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What to expect from your PR and marketing in 2022

As with all things, trends in PR and marketing change from year to year, as new technologies are developed and audiences crave something new.

With that in mind, Charlotte Nichols, founder and managing director of PR, social media and content marketing agency Harvey & Hugo, outlines some of the things you can expect from your PR and marketing in 2022…

PR

Whether you’re at the forefront of technology or more old-school, one thing remains the same: when it comes to public relations, it’s always about authenticity, and that’s more important than ever as we face continued upheaval and uncertainty.

Consumers increasingly want their brands to take a stand on causes they’re passionate about, informing and educating rather than simply selling. While this trend was seen most at the height of the pandemic, it looks set to continue as we navigate 2022.

With regards to your PR, working on your corporate social responsibility is a great way to show your authentic self; pick causes that are genuinely close to your heart and share the news regularly – audiences love to hear something positive and heart-warming during troubled times.

Another key trend that shows no sign of slowing down is flexibility, for obvious reasons. With home-working strongly encouraged again where possible, we may all have to be flexible about how, when and where we communicate.

For those businesses that need their PR to be flexible too, at Harvey & Hugo, we’ve got that covered: our Pay-as-Hugo e-commerce site lets clients buy as much or as little from our PR, social media and content marketing services as they need – or can afford. They can also buy it from the comfort of their own homes, making it the perfect choice while we all continue to social distance.

Social media

Video was big in 2021 and will continue to be big over the next 12 months, no matter which platform or medium it is shared on.

In fact, it is estimated that as this year unfolds, online videos will make up more than 82 per cent of all consumer internet traffic – 15 times higher than it was only five years ago.

And when it comes to social media, using video really does help stop the scroll, resulting in 12 times more shares than text and images combined.

The best news of all is that it doesn’t need to be a slick, expensive operation to create video content – most smartphones will do a decent job of capturing some footage to share, whether that’s of tutorials, behind-the-scenes footage or anything else that’s going on – as long as it’s moving, it has the power to stop the scroll.

We’ve all been bombarded with information for the last year or two, meaning audiences don’t have the attention spans they once had, and that’s why another trend for the coming year is snackable content.

Short snippets, whether that’s Facebook Stories, Instagram Reels or TikTok (again), are perfect for the idle scroller – but don’t fall into the trap of believing that just because it’s short, it’s ineffective. These short bursts all add up to form an impression of your brand in the mind of the viewer – even if they don’t realise.

Content marketing

The stats show us that one third of all online activity is spent watching video, and globally, 40 per cent of shoppers said that they purchased products that they had discovered on YouTube. Video can be used to create explainer films, interviews and product demonstrations, in a way that is considerably more engaging and accessible than lines of text and diagrams.

It’s not particularly new, but another key content marketing trend you can’t afford to ignore, especially when it comes to your own website, is SEO.

Nearly all (95 per cent) searchers only look at the first page of Google, so businesses need to do everything in their power to make sure that’s where they can be found – there’s little point otherwise.

To boost your findability, you need content that is unique, creative and original – as well as hitting all the right notes when it comes to keywords.

If you want to get 2022 off to a good start, at Harvey & Hugo, we can at least help with your PR, social media and content marketing – although sadly, we can’t guarantee anything else.

Throw us a bone on 01325 486666 or email info@harveyandhugo.com for more information.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Harvey & Hugo .