the company will be simpler.
It has previously been challenging to calculate the return on investment for B2B PR operations.
Outlets can provide statistics such as their monthly unique visitor count, ad impressions, etc., but that doesn’t truly provide the comprehensive data picture that companies are looking for. Companies want to know, among other measures, how their PR efforts genuinely alter consumer perceptions of their products, encourage them to buy them, and foster customer loyalty.
Thanks to PR analytics software, these things are becoming easier to quantify. However, using just the tools won’t solve all the problems. Your brands and your PR agency or team must start with solid KPIs so you can understand what you actually want to assess and the significance of each statistic to your stated business goals.
Additionally, by incorporating digital PR into a larger, integrated marketing strategy (which every brand should be doing anyway), brands have more analytical context to work with. Rather than focusing solely on PR metrics, they can see how that data fits into their broader marketing analytics picture.
- In-person interviews will return.
Will anyone actually miss all those Zoom calls?
Wherever possible, journalists and media organizations will resume face-to-face interviews in 2023. This PR tendency is particularly true when it comes to in-depth features, profiles, and discussions of complex or contentious issues: You just learn a lot more about someone when you speak with them in person.
Naturally, there will still be a lot of phone and Zoom interviews conducted, just as there have always been for sources for whom face-to-face interviews are impractical or impossible. But brands should be ready for an increase in requests for in-person interviews and try to make their personnel as accessible as they can for those as well.
- Publicists will broaden their reach and establish connections with fresh platforms and content delivery channels, such as podcasts and TikTok.
PR professionals will continue to leverage a wider range of media as the kinds of PR possibilities available continue to grow and evolve. It’s now simpler than ever for reporters to request knowledgeable sources and for PR professionals to reply and pitch via a multitude of new developing platforms and channels, like Slack and Viber channels.
The fact that there is a podcast for every audience is one of the best things about the rise of podcasts over the past few years. Does your client have extensive knowledge of construction technology? For that, there is a podcast. Can they present biological science-related issues in a short and digestible way? Then, there we have Tik Tok. This new PR medium is a great way to promote your products to the people who need them the most.
- One of the quickest avenues for subject matter experts (SMEs) to reach the media will continue to be social media, particularly Facebook.
Consider this to be the continuation of a long-running PR trend. You can simply visit Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram if you want to immediately connect with a media professional. The platform continues to be one of, if not the fastest means, to tell the general press about your brand in a timely manner or in relation to breaking news, despite its well-known problems with toxicity and hostility.
Business professionals can also use the adaptable and practical platform LinkedIn. Executives can use it to showcase their industry thought leadership for their colleagues in the B2B environment, which is powerful. Furthermore, B2B brands can use LinkedIn to establish professional connections with members of the media and other industry professionals.
- Influencer partnerships are gaining more traction.
Influencer marketing has been on the rise for the past few years, and it is likely to continue to grow in 2023. Brands are recognizing the value of partnering with influencers to reach their target audience and increase their reach. In 2023, we can expect to see more sophisticated influencer marketing strategies that incorporate data-driven insights and greater transparency.
When it comes to B2B influencer marketing, brands have lagged, yet this tactic can actually be very advantageous for brands in this industry.
Why? Because in B2B they are much more important than in B2C, reputation and recommendations.
Partnering with an influencer may do wonders for your PR efforts if you can identify one who is the appropriate fit for your company—someone who speaks to the demographic you need to target, who is well regarded by their followers, and who has high levels of continuing interaction.
For starters, you benefit from the PR and marketing benefits that come with collaborating in the first place, promoting your brand to the influencer’s audience, drawing more traffic to your website, and building relationships with new potential customers.
- Introduction of Web3 will lead to more direct interactions between clients, consumers, and media.
Web3 is referred to as the “future of the internet” by marketers and tech experts, but what precisely is it and how will it impact PR in 2023? These four key tenets define this new World Wide Web era: (1) data decentralization; (2) virtual encounters that are immersive; (3) putting a focus on consumer privacy; and (4) community development.
Publicists will therefore take a more direct approach to gather customer data. This entails engaging in real-time dialogue with potential customers and current clients via social media and methods for community outreach. Publicists will adopt more immersive tactics to catch the media’s attention as a result of web3 marketing. Trials of products and cutting-edge digital activities are included.
- PR must be a component of a bigger marketing ecosystem to be successful.
The use of PR in conjunction with other B2B marketing initiatives has always been more effective, but in 2023, this will be crucial. Our PR agency at COMS360 refers to this as “the PR ecosystem,” which means that while PR is an important component of marketing, it must be accompanied by a solid content strategy, paid advertising plan, and social media strategy. This implies that any PR placements a brand receives must be boosted. Amplification is a crucial component of any PR plan, whether it takes the form of recycling the hit into new, owned content, sharing it on social media, or leveraging it in an influencer campaign. Indeed, failing to do so would be detrimental to your company.
We understand that personalization has become more important for any company, and it is expected that a PR agency will do the work. Now that 2023 has arrived, is your company prepared for the upcoming trends in PR?
So by all means, if you want to get ahead of your competitors, you just landed on the right page. We can assist.
Changes in your organization are inevitable, and COMS360 has made it possible to adopt change and communicate your demands in relation to global development and corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues. Along with this PR expertise, we make sure that your message will penetrate cultural barriers, which implies using a variety of methods and channels.
