Outside our editorial offices in New York City the leaves are turning bright orange and red. The wind is picking up, the temperature is falling. No doubt we’re heading toward the end of 2016. As we do each year, PR News Prowill again be presenting several articles dedicated to trends for the coming year. To jump-start that process, our Sophie Maerowitz asked attendees at the recent PRSA conference in Indianapolis what skill(s) successful PR pros will need in 2017. Here’s what they said:
Chris Bonelli, Coordinator, Global Advanced Technology Communications, General Motors
Audiences seem to be more fragmented and skeptical than ever, so communicators will need to use creative storytelling more than ever in 2017 to break through the clutter.
Scott Thornburg, PR Specialist, Oracle
1. Communicators need to find smarter and more strategic ways to relay information in a simple and succinct manner. This is imperative because verbosity doesn’t resonate in the modern age—consumers are being bombarded with news and information at every turn. We need to help them distinguish truth from noise.
2. Strategic communications and coaching at the executive level will be more important than ever. Young professionals expect transparency from their leaders. The job of navigating the delicate perceptions of our leaders will increasingly fall into the hands of PR.
3. Measuring and communicating the value of PR will be a top priority. Good communicators will learn to automate what they can using tools like Cision’s Communications Cloud, and focus only on doing those manual measurement tasks that are the most meaningful for the C-suite.
Kirk Hazlett, Fellow, PRSA, Associate Professor of Communication, Curry College
The ability to write concisely, clearly and compellingly will be in continual demand.
Chip Griffin, CEO, North America, CARMA
In 2017, PR professionals will need to put a renewed focus on the why. There are so many new tools and platforms out there that it’s time for strategists to start saying, “Why are we doing these things? What’s the thinking behind this communications approach?” As we start thinking about the why, we’ll achieve better results.
Shonali Burke, President/CEO, Shonali Burke Consulting
The one skill that is not going to go out of fashion is the ability to strategize. Tools and platforms and how we implement them into our programs may change, but we always need to think about those strategically. [PR pros] really need to take a step back and think about strategy, metrics and [how they tie back to] business objectives.
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