The past few months have been exceptional and an acceleration turbo for many developments that had already been announced in recent years. We have filtered out the most important PR trends and summarized what this means for your work in 2021.

Values and emotions

2020 was an emotional year. The events not only affect society, but also corporate communications. Although the focus is still on the benefits of brand and product communication, more and more consumers also expect companies to take a clear position on social issues. Authentic, value-oriented communication is therefore required. We recommend relying on corporate influencers from your own ranks as well as on storytelling to give your company a face and to tell empathetic stories about your company.

With SEO to inbound PR

Push becomes pull - what has been true for marketing for a few years is also becoming increasingly relevant for press and public relations. Instead of relying solely on providing the media and the public with information based on press releases, communicators should also break new ground. This is particularly important, because otherwise companies risk being drowned in the flood of reports.
After all, journalists and consumers use Google to research topics and interviewees. In all online communication activities, the Google search results page should be a factor to consider. Basic knowledge of SEO is a must for PR managers in 2021.

Video

Moving images are not new, but still in the PR trends. The online video forecast from Zenith 2019 predicted a moving image consumption of 100 minutes per day for this year. Since most of us have mainly worked from home in the past few months and many leisure activities were no longer possible due to the lockdown, it can be assume that these 100 minutes will easily be achieved, if not exceeded. This trend will certainly continue in the coming year. Video formats will therefore also be an important part of PR in 2021.

Communities

Since PR is increasingly shifting to the Internet, direct communication between companies and customers is getting more and more important. The route via classic media to customers and interested parties becomes a detour. For example, brand communities now enable direct exchange with the public. Facebook or Xing groups are more than just the extended arm of customer service. Companies can also use these channels to communicate company news and product news directly.

Artificial Intelligence

It is expected that media monitoring will increasingly rely on AI in the next few years. The technology should be used when indexing content and analyzing success: it means, you can jump to the topic that is currently being discussed in real time or take up topics and process and disseminate them accordingly. This means that it is no longer just about which topics a company wants to place. Rather, it is about recognizing topics and trends, participating in discussions, and bringing your own company into discussion in suitable subject areas.

By MediaBUZZ