It can be challenging for PR professionals to navigate through an array of tools and strategies. Understanding what to prioritize can be daunting and 2024’s top 5 PR trends sift through the constant advancements and shifts in the industry.
This article highlights the top five PR trends for 2024, offering insights to refine and modernize your PR strategies. Stay informed and ahead in the industry by embracing these essential trends.
1. AI Integration in Daily Tasks
According to the latest annual McKinsey Global Survey on the State of AI, the most commonly reported uses of generative AI tools are in marketing and sales, product and service development and service operations.
Less than a year after many of these tools debuted, one-third of our survey respondents say their organizations are using gen AI regularly in at least one business function…What’s more, 40 percent of respondents say their organizations will increase their investment in AI overall because of advances in gen AI. McKinsey & Company, 2023
By all accounts, PR pros are increasingly using generative AI in their roles and this is expected to steadily increase over the next year.
74% of PR pros report an increase in work quality when using AI.(Muck Rack, January 2024) |
In addition to this, PR pros are liking what they see and many report that generative AI is adding to the quality of their work.
AI use has more than doubled from 28% in March to 64% in November.(Muck Rack, January 2024) |
Muck Rack also reports below that a significant number of PR pros are editing AI output.
What is Up-And-Coming with AI in 2024?
In an interview with TIME Magazine last November, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said multimodality in the company’s new models will be one of the key things to watch out for in 2024.
For example, ChatGPT will soon understand, interact and communicate using many different methods like text, images, video, audio and more.
Along the same lines, Google currently offers Gemini Pro in Bard. But early in 2024, the company will introduce Gemini Ultra in a new experience called Bard Advanced.
Gemini Ultra is our largest and most capable model, designed for highly complex tasks and built to quickly understand and act on different types of information — including text, images, audio, video and code. Sissie Hsiao, Google
AI-generated content
AI-generated content is becoming increasingly popular in the PR industry as it generates content quickly and in large volumes.
Writing copy for social media is the most popular use for AI, according to 64% of PR pros.(Muck Rack, January 2024) |
In fact, it cuts down on the need for human content creation, reducing costs.
However, remember that AI should not replace human-written content and creativity. Instead, it should only be used to supplement. If not, you run the risk of everything potentially starting to sound the same.
AI research
In 2023, 58% of PR pros surveyed tapped into AI to conduct research.
Out of 1001 PR Pros interviewed, what percent used generative
AI in the following tasks?
Writing social copy – 64%Research – 58%Writing press releases – 58%Crafting pitches – 54%Strategy & planning – 43%Other – 20%Generating images to accompany content – 16%Finding journalists – 15%(Muck Rack, January 2024) |
When you conduct research on Google, it finds existing web content based on keywords and provides informational content.
In contrast, ChatGPT offers conversational, personalized responses and creates original content just for you.
Examples of AI Prompts for PR Research
Rank the top five best practices for crisis communication in the context of a healthcare industry scandal?
List and rank the top five most effective PR strategies for the technology industry, focusing on new product launches.
You can also try using the 42 essential AI prompts for investor relations professionals.
AI for ideas & inspiration
Humans are creative and can think of many different ideas, and now AI dramatically increases the number and novelty of ideas.
For instance, AI can help you generate ideas for your next blog or article, advertising strategy or any facet of PR. As well, it synthesizes a host of ideas.
Generative AI tools can solve an important challenge faced in idea contests: combining or merging a large number of ideas to produce much stronger ones. Tojin T. Eapen, Daniel J. Finkenstadt,Josh Folk, and Lokesh Venkataswamy, Harvard Business Review, 2023
How to generate ideas in ChatGPT
To generate writing ideas in ChatGPT, you can input the subject area you wish to write about and ask it to generate ideas for you. Then, based on the output, you can customize your requests from there.
Another alternative is if you know which of your past articles were most popular, you can ask ChatGPT to brainstorm variations of these ideas.
Or, what if your competitor has some great articles available online?
You can input these articles into AI and ask it to generate a different story spin on the same subject.
The trick is making sure you get comfortable with your AI. You can adapt your questions and conversation along the way based on the AI output you receive.
2. Social Media Engagement
Since the ultimate goal of PR is to manage and enhance public perception and reputation, having a strong social media presence is key.
The social media channel contains a wide audience where you can engage, inform, and interact with a broad audience in real-time, fostering relationships and managing your reputation effectively.
Platforms like Facebook and YouTube will continue to be effective since they have the top two numbers of social media users worldwide.
In particular, short form videos are booming in PR trends. Meta’s Reels are viewed 200 billion times a day and YouTube Shorts are the trend to watch in 2024.
Other platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn will continue to be of importance as more people and businesses strive to establish themselves as industry thought leaders.
Brands can enhance their social media presence by creating engaging content, actively interacting with their audience, leveraging SEO, utilizing analytics for strategy refinement and staying updated with new platforms and trends.
3. Multimedia in PR Trends
In 2024, your public relations strategy should incorporate various multimedia elements.
As digital content consumption rises, diversifying your approach with videos, podcasts, images and infographics is key to capturing audience attention and effectively telling your brand’s story.
Focus on Video Content: Video is the most popular and effective media format. The statistics are in and according to Wyzowl, 89% of people have been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a video in 2023.
Recognize the impact of video in conveying your message. Platforms like YouTube Shorts and Meta’s Reels, with their massive daily views, offer a strong way to share your story through engaging, short-form content.
Podcasts for Depth: Utilize podcasts and webinars to dive deeper into topics, offer insights and connect more personally with your audience. Backlinko projects that the podcast industry will climb 27% to $30.03bn in 2024 and is expected to reach $131.13bn by 2030.
Interactive Media: According to a report by Statista, the augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) worldwide market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 10.77% (CAGR 2024-2028), resulting in a projected market volume of US$58.1bn by 2028. These emerging technologies can offer immersive and innovative experiences for your audience.
4. Data-driven PR Trends
PR pros are using data-driven analytics to guide PR strategies. In fact, about 50% of PR professionals spend a quarter of their time on measurement and reporting, and this trend is expected to continue.
Forty six percent of PR pros count media coverage as a top metric to track and social listening is considered very important as well. In addition to this, there are 7 ways to perform media monitoring of your press release.
51% of PR professionals believe that social listening is one of the most effective ways to measure and assess reputation. TJ Kiely, Meltwater
Some main PR metrics include:
1. Mentions: Tracks how often your brand is mentioned on social media.2. Sentiment Analysis: Assesses whether mentions are positive, negative, or neutral.3. Share of Voice: Compares your brand’s mentions against competitors.4. Engagement Metrics: Likes, shares comments on social media.5. Audience Growth: Monitors changes in your follower count over time.6. Reach and Impressions: Measures the potential audience size for your posts.7. Website Traffic: Visitor numbers and behaviour post-PR activities.8. Conversion Rate: Effectiveness in achieving specific actions.9. Backlinks: Quality and number of external links to content.10. ROI: Financial return compared to PR costs.11. Crisis Management Effectiveness: Impact of PR efforts in crises. |
AI will enable data to be tracked more easily in 2024.
5. Human-Centered or Authentic Approach
A “Human-Centered Approach” in PR trends is about genuinely understanding and connecting with your audience. Imagine walking in your customers’ shoes, recognizing their needs and aspirations. This approach isn’t just good ethics; it’s good business.
Costco is the perfect example of a company that is obsessed with crafting a great culture. Also, Microsoft’s human-centered approach to business maintains that,
Consumers will buy from brands when they stand for something larger than just their product, which aligns with the consumer’s personal values. Nikki DeMare & MJ DePalma, Microsoft
Other notable companies that deliver on a human-centered approach include Google (Alphabet Inc.) and Salesforce.
Some strategies that brands can use to adopt a human-centered or authentic approach include:
Engage in active listening on social media to understand customer needs.
Personalize communications to make customers feel valued.
Implement customer feedback into product or service development.
Foster a company culture that prioritizes customer satisfaction.
Create community-focused events or initiatives.
Support causes and values important to their audience.
Ensure accessibility and inclusivity in all brand interactions.
Offer exceptional and empathetic customer service.
Share customer stories and testimonials to build trust.
Develop content that educates and adds value to the customer’s life.
As you navigate the evolving PR world of 2024, remember, staying ahead means embracing AI, leveraging data-driven strategies, and engaging through multimedia and social media. But, most importantly, don’t forget the power of a human-centered approach. It’s time to define your success.
