media update’s Nakedi Phala takes you through five of the articles that everyone has been talking about.

Here are five of the PR stories that have been trending in 2019:

1.Goodbye influencers — hello traditional PR!

“There is still an important role for 'pure PR' — without all the trendy social media bells and whistles.”
Lately, there has been a tug of war between traditional PR practitioners and social media influencers.

But, who takes the trophy? While the success of boutique Australian PR agency The (social-free) Atticism is impressive, undoubtedly the same approach may not have worked for a big, multinational agency.

However, the moral of the story is that social media and influencers are not the be-all and end-all of modern PR.

media update travels to the landscape of influencers to see which one is better: influencers, or traditional PR. 

2. Dear PR pro: Here are four things journalists want you to know

“Journalists are the ones actually publishing the content that PR professionals produce. So it would make sense to take their tips and tricks to heart.”
PR pros, journalists have a major request — send a pitch that is personalised, and your email will most likely be read. 

In essence, many PR professionals will email a press release to a journalist, and before it has even had a chance to reach their inbox, the phone rings and the PR person asks when the release is going to be published.

If the journalist hasn’t had a chance to review the content, chances are they will just be frustrated by your call. Journalists are always busy, and while you may have only sent one press release today, the journalist has received 50 — along with 50 phone calls from PR professionals demanding to know when their content will be published.

So before you pick up that phone to hassle the journalist about your press release, make sure that your content is relevant to the publication and that you have included everything the journalist may need to publish it.

media update takes a walk in journalists’ shoes to look at the techniques PR pros need to incorporate in order to interact with journalists. 

3. Five PR trends to look out for in 2020

“2019 was expected to see PR go ‘back to basics’, a greater reliance on niche firms as well as a need for new measurement metrics. Throughout the year, we definitely did see these trends coming through.”
Hey PR professionals, guess who’s going to be your new friend come 2020? Data!

And joining data will be a focus on more niche, specialised PR.

And let's not forget PR's best friend, marketing. Marketing will be continuing to include PR into its strategic processes — from inception all the way to launch, and beyond!

But before we give too much away, check out media update’s article, where we take you through the top five trends to look out for in 2020. 

4. Five ways to handle a public relations crisis

“A crisis can arise at any moment, and it could dent your brand’s reputation. But what’s important is knowing how to go about handling the crisis you are faced with.” 
A brand can conduct business in an ethical manner but still find itself in a crisis. Mistakes do happen from time to time, which is why it is vital to have a crisis communication plan in place. 

This plan can help you manage the issue quickly and efficiently, as well as prevent the further spread of negativity. 

In a nail-biting (crisis-averting) media update article, we take you through the ways in which you can tackle brand crises.  

5. The death of AVE — PR needs more accurate metrics

“PR is not advertising, and thus it shouldn’t be measured as if it is.”
In November 2018, the UK's Chartered Institute of Public Relations put out an announcement stating that they would publish a new professional standard regarding public relations measurement. 

The Advertising Value Equivalency(AVE) is a measuring system that has been used in the PR sector to calculate the merits to a client from media coverage of a PR campaign.

However, how accurate are these measurements in modern PR? Is there still a use for this type of measurement?

Find out in our article, where media update takes you through the alternatives to, you guessed it, AVE. 

What are your thoughts on our 2019 PR trending stories? Let us know in the comments section below. 

Weshu... oratile ditaba tjarena akere na? Refe maikutlo agago. 

Now that you’ve been brought up to speed with the latest trending news, it’s time to learn more! Check out these Three ways to improve your internal PR strategy
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