Authentic, relevant and substantial: What ‘good PR’ looks like in 2024

With stakeholder expectations and the media landscape constantly evolving, taking a strategic, engaging and coordinated approach to communication has never been more important.

As strategic communication consultants working with corporate, government, scale-up and not-for-profit organisations, we see a number of consistent and recurring challenges that are holding many back from meaningful and effective communication. In this piece we share our perspective on what ‘good communication and PR’ looks like in 2024.

1. Listening to and understanding your audiences

Listening is one of the most critical elements of communication, but it is often overlooked. Having a system in place for genuine listening, both directly to your stakeholders and more broadly, is vital (i.e. via consultation and regular media and social monitoring). Building an active understanding of what matters to your audiences and the issues and trends impacting your organisation will help ensure you communicate with impact.

2. Being authentic

Being authentic is crucial because it builds trust. Transparency and authenticity and are now non-negotiables, particularly in sustainability communication. Authenticity can reinforce and enhance your reputation, as it helps foster positive relationships with stakeholders. It also makes for far more interesting and engaging content.

3. Focusing on relevance and substance

Research shows our attention spans are shrinking. Meanwhile, we are being bombarded with more digital content than ever before, and the rise of AI-generated content will only add to the clutter. In this context it’s important to make sure you communicate in a way that is relevant and substantial. Don’t waste people’s time with dull, generic, overly long or useless content. Share your unique insights and expertise, have a (real) personality, provide practical information and support this with meaningful data, examples and stories.

4. Sharing stories

One of the most effective communication techniques is storytelling, with research highlighting the remarkable ability of stories to connect with people and inspire them to act. Developing simple narratives and telling stories that are surprising, revealing, emotive and interesting can help you cut through.

5. Having a clear strategy that ensures the pieces work together

Public relations is about building and maintaining positive relationships with all stakeholders that matter to your organisation, not just the media. It is also about being prepared. Prepared to effectively manage potential issues, but also prepared for how you will maximise the impact and reach of your work. Having a strategic, coordinated and outcomes-focused approach to communication is key, particularly at the ‘blurry edges’ where roles and responsibilities can overlap. Sometimes less is more. In our experience, clear communication strategies and plans that are easy to understand, adopt and adapt can be best.

Good change needs good communication

At Kaizen, we believe in the power of strategic communication to make the world a better place. We specialise in strategic communication and PR, stakeholder engagement, media relations, content and digital media, issues management and campaigns. If your organisation is changing, growing or looking to raise awareness of a critical initiative or issue, we’d love to help. Contact our Director Chris Williams for a confidential discussion – chris@kaizenco.au.