1) Non-Traditional Sources Are The Norm And Require Dedicated Focus (and Budget) What is it that is having the most impact on communications today?

“Social media and blogger influencers will gain even more relevance in playing a major role in consumer opinion and spending decisions and must be part of any integrated communications strategy.“

“Public Relations will evolve into a mar-com service as paid, earned and owned media continue to integrate. People are increasingly getting their news from social media and spending more time on those sites to connect with friends and family, so I think this channel will become even more important and prominent in public relations functions.“

“Non-traditional media spaces continue to increase in size and popularity. Newspapers are no longer the arbiter of what is or isn’t “news.” As social media/blogs/podcasts continue to capture and keep more consumer attention for longer amounts of time, there’s a need for professional communicators in these spaces.“
– PEW reports 68% of all American adults now use Facebook¹
– Popular YouTubers are hiring PR firms when they have a crisis²
– PEW reports as of 2016, 21% of Americans age 12 or older say they have listened to a podcast in the past month³

“There will also be a continuing need for content updates for Search Engine Optimization purposes. That includes the ongoing need to have the client’s voice heard and its values promoted to the audiences that will resonate with those values.“

2) Visual and Virtual Reality Platforms Are The “New” Storytelling, er, Storyshowing

“For Public Relations, storytelling and communication will remain important, but the medium for that storytelling will continue to evolve with even greater emphasis on visual communication.“

“And that goes for messaging, too. Visual mediums (especially video formats and virtual reality technology) will require specialized public relations professionals who are adept at developing technical, visually compelling content with ease. Agencies today are seeing the need to amp up their own offerings in this area, both for their clients’ business and for their own marketing purposes.“

“Virtual reality will transform how our industry tells stories. As VR equipment and technology become more accessible, public relations agencies will be able to construct entire worlds for fully immersive experiences.“

3) PR Pros Need Multifaceted Skills, Including Content Development, Project Management and Coding:

“On the issues and crisis side, the industry will need to continue to emphasize the need for timely, substantive communications with tools and technology that make the process more efficient. PR agencies are embracing an even more diverse mix of professionals with specialized experience in graphic design, content development and coding, in addition to traditional core communications skills.”

“Outstanding writing abilities alone won’t cut it for the next generation of communicators.“

4) PR Audiences Are Data Driven and Demand Multiple Sources for Credibility

“As public relations pros, our future with the enduring news media will be defined and enhanced by the data we’re collecting today and how we use it. It’s intelligence that is valuable and packaged conveniently if we are doing our job. We are constantly learning more about consumers – when they’re open to new messages, what influences their behavior and how to responsibly guide their decisions. For example, we’re seeing how brands break through the incessant clutter surrounding their audiences and make consistent gains toward building trust, reputation and loyalty, as well as recover from missteps.“

“That’s an important point.  I recently joined the PR profession because of its potential to grow. Mass communication is so cluttered and increasingly difficult to sort through. Consumers will want to get real information from reputable sources, and journalists will need resources to help provide for that need. As people become more and more wary of commercial advertisements, authentic stories and real news will be what they want. And crisis PR, I think, will always be significant especially as activism continues to rise and people seek consumers’ rights.“

“Corporate blunders will never end as they have their basis in human fallibility. There will continue to be a need to protect brand and organizational reputations from accidents that happen, libel, fake news and social media rants, and journalists will need resources to be sure they have both or all sides of the story.“

“It’s critical to point out that we are not necessarily talking about just press releases. I see more and more cases of journalists asking for statements, interviews, expert opinion and testimony, data and assets.“

“Communicators and credible journalists will have to work harder and together in the name of defending our professions and promoting real news.“

“Often, too, there is the multicultural component that will require journalists and PR people to work in tandem. Agencies and brands are seeing the need for hiring community and cultural insiders, people who know how to navigate the social space of each diverse community. This new reality is also an opportunity for creative development, as the mainstream becomes more accustomed and receptive to multicultural imagery, flavors, sounds, stories and products. I think the key to multicultural communications in the future will be subtlety, as opposed to, for example, trying to engage Latinos with a mustachioed guy in a sombrero speaking Spanish with Mariachi playing in the background.“

5) Constant Data Collection Sources Means Measurement Capabilities and Tools will only Increase. Get familiar with them.

“Program measurement is becoming more sophisticated, accurate and meaningful as technology continues to develop. Google, for example, is using credit card transactions to track how digital ad campaigns are linked to purchases. To extend that kind of technology means that we’ll be able to track how content consumed via online/mobile/digital channels impacts consumers’ offline purchasing behavior and vice versa. So, for example, say I read a magazine article about a new product and see an ad for that same product on Instagram; then after a few weeks, I decide to buy that product in a brick-and-mortar store. Measurement technology will be able to correlate my purchase to the magazine article and the ad. We have even more ways now to measure the value of our communications, but it is just the tip of the iceberg.“

“To Karmina’s point, we’re also seeing more companies using data collection in combination with technology to measure and influence consumer behaviors in new ways. The rise of smart personal assistant devices like Alexa and Google Home have brought behavior-tracking even further into consumer home-life, but are still trying to find the balance in what kind of content they can serve to consumers before it becomes too intrusive. Google Home recently came under fire for serving unsolicited ads to consumers who had selected to have their daily news voice-read to them. While technological capabilities increase due to better data collection, its more important than ever to craft stories that consumers will choose to listen to.“

As we look ahead to the second half of 2017, Fineman PR is fine tuning our own crisis, marketing and corporate public relations programs and service offerings accordingly. Which trends and predictions do you see changing our field? Join our conversation below.

^{1 http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/11/11/social-media-update-2016/
2 https://theoutline.com/post/1472/a-youtube-family-accused-of-child-abuse-has-hired-a-crisis-pr-firm
3 http://www.journalism.org/2016/06/15/podcasting-fact-sheet/}

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For PR and communications professionals, our role is becoming more essential – and challenging. Sure, we’ve traditionally served as liaisons between the media and clients, but we are now bridging a quickly widening and more contentious divide. War has been declared: on media, on fake news, on press briefings, on magazine cover authenticity, on facts. And, there are more questions than ever for all involved, from journalists and media executives, to corporate spokespersons and political strategists, as well as public relations counselors:

What are the facts? Who can we trust? Where is the backup? What is the actual impact? Who is listening/reading/watching/reacting/posting? What next?

But before we rush out for emergency disaster kits and tackle each other for the last loaf of bread at the gas station, let’s get a grip. There may not be quick resolutions to the conflict at the national level. But, there are still core certainties to how we do business as PR professionals. Our approach still has a strong bearing on how our organizations and clients are perceived and positioned in the public eye. While techniques and vehicles for communications may be changing, and while tones may be shifting nationally, our professional rules of engagement remain rooted in good faith and good sense:

7 Core Rules of Engagement for PR Professionals:

1. Prioritize Substance and Strategy:

Don’t cave to the pressures of instant news or a 24/7 content cycle. Keep messages informed, backed by the facts, and guided by a long term strategy.

2. Be Credible and Stick to the Facts

Assume that any message or sound bite will be fact checked in real time and plan accordingly. Provide media backup and third party resources for facts or figures. Validate the credibility of any contributing sources.

3. Correct Misinformation Quickly

Humans make mistakes. Most (reasonable) people will correct them. If news coverage or public discussion requires correction, pursue it in a timely, reasonable and politely persistent manner.

4. Save the Flame Wars and Theatrics for the Other Guy

Your credibility (and your client’s) is worth more than a fleeting moment of instant stardom. Resist the temptation to throw a verbal punch for the sake of short term attention or emotional gratification. If you do choose a brazen approach, be armed with the facts and prepare for ensuing attention. Don’t shrink from the spotlight you’ve created.

5. Manage Expectations for Media Engagement, Set the Tone

It’s easy (and dangerous) to assume that your audience shares your understanding of the desired outcome for media relations. Give clients and journalists a clear understanding of the context for your engagement and discuss in advance how the process will work to avoid potentially, derailing surprises.

6. Engage Creatively

Social media content drives news and personal engagement. Period.  While traditional media dukes this one out, new media and social content are driving messages home on a personal level for most Americans. Use creative content development to your advantage, and target your audience and message for higher impact.

7. Embrace Diplomacy

It’s easy to engulf ourselves in heated debate, especially when traditional rules of public engagement seem to have gone extinct.  Keep your personal and political assumptions at bay. Set aside conspiracy theories for your personal fans. Journalists, clients, detractors and allies will listen far more intently to a calm, objective tone than a projectile verbal assault.

Now, to diplomatically resolve who devours that last loaf of bread…

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As of this week, the Los Angeles Times is the latest high profile media outlet to examine the communications approach of the current presidency. Let me emphasize, though, that my focus is less about politics than it is about how the current political scene has affected U.S. communications. Now is as good a time as ever to discuss the effectiveness of brash talk as a public relations strategy for the rest of us.

Professional communicators have watched the national dialogue change radically over the last six months. From typically stoic, less-is-more, better-safe-than-sorry official statements to the chaotic banter of the fall’s presidential debates, public dialogue has become less predictable, more bombastic, more intimidating and highly personal. Some of us attributed the initial change to a spirited election season rooted in disruption. Come January’s coining of “fake news” and #alternafacts along with a rash of aggressive #POTUS tweets, the shift appeared to settle in. Most recently, we’ve seen “falsehoods” positioned as acceptable exclusions to the truth during top-level investigations and amid international exposure. For now, intimidating language, angry Twitter thumbs, concocted vocabulary and alternate figures are a daily fixture for media and public relations professionals charged with crafting meaningful communications.

But after several months at play, is this rant-over-reason approach actually effective? Should tried and true public relations tenets like maintaining a diplomatic tone, taking an earnest approach to resolving conflicts, building trust and combating misinformation with credible facts from reputable third parties be set aside while the new playbook is tested?

First, the current disregard for facts and truth in national communications has not been widely accepted and is not going uncontested. The Los Angeles Times’ new editorial series voices a deep concern for the rejection of facts in favor of preconceived notions. Both Time and The Wall Street Journal also recently denounced the use of ill-researched, unsubstantiated facts in official public statements and the long-lasting effects of distrust. Recent Gallup poll declines surrounding health care reform indicate that the gamble of brash communications has not yet produced a desirable post-election outcome.

Trust, consistency and good faith remain as vital to corporate communications and public relations as ever. Demands for high quality, exceptional value, a memorable experience and reputable practices still matter to the U.S. marketplace. Businesses and brands continue to be held to the highest standards of conduct and quality. Reporters are still reporting, consumers are still voting with their dollars, families are still choosing products based on their values, competitors are still hungry and regulators are still enforcing rigorous standards. Public data continues to be posted for review and undesirable content (including fact-checked “falsehoods”) will exist online far longer than some may wish.

For businesses and organizations that care about marketplace trust, especially in turbulent times, substance and long-term strategy are a worthier public relations investment than the false hope of distraction.

So while it may be tempting to sling a tweet in the dark, admonish a reporter in a press conference, conjecture during an interview or predict a fact before researching it, don’t. If anything, hasty lashings at the national level mean that earnest, fact-based, well-prepared communications are required from the rest of us to help restore needed trust in public dialogue.

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