By: Daniel Hajden, Senior Consultant, Dialog komunikacije
As with every year, public relations will face many opportunities and challenges in 2018. It’s always an ungrateful task to give predictions, but it is possible to talk about the processes that have started and will continue in the coming year, which will shape public relations as a profession.
#1 Public relations as a management discipline
It is increasingly certain that public relations will be recognized as a management discipline. This is a result of long-standing work on several fronts, primarily associations such as PRCA (The Public Relations Communication Association) and ICCO (The International Communications Consultancy Organization).
#2 All life is moving to the internet
There are around 4.3 billion people worldwide (of a total of 7.6 billion people worldwide) who have Internet access. Some predictions suggest that by the year 2030 the entire world will be connected to the Internet. It is crystal clear that organizations need to communicate where their audience is, and they are online.
#3 Social networks are maturing
It is becoming more and more visible how social networks are maturing. From too long posts, through visual content, we have now come to short video messages that are currently the biggest hit. Different social platforms copy content from others, all in the hope of engaging users – for as long as possible.
#4 Determining audiences or public
There are about 2 billion monthly Facebook users in the world. They generate a huge amount of data. Experts in PR and marketing use this information to identify and recognize a target audience or public.
#5 Listening
Data has been collected in public relations for a long time now. It’s not a novelty. What is new is the level of data being collected and the growing availability of different tools for their processing. All you have to do is use the data processing tools, listen to the targeted audience and get the information you need. It’s that simple.
#6 Tell me a story
Storytelling across media and engaging audiences is more important than ever before. This requires creativity and good content. The ability to communicate complex messages through the relevant story remains one of the highest values of public relations.
#7 Adjustment of working hours
Everyday operational affairs in the field of public relations have turned into a business that the traditional media have been doing in the last decade. The media work in a 24-hour cycle, and public relations should be adjusted accordingly. This does not mean that working hours must be from 0 to 24 but that it is necessary to adapt as much as possible to processes within a given organization and to respond in a timely manner.
#8 Measuring PR impact
Something that should be understood as a standard has become a bogeyman in public relations. How to measure the effect of your work? What methods to use? This and many other issues related to performance measurement should no longer be an obstacle in the time ahead. The AMEC (International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication) has set new standards for measuring and planning in public relations to which attention should be paid.
#9 Modernization of traditional media
Traditional media have been modernized. They have gotten closer to “social” departments and use data. Fake news that primarily appear on social networks mean a kind of revival of traditional media. Unfortunately, the same does not apply to regional media here. They are still struggling because advertising revenues are directed to Facebook and Google.
#10 Community as a medium
In the time of social networks, the word “community” has lost its original meaning. It’s no longer enough to make a hashtag for Twitter or to open a group on Facebook or Linkedin and think that we will attract people. The Internet was marked by failed attempts at building different communities. It should be remembered that successful communities, both online and offline, are striving for the same goal. Being a member of an online community is also the best way to understand that community.
