After a year like 2020, this new year has a whole new set of challenges. It also created a lot of trends due to the abundance of pivoting and adapting everyone had to do, including the media. News stations we’re inundated with COVID-19 updates, breaking political news and more. So what does 2021 look like on the PR front? Let’s dive in!

This is nothing new, but it’s definitely amplified after last year. With print closing up shop and moving online, plus everything moving to virtual or digital due to the pandemic, this is the main source of news. Social media especially…news outlets have moved to social media as their platform for breaking news and it’s proven that this is the main source people are using to listen, view and read top stories.

This was a big one – no guests in-studio and all interviews done via Zoom, Skype and Facetime. Not sure how long this one will last, as they’ve been making it work remotely, but there’s nothing like a live, in-person interview.

Whether it’s a merger or acquisition, or the loss of advertisers, local print newspapers and live local radio are folding leaving an opening for people to find their news. Unfortunately, print was already folding slowly, but now due to the pandemic, hyperlocal news has taken a hit. Live radio specifically due to people not commuting to work everyday. If people are listening to their news, they turn to podcasts.

If the pandemic taught us one thing, it’s how important our relationships are and that includes work relationships too! Journalists relied on publicists to connect them quickly for breaking stories on how COVID-19 was affecting businesses, health stories related to the virus, etc. When you’re in a crisis, you find out who you can trust and depend on.

Not only is this because everything is online, but also because traditional news is slowly dying. Also, the pandemic and increased use of all things digital, created more of a following for these influencers because everyone turned to social media with all of the down time.

Founded in 2005, Bettie Bomb is a Midwest Public Relations Agency offering a suite of services from trusted industry partners under one creative umbrella. Nonprofit PR, Marketing, Social Media and beyond…we work as an extension of your team, creating personalized campaigns, building awareness and telling your story when it matters most.

We are a Boutique Midwest PR Agency specializing in all things lifestyle: food, fashion, hospitality, retail, health & wellness, medical, consumer and philanthropy. Partners Rebecca Kussmann & Laura Collins work closely with businesses & organizations to target key audiences and generate exposure all under the Bettie Bomb umbrella. Work one-on-one or have us build a team. We can be BIG and we can be small…that’s the beauty of it. Small, but mighty with the ability to grow. That’s us in a nutshell.