All social media platforms – except for TikTok – are being used less frequently by communications professionals as the digital PR industry’s post-covid boom levels off, according to a new report published by the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA).
More than seven in 10 (73%) digital communication professionals expect to use TikTok in the next 12 months – an increase of almost a third (31%) since last year.
The 2022 PRCA Digital Report – carried out by 3Gem – reveals an industry breaking through established boundaries to help clients and organisations adapt to the demands of emerging technology. Though the use of social platforms such as Twitter and Facebook has reduced, industry professionals are increasingly working on projects linked to the Metaverse (49%), Web3 (45%) and NFTs (42%).
Despite the growing demand for services linked to emerging tech, more than a third (36%) of in-house respondents and almost half (43%) of agency professionals said they had not received enough adequate training to excel in their role.
Other findings include:
- The overall outlook for digital PR remains strong with the majority (62%) of respondents increasing their budgets over the last year.
- Content creation (71%), online media outreach/relations (69%) social influencer outreach/ engagement (66%) are the most popular services provide by agencies
- 32% of in-house respondents said that their PR and communications department is responsible for digital and social media content compared with 49% in 2020.
PRCA Digital Group Co-Chair Danny Whatmough CMPRCA said:
“Once again, the world of digital marketing and PR has seen a shake-up, which comes through powerfully in our latest Digital PR Report. Trends that accelerated during the height of the pandemic have now steadied. The focus on social media platforms have reduced, if not, levelled. Only TikTok has seen a sharp 31% rise in usage amongst agency respondents.
“2022 promises to be a year of consolidation after so much turmoil. But this report will leave readers with no doubt as to the direction we’re travelling.”