Table of Contents
PR Trends in 2022 are more than ever primarily influenced by external factors. Read our annual trends forecast and learn about the top 8 trends PR pros should watch out for.
Tracking and Measurement - AVE is dead
Ad Value Equivalency is no longer accurate. It does not reflect the complexity of campaigns and the multitude of goals and platforms.
The most prominent example is: Influencer Marketing. It is a huge part of PR, but is not considered in AVE.
Instead, a lot of smart PR agencies claim we should focus on impact scores, SoV, Reach and Engagement, Search Interest and behavioural patterns.
Measurement needs patience. Collecting data is step one, but what's more important is reading the data correctly, interpreting it and formulating concrete actions.
Data is useless unless you understand it and make informed decisions based on the pool available to you.
Internal Communications is more important than ever
The great resignation, the war for talent, internal leaks - it’s not a trend, it’s an area of Communications that needs the utmost attention in 2022.
While a lot of this has been triggered by the pandemic, businesses will still feel the aftermath in the years to come.
Potential employees are very specific on what they value in a role. Salary is no longer the main factor.
Flexibility and atmosphere at the workplaces trumped the compensation by a long shot.
Start viewing your employees as external stakeholders, invest in employer branding, break up silos and create allyship.
Social Media and the Metaverse are here to stay
Authenticity is key when it comes to social media platforms. It is an integral part of PR and cannot be separated any longer.
The Metaverse is a new way for the general public to stay online, another way to collect data. According to Harris Poll data, 70% of Gen Z and Millennials are interested in interacting in these digital realms.
There is no playbook on “How to do PR in the Metaverse” yet.
Let’s start writing. This is an opportunity especially for young, creative agencies, that are far more agile than any long-standing business in terms of identifying trends and changing the way of working accordingly.
Content is still king
Tap into audio and video more forcefully. Searches on YT are on the rise and new audio formats are emerging. Twitter spaces is a good way of trying the format before you allocate a budget for podcast productions.
Clubhouse has been a rather short-lived success. However, a PR professional should always keep an open mind and create a valuable A/B testing environment in order to evaluate new platforms and most importantly, the audiences.
And don't be afraid to reuse content. Whilst it was common practice to tailor content across any social media channel, it is now rather seen as inauthentic.
The same voice, the same tone, the same content - as long as it is valuable to the audience.
Smarter event experiences
Events will be interactive, empathetic, hybrid and personalised. We have seen press conferences in the metaverse, watch party giveaways sent to the audience of Zoom product launches and Instagram lives allowing followers to buy directly.
Businesses need to become more creative with their events and above all, keep “value for the audience” as the number one indicator of success.
Artificial Intelligence
Any PR professional should start incorporating AI into their everyday life.
Pitching tools: OnePitch, PRprophet, Mention
Interview / Audio Tools: Otter.ai, Google Transcribe
Writing Tools: Grammarly, Fluent.Express
Journalists are far beyond communication professionals when it comes to the utilisation of machine learning and artificial intelligence. The Guardian published its first article entirely written by AI in 2020.
Work smarter, not harder.
ESG - Environmental, Social, Governance
A brand's public perception boils down to two things: Be authentic and Walk the Talk. An annual thought-leadership piece as part of the PR strategy, won't sway public opinions alone.
PR experts understand that words help with brand awareness, but actions will grow trust and turn your audience into customers.
And if you don’t, you contribute to a “promise gap”, which will ultimately lead to a loss of customers.
Spotify and the Joe Rogan debacle is the best example.
And here is what’s never out of fashion in Public Relations:
Writing skills.
Storytelling is the number one skill needed in the industry.
PR efforts from press releases, to thought leadership pieces and interviews that are based on scripts, always start with a written piece of guidance.
A network.
Do your homework. Gain a public understanding of the media landscape you’re in, build and maintain your network.
Need help to get your business ready for PR in 2022? Reach out and book a free evaluation session!