Many things happening – and many PR predictions experts.
As an industry expert and business owner, Caitlin Copple Masingill is the founder and President of Full Swing PR, and shares how her company has thrived, even during the pandemic, "The pandemic has brought home that public relations benefit greatly from being part of an integrated digital marketing campaign. Clients are demanding ROI more than ever as they advocate for marketing spends in a climate of cuts. Pitches to journalists have to be excellent to cut through the noise and in light of newsroom cuts.
The bright side, for micro-businesses and solopreneurs – particularly those seeking paid speaking gigs and book deals – lies in e-courses and membership sites. My firm helps clients create digital products and launch strategies that grow the kind of following (and passive revenue streams) that can be game-changing for small businesses. Public awareness generates awareness, but in this COVID-19 era, conversion is king. Firms that understand how to guide customers from awareness to engagement to conversion will survive and even thrive during the pandemic. We have yet to lose a client due to COVID and continue to grow by offering these in-demand, integrated services."
To offer another perspective, we spoke to
Stacey Cohen of Co Communications who said, “The demand for data will require the industry to be more accountable than ever. We need to shift our mindset and link PR to business goals and demonstrate how PR impacts the bottom line; management/clients expect PR to play a direct role in driving leads into the marketing funnel. Taking action and “doing good” will continue post pandemic. PR professionals will need to need to ensure that good will is in the DNA of every business
PR professionals need to measure outcomes by applying advanced data/analytics; we need to be able to access data in real time and market in the moment to modify campaigns “on the fly” Both quantitative (e.g., # of brand mentions) and qualitative (e.g., message tone) is growing in importance and will require PR professionals to have a command of Metrics/KPI’. Increased blurring of the lines between Public Relations, Social Media and other marketing disciplines; the “walls” will continue to come down and integration will be more important than ever.
Cohen believes “The pandemic has created dramatic shifts in consumer behavior. PR professionals must understand and address the changing needs of their target audiences and adapt their PR strategies accordingly. Media consumption has seen a surge (with video witnessing the highest increase). PR professionals will need to become adept in the video, streaming services, and more to meet this demand.”
