ALGORITHMS, NEWS AND SOCIAL MEDIA: CAN PR STILL DICTATE THE NARRATIVE?

We’re all guilty of being glued to our phones. More than we should or would like to be. And the main culprit that keeps us hooked? 

Social media.

Whether you’re trawling TikTok or foraging through Facebook, our algorithmically driven news feeds constantly adapt to our preferences. 

But what does it mean for the user? Do they run the risk of only seeing a curated and unrepresentative view of the world? Are they missing external influences and news that expose them to new information? 

If our target audiences exist in bubbles, how do publishers and PRs cut through? Is the news cycle determined by what publishers think will most likely get likes, comments and clicks? Or is there still room for good ol’ fashioned PR activity to make a splash and dictate the narrative in 2025?

This post explores how the news cycle is shaped and reported in the social media age, what this means for both reactive and proactive PR, and how we can still generate buzz in 2025.

News By Algorithm?

Social Media and Real Life Editor at PA Media, Edward Dracott argues that social media is now the world’s notice board.

“You can now see billions of people across the world who are all posting constantly about their lives, things they’re experiencing, interesting things that they see, what’s happening in their community, and even breaking news. Social media is now probably the single greatest resource to rely upon for stories as a modern journalist, and you can apply it to absolutely any area you’re in.”

In the UK, 71% of 16-24-year-olds use social media to keep up with the news. And in theory, powerful algorithms that show users what they want, or are likely to find interesting, are a good thing. But it means that unless a piece of news or content matches a specific set of criteria, it might get buried. 

Ofcom found that news items at the top of a user’s feed were around 4.5 times more likely to be viewed than those at the bottom, and seven times more likely to be remembered. They also found that:

“[Social media feeds] tend to serve up a narrower range of topics than traditional news websites, [and] people who get their news via social media may see less diversity of viewpoints, as well as more polarising and false content, which [can] drive high user engagement.”

“Evidence suggests that incentives to keep users in ‘automatic scrolling mode’ can have implications for how people access and consume news. When people make decisions ‘automatically’, their judgments tend to be more biased, and recommendation systems trained on automatic choices can amplify those biases.”

Social media algorithms reward immediacy and sensationalism, which represents a real problem for brands and publishers who have to balance the commercial need to get in front of as many eyes as possible, by creating stories they know work, and their desire to publish interesting, innovative and high-quality content. 

Clearly, the age of the algorithm has brought several challenges:

• • Commercial Pressures: Publishers are driven by commercial pressures, with journalists and PRs targeted on engagement. This means they may focus on ‘safe’ stories that they know will generate results rather than something they feel is truly newsworthy.
  • Fragmented Audiences: Every platform curates and serves content differently, often to disparate demographics. For example, TikTok and Instagram are most popular with Millennials and Gen Z, while Gen X and Boomers favour Facebook. Creating content that appeals across platforms and demographics can be tough.
  • The Pace of Change: Algorithms constantly evolve based on both user preferences and the underlying technology. Content that resonated on Monday might get ignored by Friday.

• • Uncertain Visibility: Social media reporting gives us unparalleled insights into campaign performance, with data on impressions, dwell time, likes, comments and shares instantly available. Traditional (analogue) media simply can’t do this. But there’s no guarantee on where, when and how your content will be seen. If at all.

Traditional print and broadcast media, however, have generally stable audience and reach figures, which offer reliable and consistent returns for brands.

To avoid the descent into pure data-driven PR tactics, PRs will have to work harder than ever to get the coverage they need in 2025.

How PRs Can Thrive In The Algorithm Age

News algorithms are here to stay, so PRs need to know how to work with them to guarantee success. At the same time, the immediacy and ever-changing nature of the news cycle in 2025 offer incredible opportunities to create reactive PR campaigns that can quickly drive engagement. 

To gain traction, stories need to be instantly engaging, highly visual, cross-platform, and targeted at specific audiences. They also need to be quick – you’ve got three seconds to grab somebody’s attention. 

Whatever your story, the pitch needs to demonstrate how it’s going to stop the user from scrolling through. As PRs, we’ve always had to help journalists do their job, and in 2025, that means including assets that are ready to be used on all social media platforms from the get-go. Videos must be edited and formatted for TikTok and Instagram reels, images should have captions and subtitles ready to go, and any included links need to be made clear.

Is there still a place for out-of-the-box thinking?

You might think that the only way to succeed is to focus on the stories that will get engagement, but that’s not the case. There’s still space for well-executed creative PR campaigns, and working with editors who know what works and what doesn’t.

Traditional media is not dead, and it still carries a lot of weight, especially in ‘serious’ sectors or for large-scale, creative PR campaigns. Social media trends and news can blow up, delivering significant engagement in a very short timeframe, but they’re also fickle and can disappear just as fast. On the other hand, traditional PR campaigns can deliver legitimacy and reliable returns. 

The key to success in 2025 and beyond is to ensure we tick all the boxes, creating strong, unique campaigns that communicate key messages, but also have social media algorithms factored in from the outset.

Despite algorithms’ preferences for immediacy and engagement, they’re also getting smarter and can identify ‘quality’ content. The old school hallmarks of good journalism, such as accuracy, authority, relevance and clarity, all still apply, and PRs can leverage these for success. 

For example, a brand or organisation can adopt a hybrid approach that uses traditional PR tactics to secure this coverage, but also targets social platforms to generate engagement. A multi-channel approach like this takes the strengths of both to deliver maximum ROI. 

Of course, the oldest and most important part of any story is still the reader. PRs and publishers still need to be audience-first, and everything is built to that aim. Understanding what they want and will respond positively to is one part, but keeping abreast of relevant and topical conversations happening online is another. The combination of the two allows brands to react to and get involved with unfolding events in real-time, with communications and assets that will have the best chance of cutting through.

Can PR Still Dictate The News Narrative?

Yes. Most brands want to make a splash with their PR activity, and journalists want to cover stories that are exciting and different. We’re not slaves to the algorithm yet, and we don’t have to churn out formulaic, data-driven stories that lack the X factor. 

But the nature of the beast means that a strong story on its own isn’t enough. As PRs, we have to work with journalists, publishers and the algorithms to get the traction we need.

It’s a challenge, but fortunately, all challenges are there to be overcome.