#PRin2013: Top Trends to Look for in Public Relations During 2013

2013 is the first year since 1987 with four unique digits, but will it be as unique as its numerical configuration? With that question in mind, we once again bring you our annual PR industry prognostications.

This year we feature contributions from 12 creative thinkers who represent various facets of the PR industry. We asked for their insights into the trends they believe will fundamentally change the PR industry in 2013.

Below is a compilation of the thoughts of our first five contributors. Their full blog posts, and those of the remaining eight contributors, will appear throughout the month of January.

We hope you find value in reading these predictions. Please add your own thoughts and predictions in the comments below or by using the hashtag #PRin2013.

Relate: Read the top-12 PR trends for 2012 in this Dec. 19, 2011, PRSay blog post.

The Initial Predictions

1. Demand for Accountability Will Rise

The public relations professional has an inherent responsibility to not only provide expert guidance and counsel but also to help foster a sense of trust and confidence in the person s/he represents. PR pros must be willing to take a firm stand and urge client’s to accept responsibility and be held accountable. (Kirk Hazlett, APR, Fellow PRSA, is Associate Professor of Communication (Undergraduate) at Curry College in Milton, MA)

2. Trends That Will Shape What’s Next

Plenty of change and challenge look to be in the future for the PR pro in 2013. Global brands will shift more dollars to local strategies as multinational companies continue their expansions across the country; the industry will finally roll out standard metrics that will drive new measurement models; mobile technology will require more creative thinking; and public relations will see itself in a bigger role leading integrated communications. (Elise S. Mitchell, President and CEO, Mitchell Communications Group, Inc.)

3. Global PR and Internal Communication Trends

Public relations continues to grow beyond national borders, having global implications for businesses where their reputation and issues management can be judged from anywhere (including an internal stakeholder). Happily, practitioners can reference the Global Alliance’s 2012 Melbourne Mandate and its “call to action for new areas of value in PR and communication management.” And the PR versus marketing debate will continue in 2013 with the industry pushing back against marketing’s encroachment on our discipline’s bailiwick. (Judy Gombita, co-editor and Canadian contributor (since 2007) to the international, collaborative blog, PR Conversations)

4. Pageview Journalism’s Increasing Rise

It is no secret that the blogosphere is hot, and getting hotter. The continued rise of the “citizen journalist” will result in a further decline in the role of traditional media. Radio and television are being shoved aside in lieu of computers and handheld devices. PR pros will continue to embrace this change and implement strategies to effectively use it for their clients. (Ron Culp, Consultant and Professional Director Public Relations & Advertising MA Program, DePaul University)

5. Not Losing your Social Media Shirt in 2013

Dealing with the on-going changes to social media and social media provider policies can create planning challenges for a PR pro. Doubling-down and creating interest on multiple platforms can be the answer to avoiding encumbering policies and shifting end-user behavior. (Nathan Burgess, Account Supervisor, Bliss Integrated Communication)