The Top PR Trends of 2026
- editorial team
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
With bots making up almost half of all websites’ traffic, successful organizations are pivoting toward IRL community building and taking advantage of faceless creative content to establish digital trust.
By: Keirah Chen, MMM Editorial Team
If you have spent a lot of time scrolling through media feeds lately, you’ve probably developed a sense of skepticism with accounts or sites that feel soulless. Between AI-generated influencers and the “Dead Internet Theory" – or the idea that most of the web is nowadays just bots talking to other bots– audiences are becoming hyper-sensitive to anything that feels like an ad or PR tactic.
The struggle many creators are grappling with is how to grow an audience that actually cares. While website traffic is great, it does not matter if real people are not clicking those links. People aren't looking for another talking head pushing a product; they are looking for spaces and voices they can actually trust.
Below are top trends this year we're exploring to easily take advantage of major cultural swings to grow our clients' audience.
Returning to In-Person Events as a Way to Quickly Grow Trust & Show Proof
As digital spaces grow more saturated, people continue to look for real spaces to escape noise. We are seeing a massive shift away from generic networking events towards focused, activity-driven gatherings. Often, these events are centered around hobbies and offer special workshops as a way to connect further.
The key is to build community and strengthen relationships. In this case, quality is valued more than quantity. Instead of hosting tons of events for strangers, in 2026, prioritize informal recurring events that build on themselves and bring people closer together. A resilient community and human touchpoints are the goal here. One excellent example is Media 2070's ongoing Black Future Newsstand a travelling exhibit that easily brings new people into their vision
Faceless Growth
We are also seeing a shift when it comes to representatives of companies. The era where CEOs are treated as the face is ending and growing less popular. While we still love a good founder story, there is a huge rise in faceless accounts and high-quality animations being used to convey complex information. Often, animations created by AI are becoming the preferred way to explain intricate systems or data because they are easy to access and as well as creative. Think these cute and super popular videos over a nutritionist listing the benefits of Bay Leaf. When done right, this high-quality content can make your brand stand out as a voice of authority.
There is no longer a need to put the CEO in front of a camera every day.
Meaning-Making
In a world of AI summaries and endless memes, meaning-making is so valuable and it's one thing formats including objective news continues to fall behind on. Meaning-making is when you help your audience interpret facts and data in a way that matters to them. Remember that your audience is going to get their information from somewhere, and if you are not their source, the information they get may be inaccurate. To stand out, ensure you are putting out 100% accurate information and that all writing has a clear message for your audience. When in doubt, ask yourself: does this information help them move forward at all?
There you have it! 2026 is going to be an experimental year as many of the trends of the past several years go out the window. As we embed each strategy into our clients' campaigns this years, we implore you to do the same.
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