PRmoment 3030 winner Skandashree Bali comments on whether PR is still going to be about storytelling and image?

 7th October 2019    Opinion 

Technology continues to drive change within public relations

Since its inception, PR has always been dynamic and hard to predict. It has donned many hats depending on the medium of communication that was relevant at a given point of time. PR has always been about storytelling, image consulting and reputation building.

 But, given the pace at which technology is reshaping all forms of communication, is PR still going to be all about just storytelling, non-advertising and image building?

Here is my take on the Future of PR

Real-Time Exchange of news: A growing number of people are turning to digital media for news. Readers want real-time and responsive news stories where they are given a chance to be a part of the story through their comments, feedback or suggestions. There is going to be a shift from journalist centric news agendas to more consumer-focused news. 

This obviously means that PR professionals need to be on top of their game, keeping their eyes wide open for trends to establish relevancy between their brands and the ongoing trends to ensure they stay relevant.

The Rise of a Visual Era:  PR is no more only about press releases or editorial stories. For PR, the direction is now pointing towards Infographics, GIFs and micro-videos. The future demands a short and crisp story with a compelling image, a GIF or a micro-video. A visually appealing news story is going to get consumed more in comparison to a text-heavy news story. For PR firms it is a must to hire talents who are multi-skilled and multi-talented having the ability to double up as content creators as well as creative designers. Agencies also need to focus more on visual content through effective brainstorming sessions that can give rise to appealing visuals.

Analyze through Analytics: All of us must accept that digital media is going to be the primary source of news for millennials. Given the fact that millennials constitute the largest number of population on the internet, it is highly essential to understand what grabs the attention of these users? Do they read long articles? Do they skip advertisements? What types of influences sway their purchase decisions etc. The answer to all these questions lies in analytics. Any organization that does not heed to the power of analytics, will be at a clear disadvantage.

The New Era of Influencers: There has been a steep rise in the importance of social influencers in the past couple of years. They are making use of all types of social platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn., to reach the right audience. Hence, PR professionals need to integrate this tactic in their strategies and campaigns. It is going to be easy for PR Professionals because they just have to shift their focus from journalists to influencers!

Public Relations is here to stay, and we will hear terms like influencer management, data analytics and visual storyboards more often in the field of PR as effective tools to reach the target audience.

Skandashree Bali is a Godrej PRmoment India Adfactors 30 under 30 winner for 2019 and head-marketing communications, MAC Group.