Smart PR

12 PR Trends for 2012

January 4, 2012 at 12:28 PM Leave a comment

List-making; it’s what the holidays are all about. With the New Year already here there is no shortage of lists highlighting  the best and worst of 2011 and what’s on the horizon for 2012. In the spirit of list-making season, we wanted to add our own PR predictions to the bunch.

12 PR trends for 2012

1. Get smart about social media – In 2011 we saw more and more companies use the power and connectivity of social media to establish or strengthen their digital presence and cultivate customer relationships. In 2012 the emphasis will be on developing digital and social media strategy, and of course tactical execution and engagement. Social media campaigns will need to become more focused on research, communication and integration into larger marketing platforms in order to provide a worthwhile ROI.

2. Wear many hats – In 2012 it’s not going to be just media relations for PR pros anymore. New digital technology and an ever-evolving media landscape means PR pros will have to be writers, marketers, media consultants, content developers and social media experts and learn how to successfully shift among these varying roles.

3. Public Relations 2.0 – According to the authors at CisionBlog, 2012 will be the year where public relations will become more data driven than ever before. With the proliferation of analytic tools, public relations firms will need to become increasingly data savvy in order to quantitatively as well as qualitatively measure the impact of media engagement activities.

4. Mobile’s a must – Mobile technology is developing at a rapid pace and showing no signs of slowing. As larger numbers of people use phones as their primary means of media engagement, developing communication strategies for mobile devices will become more important than ever.

5. Things get even faster - We know what you’re thinking: don’t we hear this every year? The answer is yes. But it’s yes for a reason! Developments in broadband, mobile and digital technology mean that information, and more of it, travels at a faster rate than ever before. For PR pros, the immediacy and over-abundance this creates means figuring out how to deal with over-stimulated publics, impatient consumers and inundated journalists. It also means the next communications crisis may only be seconds away.

6. Crises preparedness now – Citizen Journalism, social media news and a digitized world where every phone is also a camera, and every story can instantly circulate from its point of origin through a multiplicity of social and digital networks in mere seconds, means that your next communications crisis is never far away. To make matters worse, a recent study by the Altimeter Group reported that most companies are not prepared for a social media crisis. Don’t learn these lessons the hard way in 2012; be prepared. The good news is on the other edge of the sword: digital media provides more effective tools for avoiding and, when they occur, managing communications crises.

7. It’s the economy, stupid – The ongoing global economic crises and the question of economic recovery looming in the background means adapting to a news cycle dominated by economic coverage and business news. Add to that the upcoming, economically driven election and it’s apparent that making your story newsworthy in 2012 means that PR pros will need to ask themselves how their clients’ news impacts the economy.

8. Big screens, little screens, second screens – Think about how many screens we look at every day while consuming news and entertainment. Think about how many screens we have become accustomed to using at the same time (in fact, you’re probably looking at this while scrolling email on your phone with the TV on in the background). PR pros will have to think more about creating visual content that grabs the attention of a public that engages with more screens and less text.

9. From social listening to social intelligence – Along with the emphasis on data and metrics, social media monitoring will become more sophisticated. If phase one was about listening in on what people were saying online about your brand, then phase two will be about mining those conversations for research you can use to drive new content and initiatives.

10. Cultivating social media relationships – Topping Affect’s list of public relations and social media predictions for 2012 was the “death of the email pitch, rise of the twit pitch.” As the line between more traditional and new forms of media continues to blur, cultivating social media relationships with journalists will be crucial. Besides, “the short form aspect of social media makes it a favored place for journalists to receive pitches–no more diatribes about the benefits of your company’s exciting new product. Just 140 characters to love.”

11. More thought leadership – Shrinking news rooms, high reporter turnover and social media might be a crisis for traditional forms of journalism, but they are opportunities for PR pros to leverage their clients as industry experts and thought leaders. Make their expertise the story through contributed articles, op-eds and byline opportunities and raise their company profile in the process.

12. Good writing still matters – Yes, web, digital, social and mobile technology have all made short-form content more important than ever, reinvigorating that famous line from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” – “brevity is the soul of wit.” But that means that good writing is more important than ever before.

- Melissa Hurley, Account Director, provides strategic direction for all of Ricochet’s healthcare and life sciences accounts. She has significant experience in communications, marketing and social media in both the public and private sectors.

Entry filed under: Communications, Corporate. Tags: media campaigns, media landscape, pr trends, public relations firms.