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Given their broad franchise networks and large customer base—and of course their huge social media audiences—fast-food chains can be seen as guinea pigs for how the public discourse is digitally evolving. Consider the latest high-profile example of how a single Facebook post led to the rapid closure of a Dairy Queen—within 48 hours of being posted.

Laverne McGee, Director, Communications and External Affairs, Orange County Property Appraiser, Florida As director of communications and external affairs at the Orange County Property Appraiser (OCPA), Laverne McGee leads the Central Florida agency’s efforts to… Continued

Mary McGinty, Senior Director, Communications, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Mary McGinty led the Chamber Foundation through a complete rebrand with the intention of strategically positioning the organization as more contemporary and to elevate public… Continued

As PR pros, we know it’s our job to find creative ways to help brands break through the clutter. As such, it’s crucial to show we can walk the talk. We often hear that the PR industry needs to do better PR for itself. With that in mind our company launched an effort for the holidays that’s become our biggest marketing push. Here’s how we unleash creativity and have fun at the same time.

The tactic of using influencers to deliver messages that will drive consumer action has matured to the point that it’s become an accepted practice in most of the marketplace. Yet finding and working with influencers is far more complex than it appears at first glance. A Nasdaq Corporate Solutions/PR News Pro survey underlines these points.

It’s become harder to gain media coverage. Likewise, securing coverage in down months like December and January can challenge even the most committed PR pros. Some may have little to no fresh content to pitch. But if you want your brand to remain relevant, you must be active in the public conversation.

While overconfidence has ruined the best of brands, teams and people, sometimes you just have to admit: When you’ve got it, you’ve got it. That’s the case with PETA’s prowess on social media, according to data Shareablee provided exclusively to PRNews Pro.

At the end and start of the year we ask communications pros to prognosticate about the coming 12 months. In our last edition of 2016 we heard predictions from communicators about data security, authenticity and brand ambassadors. For this first edition of 2017 we offer part II of our predictions series. Happy New Year.

It can be challenging to pick and choose when to use humor in communications, especially for well-known brands whose audiences religiously follow social channels and dispatches. In recent years, the White House—a brand unto itself—has used humor to great effect. David Litt, special assistant to the president and a presidential speechwriter from 2011 to 2016—and now head writer and producer at Funny Or Die D.C.—reflects on the uses of humor during the Obama administration.

The rules of search engine optimization (SEO) can change so quickly, by the time you implement yesterday’s best practices, a new set of considerations seemingly take their place. And that moving target is set to move again: Since more searches now come from mobile platforms than desktops, Google will soon roll out a fully updated mobile-first index, which considers the mobile version of a website its primary version.