It was an honour and privilege for PRecious Communications to be a part of the Social Media & PR 2019 Conference held in Singapore on 17th and 18th January. In his presentation, Lars Voedisch, Founder and Managing Director at PRecious Communications, provided hands-on advice and real-world use cases on how brands can keep up to date with new social media and PR trends and ensure they don’t miss out on the next big wave. Sharing the stage with Lars were representatives from Zalora, Fitbit, CBRE, Sony Electronics, ShopBack, AXA Insurance, Intel and SAP among many others.

The PR and social media landscape is changing at an unprecedented scale. If any marketer out there is wondering why social media isn’t solving all our problems, it’s because there is an explosion of channels and shift in the audience’s consumption behaviour. Coupled with increased privacy concerns and brand noise, fake influencers and followers, along with copycat marketing, we have all the ingredients for a full blown storm in the social media teacup.

Lars Voedisch provides hands-on advice and real-world use cases on how brands can keep up to date with new PR and social media trends.

And then there is the fact that mobile has overtaken desktop which has led to a massive shift in how audiences consume social media. Some of the challenges include businesses spending more money on social media but getting fewer returns, it takes significant time and effort to be successful, and millennials along with GenZ are moving away from traditional (launched five years or before) social networks.

In his presentation at the Social Media & PR 2019 Conference held in Singapore, Lars provided hands-on advice and real-world use cases on how brands can keep up to date with new social media and PR trends and ensure they don’t miss out on the next big wave.

Watch the SlideShare below to ride the next wave of PR and social media trends in 2019

Here are some of the key takeaways from Lars Voedisch’s presentation on Riding the Next Wave of PR and Social Media Trends in 2019

• IGTV, TikTok, WhatsApp Business and most importantly “the dark Social apps” which include all the messaging apps especially WhatsApp, Telegram, WeChat and Messenger will lead the mobile-first social media revolution.
• The B2B buying process keeps getting more complicated. Organisations are 57% of the way through the purchase decision process before they engage with supplier sales representatives and The number of people involved in B2B solutions purchases has climbed from an average of 5.4 two years ago to 6.8 today.
• Every offline story needs to have an online connection. Making your content Instagrammable and WhatsAppable is essential. Being a spokesperson isn’t optional.
• Branding is first and foremost all about gaining trust. Focus on the brand story and personality in your communications.
• Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is real. We are all fighting for attention.
• It’s time to rethink public relations. Old school PR such as traditional press releases alone for print publications don’t work anymore.
• It’s important to make it simple and convenient for your audience. It’s all about providing options.
• Memes are the newsjacking of social – it’s all about making a statement.
• Strategic PR is connecting with sales, not fighting it anymore.
• Brands have to develop integrated content that spans departments and channels.
• The sales pipeline – it’s all about the business and the bottom line.

Speaking alongside Lars Voedisch, were the following individuals:

• Angela Tan, Director of Communications, South East & South Asia, Middle East, Australasia & Africa, at AkzoNobel
• Christopher Daguimol, Group Head of Public Relations, at ZALORA Group
• Nikhil Kharoo, Head of PR & Partnerships, Asia Pacific, at Fitbit
• Andrew Peck, Director, Head of Communications, Asia, at CBRE
• Leon Pereira, Senior Manager, Corporate Communications Division, at Sony Electronics Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.
• Wu Ying Ying, Regional Head of Communications, at ShopBack
• Diane Yap, Head of Marketing, at AXA Insurance Pte Ltd
• Vincent Ong, Vice-President Marketing, East & South Asia & Pacific, at Club Med
• Rup Kamal Kalita, Global Marketing Director, GC & APJ Customer Storytelling, at SAP
• Aditya Kanathala, Digital Marketing & Media Manager, at Intel Corporation
• Charles Lankester, EVP, Global Reputation & Risk Management, at Ruder Finn
• Carolyn Camoens, Managing Director, Asia, at Hume Brophy
• Stephen Tracy, Chief Operating Officer, at Milieu Insight