PR Predictions For 2012

There’s no doubt that 2011 has been a good but difficult year for the PR industry. On the one hand, it’s harder than ever before to break through the clutter and on the other, when you do break through, you get your fleeting 15 minutes of fame. Blink – and the next wave of news comes down the pipe. But fear not – the coverage whether good or bad, lingers somewhere in the Internet’s archives seemingly for forever. Crazy. I know. But that’s reality.

So, what are my PR predictions for next year? Well … let’s see. And since Google will archive this forever, you can check back next December to see if I had any clue what I was talking about.

1. Time is going to move faster than it has ever moved before. By this I mean, clients and co-workers alike will expect things to be done literally even before they’ve asked for it. Ever been to a Saturday night dinner party or social gathering only to see people continually checking their mobile devices for emails and in the unlikely event there is one, they seem to feel compelled to respond to it within seconds. Now, don’t get me wrong, I get that business moves fast as a result of the global economy spanning every conceivable time zone, but it’s the weekend for G-d’s sake --- there really is no need to respond within seconds.

2. Being good at PR and being good at media relations are two different animals entirely. To be successful, today’s PR pro has to have a broad set of skills, extending far wider than writing a news release well or making some well customized pitches. That’s the easy stuff folks. It’s the basics. You need to understand social media. Your response times need to be faster than greased lightning. You need to be able to write perfectly, (yes, that means without typos) – as well as do the occasional bit of mind-reading.

3. Quality has not gone out of style yet. I am continually amazed by the sloppiness of writing today – and without profiling the younger generation, it would seem like with them, “good enough” is “good enough”. To that I say “good enough” is “bad enough.”

4. Content will continue winning the battle. In retail it’s still “Location, location, location. And in PR, it’s still “Content, content, content.” But not all content is meaningful at all. Wanna be well respected and gain followers? Then don’t tweet “Come in for a nice massage” when trying to promote your client’s wellness studio. Rather write a blog posting about the benefits of holistic massage.

5. Print publications, (especially newspapers) will continue their decline. And this really upsets me a lot. It’s no secret that pretty much every newspaper out there is shrinking as advertisers watch their ad spends more cautiously than ever before. You see, I grew up in the 70’s when the daily newspaper (and two TV channels) was the only gigs in town. I’ve two kids now (14 and 10) and I don’t think either has ever picked up a newspaper. They get everything online, including news that’s relevant to them.

6. The best lie is the truth – aka “Just be transparent”. Just look at the RIM PR nightmare this year surrounding their service outage. It took the bosses days to come out. And that cost them huge goodwill. How much better would have it been for them if they’d come out sooner, gave reality a harsh stare-down and said it like it is. Yup, I do agree that PR is about spin. Always was. Always will be. But transparency is what it’s about today – and social media and its far reaching immediacy help keep everyone honest.

Is this list exhaustive? Hell no! Add your predictions below. And if you think my predictions are a hunk ‘a junk, then tell me – just as long as you are transparent.

Happy new year