Posted on | by D.media

5 PR Trends to Jump On in 2025 + Tips and Tactics

Through collaboration with strategic partners, companies can adjust their messaging to resonate more deeply with their audience and broaden the impact of their PR initiatives. Involve them in campaign development and provide detailed yet flexible briefs to ensure their authenticity is on point—all while meeting brand objectives. Sometimes, putting more energy into places like Reddit, Discord, or even LinkedIn can yield great results.

  • TikTok, Instagram Reels, and newer platforms like Threads are redefining how brands engage with audiences.
  • That’s because they’re more authentic and speak to highly engaged audiences.
  • They deliver consistent content without scheduling constraints or contract negotiations.
  • Teams upload past press releases, leadership quotes, and brand guidelines so the AI generates drafts that match your style from the start.
  • LinkedIn is the journalist tool of choice overall, so it makes sense to invest some time developing relationships with journalists there.

Influencer PR & Influencer Relations: Strategy Playbook

Brand activism is when companies take public stances on social, political, or environmental issues. False content doesn’t disappear overnight, and your response shouldn’t either. Over the next day or two, share your verified version of events with evidence across earned media, your own channels, and direct updates to stakeholders. If you have systems to verify content and respond quickly, you stay ahead of the story. Traditional crisis plans cover negative press, executive misconduct, and product failures.

The Rise of Audio and Video Content

Beyond automating press releases or social media copy, AI now helps predict social media trends, analyze journalist preferences and even translate content for global audiences. This can help you examine media coverage, social media patterns, and audience sentiment in real time. As we approach 2025, it’s time to explore the top PR trends for 2025 that will redefine how brands connect with their audiences and maintain their reputation. PR is no longer about siloed press releases or one-time media coverage; it has evolved towards building cohesive brand narratives across multiple digital channels. It’s the use of AI and machine learning to analyze real-time and historical data (sentiment trends, media patterns, social behavior) to forecast potential issues, viral moments or opportunities.

The new era of PR: Adapting to a digital-first world

People trust what others say about a brand far more than branded messages. Marketing explains what you offer; PR brings outside validation through media coverage and influencer mentions that make marketing more believable. Teams collaborate closely by using earned media to boost paid campaigns, aligning brand voice across channels, and measuring success through shared metrics. They deliver polished drafts that need only light edits, which shortens approval time and minimizes off-brand mistakes. Teams upload past press releases, leadership quotes, and brand guidelines so the AI generates drafts that match your style from the start.

What is Brand Activism? The Best and Worst Campaign Examples

  • When your message travels across those channels in a connected way, it reaches people multiple times in different contexts.
  • Start by labeling all content as human-only, AI-assisted with human review, or AI-generated (typically for internal drafts only).
  • Getting a personalized pitch that’s tailored to your interests and needs is much more likely to result in coverage than a generic email blast sent to hundreds of contacts.
  • Trust has become the currency in media relations, and authentic hyperpersonalization is how you earn it.

Many SEO and link building agencies are starting to move towards offering PR services. However, demand for PR and digital PR is at an all-time high according to Google Trends. I often cite UK-based freelance journalist Rosie Taylor’s newsletter, Get Featured, but a quick search on Substack reveals a multitude of personal newsletters from other journalists. According to Muck Rack, 37% of journalists reported layoffs or buyouts in 2025. So, if there was a story about a wildfire, trying to connect the journalists with a source that was personally impacted.

LinkedIn seems to be the most valuable platform for journalists

When people hear directly from a founder, they feel a connection to the business. They want to know who’s actually behind the brand and what drives them. The unintended consequence is that journalist fatigue has hit crisis levels as reporters receive hundreds of generic AI pitches weekly and can spot automated outreach instantly. These aren’t predictions, these are public relations trends that are already creating how stories are told, how influence is measured, and how visibility is gained. AI, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), and founder-led branding are driving the biggest shifts in how PR operates right now. This isn’t gradual progress, but a wake-up call for immediate action from every PR professional.

AI will also improve media pitching by identifying the best journalists for specific stories based on past coverage and interests. Tools like prtrend AI-powered chatbots and content creation platforms will streamline tasks, enabling PR teams to focus on strategy and relationship building. Get in touch to discover how we can boost your social media, SEO and paid search

How to Stay Ahead in 2025

Create modular press materials that you can easily customize based on who you’re contacting. To put this into practice, start by using tools like Prowly or Muck Rack to learn what each journalist covers. Trust has become the currency in media relations, and authentic hyperpersonalization is how you earn it.

Get featured in top-tier media, build credibility fast, and attract new business with proven PR strategies that actually deliver results. Businesses will co-create content with other creators and influencers. In addition to the content being some of the coolest on the internet, it demos real-life applications and testimonials for their cameras.

Hosted by Malcolm Gladwell, this podcast gives IBM a platform to share its executive insights on technology and business directly with audiences, without relying on traditional media. This shift allows you to control your messaging, engage audiences directly and reduce reliance on third-party media. For instance, Adobe’s “Create Change” initiative wove a single creative-empowerment narrative across Adobe.com, social channels and media partnerships, generating over 20 million impressions in 2024.

54% of the time, they seldom or never respond to a pitch. When a journalist doesn’t respond, it doesn’t mean they aren’t reading your pitches. This means that PR pros need to check for relevance before sending their pitches, or they may face being ignored, blocked, or worse, marked as spam. The top reason for rejecting a PR pitch is when it’s not relevant to the coverage area. Cision found that the number one reason journalists block you is when they receive a pitch that is not relevant to their beat.

As AI continues to learn and adapt, PR practitioners can expect more personalized and efficient campaigns that resonate with their target audiences. In 2025, expect AI to play a bigger role in media monitoring, sentiment analysis, and predictive analytics. Balancing automation with authenticity, measuring ROI across platforms, and staying culturally relevant in real time are all ongoing hurdles. With AI-generated content flooding inboxes and timelines, quality and originality matter more than ever. Micro-influencers, UGC, and value-driven messaging dominate the media landscape.

Custom chatbots help PR teams create content faster while keeping brand integrity intact. Partner with micro-influencers who already have credibility and create content that solves real problems. Outreach gets better responses, coverage goes deeper, and content feels authentic because it’s created for the right audience. People trust voices that sound like insiders, not brands trying to talk to everyone. This means working with specialized media, micro-influencers, and community insiders who understand the language and values of the audience.

Additionally, those with access to advanced tools have a clear advantage. That means sending the right message at the right time, using the right format and channel. Yes, hyper-personalization takes more time, but it also translates to success. Use tools like HubSpot or Salesforce to analyze customer journeys and sales. Additionally, you can ask it to analyze your data and make recommendations. However, you can gather massive amounts of data and let AI process it for you.

Technology helps companies move faster and reach more people, but it can’t replace the human judgment behind strong narratives. Keep human creators for community engagement, crisis response, and moments that require personal trust. If it makes sense, create a custom virtual ambassador using tools like Synthesia for videos or Soul Machines for interactive characters. In trust-heavy fields like healthcare, finance, and B2B, human authenticity carries more weight.

” Use their feedback to refine your pitch templates and you’ll stand out as someone who respects their time and makes their job easier. Reach out with questions like “What kind of verification helps your team review pitches faster? These policies apply to all pitches, not just internal newsroom practices. Newsrooms are publishing formal AI policies that directly affect how they evaluate incoming pitches. Search your latest press release and see what snippet appears. It’s discovering your actions contradict your stated values, which destroys long-term trust.

So, which platforms should you use to connect with journalists? Britt says, “…if you can go out of your way to share their stories, journalists love that.” This highlights the evolving nature of media consumption. And while journalists definitely use it in their day-to-day workflows, there are some changes in how they use it. This approach not only improves brand visibility but also enhances ROI by leveraging resources more efficiently.

Aligning authentically with initiatives like climate action, DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion), and mental health not only demonstrates a brand’s commitment to societal values but also builds resilient trust with stakeholders. You need to monitor issues in real-time, prepare crisis response plans and use the right tools to prevent misinformation from escalating. Micro and nano-influencers, those with smaller but highly engaged followings, have emerged as the real drivers of trust and influence.