From AI to green storytelling: golden rules for comms and PR in 2025

A comprehensive guide to levelling up your comms

The way we share news and tell stories is changing. As we step into 2025, it’s crucial for PR pros to keep pace with developments in AI, digital comms and social media.

We dive into this year’s biggest industry trends, and share our tips to help you create campaigns that truly resonate.

Less is more

Comms teams in 2025 must compete with shrinking attention spans and a constant stream of information. In an age of TikToks and tweets, audiences are used to consuming bite-sized, ‘snackable’ content.

Whether it’s for a social post or a white paper, punchy and concise writing can cut through the noise. People are more likely to remember key points when the message isn’t buried in fluff. Avoid jargon and acronyms, split content into digestible sections, and hook your audience early with an opening sentence that tells a compelling story. 

Simplicity doesn’t dilute your message; it strengthens it.

Make AI work for you

AI went mainstream in 2024. Tools that handle content creation, media monitoring, and campaign analytics are helping teams to keep up with the frantic pace of modern comms. A recent survey found that 71% of PR professionals believe advances in AI will be ‘extremely or very important’ to their future work. It’s clear that initial distrust has given way to industry acceptance, although there are plenty of issues to tackle.  

Used well, AI can create space for deep thinking, future planning and strategy. A word of warning though: over-reliance on these tools can lead to unoriginal or even inaccurate content. 

Authentic, bespoke storytelling will always be the most effective way to create meaningful engagement. Think instead of how AI can help you work smarter, not harder.  

Good CHATS for strong comms

It can be difficult to identify the stories that resonate. While the big picture is important, breaking down the details can show people how your work connects to their world. A step-by-step approach will help to refine your messaging for maximum impact. 

Make sure your audience’s needs and knowledge is at the centre of your strategy. What do you have to offer them? A solution to a problem? A unique insight? Condensing a campaign message into an elevator pitch is a great place to start. 

Our CHATS method – cut to the chase, human, audience, timing, solution – can help you to tease out the stories that will start conversations and create content that resonates. 

Blue and yellow graphic, with text down that side that reads 'Cut to the chase, human, audience, timing, solution' This creates the acronym CHATS.

Speak up about your green achievements

In the face of the climate crisis, don’t be afraid to share good news stories about sustainable schemes. Now more than ever, consumers want companies to be upfront about their eco-friendly credentials.  

Avoid the charge of ‘greenwashing’ by backing up your claims with real data and case studies, ensure the language used is accessible rather than alienating, and weave a sustainability message throughout your comms. Audiences want to understand the real-world impact of environmental policies and practices.  

By focusing on the benefits to communities and nature, even the most technical of features – like Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) – can paint a positive picture.

Think about the whole package

In our conversations with journalists last year, one issue stood out. Under-resourced newsrooms mean that media contacts often rely on comms teams for the bonus assets that will make a story sing.  

With articles increasingly published on websites and social platforms, as well as in print, high-quality photos and videos are invaluable. 

Think about the wider package of content when you share an announcement. Are there any visual assets which you can include? Could you film a short interview with someone featured in the piece? The more multimedia content you can provide, the more likely you are to see your story shared widely. 

Social media in 2025

The word we’d pick to describe social media in 2024? Chaotic. Whether a deliberate tactic as brands lean into buzzy online trends, or a result of decisions made at the top, the way that we create and consume social has shifted. 

Dominant platforms like X and Meta face a major credibility problem. As audiences migrate to smaller, decentralised networks like Threads, Bluesky and Reddit, there’s a renewed focus on building authentic online communities. 

With misinformation running rampant, and users increasingly turning to ‘dark social’ rather than posting publicly, going viral is starting to feel like a lose-lose scenario. Businesses might want to explore the places where their audiences are choosing to spend time and consider new platforms where they can forge deeper connections. 

Read our blog about the trends, changes and challenges that rocked the sector last year, and what this could mean for social media in 2025. 

Purposeful comms

In our hyper-individualistic world, one size doesn’t fit all. Consumers are looking for connection, not corporate jargon. 

That’s why people-focused PR will continue to be the gold standard in 2025. Showcase employee voices, write case studies, and demonstrate the real-world impact of projects – for people, places and planet. 

Audiences can sniff out falseness at 50 paces. Authentic storytelling builds trust, drives engagement, and cements brand values. Align your messaging with a clear purpose, whether it’s sustainability, social equity, or innovation, and back it up with tangible actions. 

Here’s to a purposeful, positive 2025! 

This first appeared in the January edition of the Distinctive Dispatch newsletter

Photo by Stas Knop on Pexels

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