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The shift in focus to paid social media content is redefining, yet again, the role of the PR professional—a topic that David Kellis, director of PR and social media for the Clorox Co., will dive into in his opening Wake-Up Call session at PR News’ Big 4 Social Media Summit in San Francisco. “In the past, we’ve done PR around advertising in magazines and other media. That’s what we’ve come to with social,” Kellis says.

How many times has this happened to you? You’re watching live television or attending an event with family and friends and a CEO or some other public official says something you, as a PR pro, know could spell trouble for the brand that person is representing? Your friends notice you cringing. Should it be your CEO up there, before your friends even notice it, you’re heading to the office or ducking out to make or receive a phone call about what you just heard. It’s part of the job.

Like a custody battle, marketing and PR fight for responsibility for the brand online, with each one handling specific customer interactions and content in a fractured arrangement. On the other hand, many B2B communicators are well positioned to take on responsibilities for digital strategy because they manage a tightly defined media universe where their content must address the entire customer experience. For business communicators, producing and sharing digital content that maximizes sales requires special attention in three areas: data, design and direct access to relationship owners.

We live in a mobile world, so mobility is ubiquitous, right? Not so fast. While it’s true that many things are done via mobile apps, it’s not been the case with internal communications (IC). Even some top-flight technology companies are only just now introducing mobility to their intranets via smartphone apps in response to employee demand.

In our nervous-twitch environment, PR execs who provide media training often face an executive or a team that has received coaching previously. These executives or team members know—or think they know—the basics and don’t want to waste time on Training 101. They are content- and results-focused and likely lack the PR knowledge about how the 3 P’s (preparation, practice and performance) can be the difference between a successful or unsuccessful interview.

Twitter unveiled a mobile app, Twitter Engage, June 21 to ease and encourage posting videos to the platform. U.S. B2C brands barely need the help, according to data provided exclusively to PR News by Shareablee.

In one of social’s least-surprising developments, video is booming. Exclusive data Shareablee has provided PR News is evidence that consumers are engaging with brands’ video at unprecedented levels. And with online video having an estimated ad revenue of $10 billion in the U.S. market, even Instagram, created to highlight still photos, added a whopping, by its standards, 45 seconds to its stingy 15-second video limit for non-brands; brands were granted a full minute early in 2016 to preview Super Bowl ads.

You still have another five solid months to make this your best year ever as a communicator. First, you’ll need to take stock of what you and your team have accomplished and perhaps reset priorities. Here are the seven most important areas of focus for PR leaders, according to Diane Schwartz, SVP, PR News.

You’re halfway through what’s been a rather interesting year in business, politics, brand successes and blunders and Game of Thrones developments. Which is to say: you still have another five solid months to make this… Continued

Hopefully there’s time in the short months before the unperturbed seasons move onward to not only get sucked into a good story, but also to learn something new and better your professional self as well. The unfortunate reality is that on top of work, family and fun this summer there just isn’t enough time to cover everything. In the search for the perfect reading list, difficult decisions are sure to be made. In an effort to help you along the journey to literary enlightenment, here are six books from various genres that PR pros should check out this summer.