Communication professionals must prioritize real-time monitoring, strategic thinking and crisis preparedness to remain effective in an increasingly fast-paced digital landscape.

Adaoha Njemanze, founder and principal consultant at NOVVA Media & Communications, noted at the Nigeria Digital PR summit themed “Digital PR Outlook 2026: Preparing Communication for the Future” that the dynamics of digital communication are changing rapidly, requiring practitioners to adopt new skills and approaches.

“One of the things about 2026 now is we need to listen. Listening is very important. We have to learn to stay listening and monitor in real time. It’s no longer about sending a report to monitor someone. One of the reasons why we’re listening in real time is information is being processed in minutes. If you open your social media, people are consuming information in seconds. Millions or hundreds of people are quickly absorbing those clips,” Njemanze said.

She outlined several non-negotiable competencies for digital PR practitioners in 2026, including content creation versatility, search engine optimization and metrics analysis. “We need to be able to create content in different formats. Long-form content, short-form content. We want to be able to implement search engine optimization. We need to be able to understand the metrics. You want to be able to see metrics from different aspects, looking at share of voice, share of tone, business impact,” she explained.

Njemanze identified strategic thinking as perhaps the most crucial skill for modern PR practitioners. “One of the skill sets that I believe are non-negotiable for us is strategic thinking. We need to be able to think strategically for every tool that I’ve mentioned, how best to communicate, the tone, the timing, even how best to reach these people. If you are interested in communication, you need to understand human behavior. You need to be able to think strategically,” she said.

Addressing crisis communication, she used recent examples to illustrate the heightened expectations for rapid response. “It’s 2026. The digital space is moving into crisis mode faster. One of the key skills to have in 2026 is how to address crisis when it arises. If you look at response timing, brand posts a statement eight hours later, people are like, you’re not taking us seriously. Response timing is always very critical as communicators. Holding statements would basically help in saying you’re not keeping your consumers or your target audience in silence,” Njemanze explained.

She warned against the dangers of organizational silence in the current environment, noting that executive visibility has become an emerging priority. “From the digital perspective, silence is no longer neutral. It may be seen as guilt or it could also be irrelevance. We are in an age where executive visibility has become a priority where CEOs need to constantly position their leadership across selected platforms,” Njemanze said.

On the role of artificial intelligence in PR, Njemanze was emphatic about its purpose and limitations. “The job of AI is to support the communicator, not replace the communicator. One of the smartest ways of using AI is for drafting, reporting, scenario planning, research. AI generally is for speed. As humans, we rely on human intelligence for tone, for empathy, accountability. The goal of using AI is not to sound like AI,” she emphasized.

Citing recent studies, Njemanze noted both widespread adoption and concerns around AI in communication. “I’m reading a recent study where Nigeria was number one among the top countries. About 70% of people were using AI. Globally, over 90% of people are using some sort of generative AI in their work. However, 80% are worried that AI may reduce the need for human talent in PR, which is a valid worry. I still believe that AI will help shape emerging trends in the future. AI would not understand context. It would only process the information that we humans have to put in. What it does is just make it faster,” she said.

She encouraged practitioners to study successful brands and campaigns to sharpen their skills while emphasizing that communication professionals must continuously adapt to remain relevant.

“I always say to people, I love studying brands, I love researching brands, how they communicate, how they have conversations within their target audiences, because there’s so much to learn. Understanding that there is a language and a style for every project, for every case. Everything that we’re looking at in 2026, we need to be able to assess from every angle to get the results that we want to get,” Njemanze concluded.