PR Insiders

Say what you will about the latest social platforms, email continues to be the old reliable when it comes to marketing. Email yielded a median ROI of 122%—more than four times higher than other marketing formats, including social media, direct mail and paid search—per a 2016 US marketers survey. On the other hand, most peoples’ inboxes are more crowded than a subway train during rush hour. The challenge is breaking through the noise. We provide three tips to help your marketing email rise above the din.

We’re deep in month 10 of the Trump administration, and it’s playing out as expected. As it was during the 2016 election, public discourse continues to be bitter, divisive and full of rage, and it’s… Continued

ESPN’s social media guidelines boil down to “if you wouldn’t say it on our TV or website screens, don’t say it in social.” That leaves a lot of room for interpretation, especially in today’s highly charged climate, but it’s a rule of thumb most of us understand. We all know it’s much easier and safer to express fury and strong opinions on social media than it is to express them in face-to-face situations or on, say, national television. But still—there’s that gray area between personal expression in one’s own social media accounts and one’s responsibility to an employer.

Does the process of applying for a job at your company align with the brand message that you are crafting to attract customers? It should, as research shows those who have a positive interaction with your brand will remember it. Applicants who have a bad experience with your brand’s H.R. process also are likely to recall it. Here are some ways communicators can help H.R. provide job seekers with a positive brand experience.

Let’s make the alleged Tillerson “moron” comment a PR question. You are the person responsible for building and maintaining the reputation of a brand. A senior official makes a derogatory comment about the CEO that eventually becomes public. What do you do? If the senior official leaves the company shortly after making the comment, what message do you convey to staff and stakeholders to keep morale high? What if the senior official remains with the brand?

As communicators we are told to be in the moment. Yet after the moment has passed and the campaign is over, do we take enough time to reflect on what we could have done better or differently? After Bank of America made a disastrous decision, it created a communications autopsy that its communications team applied to future efforts. You can adapt this autopsy for your brand’s needs, too.

Not too long ago project management was considered the business world’s hottest trend. It’s probably ceded its position, yet the principles of project management continue to be crucial aspects of business. In fact, no PR or marketing leader should attempt to begin a campaign without considering them. Fortunately there is a slew of online tools that can help.

Unlike Amazon, which began as an online bookstore and moved beyond that singular identity to become an online store for anything you could possibly want to buy—as well as a search engine and entertainment content producer—Twitter has stuck to its initial identity. Being just one thing is dangerous in a marketplace that keeps getting reshaped by advances in technology and changes in consumer habits.

I don’t drink chocolate milk too often anymore, but those rare times that I do I reach for the Fox’s U-bet. Although the maker of U-bet, Brooklyn-based H. Fox & Co., was acquired in 2016… Continued

Working on a PR crisis-management team, especially a successful one, can provide communicators with an indescribable high. Yet crisis work can be all-consuming, pressure-filled and harmful to one’s family and social life. Do you have what it takes to work in crisis management? Veteran PR pro Arthur Solomon offers a framework for PR pros thinking about entering the world of crisis.