2021 was a big year for the PR Industry, with another 12 months of uncertainty and a VERY hectic news agenda. So as we progress into 2022, our Digital PR Director, Frankie Lyons, takes a look forward at what trends could be prominent in the world of PR for 2022:
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Utilising the full marketing mix
One trend we predict will be big this year is more collaboration between PR and other parts of the PESO model (paid, earned, social and owned media) to form all-encompassing campaigns for clients.
This is something we’ve seen big agencies with 100+ employees and varying departments focus and sell as their USP in the past. But now, agencies and PR teams of all shapes and sizes are expanding their reach and venturing into additional avenues to maximise their efforts.
The traditional image of PR as focusing primarily on earned media coverage will no longer be the reality. In 2022, a successful campaign will also require a deep understanding of paid, shared and owned media tactics. By focusing on all these elements, PR’s will find new creative ways to get involved in all aspects, creating integrated strategies that are measurable and intuitive.
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Case studies
In 2021, we had great success with case study led digital PR campaigns. For our client, The Nappy Gurus, we achieved over 50 pieces of linking coverage, combining newsjacking activity with the outreach of personal case studies from brand ambassadors. We’ve noted that an increasing number of journalists take a first-person approach to many data-led stories, leading with a case study and then supporting with insight and data. We anticipate this will continue in 2022.
This year, having a solid network of brand ambassadors and spokespeople who are happy to be put forward and photographed for profile pieces will be essential. PR teams will need to continue with daily news monitoring and identify the most relevant opportunities for brand ambassadors to share comments, whilst also creating strong journalist relationships with key media titles looking to fill ‘real life’ stories regularly.
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The return of big-budget campaigns
Something that we’ve seen picking back up momentum in the industry recently is the return of big-budget, visually led campaigns. These are the types of campaigns that can really help you stand out as an agency during a pitch and will help you bag industry awards.
We anticipate this trend will continue into 2022, with businesses looking to invest significant chunks of their monthly retainers in one larger, visually led campaign which has touchpoints with all areas of the marketing mix but still has the potential to get media coverage and those all-important links back to their website. Some of our favs from last year include the ‘Losing Landmarks’ campaign for Outforia, Volkswagen ‘Horror Movie Posters’ and Finnmasters ‘How Inflation Works’ visualisation.
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Relevancy
Another big topic of discussion in the industry that has been bubbling away for several years is the relevancy of backlinks and press coverage achieved for clients. Simply reporting on the volume of links and pieces of coverage will no longer cut it in terms of supporting SEO activity; it’s all about how relevant that campaign theme and domain is to your client and their audience. Would a link from a global fitness magazine be relevant if your client sells double glazing? Probably not. So whilst it might be a dream publication for you as a PR to be featured in, you need to ensure you’re always considering the relevance to the client, their service/product and their audience.
Using SEO tools and undergoing in-depth research ahead of campaign development will be vital to ensuring your efforts are focused on the most relevant topics and media publications for your clients.
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Measuring success
Traditionally, PR campaign reporting focuses on inputs (e.g. the number of campaigns launched) and outputs (e.g. volume of press coverage and backlinks) without much consideration for measuring the impact. Domain authority has always been a key metric for reporting on link building in the digital PR industry. But in 2022, we predict PR’s will go further with more digital-led KPIs for campaigns.
Delving into metrics such as conversions, share of voice, referrals, social shares and traffic to the site can provide a better picture of how the campaign has influenced customer behaviour. Incorporating relevancy metrics and other insight such as topical trust flow of domains could also be something we see being added to campaign reports.
Reporting on these additional metrics go hand in hand with PRs integrating their activity with clients overall marketing plans, making it easier to illustrate how PR results align with overall business goals.
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