Happy New Year! The CSA team had a wonderful holiday break full of fun, food and quality family time. We’re back in office and working diligently to make 2017 a fantastic year! Let’s review some of the PR and social media trends that we can expect to see take off this year in our Weekly Rewind.
In The Words of MC Hammer, “You Can’t Touch This”
Social media isn’t going anywhere. According to Inc., these are the five social media trends you need to know for 2017.
- Live Video: Inc. says 2017 will be the year Facebook Live, Snapchat and Instagram videos become an even bigger part of communication campaigns.
- Artificial Intelligence: Inc. predicts marketing campaigns using chatbots will go mainstream and according to MarketingWeek, “companies are predicted to triple investments in AI this year.”
- Micro Influencers: Celebrity endorsements are a thing of the past and real, relatable people who may have smaller followings but fit the brand better are the future.
- Virtual Reality: Following on the heels of success of Pokemon Go, virtual reality will be integrated more frequently into marketing campaigns.
- Pay Advertising: There’s a strong possibility that the costs of sponsored posts will rise.
Keeping Up With B2B
Business 2 Community provides some great insight into B2B PR trends for 2017. Out of the seven points, these two are our favorites!
- Contributor Articles Grow in Prevalence
As the amount of reporters in the industry continues to shrink, writing your own articles for publication will become increasingly important. “With a byline article, you can craft a story your way… Plus you get the visibility and credibility chops associated with a published article.”
- More Emphasis on Trade Publications
Business 2 Community highlights the importance of trade publications because they’re extremely targeted and it’s a surefire way to reach professionals in your industry. We agree!
Drop the Mic — Has Wendy’s Already Won 2017?
Wendy’s started off the new year making headlines with its sassy tweets in response to a customer complaint. Many pros would advise writing an apology like, “We’re sorry that you’ve had a negative experience with our service,” but Wendy’s mocked the twitter handle “Thuggy-D” for his mean-spirited comment. PR News reports that the exchange has been a big win for the fast food chain. “The brand was humanized, people saw it as right and Thuggy-D as wrong, people were entertained… and when it went viral, people saw that message (fresh beef) and were convinced of it on a level that goes far beyond seeing a talking point on a press release.” In an era of Trump, do you think we’ll see a lot more of these types of Twitter interactions?
Relatable and True — We Love What We Do!
This article from PR Daily reminds us why we love what we do and will continue to love it in 2017! PR is an industry that carries a lot of opportunities for growth and is ranked as the No. 3 best creative and media job according to U.S. News & World Report. We can absolutely identify with all six of these signs that PR is a perfect fit for us. Enjoy!