2025 PR PREDICTIONS

FACTER PR CEO, Reena Goodwin, shares what she believes will be the next big things in PR in 2025.

1. Micro & Nano Influencers Aren't Going Anywhere

Micro-influencers, aka those with smaller but highly engaged followings on social media, continue to prove to be invaluable for brands. Their relatability and super niche focus often lead to higher engagement rates compared to macro-influencers. Nano-influencers on average have an engagement rate of 4.39%, more than double the average engagement rate for macro-influencers! So before you scoff at someone's follower numbers, get the facts about their impact. 

2. Community-Centric Campaigns

There are three ways to grow your audience: you can buy it with ads, borrow it with PR, or build it with community (online and offline). All are important, but for many, if you are building a brand and not just a business you'll benefit greatly from building a community. By creating spaces for consumers or clients to interact and share experiences, brands can cultivate a dedicated following that feels personally connected. Out of the buy, borrow, and build strategy, building community takes the longest but arguably compounds to serve you the most over time. Which brings me to the next point...

3. Owned Media Resurgence

Got a blog or a newsletter that’s been collecting dust? It’s time to revive. Thought leadership channels like these provide a stable, cost-effective way to engage your audiences directly and allow brands to build a community. Especially relevant will be the continued popularity of podcasts, with 69% of listeners discovering new products or services through podcast ads and 50% more likely to consider purchasing from brands they hear on this medium. Offering high engagement, a well-educated and affluent audience, and the ability to build trust and thought leadership, podcasts are a powerful way to connect with new audiences and drive results for your brand.

4. Partnerships for PR

Leveraging relationships with experts is a worthwhile strategy for amplifying your PR efforts and something we do for our clients often! While products provide the "what," experts bring the "why," adding credibility and narrative depth. In 2025, as people seek authenticity and authority in the brands they support, having a network of industry experts, thought leaders, or advocates speaking on your behalf can make a significant impact with or without affiliates.

5. Real Relationships 

AI is replacing or accelerating so much, but what it can't take the place of is genuine, human-to-human relationships. In the new year, AI search engines will start to make a greater impact on PR – something we have seen happen already! – and make media placements even more essential for visibility in tools like SearchGPT and Gemini. Again, relationships with publications are crucial, and those that feed AI models are going to be important so we can ensure stories are surfaced accurately and authentically.