Michelle Han
March 17, 2016 | 04:39:29
Public relations is always changing, and technology trends are a big influence on how PR evolves. Whether your world is strictly B2B or your target audience straddles business and consumer audiences, there are some technology trends that can — and should — influence your PR and communications campaigns.
New in content-sharing: audio. New apps for sharing content always interest communications professionals. Visual and video content have been most shareable, but this year, we’re starting to see new ways of developing audio content, too. Anchor, which generated buzz at SXSW this year, calls itself “radio by the people,” and lets you respond to social media posts in your own voice. KnowMe, an app that lets you share voice and video messages and also record voice-overs for your existing photos, was founded by filmmaker JJ Abrams and Moviefone founder Andrew Jarecki, which doesn’t hurt. The trend is a continuation of self-publishing, providing another medium on which people can broadcast in – literally – their own voice. It’s only a matter of time before brands, influencers, and publishers develop a presence and practice for using audio-sharing platforms, giving PR professionals something new to work with.
Tools for streamlining the work of PR. It seems we’ve fallen out of love with email in favor of tools that help streamline digital communications and workflow. Slack quickly became a media darling and is rumored to have raised another $200 million in funding to continue expanding its empire. But it’s more than just a way to declutter: media companies are using it as a content publishing tool also. That has major implications for PR, broadening the scope of where to pitch stories and share messages with their audiences.
Virtual Reality. Virtual or augmented reality is perhaps more prevalent as a marketing tool, as brands in travel, outdoor gear, and retail experiment with new ways to let customers experience their products or services. But there are bound to be implications for PR. Media relations is often about relationship building, and we’re already seeing companies build relationships with key media contacts covering their space by offering VR reality experiences as a cool new way to get to know the company. One of our clients recently hosted a successful VR fair to showcase different aspects of its work. Were media interested in a VR experience to learn more about the company’s initiatives? The answer was a resounding “yes.”