We live in a 24/7 media cycle where the world is ripe for content savvy businesses. These days, effective public relations (PR) is so much more than sending out a media release. There are a myriad of ways to tell your story and engage your target audience so that people know exactly what you do.
Embrace current PR trends and you’re on the right track to engaging your customers and building brand loyalty. Let’s take a closer look at some of the latest PR trends to help you invest your public relations budget wisely.
Six PR Trends for 2017
Become a Thought Leader
Thought leadership is a newer public relations trend where you tap into the expertise and passion inside your business to promote your company messages. The key is to engage your target audience by answering the questions that are important to them.
Be Your Own Spin Doctor
In today’s digital world it is your online content that determines the extent of your reach. Today’s leading companies embrace content marketing to build credibility and generate word of mouth publicity.
Be Social Media Savvy
Public relations tactics and campaigns aren’t complete these days without having a strong social media presence. Companies have control of their own story interacting with their target audience by sharing copy, video and images across social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, etc.
Expand your Content
There are plenty of channels out there to help expand your public relations efforts. In addition to your blog posts, help get the right eyes on your content by mixing things up with customer newsletters, whitepapers, infographics and even your email signature to generate PR for your business.
Embrace Influencers
One of the biggest public relations trends for 2017 is social media influencers i.e. people our customers pay attention to. Celebrity endorsed campaigns are being overtaken by influencers, with Twitter saying that people now trust influencers as much as our friends, so they have a great deal of pull when it comes to spreading a brand message far and wide.
Paid Content
More and more businesses are turning to paid promotions and social media advertisements to spread the word. Paid content is an increasingly effective way to reach new audiences with 50% of B2B marketing professionals using social ads and promoted posts to get content out there. *
* 2016 Content Benchmark Report, Content Marketing Institute
When embracing current PR trends, remember to successfully manage your online reputation by publishing a regular stream of quality content.
