Well, we are over a month into the New Year now and we have already seen some very interesting public relations efforts by some major companies. This has sparked the conversation over what 2019 will bring the world of PR.

Our Top 3 Picks for the PR Trends of 2019

In an effort to give you a glimpse into the future, we have provided you with a list of the three biggest PR trends of 2019 that we have seen becoming more widely used so far.

Once you’ve read through all of these trends, you can choose which ones would work best for you:

1. Even More Earned Media

When people refer to “free press” this is generally what they are talking about. Earned media has been a popular item in the toolkit of all PR agencies for a while now, but everything indicates that it is going to become bigger than ever in 2019. The beautiful thing about earned media is that it does not cost your company a single cent and, it is a far more effective form of advertising.

It is essentially a marketing pyramid scheme where someone posts about you, which might get reactions, responses, and shares from all of their readers - who then get reactions, responses, and shares from their own readers, and so on. Just like that, your company has reached potentially hundreds or even thousands of people without you having to even raise a finger.

As the year progresses, you can expect to see a lot of companies striving to increase the amount of earned media that they receive. This will likely be achieved by them investing more time structuring their social media posts in a way that encourages emotional responses to try and get their followers’ responses and shares.

2. Increased Corporate Social Responsibility

As our culture becomes more and more socially conscious, it becomes increasingly important for businesses to publicly communicate that they share a socially responsible viewpoint.

We have already seen that happening more frequently over the course of 2018, and it is only going to get more intense this year.

Jumping on the eco-friendly bandwagon by announcing that you are discontinuing the use of plastic straws, or donating a portion of your proceeds to a tree planting foundation, is an easy and effective way to get more people to view your company in a positive light.

3. The Rise of Link less Mentions

For many years we have been taught that getting other sites to link back to your company’s site was the ultimate tool in increasing your online credibility, and that was true up until a couple years ago. Then linkless mentions entered the game, and even though they have had a bit of a slow rise to popularity, we believe that they are going to become a much bigger thing in 2019.

By going after link less mentions, you can put more focus on developing high-quality content, and less time on awkwardly inserting a link back to your own site just to get a small mention - often at the expense of quality.

How Will You Incorporate These Trends?

Remember, high-quality content is sure to drive more results than a single link on something mediocre ever would. Being socially and globally responsible, while a reward in and of itself, will also pay you back in excellent PR. And, earned media can take you from virtually unknown to viral!

Try picking one of the strategies above that you believe would fit your company best and try incorporating it over the next couple months. They are all simple, and inexpensive (or free!) ways to boost your PR strategy in 2019.