A lot of talk about what next year will bring for public relations and communications and different experts are sharing different thoughts.
[powerhousecomm.com]Powerhouse Communications President and PR industry veteran, Kristin Daher says we can expect to see many changes in PR and marketing in 2021, including that brands must be sensitive to consumer concerns or risk alienating important audiences. Daher adds, “Now is the time to step up your media relations strategy by crafting the perfect pitch to land your client on a local or national broadcast show, and that companies should merge internal, external and executive communications- Keep employees, customers and shareholders informed by proactively addressing any new information, or misinformation, before it gains traction.” Daher adds that social listening is vital, commenting, “Brands should be advised to “read the room” and truly listen to consumers before blasting out messages.”
Jacob Dayan Esq, CEO and Co-founder of Community Tax says that “I think 2021 will see a greater rise in video. Whether that be creating content, advertising, or advertising through influencers and enhancing customer meetings with video tools for more convenience and flexibility, video will see a sharp rise. Video has proven itself to be a powerful medium with no signs of slowing down. YouTube is already overtaking Facebook as the second-most visited site on the web (behind only Google itself).
Creating video content can be relatively affordable too, especially compared to other marketing tactics available. All you need is a quality camera, editing software, and most importantly, quality original content.”
Meanwhile, Dimitris Tsapis, Head of Marketing of Retail CRM Cloud, a SaaS software specifically made for retailers says that, “The trend that is expected to become even more prominent is engaging in authentic communication with your customers. As online channels currently are the gateways to businesses, the “human” experience has to be delivered via a great customer journey. This means showing empathy with engaging audiovisual content as Youtube videos, IGTV; Podcasts, and more. A benefit from all this content is that it can be redistributed on social media.
There will be a bigger overlap between marketing & corporate communications. This is particularly important for marketing and PR as both are usually competing for budget. The best approach is to have both of the sides work together to match the changing customer expectations and deliver exactly what we promise – and more!
Finally, another trend we are observing is the increase in SEO as an awareness stage marketing in 2021. Diving organic traffic from search will become even more important as social media channels become more saturated from the many businesses doubling down on online presence. This will force companies to think about how they can get their target audience to come to them instead of going after them with paid media.”