7 PR and Communications Trends for 2020

If there’s one rule of modern communications, it’s that you can’t stand still.

As technology keeps evolving and new channels emerge, we have to continue to tweak our tactics to stay relevant.

Some things never change. To succeed, you need to tell strong stories and have a clear message. You need to write and speak effectively. You need to have a consistent voice.

But it’s important to be nimble in how and where to deliver those messages.

With that in mind, here are 7 tactics that will be critical to your communications and PR efforts in 2020:

1. Facebook Messenger and Chatbots

As the Internet ages, communications becomes increasingly personal – to the point where many organizations are figuring out how they can communicate directly with individuals outside of public channels.

For nonprofits, that means experimentation with tools that make it possible to thank and build relationships with donors who contribute on Facebook via its Messenger tool. 

For companies and political candidates, it means getting smarter and more personal with the use of chatbots.

Permission, of course, is a critical element of this form of communications. You don’t want to come off as obtrusive or creepy. And you need to make sure you’re following privacy rules.

But when people agree that it’s ok to message them privately, it opens the door to some amazing possibilities.

The anti-hunger effort No Kid Hungry has been able to get permission from 13 percent of its donors to communicate with them via Messenger – and, not surprisingly, the organization has since found that these donors are more likely to engage in peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns and raise more money than those who don’t.

2. Livestreaming Becomes Mainstream

More than 150 million people per month are using livestreaming video sites like Twitch to watch people play video games, cook, sing, or simply hang out. With numbers that large, it should come as no surprise that livestreaming is becoming an important communications channel for nonprofits and brands.

Early adopters like Children's Miracle Network Hospitals jumped into livestreaming early in the 2010s and are now engaging thousands of users and generating millions of dollars annually. CMNH's Extra Life fundraising campaign, for example, raised $13.5 million in 2018 alone -- spawning interest among a number of other nonprofits who are looking to connect with potential donors and spokespeople.

Twitch isn’t the only game in town, either. YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook also have huge influence – and LinkedIn is getting into the game, as well.

Again, communications is becoming more personal. If you’re serious about using video as part of your communications, it’s no longer enough to create and distribute produced clips.

Livestreaming provides a more organic experience – as well as an opportunity to interact directly with your audience in real time.

3. The 2020 Election 

If you think it's been difficult to get news coverage in recent years, get ready for 2020.

The Presidential election and the current impeachment drama promise to suck up an inordinate amount of media oxygen between now and next November.

The challenge is clear. There will be fewer opportunities to generate earned-media coverage next year, particularly at the national level.

But there are some ways where you can try to stand out.

One is by focusing your earned-media outreach efforts more locally (see Thinking Smaller, below). Another is by ramping up your paid and owned media efforts for the short term and dialing back your expectations for earned media for the time being.

Additionally, by keeping up with the key issues being discussed on the campaign trail, there may be newsjacking opportunities to get your message out about an issue that is critical to your mission.

4. The Power of Persuasion

Sometimes it pays to zig while others are zagging.

That's why we’ve been doubling down on op-eds as a tactic for our PR and thought leadership clients. And why we’re looking to continue that strategy in 2020.

It’s going to be tough sledding for groups that are hoping to pitch stories to journalists next year. But there's still plenty of room for those who are willing to pen their own stories.

In recent months, we've had great success writing and placing pieces in national and international outlets like the USA Today and the International Business Times, major metros like The Washington Post and the Detroit Free Press, and smaller, local outlets like The Buffalo News and New York's Straus Newspapers.

With reporting staffs only growing smaller, many outlets are hungry for well-written, timely work.

If you have something important to say, this offers you some great opportunities. Consider allotting some of your media efforts around creating opinion pieces for news outlets.

5. Thinking Smaller

For national organizations and brands, rather than competing with other national organizations for mind share in the national media, consider taking your message to the local level.

One way to do this is to create customized news advisories about a key issue that includes local statistics for each key market. Then, you can position a key leader from your organization as an expert voice who can help provide context and information around that topic.

If you have local chapters or offices, consider providing media kits to your local staff that can give them tools to become expert sources for TV stations and newspapers in their markets.

6. Going Longer

We’ve been hearing for years that today’s audiences want shorter content.

But some new research shows that investing in longer-form written pieces can get more traffic and have more staying power on search engines. Pieces that run 3,000 words or longer get three times more traffic and four times more shares than pieces that are a more average length of 901-1,200 words.

Of course, long content only works if you have the material to make it worthwhile – and if it’s well written.

The takeaway, however, is clear: If you have the goods to produce longer pieces, you should go ahead and stretch out!

7. Enhanced Experiences

Whatever you’re producing in 2020, make sure it reaches people in multiple ways.

That strong, long-form blog post will have much longer legs if you pair it with a short-form video and some high-quality images.

The same is true for your media pitches. Don’t rely just on a news release. Make sure you provide visuals or videos to help make your pitch stand out – and to give news outlets additional assets to use with your piece.

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What tactics are you adopting in 2020? Shoot me a note and let me know how you’re tackling your communications and PR for the new year.

And if you’d like to see how we did with our predictions for 2019, check out our piece from last December (we think it holds up pretty well).