Now that we’ve closed the door on 2013, what can public relations professionals, and those who rely on their services, expect.

I’ve included five public relations trends to watch.

1. Traditional media will continue to slow. What brands are doling out is not information, but curating and giving credibility to what is already out there. Responding to what is said about a brand is more important than ever. Many research items and services before they pull out their wallet.
2. Brand media and journalism will increase. Audience-centered mindsets will power businesses’ advertising and marketing. Thinking like your customers becomes the foundation of your message.
3. Analytics will get better and sharper. Whether it is on your website or social media, new and better tools to measure marketing impact are at hand. Measuring ROI becomes easier and clearer and will shape future efforts on where you’ll spend your marketing dollars.
4. More public relations efforts will go into blogging and content marketing, paid media campaigns and managing social media: i.e., going to where the audiences are and delivering your message in the correct location – directly on their phone and inboxes.
5. Content marketing will experience a backlash over bad content. The need for better content will grow and become more important for marketers as customers sound off on social media when a message is not carefully put together. Customers better educated and more informed. Gone are the days when you could dish something out and they would take it.

The world is speeding on the information super highway. Customers need to be informed and public relations professionals must be equipped to give their clients what they need and want.