With the complete world takeover of social media, lots of things have changed, especially Public Relations. As more businesses are in the landscape, marketing has shifted toward storytelling and content has become heavily video-focused, competition is HIGHER THAN HIGH and it’s become that much more important for brands to find the best ways of getting the word out about their product or service. Then you throw in how the environment is changing, cross-globe politics, the capacity to break news with a tweet and it’s like a crazy game that has become indescribably difficult to win.

As we move into a new year, here are some PR trends we think will evolve…

EARNED MEDIA + CREATION OF YOUR OWN NEWS

• When a credible source talked about your brand, it’s stronger promotion for you than anything you could create on your own. Seeking out 3rd parties to help share your story, and consistent focus on how to create interesting stories for this exact sake is crucial.

SHIFT TO SOCIAL MEDIA

• Continued transition from traditional media (press releases mass distribution) to more social media-focused campaigns and support. Earned media and the third party credibility it offers is super important, but the capacity to tie programming that engages the community at large can support getting the word out as well.
• Social listening, the concept of listening instead of just posting. Real-time listening and response times will become detrimental to brands everywhere.

SPONSORED NATIVE CONTENT

• Sponsored native content in support of PR messaging, that’s to say, utilizing press platforms to publish brand content and leverage their communities in a paid, but still creative, way that gets the info out, but still tells a story. I think buying ads in promotion of press will also see a rise.

DECREASED USE OF MASS DISTRIBUTION SERVICES

• Decrease use of newswire/mass distribution services and increase of localized PR efforts that have a stronger look and feel. Reaching out with custom pitches is key, and we’d rather get one great story than the same story published to a bunch of random sites that no one will ever see. That’s not to knock mass services, we send out mass as well, we just collect the contacts ourselves to make sure we are distributing to as targeted a group as possible.

LOCALIZED PR TEAMS

• Use of localized PR/comms teams for local activation. We do PR for some large brands and work tirelessly to turn national/broad campaigns into grassroots efforts that have a local touch and feel (and a face!) that people can better connect with and support.

PERSONIFICATION OF YOUR BRAND

• We say it all the time, but the best brands are your pals. They are your friends, and in order to be a friend, they have to have a pulse. We think brands will focus on authenticity

We can’t wait to see what this year has in store for our clients and we look forward to growing alongside the changing media landscape!

Meet the team behind Black Wednesday

Instagram Handle:

@blackwedco

Twitter Handle:

@blackwedco

Website:

blackwednesday.co

Brand:

Black Wednesday

What’s the purpose of your brand?

We’re designing marketing, social media and PR programming for small to large sized businesses. Our goal is to personify brands and help them connect with their audiences in authentic and engaging ways. 

How long have you worked with/on your current brand?

BW is almost 4 years old

How many people are on your team?

2 of us are committed to social media for BW 

Corri

Evelyn

How do you adapt your account to popular/trending themes?

For BW: BW tends to lean to the more offbeat trends, but we will also engage the social media-related trends as well — think memes, trending tweet formats, etc. We will always make twists to make them dark, mysterious or on-brand. 

For our clients: we spend a lot of time understanding current and target audience to make sure we know what trends to engage and which to stay away from. Depending on the audience and the brand voice, we make quick decisions on how to get into relevant conversations.

Tell us about the craziest mention you have ever received or conversation you’ve been pulled into…

There are so many. From a BW perspective, we LOVE when people send us cute jokes or DMs of goth memes or photos of themselves dressed in black. Wearing black on Wednesdays has become a trend in itself and it makes us SO happy when people think about us! 

What do you wish people knew about Black Wednesday?

I wish people knew the time and effort that is required to manage social media WELL. It’s time consuming, nuanced and very very important. It’s a tough job, with never-ending hours; it requires extreme flexibility, creativity and innovation… OH and most importantly, that there’s a person at the end of those posts. I also wish people knew that what we do goes far beyond “just social media.” We are builders, designers, promoters, and cheerleaders – this comes out in a myriad of ways, not just through social. – Corri 

I wish people knew about the full extent of work we put into making things enjoyable for others. It’s a never ending spinning wheel of research, creativity, and translating both into 100 other pieces that end up being shared with thousands of people. Sometimes ideas don’t work out. Other times, we accidentally create a cult following of people wearing black on Wednesdays. – Evelyn

Whose social media do you admire?

Corri: Apple + Celeste Barber

Evelyn: Glossier + Brittany Bathgate

Anything else to share?

Thank you for following this campaign! We have ONE MORE WEEK and it’s gonna be good.

Make sure we’re connected across all channels:

Facebook 

Twitter

Instagram

Meet Ken Brown, Strategic Communications Manager for the City of Charlotte

Meet Ken Brown, Strategic Communications Manger for the City of Charlotte.

Instagram Handle:

@cltgov

Twitter Handle:

@CLTgov

Website:

Charlottenc.gov

Brand:

City of Charlotte

What’s the purpose of your brand?

We provide services that improve the quality of life for all Charlotteans.

How long have you worked with/on your current brand?

5+ years 

How many people are on your team?

1

How do you adapt your account to popular/trending themes?

Most trends worth jumping on belong to a culture or subculture, so avoiding appropriation is our top priority. We’ll pass on attempt to capitalize on a moment if there’s a chance that it might come off as offensive, insensitive or tone deaf. When we do jump on, our nods to popular culture are typically low-key. I really enjoy seeing people catch on to our subtle references.

Have you ever made a reply on social media that had to go through multiple approvals? Tell us about it…

ALL. THE. TIME. Much of what we say is attached to major projects, so it’s understandable that the powers that be would want to keep an eye on what we’re saying before it hits the public. During major moments (ex. Sept. 2016 demonstrations and 2012 Democratic National Convention), nearly everything has to be approved. Social media moves fast, but sometimes you have to slow down to get the right approvals when stakes are high.

Tell us about the craziest mention you have ever received or conversation you’ve been pulled into…

A lot of people (including Lady GaGa) mentioned Charlotte instead of Charlottesville in Tweets during the Unite the Right rally and counter protests in 2017. The misdirected comments were not that important (in my opinion) considering what was happening on the ground in Virginia, but it was crazy to see the speed at which misinformation can move. A lot of the comments were honest mistakes, but others were something more. People were calling out former Mayor Jennifer Roberts and North Carolina as if the event actually happened in Charlotte.

What do you wish people knew about your role/account/brand?

This isn’t a social media thing, but I wish that people knew how much power they have to make an impact in government. Not just on voting day, but every day.

Whose social media do you admire? (locally or nationally)

Charlotte Agenda found the sweet spot on Instagram. The Panthers get it on every platform. CLT Airport, CMPD and Belk Bowl. Vice videos are great, and their reporting is exceptional (most of the time). Same with NPR. Fenty Beauty and House of Highlights are masters at harnessing the power of user content. The Atlanta Hawks have done an incredible job at fusing the city’s culture into its brand on social. I look to universities and museums for inspiration. I love the brief, smart copy from liquor brands on Instagram. Hamburger Helper on Twitter. I can do this all day.

Anything else to share?

I’d like to see more people speak up and ask questions about Charlotte local government on social. Council members are tapped in and see your conversations, and senior leaders in our organization are always curious about what I see. One tweet can start something big if the right people see it.

Meet Vica, Adam, Kathryn, and Megan, South End CLT’s Social Media Team

Meet the team behind South End CLT : Vica Bondurant, Adam Rhew, Kathryn Menzie, and Megan Gude. 

Tell us about the team:

Kathryn Menzie (@kp_menzies) is Center City Partners’ social media coordinator. She manages the @SouthEndCLT and @Uptown.CLT handles. She is also an awesome blogger here in Charlotte! Follow her for tips about the latest trends.

Megan Gude (@megangude) is the Director of Historic South End. She is an urban planner extraordinaire and has helped shape South End into what it is today. You won’t find anyone more passionate about making South End an amazing place to live, work and play than Megan.

Adam Rhew (@adam.rhew) is the Director of Communications. He’s a jack of all trades and works on everything from press releases to editorial calendars. He’s also an incredible writer and helps us tell better stories about our neighborhoods. Luckily, he is still writing freelance pieces in Charlotte – check out his restaurant reviews and definitely take his recos!

Vica Bondurant (@vicabondo) is the Director of Marketing. She’s a self-proclaimed marketing nerd whose enthusiasm and energy for great urban places shines through all of the organization’s content.

Instagram Handle:

@southendclt

Twitter Handle:

@SouthEndCLT

Website:

HistoricSouthEnd.com

Brand:

South End CLT

What’s the purpose of your brand?

To share the stories of a vibrant and evolving neighborhood in a way that allows people to better connect with this part of our city – South End.  

How long have you worked with/on your current brand?

Each person on the team has a different tenure from 2months to 2 years.

How many people are on your team?

4

How do you adapt your account to popular/trending themes?

We try to strike a balance of what people already know about South End (dogs and beer) and what we want to remind them about that makes South End unique – local businesses, creativity around every corner, incredible art and more.

Have you ever made a reply on social media that had to go through multiple approvals? Tell us about it… 

We have a great system of checks and balances. We all work together for posts, replies and such in order to make sure what we post is on brand and engaging.

What is the post you are most proud of?

What do you wish people knew about your role/account/brand?

Two things:

1. We want to make info about South End super easy to find and really fun to interact with. The post we’re most proud of isn’t at all. It’s a screen shot of our profile because we’ve integrated LinkTree into our bio to help our followers find and read South End stories more easily. We’ve also started to use Highlights more to showcase all the great things. We try to use our social handles to tell an array of stories about the people and businesses that make this place awesome! Highlights and LinkTree are new ways we have been experimenting with to get beyond the post and deeper into the story.

2. We love when people tag us in their South End photos! We want to highlight our neighbors and what makes South End special.We encourage everyone to tag @southendclt when they’re out and about as we love to highlight user generated content in both our feed and stories. We try to stick to our brand pillars of “shopping, bites + brews, arts + craft, neighbors (both human and not), hidden gems, happenings (events) and move it (fitness/transportation)” for our photos. If people tag us in things that fall under those categories, we save them and try to fit them into our social media calendar. People might see their photos with a cred in our feed!

Whose social media do you admire? (locally or nationally)

So many! 

@railtrailclt – We love the Rail Trail

@neilshea13 – Outstanding story telling and photos

@GirlTribeCo – For engagement being true to life

@NotJustCoffee – Beauty, brand and afternoon caffeine fix

@LincolnsHaberdashery – Food photography and owning their weirdness

@CraftGrowlerShop – Cheese boards

@CampNorthEnd – Varian helped get the South End CLT social handles launched

Anything else to share?

Check out the blog on our website. We actively curate and create South End stories like guides to exploring the neighborhood or the story behind public art you see every day and everything in between. The link is in our bio and we encourage everyone to explore. If anyone has ideas for stories, they can always DM us – we can’t promise we’ll get to every idea, but if certain themes keep popping up, you will likely see it in a post!

Meet SG, The Anonymous And Endlessly Positive Dude Behind @Supportiveguy 

Instagram Handle:

@supportiveguy

Twitter:

@supportivedude

Website:

The Supportive Minute

Brand:

Supportive Guy 

What’s the purpose of your brand?

To spread positivity and whimsy in hopes of creating an internet community that is truly glad online.

How long have you worked with/on your current brand?

1-3 years

How many people are on your team?

Technically just me, but my reach would be nowhere near as extensive without the help of the folks at Sports Channel 8 and The Charlotte Podcast. Also my wife, Supportive Bae, produces The Supportive Minute and is my trusted consigliere.

How do you adapt your account to popular/trending themes?

Current meme templates give me something with which to apply the SG persona. I do a tongue-in-cheek “sponsor” at the beginning of each episode of The Supportive Minute. Trending topics give me a source to draw from. Whether it be emotional support peacocks, avocado toast, or what have you.

Tell us about the craziest mention you have ever received or conversation you’ve been pulled into…

A couple of years ago my account was featured as a human interest piece. It was a fun experience and in the midst of it word of my account reached Monica Lewinsky. She tweeted me her support. Obviously she’s dealt with a lot over the years and I admire her a great deal. She dedicates a lot of her time to fighting cyber bullying and she’s doing great work there.

What do you wish people knew about your role/account/brand?

For most of who aren’t in the public eye, it’s easy to have fun with social media and it can be a great, rewarding experience. Most of the time you can curate your experience to be enjoyable and genuinely connect with people. I see people who are down on social media a lot and I get it, but in most cases you can make it work for you as a positive vehicle to connect with people who share your sensibilities and interests.

Whose social media do you admire? (locally or nationally)

There are so many social media accounts I love. Locally, the first person that comes to mind is Michael Felder (@InTheBleachers on Twitter, @ItsFelder on Instagram). He can literally live-tweet a trip to the hardware store and have me captivated. His Instagram is completely different from his Twitter, but no less engaging. I just try not look at it on an empty stomach. Another thing I admire about him is that he will reply to anyone. As long as you’re respectful, he’ll have a conversation with you about anything. Oh, and he’s also really good at his actual job.

Nationally, I love Shea Serrano. He has a perfect blend of humor and supportiveness. He’s one of the gold standards for Twitter accounts.

Anything else to share?

Thank you for protecting my anonymity. That’s still the first time anyone has seen any part of my face. I moisturized my t-zone for weeks leading up to that photo.

Thank you for including me alongside so many awesome folks. You and your team have the industriousness of a family of beavers that has undergone extensive beaver training.