As often as we say that PR isn't magic and that PR professionals aren't magicians, the more you think about it, we actually are.

Whether you'd like to admit it, we are all lovers of magic on some level. It triggers all sorts of emotions -- the mystery, confusion, awe and even frustration when you are determined to figure out how a particular illusion was performed. At first glance, most magical illusions seem simple, with most getting the standard "Oh that's easy. I could do that!" reaction.

But when you are given the playing cards, the magic metal rings, the three shells and a pea or knotted rope, the illusion doesn't seem as simple, does it? 

That's because there are a lot of moving parts -- as well as a lot of practice and expertise -- that goes on in the background to make those illusions seem so simple.

Now, do not confuse illusions with PR spin, please! Illusions are more about making something complex look easy for anyone to do at a glance, while PR spin is just dishonest and sketchy. 

It is easy for those not in PR to read various stories in newspapers, magazines and blogs and say "I could place a story like this" or "well, if my competitor/partner can get a story like this, it can't be that difficult."

True, sometimes getting an amazing profile story or mention in a high profile publication is just plain luck. The reporter stumbled upon the company or product and personally fell in love with it. Or timing just worked in their favor. 

But more times than not, there is quite a bit that goes on behind the scenes -- sometimes for months -- before that one story publishes. Just like a magician practices shuffling and cutting cards for hours a day to make that one performance flawless. 

So while we tend to say "PR isn't magic" or we (PR pros) "aren't magicians", in fact, we are very much so. Just no one sees all the work that goes into it all. And that's the point. 

As we are always asking our clients for their predictions for the new year, we felt it was only fair for us to adhere to our own recommendations and share our own predictions. Here are a few things we think will happen in the world of PR in 2018:

• Contributed content will continue to thrive but outlets will also be more selective about what they publish. Media outlets will sadly continue to shrink in 2018 yet the expectations on the stories -- both in quality and quantity -- will continue to increase. How will editors meet these demands? Contributed content will be one avenue that they take as well as artificial intelligence. Companies can take advantage of this trend by putting their leaders and experts forward with unique perspectives on trending topics but beware. Some media outlets are bucking the trend or reversing previous contributed content programs because of the overload of content that doesn't excite their readers.
• Video, video and more video. Video isn't new but it will continue to be a major force in the industry in 2018. Marketing organizations will produce more video content. Snapchat, Facebook and many other social platforms are making it incredibly easy for anyone to create and publish video. In addition, every news outlets -- not just traditional broadcast -- will have a video component. Video will be everywhere.
• Politics will continue to lead the news cycle. Whether your organization want to be political or not, it is something that PR and leadership teams need to be prepared to be a part of the conversation. From diversity, gender pay gaps and sexual harassment to immigration, taxes and cybersecurity, politics will play a bigger roles in corporate communications programs in 2018.
• Data will be more applicable and more efficient. The debate around use of metrics in PR will continue in 2018 but the ability to identify the most important data points for individual business objectives will become more refined. The opportunity to leverage data for news stories -- whether internal data or third party research -- will continue to grow as well.
• All parts of the news ecosystem will be held more accountable. The whole #FakeNews debate that began in 2017 will result in news organizations, individual reporters, PR professionals and companies alike making sure they do their due diligence around news stories and announcements. Have we thought about all angles and prospectives? How will this be interpreted? Am I being honest or just trying to create spin? Breaking news and the 24/7 news cycles won't die but people in the ecosystem will think twice and review their materials more thoughtfully before pressing "publish."
• Funding announcements will slow down. There a couple of reasons for this slow down. First, with a consolidation market picking up speed, the announcements will start shifting from funding to merger and acquisition in nature. Secondly, thanks to the tech unicorns, the press are not only overwhelmed by the number of funding announcements they receive but also the bar for what they will cover is significantly higher. Sadly, raising a million dollars on its own isn't newsworthy to most reporters.
• Press releases will finally take a backseat to other options. Press releases still have their purpose, especially for publicly traded companies and for search engine optimization, but other than that, they will finally be replaced as the primary distribution channel for company news. Other outlets like Medium, LinkedIn and company blogs will take the lead and offer companies more flexibility and control over how they communicate with their stakeholders. 

What are your predictions? Did we miss any? Share your thoughts in the comments.

We are now a couple of weeks into 2018. Like nearly every year before, so much changed in 2017 and yet, not really. The media landscape continued to evolve: newsrooms sadly continued to shrink, the written word made way for more and more video and the bar continues to rise on what reporters are willing to cover.

In 2017, this was all further emphasized by the tumultuous US political climate, which caused the blinding national and international spotlights to be cast upon media organizations, how they are reporting on stories and whether or not they are "fake news." The increased pressure placed on journalists trickled down to more pressure on PR professionals and the businesses they represent to communicate more clearly and in a more immediate fashion. PR became even more important and influential within individual businesses as a result.

We asked several PR professionals what changed in 2017 so we can look to improve upon how we can all approach PR and the media in 2018. Here's what they had to say:

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, suffering from holiday withdrawals, you have probably seen or heard something about The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that started in Las Vegas over the weekend. This annual conference and exposition gives companies of all sizes the opportunity to show off their latest and greatest gadgets and gizmos to an international audience of hundreds of thousands. But over the last few years, it has continued to grow, expanding beyond its original "consumer electronics" scope  to include pretty much anyone and everything somewhat related to technology.

CES is a big show for anyone touching technology, especially journalists and PR professionals. And with thousands of journalists, editors and analysts on the show floor, as well as the amount of time, money and energy spent to exhibit, speak and just attend the show, companies and their leadership rightfully want to see healthy returns on their investment. 

This is the question that occurs not only around CES but with all major conferences: is it worth attending? And more importantly, is it worth making our big company announcements at the show?

The answer to these two questions, from a PR perspective, varies widely. There are a lot of variables to consider as you make these decisions, especially when there is so much time, money and energy at stake. Here are a couple of things to consider:

• Announcements/News -- Are you making any announcements at the show? If so, it is important to make sure that they relevant to what is being talked about at the conference. Ask your leadership is these are announcements that need to be made the at show or can they possibly be shared before or after so they don't get drowned out by the hundreds of other announcements being made at the exact same time. If your news needs to be shared during the event, can you pre-brief certain reporters under embargo? Trying to get the attention of reporters while at the show can be extremely challenging.
• Interviews/Demos -- This is where press relationships really come into play. At bigger industry shows like CES, there are hundreds if not thousands of reporters on the show floor and nearly every single attendee gains access to the press list in advance of the conference. So what happens? Those thousands of companies and their PR teams are scouring the press list and pitching those thousands of reporters, trying to set up meetings. There are only so many hours in the day and several of those hours need to be set aside for journalists to actually write their stories so their time for individual interviews and demos is extremely limited. Getting to the point, sharing the news and making things easier for reporters can go along way! 

Again, every company, announcement and conference is different, so it is important for the team to come together and understand what the company's objectives are in advance of committing to a full PR campaign centered around an industry conference. Sometimes it is totally worth the effort, but not every time. 

A new year means a fresh start, which can be both exciting and nerve-racking. It is like a fresh sheet of paper -- clean, undisturbed and full of possibility yet daunting, as that first mark/letter/word can direct the where everything goes from there. 

While PR programs can and should be continuous from day to day, month to month, year to year, giving your team the opportunity to review and reset with the beginning of the year is important. We all tend to make resolutions with the beginning of the year, why not make some for your PR program?

Here are a few ideas and suggestions for possible PR resolutions for 2018:

Set realistic goals. This one can be tough as we all can get eager and overly ambitious on what is possible but in order to keep morale and energy high across the team and leadership, it is important to get expectations at the beginning of the year.

This doesn't mean you should sandbag your KPIs, but rather look at what can reasonably be accomplished with your current staffing scenario, budgets and other resources. It is also important to set a few stretch goals alongside what you think it totally possible. How can you and your team go above and beyond if the stars align?

What are your resolutions for 2018?