What happens when your crisis communications hit a wall of skepticism? With trust in traditional institutions at an all time low, PR professionals must overcome the trust hurdle—and media monitoring and analysis can help. Read on for a sneak preview of our eBook, “The Evolving Skillset of the Modern PR Professional: Establishing Trust in a Chaotic World,” for expert insights:

The core skills of the modern PR professional are based on gaining the most important currency for companies today: Trust.

Consumers are more connected than ever, and they have countless options of brands to follow, shop, support and share. Brands must take smart steps to reach these individuals on the platforms they use every day and serve them messages they'll value and trust.

The following are four of the most critical abilities for modern PR professionals to possess:

  • Verifying information to spare customers from the deluge of fake news sowing confusion.
  • Reaching out to influencers to give brands a human face.
  • Performing analytics to make objectively smart moves instead of using guesswork.
  • Working with multimedia because information consumption habits have evolved.

Verifying Information

The chaotic media climate today, in which blatantly false and malicious stories can lead to very real consequences, presents a serious challenge for PR professionals. These individuals have to realize the magnitude of the problem and counter with clarifications.

Confusion is everywhere:

64 percent of Americans say fake news stories are causing "a great deal of confusion" 24 percent say these falsehoods have led to "some confusion"

Fake content is spreading:

16 percent of Americans said they'd shared a fake news story not knowing it was untrue-and 14 percent admitted to willingly sharing fabricated facts1

PR pro's best practices

  • Establish an internal fact-checking process and team.
  • Prepare sources and methodology for statistical information before presenting to journalists.
  • Restrict pitches to outlets with strong reputations.2

Reaching Out to Influencers

With so much access to information, consumers are looking beyond brand's own communications to get information. PR pros today are learning to work with influential figures to reach large audiences with messages that come from people rather than companies.

PR pro's best practices

  • Choose influencers who complement your brand.
  • Remember it's a relationship, not a contract.
  • Don't let paid marketing dominate.

Fill out the form to read the details on two more key capabilities modern PR pros rely on—media analytics and multimedia.