Three trends that are shaping advertising and public relations is social media, virtual reality, and blog posts. I chose these three trends because through my primary research I found that these three trends are becoming more and more popular each day. Social media, virtual reality and blog posts are constantly advancing in technology. With the new advancements in technology, the audience for each trend is growing.
The first trend I found the most popular is social media. Over half of the nation has social media accounts including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. The number of users is constantly growing. In the past year, advertisements started showing up on Instagram and Snapchat. As a user for both of these accounts, I have enjoyed the advertisements that pop up on my page. I have even seen advertisements about blogs that I should read. From that advertisement, I now read a blog every week. Something that always creates new trends and spreads awareness is hashtags. Hashtags are mainly used on social media. An example would be a hashtag that is always trending at Grand Valley State University is #Anchorup.
When I think of virtual reality, I think of it being something that is very futuristic. Our whole world is surrounded by technology, and we’re constantly advancing in it. Most people have seen virtual reality being in video games. Since virtual reality is trending, more people are interested in it. Soon, virtual reality will have a high demand, more brands will focus their campaigns on them. Right now, virtual reality has a high audience number for gamers. Advertising agencies and public relations firms wanted to try and have a broader audience that anyone can want virtual reality. An example of a new virtual reality product that is recently trending for all ages is the Samsung Gear VR. The product has a headset. The headset is like ski goggles. Instead of the plastic that is covering your eyes, your Samsung phone is in there. With this new product, advertisements didn’t just want gamers to be invested, they wanted all different types of people. The way this product is capable of doing this is because you can choose which scene you would like to be in. From being in a race car to being in a yoga class. With how virtual reality is becoming more demanding, it will continue to advance in its technology in 2017.
The third trend that I thought would be shaping 2017 is blog posts. In 2016, blog posts became very popular. Blog posts are like personal journals that are open to the public. They’re becoming popular because it’s a way for people to connect with one another. Blog posts are very relatable. They make you feel that your not alone in the way you think about certain things. For example, recently there has been a women’s march across the nation for women to gain respect and equality. There were many blog posts that were against the women’s march. The blog posts made the women feel they don’t need to think the way society is, they can have their own opinions without getting judged for them. There are millions of blog posts in the world including, how to be a good mom, how to cook, how to think about yourselves in a different light. I personally read them because I tend to have a different way of thinking than most people, so blog posts makes me feel I am not wrong in the way that I’m thinking and it actually helps me feel more confident in myself knowing that I’m not alone in the way I think. Blog posts are affecting advertisement and public relations because there are blog posts on how to come up with a good advertisement. Blog posts help public relations firms because they know a lot of people read blogs so you can pick up on how they feel about certain things by seeing what blogs they read. Through this, they can get to know there client better and build a better relationship with them.
Social media, virtual reality, and blog posts are each affecting advertisement and public relations in their own way. Each are changing the way people look at advertisements and public relations. They’re becoming more popular within social media by popping up on your newsfeed. Advertising and public relations will focus more on virtual reality since it’s becoming more demanding among a large number of people. Blog posts are showing the way people think and feel about things, which will help advertising and public relations with their target audiences. These three trends will change the way advertising and public relations is affecting this world in 2017.
Technology in Public Relations and Advertising 