Originally published December 2020, as a look ahead to 2021. Preserved here as a historical snapshot of PR industry predictions from that period — not current guidance.
What was going to be hot in public relations in 2021? We asked some leading public relations experts and here are their thoughts at the time.
"PR trends are definitely going in the direction of being more personal, more honest, and more vulnerable than ever before. Consumers and audiences want to see the REAL people behind the curtain. Now more than ever, it's so important to be relatable with your messaging and connect on a personal, human level.... cookie-cutter slogans and jumping on popular trends isn't going to work anymore. It's all about showing up personally and vulnerable for your audience and being 100% authentic," said Dawn Jones, CEO of Pressed PR.
Beth Adan, Marketing Director of Moxxy Marketing, predicted an influx of socially-distant happenings, including virtual conferences, Zoom meet & greets, and digital webinars, low-cost, safe-to-produce formats that had brought a welcomed connection to clients, partners, and industry professionals during COVID-19.
She also expected social media to keep growing in 2021, with more people getting their news from platforms like Twitter and Instagram, which had seen a reported 40% increase in users during COVID-19 alongside the launch of Reels.
Pierre-Loïc Assayag, co-founder and CEO of Traackr, an influencer relationship management platform, predicted that TikTok's growth was just beginning and that other platforms would adopt short-form video and content-based algorithms in response.
Assayag also predicted a widening gap between brands that had invested early in digitally native solutions like social commerce and influencer marketing versus those that hadn't yet, arguing the adoption gap would eventually show up as market share. He expected brands to invest more heavily in data analysis to connect social and sales metrics.
Ethan Taub, CEO of Goalry, predicted that brand communities, actively engaged online audiences built and maintained by organizations themselves, would be a major 2021 trend, especially as some influencers moved to build their own commercial brands.
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The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
