With the boom in social media and latest online crazes taking over our lives, it is no wonder that communications and PR have taken a more digital steer.
I for one, am a keen promoter of social media – a platform that has really taken the industry by storm.
However, although I champion social media and the fast-time, reactive comms that this allows us to produce – I do think there can be challenges. For example, the loss of trust – most people head straight onto Twitter as soon as any form of ‘breaking news’ hits our screens, but is all that information true? Of course not. But as its right at our finger tips – most of us believe it.
Therefore, I personally think a big challenge facing 2018 (which became prominent in 2017) is the growth of ‘fake news’ and finding ways of filtering this online.
This means it has become crucial for legitimate organisations to establish themselves digitally and build the same levels of trust they have through traditional media channels.
So what’s next?
We all know consumer consumption habits are evolving, they’re expecting more, have access to more and form quick opinions – therefore we, as public facing organisations, must all work in cohesion to match digital advances and challenge ‘fake-news’.
In my opinion, mass marketing has its benefits but is costly and is being flushed out by other forms of media and PR. I believe using niche marketing and communication techniques to target specific audiences will be the forefront of PR in 2018, with the aim of providing people with a more personal and genuine service.
I really do think social media is an amazing tool to showcase community resilience. For example, from my experience working in the public sector and specifically in policing, social media has given us the means to talk directly to our communities, offer support and gain information like never before.
Digital channels gives us a place to be open and chat freely with one another but no doubt there will be another ‘social craze’ – some sort of variation of Twitter, Facebook or Instagram that grabs our attention in 2018. But, until then, just being involved in these digital advances gives us all room to experiment and progress in the industry.
I personally find the movement exciting and I’m pleased to work for a revolutionary and constantly changing industry that on a day-to-day basis gives us the opportunity to think and engage with different audiences.