91探花

• Explore predictions on what PR will look like in 2022 from 91探花鈥檚 panel of experts.
• The past few years have greatly impacted the way many operate in their business, including PR 鈥� which trends from 2021 will thrive throughout the new year?听
• We鈥檝e collected predictions from experts in the field, including Foundation鈥檚 Emma Hull, Rise at Seven鈥檚 Will Hobson and more.

Here at 91探花, we鈥檝e collected expert predictions on what to expect from PR this year. With 2022 still in its first month, explore what鈥檚 in store for PR from top experts in the field鈥�

Explore top tips from startups on how to approach PR here.

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Our Panel of PR Experts:

• Fiona Scott 鈥� Managing Director of Scott Media
• Babar Khan Javed听鈥� Director of Z2C Limited
• Ilona Hitel 鈥� Managing Director at CommsCo
• Will Hobson 鈥� PR + London Director at Rise at Seven
• Emma Hull 鈥� PR Specialist at Foundation
• Siena Clarke 鈥� Founder and Director of The Brand Whisperer
• Riannon Palmer 鈥� Director of Lem-uhn
• Andrea Sexton 鈥� CEO/Founder at Admire PR
• Lisa Gibson 鈥� Senior PR Lead at Yours Sincerely
• Pearl M. Kasirye 鈥� Co-Founder at Pearl Lemon PR
• Fatema Chowdhury 鈥� PR & Media Lead at听SQN
• Gabrielle Pickens 鈥� Founder of Pickens Creative
• Connie Chi 鈥� Founder of The Chi Group
• Dr. Contrecia T. Tharpe 鈥� Chief Storyteller & Strategist at FayeVaughn Creative
• Dominic K. Hawkins 鈥� Founder and Principal at Factotum Consulting
• Melanie Marten 鈥� Founder of PRontheGO.com
• Ayelet Noff 鈥� Founder and CEO of SlicedBrand
• Liz Mckenzie 鈥� Head Of Marketing Communications at Serai
• Darryl Sparey 鈥� Co-Founder and Managing Director of Hard Numbers
• Jacki Vause 鈥� Founder and CEO of Dimoso
• Natalie Trice 鈥� Career Coach and Founder of Devon Trice Public Relations
• Beth Nunnington 鈥� PR Director at听Journey Further

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Fiona Scott,听Managing Director of Scott Media

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Fiona Scott has run Scott Media, based in Wiltshire, for 14 years and is a qualified journalist & tv producer/director with a 30 year career in newspapers and tv. She was voted the UK鈥檚 Top PR Adviser 2021 recently by SME organisation Enterprise Nation. She can be found here 鈥� https://scottmedia.uk

鈥淎s the new year dawns here are ten tips for great PR in 2022:鈥�

1. 鈥淰ideo will be bigger than ever. Research and engage on YouTube and share your stories and news in video format too across various social media channels. Not only is it the most powerful way to tell stories it has huge SEO benefits.鈥�

2. 鈥淭he continued rise of the MICRO-INFLUENCER. Think selling via social media, think of having a brand ambassador with a small but committed following 鈥� look at TikTok to see what I mean.鈥�

3. 鈥淒igital content should be more 鈥楽EARCH鈥� orientated. What questions are our customers likely to be asking? Answer them with more Q&A style articles or 鈥榣isticles鈥�.鈥�

4. 鈥淒emonstrate COLLABORATION. I believe this will be a key theme in business and life generally and share details of those collaborations.鈥�

5. 鈥淥penly embrace being GREEN. Increasingly bigger brands will only work with those in their supply chain who can demonstrate green ethics and a move towards net zero. Start on that journey now.鈥�

6. 鈥淪how you care 鈥� GIVING BACK to your community through supporting a charity, community project or social enterprise. Always powerful for PR, increasingly it will be part of any bid for bigger contracts. Social responsibility could be the one thing which gets you across the line.鈥�

7. 鈥淭ake the WELL BEING of your team more seriously than ever and do PR around this. Recruitment and retention is an issue in the tech world so make a noise about what you can offer to an employee, over and above salary.鈥�

8. 鈥淟ook for stories in your DATA 鈥� it often holds stories which are left untold.鈥�

9. 鈥淐an you EDUCATE? 鈥� if you know there鈥檚 a change in the law that鈥檚 coming up which is relevant to your business, your clients and others then share that information as early as possible. It makes you a thought leader and very attractive to the media.鈥�

10. 鈥淪how HUMOUR 鈥� many businesses never look for more light-hearted opportunities to shine. Comedy is a great way to share a serious or worthy message and to emotionally engage people. Done in the right way, it鈥檚 powerful.鈥�

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Babar Khan Javed,听Director of Z2C Limited

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鈥�2022 is the year that public relations and public affairs professionals will embrace new ways of measuring the effectiveness of their work.鈥�

鈥淯sing tools such as Walee Enterprise, our PR efforts map out a range of scenarios and trackers with which we can see a crisis unfolding in real-time, prepare responses accordingly, and get ahead of the story before the media or press control the narrative. Given that our PR efforts rely entirely on earned and organic media, we have seen how the market perceptions finally accept that paid media is a tool to amplify the reach of the earned press or mentions, instead of trying to buy one鈥檚 way to coverage.鈥�

鈥淲e expect to see more instances of the PR function reporting directly to the CEO, instead of reporting to the CMO or CCO. This approach has a wealth of ROI behind it, evidenced by our recent successes since mid-2021 in reaching the tier-1 press entirely through quality organic pitches, resulting in measurable traction.鈥�

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Ilona Hitel, Managing Director at CommsCo

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鈥淗ere are a few 2022 PR predictions from me鈥︹��

• 鈥淢ore personal contact, please! Face to face and events will hopefully be back in 2022. Re-building relationships will be key.鈥�
• 鈥淯K tech sector, and indeed most sectors, will need strong PR to recruit and compete for the best talent given the dire skills shortage.鈥�
• 鈥淭here will be a rise in diversity and inclusion PR campaigns. Wellbeing will also be key to brands in their story telling.鈥�
• 鈥淚t will be a big year for environmental campaigns with extreme weather events on the rise like never before.鈥�
• 鈥淭here will be an increase in companies being called out for greenwashing and getting egg on their face.鈥�

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Will Hobson,听PR + London Director at Rise at Seven

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Siena Clarke,听Founder and Director of The Brand Whisperer听

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鈥淥ver the course of 2021 PR saw many innovations and changes, however for 2022 things will hopefully stabilise. Speed pitching sessions and on-screen meetings will establish themselves in the norm, as editors and journalists become more and more reluctant to travel and waste working time getting to meetings that could take 15 minutes in the comfort of their home office.鈥�

鈥淧R will continue to steer the course of home wellbeing, mental health and medical reporting, as the public search for real news and solutions to more problems thrown up by various elements of the pandemic.鈥�

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Riannon Palmer, Director of Lem-uhn

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鈥淚鈥檝e dusted off my crystal ball (again!) 鈥� what will be relevant for your business in the PR world over the next year?鈥�

鈥�2022 comes in the wake of a global pandemic, and during a period of great uncertainty, it is important to regularly assess the environment around you and decide how to approach your business plan.鈥�

鈥淗ere are some ideas that I think will be relevant for PR over the next year鈥︹��

It will continue to be important to showcase how you are 鈥榙oing good鈥� as a business: 鈥淥ne of the great things to come out of 2021 is the increased interest in sustainability in business. The great news for you in terms of PR is that business journalists are keen to have positive stories, there is enough negativity in the world.鈥�

鈥淭hose business leaders who can showcase steps towards concrete sustainability plans or through community or charity partnerships will be in demand for press stories and comments.鈥�

Social, audio and video (multimedia content) will take on more importance: 鈥淎s we are still in the midst of a pandemic, many of our work has turned online. Similarly, as we stay at home, more of us spend time on our phones or gadgets, instead of going outside of our houses. Henceforth, it is vital that we continue to factor in the importance of social media and multimedia content in 2022. Many media publications now include social media, audio and video as part of their news and editorial content.鈥�

鈥淜eep an eye on new platforms and the audiences they serve. For example, platforms like TikTok have grown exponentially in the last two years. If you are looking to target a younger audience, TikTok is inarguably one of the best possible ways to reach your desired audience.鈥�

It will be even more important to use technology to measure campaign results: 鈥淭echnology is always growing and progressing, and that is the same in the PR world. With many marketing budgets being cut, showing the results of campaigns is vital. PR has a reputation as being a bit fluffy and hard to measure. This is absolutely not the case 鈥� there are several ways to showcase the results from PR, and they can be tailored to each client. Platforms such as Ace Media https://ace.media/ , Agility https://www.agilitypr.com/ and CoverageBook https://coveragebook.com/ are essential for us as an agency.鈥�

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Lisa Gibson, Senior PR Lead at Yours Sincerely

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鈥淧R in 2022 will be all about speaking truth to power 鈥� after the last two years we鈥檝e all had enough corporate and political bullsh*t to last a lifetime.鈥�

鈥淎cross business and consumer audiences, people are more cynical than ever and good PR professionals will recognise that. Successful brands and individuals will have an authentic voice, telling good, honest stories in a changed world.鈥�

鈥淓SG and D&I are more important than ever but campaigns will have to be based on tangible actions and reliable data. The good news is that, because of all this, good communicators will be needed more than ever.鈥�

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Pearl M. Kasirye,听Co-Founder at Pearl Lemon PR

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1. 鈥淧R agencies will have to start utilising platforms like TikTok, Twitch, YouTube, and Snapchat a lot more than ever before.鈥�

2. 鈥淩eputation management will be in high demand due to how easy it has become for brands to be defamed by people running hate campaigns.鈥�

3. 鈥淧ress releases will become less and less meaningful in impacting brand image.鈥�

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Fatema Chowdhury, PR & Media Lead at SQN

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鈥淧urpose-led, socially conscious communications and campaigns will become even more prominent in 2022, as consumers increasingly hold brands accountable for their messaging and actions.鈥�

鈥淔rom sustainability, climate change to diversity and inclusion, these can no longer be buzzwords and companies need to show just how they鈥檙e also making conscientious decisions. We鈥檝e already seen this with net-zero pledges from companies on the back of COP26 and diversity pledges on the back of the Black Lives Matter movement but companies will need to go further and show just exactly how they鈥檙e doing that and show results. Consumers are making more conscious decisions when investing in a brands, products or a personality and will be loyal to brands that align most with their values.鈥�

鈥淚n an increasingly digital age, the appeal for a human voice and emotion is stronger than ever. Consumers are looking for a personal touch from brands and in 2022, we鈥檒l see them embrace a personalised approach to PR and how brands communicate with their consumers generally, whether that鈥檚 through social media, on the phone, by email or through a website. We鈥檝e seen this reflected in trends such as the phenomenal growth of TikTok, where mobile phone-filmed viral videos made by ordinary people sharing personal moments. This has also resulted in a new wave of influencers hitting the scene, increasing the variety for brands to choose from.鈥�

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Gabrielle Pickens,听Founder at Pickens Creative

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鈥淰irtual events will continue to be on the rise as companies have seen the success of virtual eventing during the pandemic. This means that PR pros will have to include virtual events in their PR strategies.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to continue to see the rise of micro-influencers across social media platforms. The influencer marketing stratosphere is becoming crowded and that is why brands are turning to micro-influencers as they will get more value there.鈥�

鈥淟astly, consumers will be continually looking for brands to take a stand. Whether it鈥檚 climate change or women鈥檚 equality it鈥檚 important that brands align with a social cause that is meaningful to them, therefore we鈥檒l also see a rise the non-profits.鈥�

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Dr. Contrecia T. Tharpe,听Chief Storyteller & Strategist at FayeVaughn Creative

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鈥淧ubic relations is an everchanging field and the clearly defined border around it will continue to blur. What once stood independently yet supplemental to marketing and branding is now becoming intricately woven into each part of acquisition, outreach, awareness, and growth efforts.鈥�

鈥淚n 2022, we will continue to see brands and businesses craft authentic, vulnerable, and transparent messaging and communication content that will capture the hearts and minds of their intended audiences. Public relations strategies will center around relatability and inclusivity. While media relations and pitching will still be a major component in the industry, the increased presence of paywalls will have brands, businesses, and PR practitioners getting creative in using owned mediums, content types, and venues to distribute content and information leading to more traffic, follows, and newsletter subscriptions.鈥�

鈥淲e will see an increase in organic content, videos, social media usage and posts, and website updates, as well as brand activations and events.鈥�

鈥�2022 will be a year of traditional public relations wrapped in unconventional methods to deliver true impact and reach.鈥�

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Dominic K. Hawkins,听Founder and Principal at Factotum Consulting

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鈥淭he industry has grown markedly since my first job in PR 10 years ago. In 2022, I predict we鈥檒l continue on our J-curve acceleration towards digitisation.鈥�

More experimentation with augmented and virtual reality experiential marketing: 鈥淚n the age of covid, people crave human connection but want to limit covid exposure. With the introduction of Meta (fka Facebook) and virtual conference platforms, the virtual reality world is the next digital frontier, driven by VR headsets.鈥�

Sponcon/Advertorials: 鈥淲ith shrinking newsrooms and reporters being asked to do more with less combined with publications seeking to uncover new revenue sources, we鈥檒l see more movement towards sponsored content and advertorials in online and digital news outlets.鈥�

Digital Community Engagement: 鈥淪ocial media 鈥業nfluencers鈥� are out and 鈥楥reators鈥� are in. Social media influencing is not just about the number of followers influencers have, it鈥檚 all about how engaged their community is. In 2022, Micro-influencers will rise. We鈥檒l also see more online community engagement through apps like TikTok, Discord, Reddit, and Clubhouse.鈥�

PR Technology: 鈥淕iven tightening resources, there will be more emphasis on PR technology that can provide reporting and metrics to demonstrate return on investment.鈥�

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Melanie Marten,听Founder of PRontheGO.com

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鈥淒IY PR is on the rise. In 2022, start-up entrepreneurs will increasingly engage in PR activities themselves to boost the visibility of their business.鈥�

鈥淭his trend follows the growing importance of PR for overall marketing success 鈥� from SEO to Content to Sales. DIY PR efforts, in addition to the start-up鈥檚 PR campaigns, are most effective when performed to support link building.鈥�

鈥淭he most promising tactic of DIY PR is responding to source requests on platforms where journalists search for expert quotes to include in their articles. The most popular platforms are HARO (Help A Reporter Out) and Qwoted. Here, the entrepreneur not only has the opportunity to build up a profile as a thought leader, but unique content is generated with a backlink to the start-up which supports SEO.鈥�

鈥淎nother DIY PR tactic that has proven highly successful for start-ups is the submission of entrepreneur interviews in specialised media outlets such as Authority Magazine. This particular PR activity supports Content, Thought Leadership and SEO. In addition, founder interviews tend to have higher interaction when shared on the start-up鈥檚 social media channels as a success story.鈥�

鈥淓ntrepreneurs need to be careful though when handling the distribution and pitching of the start-up鈥檚 general press releases. While the landscape of PR outreach platforms has grown tremendously in recent years, PR pitches should NOT be handled through a CRM system that pretends to do PR and sends automatic follow-ups on your generic pitches. Public Relations need time and effort, therefore entrepreneurs are advised to hand this task over to a professional who specialises in building real relationships with the media for your start-up full-time.鈥�

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Ayelet Noff,听Founder and CEO of SlicedBrand

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鈥淭alk of the metaverse, web3, NFTs, and DAOs has been buzzing in the tech scene, but the general public is still trying to figure out what鈥檚 in it for them. On top of that, there鈥檚 a lot of jockeying for position in these areas, and startups are trying to figure out how to stand out from the pack. PR pros will be focused on developing key messages and USPs to make themselves rise above the noise.鈥�

鈥淔or example, online gaming in the metaverse has the potential to skyrocket in growth, but companies will need to move beyond appealing to the existing gamer community to attract the general public.鈥�

鈥淭he new year will also see the opposite happening, with companies in traditional industries becoming more tech-focused. For example, Christie鈥檚 has been cultivating a new type of customer base by embracing digital art, NFTs, and cryptocurrency payments.鈥�

鈥淎s the metaverse becomes more talked about in the mainstream and the pandemic continues, there will be a shift in virtual events. The industry is still trying to find its footing, and 2022 will be the year of immersive experiences. We鈥檒l see brands from nearly every industry exploring ways to connect with the public through VR and AR components, as well as looking into new metaverse technologies as they develop further.鈥�

鈥淔inally, journalists are becoming increasingly cynical when it comes to buzzwords, and I predict that we鈥檒l see a general backlash against these in 2022. We already saw some evidence of that from reporters reacting to the slew of metaverse pitches right after Facebook rebranded as Meta. PR pros will have to tread a fine line when it comes to generating hype, in order to prevent reporters from being turned off of new tech developments that are truly bringing value to people鈥檚 lives.鈥�

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Liz Mckenzie,听Head Of Marketing Communications at Serai

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鈥淎s we step into the new year, we pause to think about the macroenvironment and what鈥檚 in store for brands in 2022. The role of PR is going to be more valuable than ever. Especially when it comes to crisis and reputation management. It will be wise to empower everyone within an organisation to play a bigger role in building a company鈥檚 brand reputation, from being product evangelists and thought-leaders, and being equipped with the proper training to handle positive and negative feedback. This is especially important in today鈥檚 social media age, where everyone is susceptible to
criticism 24/7, and the same reputational stakes that were once targeted at the C-suite are now applicable to everyone else.鈥�

鈥淪o, what鈥檚 driving this phenomenon? A good example is the current climate surrounding supply chains in the apparel and fashion industry, and its renewed commitments at the recent COP26. It鈥檚 no surprise that today鈥檚 consumer expectation for corporate accountability and more ethical practices are a key driving force behind purchasing behaviour, as found in a recent Serai/KPMG report (https://www.seraitrade.com/reports/moving-the-needle). Every role along the supply chain 鈥� from suppliers of raw materials, to manufacturers, to buyers 鈥� contributes to the end product. This means that now more than ever, there are a multitude of blind spots for error, and as a result, we鈥檙e seeing a greater demand for transparency along the supply chain.鈥�

鈥淭his is where PR in the form of crisis communications and stakeholder management comes in. Consumers want brands to be a force for good. There鈥檚 a huge opportunity to support ESG efforts which can also result in a positive impact on the company鈥檚 bottom line.鈥�

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Darryl Sparey,听Co-Founder and Managing Director of Hard Numbers

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鈥淭he tech PR sector, particularly the B2B tech space, will continue to grow rapidly in 2022. Whilst 73.2% of all statistics are made up for PR purposes, looking across the industry, I would estimate that 95% of the new spend on PR is coming from tech businesses. With VC investment, especially in fintech and healthtech, at record levels, agencies with a focus on B2B tech PR will continue to perform well.鈥�

鈥淵ou only have to look at this year鈥檚 CES event to see that large in-person events will continue to struggle in the short-to-medium term. This will lead companies to direct their marketing and communications budgets towards agencies that can help them deliver smaller, own branded experiences for their clients and prospects.鈥�

鈥淏ased on our experience over the last year, I predict the demand for the traditional agency network model for international communications will decline. Client demand will continue to move towards more agile approaches to international media relations. For example, not having 鈥渁lways on鈥� PR agencies in non-core markets, investing instead in a strong central hub, typically out of the UK or US.鈥�

鈥淭he increasing demand for demonstrable ROI from PR and communications campaigns will also continue. Clients need to be able to show where they are getting a return on their investment, in all marketing disciplines. The agencies that meet this requirement will be the ones that can pull data together from different sources, and show the impact of their work. Those that succeed will be the ones that can best link activity with business outcomes. In short, those that can deliver hard numbers, not soft words.鈥�

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Jacki Vause,听Founder and CEO of Dimoso

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鈥淧ublic relations is constantly evolving. To be successful with communications you have to move away from a broadcast mentality and adopt a strategic approach, based on building a dialogue with your stakeholders. Public relations and media relations are often confused: media relations is just part of the suite of services a PR agency or consultant offers. Public relations is about the creation and management of reputation, and building a relationship with the public. Reputation nowadays is shaped by numerous channels of communication and most of those are interactive.鈥�

鈥淲hen you are communicating, your messages and dialogue must be aligned across all channels to ensure optimal coverage, cohesion and clarity amongst the target stakeholder groups. Your audience desires and demands two-way conversation: people now know the power of their opinion and expect it to be heard. Two-way communication is paramount to the future success of any business, product or service.鈥�

鈥淲e are experiencing a communications revolution: people and groups who traditionally did not have a voice are now shaping opinion. We are now moving into a creator economy 鈥� where all individuals can share and broadcast opinions on their creations and those of others. In 2022 all communicators need to be all over this.鈥�

鈥淭he businesses that are starting to thrive are those that are taking advantage of UGC (user-generated content) and PR will have to align itself with UGC and build this into its messaging and dialogues. There is a major opportunity for brands to work closely with their stakeholder groups and build a binding meaningful relationship with them by encouraging and embracing UGC.鈥�

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Natalie Trice,听Career Coach and Founder of Devon Trice Public Relations

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鈥淭he past two years have totally taken the wind out of the sails of PR professionals, regardless of lovely or be it in agencies, in-house or as an independent.鈥�

鈥淲ith that said, in 2022 as well as tuning into the needs of clients, and the media, I predict that there will be a real need to look after ourselves.鈥�

鈥淲e all know that PR isn鈥檛 ER but it there are multiple demands on those working in the profession and it鈥檚 vital that we consider the impact the pandemic has had on those in our teams, the ones we work with and the people we manage.鈥�

鈥淭he need to look after the mental well-being of the industry is key in 2022 to ensure we keep the pool of people we have and we keep them safe. From weekly check ins and taking annual leave, to in-depth reviews and adequate training and support, we have to look out for each other.鈥�

鈥淵es, we are, by default of the work we do, resilient, ambitious and hardworking but let鈥檚 not forget we are human and while smashing KPIs is great, I predicate that 2022 is the year the PR world looks after themselves as well as their clients.鈥�

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Beth Nunnington,听PR Director at听Journey Further

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Relevancy will remain the biggest factor when it comes to links: 鈥淚鈥檝e seen several people in the industry say that relevancy will be a huge focus in 2022, but this has been our focus for several years now. What鈥檚 changed is the technology we now have available to us to be able to understand and assign quantifiable metrics to the relevance of linking coverage 鈥� which allows us to be much more data-driven and targeted when developing Digital PR strategies.鈥�

鈥淭he outcome of which 鈥� is much more focused, effective, and measurable Digital PR activity that is better aligned to SEO objectives and that delivers better ROI for clients. Google鈥檚 representative, John Mueller, coming out in 2021 and saying that 鈥榯he total number of links鈥� doesn鈥檛 matter at all, has really helped refocus the industry and re-evaluated what metrics and KPIs we need to be focusing on this year.鈥�

Google will continue to use AI and Machine Learning to better understand the context and intent of searches: 鈥淕oogle is continuously looking to improve its intelligence through machine learning and natural language understanding. This could impact PR as Google can increasingly understand the information in non-text based content 鈥� such as images and video. Therefore, content must be relevant and on-brand in the written form, as well as ensuring that any supporting assets are also relevant to the services or products that the brand sells. Creating content that can be utilised cross-channel will be more important than ever as brands look to drive not only performance, but brand awareness too.鈥�

A combination of campaign + tactical activity will deliver better results than a campaign-only based approach: 鈥淚t鈥檚 getting harder to get results from 鈥渓ink bait鈥� type campaigns that used to be the go-to approach for building links in large volumes. Instead, brands will need to adopt an 鈥榓lways on鈥� approach, with larger campaign spikes at key points in the year. With an ever-changing media landscape and market in place still due to Covid-19, I expect a lot of tactical activity to continue 鈥� to allow PR teams to be fluid and reactive with their approach.鈥�

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