In today’s increased social and digital media activity, a number of opportunities have been created for brands to find audiences and actually connect with them. In light of this dynamics, PR practitioners & brand managers need to be at aware of these changes and take advantage of the prevailing status as they think on how to build and grow their brands.

So what are these emerging trends?

Mastering content marketing is one of them: The current PR pros are constantly thinking of how to use content strategically in both traditional and digital media channels. It is essential to develop a story that will gain traction with your audiences, by being interesting and adequately shared. And as you do this, you are advised to observe what the audiences are sharing as this information, will be valuable to the communicator when developing another message.

Making use of data analysis and evaluation skills has also gained popularity. The ability to measure digital outcomes requires that PR practitioners know how to crunch data, correlate results and correctly interpret the data. It has been realized that this processed information is highly valuable in improving current statuses.

Since emerging PR pros are judged by tangible success factors like search engine ranks and website traffic that in turn create inbound links to leads and sales.

Use of visual communication is rapidly becoming stock in trade in PR. Basic skills in videography, photography and design are crucial because, it represents the ability to develop visual concepts that accompany and illustrate the message. It is crucial to learn how to think about messages visually because communication is becoming more of art.

The fast flow of information in the industry has given rise to radical transparency hence the need to be predictive and proactive in monitoring. PR teams are switching gears from downstream monitoring i.e. picking up of published news in the media; to monitoring trends and conversations to predict events and communicate proactively. The idea is to use the social dashboard to evaluate what the audience is discussing on social media/industrial discussions and identification of recurring issues in the market, thus using PR to influence outcomes rather than simply measuring.

The bottom line here is to continually expand one’s knowledge and capabilities beyond the traditional PR set skills by being, tech savvy through research and testing what’s new and by finally being a calculated risk taker who’s never afraid of taking risks.