Greentarget

PR professionals, journalists

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Staff reductions. Eroding trust. Economic headwinds. These are the headlines dominating discussions about journalism today. They paint a picture of an industry in decline — a narrative many have accepted without question. 

But this doom-and-gloom perspective misses half the story. While challenges exist, journalism remains a robust and credible communications vehicle, particularly among the stakeholders professional services firms seek to influence. 

The media landscape isn’t dying. But it is transforming. And creating new opportunities for professional services firms ready to stake their positions of authority. Following are the key trends driving the news industry’s evolution — and how you can leverage them to enhance your firm’s position of authority. 

Journalism’s Reality is More Nuanced Than Headlines Suggest

The Poynter Institute’s 2024 report on trends in the journalism and news industry offers a refreshing counterpoint to the prevailing narrative of journalistic extinction. It reveals a landscape in which innovation drives new opportunities. From small, digital-first startups to AI-driven workflows and alternative content distribution platforms, the report suggests the future of journalism may be more dynamic and diverse than what many suggest.

Hundreds of news or niche information sites have launched in recent years. Many are independent, while others represent new offerings from existing companies. At the same time, an influx of independent content creators (fueled by self-publishing platforms like Substack) is democratizing the news by telling important stories that were once the sole domain of journalists. 

Success stories attesting to the vitality of the news industry abound but rarely make headlines:

  • When the recently established Baltimore Banner newspaper celebrated its two-year anniversary this spring, it was flourishing — meeting its subscription goals, growing its newsroom to 80 journalists, and announcing plans to increase investment in education coverage. 
  • Over the past three years, small nonprofit newsrooms like the Invisible Institute, Mississippi Today, and the Better Government Association have won Pulitzer Prizes for local news coverage.
  • Public radio and TV stations in 74 local markets successfully expanded their digital audiences beyond traditional broadcasting, with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting now extending this initiative to 225 markets.

These examples underscore a critical truth. Audiences’ appetite for trustworthy news and information remains strong. But capturing that audience requires high-quality, fact-based reporting delivered through innovative formats. The news organizations succeeding today have widened their perspective on how to serve audiences beyond traditional content approaches.

From a PR perspective, the Poynter findings reveal abundant opportunities in both traditional and emerging media channels. These insights allow strategic communicators to connect professional services firms with key stakeholders through earned media placements that transform expert commentary into tangible business development opportunities.

The Trump Effect

As traditional outlets face reduced access to White House briefings and other governmental sources, they seek authoritative voices to analyze and contextualize fast-moving executive orders, policy changes, and other developments.

This dynamic creates openings for professional services firms to position their experts (especially those with legal and regulatory expertise) as valuable resources who can fill the gap for journalists. 

Simultaneously, the current administration has broadened press credential access to include influencers and podcasters, signaling a shift beyond traditional media. In this context, your firm can gain new opportunities to share your expertise and reach target audiences through emerging platforms.

In a dynamic media landscape made more tumultuous by the current administration, professional services firms stand to add meaningful perspectives to daily news conversations that shape industry understanding.

Niche Media’s Rise: Precision Targeting for Earned Media

While many major news outlets continue to struggle with business model challenges, niche publications focused on specific industries or executive audiences are thriving. This trend toward specialization is especially intriguing for professional services firms, who have the opportunity to capture precision-targeted earned media opportunities.

Industry Dive exemplifies this success, launching eight new industry publications in 2023 alone. Their focused approach earned them recognition on Fast Company‘s list of the world’s most innovative companies of 2024.

Similarly, publishers are developing new content channels that specifically target C-suite executives. Consider Semafor’s invitation-only newsletter, The CEO Signal, which is exclusively available to leaders of companies with more than $500 million in annual revenue.

This trend aligns perfectly with findings from Greentarget’s 2025 State of Digital & Content Marketing research. Our annual survey revealed that 88% of legal and C-suite decision makers value traditional media — the highest score in seven years. Executives continue to rely on editorially vetted content from trusted sources for business intelligence.

The growing list of niche outlets provides professional services firms unprecedented opportunities to reach specific stakeholders with tailored perspectives, allowing you to establish authority with the exact audiences you seek to influence.

Navigating Visibility and Referral Challenges

The way audiences discover information is fundamentally changing — and it’s posing new obstacles for media outlets. 

This is primarily due to two factors. First, AI-generated answers are crowding out organic search results and heralding a new era of zero-click search. 

Second, social media platforms are focusing more heavily on video and other proprietary formats in an effort to keep users on-platform, meaning they are deprioritizing the external links that drive audiences to external media outlets. As a result, according to Reuters Institute’s research, traffic referrals from social platforms have plummeted. Over the past two years, traffic from Facebook to news and media properties has declined by two-thirds (67%), while traffic from X is down by half (50%).

Media outlets are responding to these twin challenges by forming new partnerships with AI companies to protect their visibility. For instance, OpenAI has entered a licensing arrangement with News Corp — which owns The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, The Times, and The Sun — reportedly worth around $250m over five years. Reuters, the AP, Financial Times, and Le Monde have also agreed to significant deals. 

In order to continue reaching their key audiences, professional services firms must adapt their own content strategies in light of these trends. The key concept is COPE — Create Once, Publish Everywhere:

  1. Maximize owned content with in-depth thought leadership that showcases true authority
  2. Leverage this content to secure earned media opportunities with journalists
  3. Broadcast and share on social channels, especially LinkedIn
  4. Use paid amplification for top-performing content 

This approach ensures content reaches decision-makers regardless of how AI reshapes search and social media shapes referrals, allowing firms to build direct relationships with their audience while maintaining visibility in trusted publications.

The Path Forward

The truth about journalism in 2025 defies simple characterization. While structural challenges persist, opportunities abound for those willing to engage strategically with a transformed media landscape.

Professional services firms that understand these dynamics can position their experts as true authorities and find a ready audience with journalists, content creators, and the professionals they seek to influence. 

The media remains a vital channel for professional services expertise — not in spite of current challenges, but because those challenges are reshaping journalism into something more nimble, targeted, and audience-focused than ever before.

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It’s been a difficult year for journalism. Over the last 12 months, we’ve watched as some of the biggest newsrooms of the digital age have shut down or teetered on the edge of failure. Layoffs are happening at a dizzying pace at marquee publications including The Washington Post, Time, Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal. More than 500 journalists were laid off in January alone, adding to an already record-breaking streak in 2023.

Yet journalists do not shy away from adversity. They cover global catastrophes, dropping into war zones and braving dangerous environments to bring us the news we need to make informed decisions. So while they’re probably less used to being the story, they know how to face a tough situation with grit, creativity and resilience. And as Greentarget’s own research reveals, the next generation of journalists is positive about the future of the fourth estate.

To learn more about what that future may look like, we recently spoke to Hanaa Tameez, a staff writer for the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University who covers innovation in news media.

Over the last four years, Tameez has followed and reported on new business models, audience engagement strategies, the financial stability of traditional media outlets, and anything that challenges the status quo—including artificial intelligence (AI). Perhaps surprisingly, Tameez is also “generally and genuinely optimistic about the state of the news industry.” Here are three positive takeaways from our conversation.

#1: AI doesn’t spell the death of journalism

In a year when five Pulitzer Prize finalists disclosed using AI in the process of researching, reporting, or telling their submissions, we were keen to get Tameez’s take on how AI may impact journalism in the future.

While she said that “AI can be a threat, especially if it’s in the wrong hands and used for generating mis/disinformation,” Tameez also pointed out that (as some journalists have already discovered), “it also has many capabilities that can advance journalism if used correctly.”

As many commentators and journalists have said, we can’t operate from a position of fear when it comes to AI. Tameez reminded us that, in fact, we’ve been using AI technologies like Google Translate, audio transcription services, Siri, and Alexa for many years—a fact underscored by our own research.

Generative AI platforms are the next iteration of these tools, and they can make our lives and our work easier. However, Tameez cautioned that when it comes to the use of AI, “if you can do it ethically and offer more transparency in journalism, this is always better.”

#2: Niche publications are on the rise

As the news industry continues to fragment and segment, Tameez believes we will see “an increase in publications that cover niche issues” as consumers look to subscribe to outlets that offer in-depth reporting on their interests, such as parenting magazines or sports sites.

Industry and trade publications that target business-to-business (B2B) readers may see a similar boost. Jacob Donnelly, founder of A Media Operator, a publication that focuses on building digital media companies, is “pretty confident about the financial health of the B2B media space right now,” he said on a recent American Society of Business Publication Editors webinar. According to Donnelly, “publishers are starting to realize that smaller, more engaged audiences are where their livelihoods will last.”

Not only are trade publications and niche outlets faring better under the ad revenue model—not entirely surprising, considering their target audiences—they’re also still securing reader subscriptions. The combination helps drive revenue on two fronts.

Semafor’s Max Tani also wrote about the pivot to niche as publications focus on building stronger bonds with their readers:

“You see that everywhere now. The collapse of mass brands like BuzzFeed and Vice, the rise of a generation of much more narrowly focused ones, including this one, and a scramble to rescue beloved outlets like Pitchfork by returning them to a smaller, dedicated audience.”

#3: College journalism is filling local reporting gaps

As local news outlets struggle to stay afloat, an unexpected group is helping to keep local journalism alive: students.

The Christian Science Monitor recently covered how universities are stepping in to fill the gap as local news deserts grow. For example, the college newspaper The Daily Iowan recently purchased two struggling weekly publications. While that move was a first, other universities are stepping up to fill America’s news void in different ways, with initiatives ranging from student-staffed statehouse bureaus to newspapers run by journalism schools.

Tameez told us she has always been “a big proponent of student journalism” because that’s “where journalists learn to work.” She was the editor of her college paper, an experience that taught her how to be a journalist. While her team broke stories that made local news and national stories years later, “they weren’t given the platform in the same way student journalists have a platform now. Because of the challenges in local news, college journalism is filling the gaps.”

That’s not to say that journalism and journalists aren’t struggling—they are.

Despite Tameez’s overall optimism, she said that it’s been challenging to watch “real-life journalism getting lost” in layoffs. And while new news outlets are starting up, the rate at which other media outlets are crumbling is accelerating much faster. “It will take time to build a sustainable organization that can engage people in ways they deserve,” she said.

As news organizations adapt to these new challenges and opportunities, Greentarget will carefully monitor and report on the resulting data and trends. The principles of journalism drive smarter conversations, and true authorities have a responsibility to participate skillfully in the ongoing discussion. Quite simply, we all need the services journalists provide.

From our standpoint, Greentarget will strive to continue being empathetic to reporters in an era of smaller staff and a 24-hour news cycle. We know journalists need authorities with perspectives that serve the rapidly evolving needs of their audiences. We will continue to deliver. 

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If you’re struggling to know how your firm should speak out about current world events, you’re not alone. I’m a leader in the PR and communication field who advises clients on how to communicate about difficult, tense, uncomfortable situations every day. And even I find it challenging to find the exact words to address a situation as terrible and complex as the one that’s unfolding in Israel and Gaza.

One thing is certain. Professional services firms need to know how to communicate effectively and authentically about issues that matter to their employees, clients, and stakeholders. This is important all the time, not just when heartbreaking headlines and images capture our collective attention. 

But here’s the reality that comes into stark relief at times like this. When leadership and communications teams lack diversity of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, experience, and opinion, it’s incredibly difficult to craft a full picture of any given situation. Without a holistic point of view, you’re more likely to alienate your audience than contribute to a smart, informed conversation.

It’s not enough to wait for sensitive issues to arise to begin — or renew — a sustained commitment to DEI at your firm. Here’s what to bear in mind as you work toward strengthening that commitment.

An Authentic Commitment to DEI Is Good for Business  

There’s plenty of empirical evidence supporting the business case for diversity, equity, and inclusion. For example, McKinsey’s “Diversity Wins: Why Inclusion Matters” report found that:

  • Companies with high levels of gender diversity on their executive teams were 25 percent more likely to experience above-average profitability than peer companies in 2019, up from 21 percent and 15 percent in previous studies.
  • Companies with high levels of ethnic diversity on their executive teams outperformed those with low levels by 36 percent in terms of profitability in 2019, slightly up from 33 percent and 35 percent in previous years. 

Perhaps even more compelling, McKinsey discovered that DEI “laggards” — those in the bottom quartile of diverse representation — are more likely to underperform median industry profitability measures by 40 percent. 

Looking Beyond DEI Metrics

However, as HBR argues, “increasing diversity does not, by itself, increase effectiveness; what matters is how an organization harnesses diversity, and whether it’s willing to reshape its power structure (emphasis mine).

In other words, it’s not enough to merely take action to boost your diversity numbers. Your audience and stakeholders want and need to see an authentic commitment to DEI — one that extends to every aspect of your organization. Case in point: prospective employees (especially members of Gen Z) are looking for evidence that your DEI efforts are genuine. And you’re likely being asked about DEI in RFP processes as well. 

To compete for talent and clientele, you need more than a performative “check-the-box” mentality. To make strides, your firm must make a real and concerted effort to listen to and learn from those with diverse heritages, experiences, and outlooks. 

In the article referenced above, HBR calls this the “learning-and-effectiveness paradigm.” The authors argue that “cultivating a learning orientation toward diversity—one in which people draw on their experiences as members of particular identity groups to reconceive tasks, products, business processes, and organizational norms—enables companies to increase their effectiveness.”

This transformative approach is the best way to position your firm for the future. And it’s an essential part of equipping your organization to communicate effectively about the issues that matter most to your audience.

Staying Silent Calls Your Firm’s Authority Into Question 

When people groups are violently and hatefully targeted, other members of that group need to know their friends, colleagues, and employers stand with them. 

Your firm’s silence can speak louder than words. And that silence is particularly noteworthy if your employees, clients, and community stakeholders look to you as a trusted authority and advisor. If your firm abstains from discourse, your lack of participation in active, important, timely conversations might make your audience wonder what you stand for. 

That was and is true for Muslim Americans who have faced anti-Islamic rhetoric and prejudice post-9/11.

It was and is true for the Black community in the wake of George Floyd’s murder – and so many others before and after his.

It was and is true for the Asian community when acts of violence against Chinese, Korean, and Japanese Americans increased during the pandemic.

It was and is true for members of the LGBTQIA+ community, who face discrimination and vitriol in schools and in the workplace.

And it was and is true for Jewish people, especially in light of the extreme violence and terror recently unleashed by Hamas.

When you participate skillfully in the conversations that matter, you can reinforce your authority and strengthen your firm’s relationship with your audience. 

You’ll greatly increase your chances of getting your messaging right when your leadership and communications teams are made up of people with diverse ethnicities, genders, and points of view. Still, saying something — even if it’s imperfect and requires later clarification (like this internal memo from Progressive CEO Tricia Griffith) — is far better than saying nothing at all.  

Acknowledging Your Personal Biases Opens the Door for Deeper Connection 

Communicating effectively about difficult issues requires humility and openness. After all, we all come to the table with our own personal biases and ways of looking at the world. That’s not inherently a bad thing. But it’s crucial to acknowledge those biases and intentionally set them aside in order to learn from the people around us and develop a broader point of view. 

The situation in Israel and Gaza is a salient example. The terrorist attacks by Hamas and the ensuing images of war impact different individuals in profoundly different ways. Some have religious and cultural ties to Israel, and the violence against their people stirs up reminders of Hitler’s reign of terror leading up to and culminating with the Holocaust. Those with personal connections to Palestine are challenging us to confront the underlying humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip while considering the ways in which Israel’s response to Hamas affects countless civilians. 

As leaders, the more information we have about how our employees and clients are experiencing world events, the better positioned we are to build deeper connections with them. We can’t unravel 75+ years of conflict in the region — but we can offer empathy, compassion, and solidarity. And we can provide resources that support our people where they are. 

To do that, we first have to look at these issues through multiple lenses and invite deeper discourse on subjects that are hard to talk about.

Don’t Shy Away From DEI — Now’s the Time To Dig Deeper 

As a leader at a professional services firm, you have a responsibility to participate thoughtfully in the conversations that matter most. The only way to do that effectively is to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion in a full-hearted way. 

To that end, now is the ideal time to recommit to strengthening your firm’s DEI initiatives. Challenge personal biases. Work toward reshaping your firm’s norms, hiring, and power structures. Commit to continuous learning. 
And remember: If you need guidance about how your firm should communicate about global and social issues, just reach out. We’d love to help.

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Journalists have long seen themselves as members of the fourth estate—watchdogs whose work informs the public, shines a light on injustice and holds power to account. But in recent years, Americans’ trust in the media has plummeted amid deepening political polarization and the rampant spread of misinformation and disinformation online.  

That’s why in 2020 and 2021, Greentarget conducted research to understand the toll that so-called “fake news” is taking on seasoned journalists—and offer guidance for how PR professionals and business leaders can help stem the tide.  

Since then, the challenges facing journalism have only deepened, from widespread media layoffs to technological shifts like the explosive growth of generative artificial intelligence (AI) that could automate some reporting and writing tasks—and potentially further undermine journalism jobs. Those developments prompted a different approach to our ongoing research.  

For our latest iteration, we surveyed young reporters and journalism students to understand the following: 

  • Why they’re committed to pursuing the profession 
  • Their outlook on the future of journalism 
  • Their perspectives on AI, social media and fake news 

We’ll publish the full report in the coming weeks. In the meantime, here’s a glimpse at why up-and-coming journalists are optimistically jumping into the arena, and how they view factors that are changing the industry in real time. 

1. To Provide Credible, Fact-Based Information 

Nearly all the up-and-coming journalists we surveyed believe traditional media should be impartial. And a majority said a key reason they’re entering the field is to provide accurate information that the public can rely on to make informed decisions—reflecting respondents’ faith in the role of the press as an arbiter of truth and accountability.  

So where does their credible information come from? Respondents said they research and/or vet stories using tried-and-true techniques from the reporter’s toolbox, including: 

  • Doing first-hand field reporting 
  • Reviewing top-tier publications 
  • Reaching out to academics, experts, and/or think tanks 
  • Looking at information from government agencies/organizations 

Respondents had a complex relationship with social media, which they used to generate story ideas and/or vet information—but to a lesser degree than the above methods. That may be due to next-gen journalists’ view that social media is a key spreader of false or misleading information. However, they also see social media as valuable for distribution and measurement.  

AI-enabled tools from ChatGPT to Google Translate are also gaining ground for some tasks, including data analysis, research, writing and editing. But some respondents expressed concern about how AI could impact the industry in the future, citing the potential for inaccuracy and/or misinformation, as well as fears that technology could replace some human journalists.   

Whatever the tools, they reported taking several steps to verify that the information they publish is trustworthy, including: 

  • Contacting the source directly 
  • Securing multiple sources 
  • Searching for corroborating sources 
  • Using fact-checking sites (e.g., PolitiFact) to avoid spreading false information 

2. To Shine a Light on Injustice and Social Issues 

Gen Z (those born between the late 90s and early 2000s) may be the most progressive, technologically savvy, and socially-minded generation yet, and share many values that Millennials also prioritize. It’s no wonder, then, that this generation views a career in journalism as a way to tell the truth about what’s happening in the world around them and, in some cases, advance the social change they want to see. 

Many of the reasons respondents cited for deciding to pursue journalism reflect those concerns, including: 

  • To expose injustice 
  • To make a difference in the world 
  • To hold governments and institutions accountable 

Next-gen journalists also said that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is a significant concern, both in newsrooms and in terms of coverage. Many respondents believe that diversity in the profession across racial, gender, and economic categories is foundational for good reporting, and note that lack of representation could lead to narrow coverage, “social imbalance” on topics in the news—and the loss of public trust. 

3. To Combat the Spread of Fake News 

Students and NextGen journalists aren’t naive about the challenges they’ll face as a result of misinformation (information that is false) and disinformation (information that is intentionally fabricated). In fact, many respondents expected the problem to worsen, with social media cited as a leading factor.  

But they also don’t hold a purely doom-and-gloom view. Rather, they’re passionate about the opportunity to combat misinformation and disinformation in their sphere of influence. In fact, nearly half of our survey respondents said fighting fake news is one reason they want to be journalists. 

As digital natives, Gen Z could be uniquely qualified to take up this battle cry. A marked rise in media literacy education means members of this generation may be more likely to know how to ask critical questions about the media they consume, spot misleading or false claims, and avoid manipulation.   

Despite Challenges, Gen Z Looks at the Future of Journalism With Optimism 

In our last Fake News Report, only 14% of journalists said they believed their own efforts had an impact on the fight against misinformation and disinformation. According to our survey, Gen Z holds a more upbeat view, responding that their outlook for the next decade is at least somewhat positive.   

At Greentarget, we’re optimistic about the future as well. And in large part because of what we’re learning from the next generation of journalists, we continue to believe that traditional media will play a crucial role in inspiring and leading smarter conversations.  

We’ll delve more deeply into the reasons for that optimism when we release our full report later this year. 

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We hear it all the time: the next generation of talent—and leadership—wants more. More balance in their careers. More alignment with their values. More engagement with social issues.

The world of professional services firms—buttoned-up places that have traditionally skewed white, male and older, especially in leadership ranks—is particularly vulnerable to emerging stakeholders’ preferences. In a recent poll, less than 40% of Gen Z lawyers said they would like to join one of the U.S.’s largest 200 firms, down from nearly 60% just three years prior. Meanwhile, recent news out of law firm Barber Ranen involving the name partners’ racist, sexist, homophobic, and antisemitic emails (and those partners’ subsequent exit from the firm) is just one more indication that times are changing. Behavior that might once have been papered over now (rightly) carries significant consequences.

The question, then, isn’t whether these generational shifts are here or will have an impact. That’s a fait accompli. Rather, today’s business leaders should be asking how they can best communicate with their younger workers and clients to mitigate risks and set themselves up for success for years to come. Here’s how.  

Get to Know This New Audience

You can look up all the statistics you want: that younger employees care more about corporate culture; that almost 90% of millennial lawyers want flexibility and work-from-home options; that roughly half of accounting and finance students and young professionals cite personal well-being and mental health as a concern and think a great work-life balance is a key attraction factor for employment.

But while that’s a good start, it takes more to operationalize efforts at your own firm. Start by asking some key questions to help hone in: 

  • Who is our audience, internally and externally?
  • How quickly are their expectations evolving?
  • What messages do they need to hear and who should they hear them from?
  • How can we support our messages with tangible actions? 

 Social media listening, focus groups, surveys, and routine conversations with teammates and clients are extremely helpful tools for answering these questions.

For instance, one major law firm we work with held a series of focus groups last year to create messaging that would help attract and retain attorneys in a post-COVID landscape. The resulting messages—highlighting alternative career paths, the firm’s supportive culture, its initiatives around diversity, equity and inclusion, and a robust benefits program—were in large part aimed at this next generation of lawyers. They also helped with the continued evolution of their sponsoring and mentoring initiatives and talent outreach.

You can do the same with clients: Voice of the Client research can help build a multi-faceted understanding of your client’s needs, expectations and pain points—and can update your approach to the coming generation.

Establish and Live Up To Your Firm’s Values 

What does your professional services firm stand for? Why do you do what you do? And what impact do you make in the community, the nation, and the world?

These questions may sound lofty or even squishy to hard-charging business leaders. But these are the elements that millennials and Gen Z care most about. And MIT research shows that even if companies have a set of values written down, far too few are translating them into action in any tangible way.

The good news is since many organizations don’t meaningfully connect their actions to their values, you have an opportunity to set your firm apart in the minds of emerging stakeholders. To do so, you’ll need to look at your existing mission, governing principles, and values and honestly assess how well you’re living up to them. 

For example, if your values state that you’re committed to creating an internal culture that’s welcoming and inclusive, evaluate what building blocks you’ve put in place to make that value a reality. Have you taken steps to attract and retain a more diverse workforce? Are you actively combating harassment at your firm? Are you elevating diverse voices and ensuring people from underrepresented groups have a seat at leadership tables?

You’ll also need to be able to read the room and pivot when necessary. One professional services firm we work with did just that – after a series of acquisitions, the firm realized it needed to step up its executive communications game, particularly when it came to reaching newer, younger and prospective employees. A content campaign of internal emails and byline articles from one of the firm’s leaders brought the organization’s values to life in a personal, authentic way—and aimed to infuse the firm’s work with purpose, meaning, technological innovation, and fun.

Embrace an Authentic, Transparent Approach to Communication

Finally, you’ll need to evolve your firm’s communication style to earn the trust of a younger audience. Follow these best practices as you get started:

  • Carefully consider who to appoint as your firm’s spokesperson in each PR situation. Your CEO or managing partner may not always be the ideal choice, even when you’re countering negative press. A community leader, boots-on-the-ground manager, or third-party expert might be better suited to make your case and establish (or reestablish) trust.
  • Be strategic about the channels you use when communicating with younger audiences. Social media channels—especially YouTube and TikTok—are more effective at reaching Millennials and Gen Z than traditional media outlets. When you do communicate using these channels, be sure to keep a close eye on your audience’s comments and reactions. Staying engaged even in the face of criticism or intense questioning is key to demonstrating trustworthiness.
  • Avoid jargon and corporate speak. Use clear, straightforward language that paints a compelling picture. Don’t be afraid to pull back the curtain on your decision making process or draw on personal experiences. Younger audiences in particular roll their eyes at any hint of obfuscation.
  • Back up your words with action. Authenticity doesn’t just come from words—it comes from meaningful and concrete actions that support those words, whether it’s new hybrid working policies, benefits programs, mentorship opportunities, or DEI initiatives.

The Future is Now for Better Communications and Better Business

It’s imperative that professional services firms recognize the capabilities of Gen Zers and millennials, and work towards meeting their needs as soon as possible. That makes sense from more than a recruitment standpoint. Soon, those generations will also be in need of your services—but only if you take the time to establish trust now.

Taking steps to develop and adhere to strong corporate values, operate transparently and ethically, and understand stakeholder sentiments just make good sense, for your operations today as well as for the future of your business.

Greentarget knows how to develop PR strategies that speak the language of every generation. As a full-service communications firm, we’d love to help you position your firm for success now and down the road. Let’s talk.

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Amidst the Great Resignation, companies increasingly face disruption from the mass exodus and acquisition of employees. The departure of public relations and marketing leadership can prove especially difficult, given their handle of your company’s communication strategy – involving both publicity and reputation management.

Though this period of staffing transitions is poised to persist, it doesn’t require the derailment of your company’s marketing and communications plans. Involving your external PR firm during the off/onboarding process is a great way to keep your communications momentum going.

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