Follow the Trend: Market Updates for a PR Professional

These days, everything is constantly changing, and it’s only natural that things are always evolving. Indirectly, we must keep up with these changes—or, as it’s commonly called, “follow the trend.” This means staying up to date on everything that’s currently trending, especially for a Public Relations Consultant working at a PR agency in Jakarta.

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Keeping up with trending topics is a crucial step in maintaining public awareness and knowledge of the brand or client being managed by a PR consultant. Additionally, there are several benefits to always staying on top of current trends; here they are:

Benefits of “Follow the Trend” for PR

More Time- and Cost-Effective

According to MarketingCraft, trending content minimizes marketing costs. From this, we can clearly identify which trends are suitable and currently popular with the public. Thanks to these trends, we can see what the public is interested in and enjoys. This means we don’t need to spend time brainstorming marketing ideas or incur additional costs.

Easily Accepted by the Target Market

Sometimes we have to go the extra mile to understand what they want. By following trends, we can identify opportunities to develop and build relationships with potential customers through trending content.

Brands Can Connect More Easily with Their Audience

When we follow trending topics, we gain insight into consumers’ tastes and desires, as well as what they want to see to connect with a brand through trendy content. This is a key strategy for both building and maintaining relationships with the audience.

Following trends is also practiced by PR consultants at the Jakarta-based PR agency Media Buffet PR. These PR consultants always tailor the ideas they present to clients to align with trends that resonate with the audience. For example, when one of Media Buffet’s clients, Pefindo Credit Bureau, launched a PR campaign and partnered with Felicia Putri Tjiasaka. This was done to follow trends that resonate with the audience, ensuring that the intended message would reach them effectively through Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), who are currently viewed as more trustworthy by the audience.

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A PR consultant should also consider the “Do’s” and “Don’ts” regarding trends that are emerging among the audience. Do: Follow trends as much as possible—and if necessary, create your own trends—to further enhance a brand’s value; sometimes, a little FOMO (fear of missing out) is actually necessary. Don’ts: Don’t be so complacent that you fall too far behind—you risk being left behind by your audience because you’re perceived as no longer relevant.

Written by Raya Mahesa & Shely Mariatur, Public Relations Interns at Media Buffet PR