The Public Relations Of Tomorrow

 

Here we are at the end of an incomplete highway, in the dark and we’re not sure of what lies ahead of us. The highway has had many twists and turns so far so we know not to assume anything before we take the next step, but we have to keep moving. That’s the current state of Public Relations. In this post, I try to touch on what trends and innovations are set to dominate the industry over the next few years.

 A Familiar Face

First, let’s confirm what we already know; communication is directly to the consumer rather than via media outlets and we therefore need to formulate content with the reader in mind who is probably disseminating content from a digital platform and so we also need to consider the audience’s digital nature as it improves community engagement. Check out Wandile Nhlapho’s post on how direct communication cuts out noise and encourages engagement.

So, What's New?

In terms of new advancements in the field, Blockchain technology stands to make an interesting contribution as its nature as a decentralized crypto can be used to verify the authenticity of a news release, a characteristic well-needed in an age where fake news and deepfakes terrorise the industry. To those of us who aren’t familiar with Blockchain or crypto in general, here’s Nick Barney's simple explanation on what the technology is.

 On the note of digital advancements, the improvement and rising popularity of Voice Search introduces a new avenue of creativity. When readers search for news via Voice Search, it often reads (the most credible article it can find word—word rather than make its own response. This means that whenever your organization publishes news, it should be conversational and as though you as the PRP are directly responding to the reader’s search in person rather than as an article they should read.

Storytelling continues to be a pillar of good PR and in the digital age it only becomes smarter. Storytelling should be a joy for the audience to consume. Whether it’s from an NGO or oil company the message that’s being conveyed must touch the minds of the publics if it has a chance of standing out from the crowd.

The Catch

The challenge that comes with these new innovations is the uncertainty they bring. Traditional methods are usually go-to for PRP’s as they bring a sense of familiarity whereas these new technologies make us vulnerable to new dangers. The insecurity around Blockchain would be how easily can it be applied as well as its costs and the worry around Voice Search could be whether it can be hacked and manipulated to respond with fake news as well as how well it can source then filter out searches.

The bigger picture would be our dependence on technology. With the path we’re taking it seems like the industry walks tightrope where AI bridges the gap between us and the most influential era of PR but below lies a bottomless pit of fake news and bland computer-generated content. Personally, I’m weary of depending too much on the internet as people are beginning to reject an online life in exchange for “real connections” and  Alrika Moller from Media Update shares similar sentiments.

The Long and The Short

Technological advancements cannot build relationships, ChatGPT cannot advocate for a cause, and Tiktok cannot touch the publics, but Public Relations can…we can. So, in conclusion I see it best if we teach technology how to help us conduct meaningful PR rather than we learn from it.

 

I hope I’ve shed some light on the dark highway and the path is clearer now…excelsior!