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Image source: Pixabay.com
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What’s ahead for the public relations profession as a whole amid a world of disruption remains to be seen, but here’s a quick look at the big picture and the major trends that shape it this 2018.
Perhaps the theme unifying all PR and media trends this year is acceleration, where the world moves faster than ever and disruption strikes in all industries in just a matter of weeks to months. Mobile and cloud technologies, machine learning, and advanced robotics are just some things changing the pace of work and inevitably affecting gatekeeping and movements in the PR industry.
There’s also media fragmentation and loss of fidelity in traditional national media “experts.” Major media have been grappling with numerous blows on social media, and the biggest challenge and opportunity for PR is to ensure its own credibility.
At the same time, PR is dealing with the rise of digital or social media marketing, and has to keep establishing its position to bring about strong press for companies to get their story told to the public. The difference between SEO and PR, too, continues to blur as more practitioners of the former realize the need for storytelling while the latter quantify their work in terms of SEO. The trend is only seen to speed up as search engines become smarter.
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Image source: Pixabay.com
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Another trend is AI-powered personalization of advertising. As artificial intelligence improves, reaching people at unprecedented scales is possible, and PR practitioners need to adapt their strategies to ensure and maximize success. The most advanced ones are expected to embrace AI technology and incorporate them into daily work to avoid obsolescence.
Janet Pribanic is a college student currently attending New York University and is on her way to a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations. She loves the fast-paced nature of PR and is excited to be part of high-powered PR firms and nonprofits. Learn more on this page.
