# 4. Brand journalism will become a norm.
Whether you are a brand journalism advocate or not, it is difficult to ignore the growth of the trend over the course of the past year. Based on the extreme success that many brands are seeing by creating their own journalistic content, we can only imagine how this trend will take off in 2013. Brands such as Cisco, Boeing and HSBC are taking advantage of the opportunity to connect with new audiences in a different way. In 2013, we will see even more Fortune 500 brands adopt brand journalism and begin to self-publish, especially as traditional media outlets and their manpower begin to shrink.