Stories by Hayley Jennings

As measurement has become increasingly ingrained in the lives of communicators, the question becomes not just how to determine appropriate metrics for your company and collect data around them, but how to present that data in a way that is engaging and actionable. And contrary to popular belief, this doesn’t just mean making a pretty dashboard, but figuring out how to make the data on that dashboard leap off the page.

With so much noise on social media these days, how can communicators determine which KPIs are the most vital for their organization? The key is to be proactive, and to leverage analytics to identify the most important signals for your brand. There are three basic questions that any communicator can use to create a simple, effective and valuable digital signals tool from scratch so you can react to any trend appropriately.

As lines between traditional and social media continue to blur, influence is everything. And it’s important to remember that influence is not always about specific platforms and prestige, but who actually has a concrete ability to influence others. By employing data to identify and rank influencers based on their reach, relevance and resonance, you can identify who are the right people to build up your brand to the right audience at the right time.

One of the biggest challenges communicators face is battling pre-conceived notions with data, especially when it comes to hard-hitting or controversial issues. Here’s the six-step process Aetna uses to infuse their storytelling with data.

Facebook released its long-hidden community guidelines this week in another move to curry favor with the public after the Cambridge Analytica fiasco. A post on the company’s newsroom explains how Facebook’s content policies are developed and enforced, and introduces a new appeals process for posts that may have been removed by mistake. But will this newfound transparency be enough to rebuild public trust in the social giant?

Starbucks has had a rough week after an issue of racial discrimination at one of its stores in Philadelphia led to national headlines. In response, the company has gone beyond the traditional CEO apology and announced that it will close more than 8,000 stores across the U.S. for one day for antibias training among its employees.

Social media has become the foundation for communications measurement, in part because each platform comes with its own analytics feature that communicators can use to measure an endless variety of outputs and outcomes. But it’s important to remember that only using the native analytics features will not give you a full picture.

Communicators can never be too prepared for a crisis, especially in the age of social media. Luckily, there are dozens of tools—many of them free—your company can leverage to assist in planning for and managing crisis communications swiftly and effectively. Barry Reicherter, executive vice president and senior partner/director of insights at Finn Partners, lists three key priorities for monitoring social before, during and after a crisis and an artillery of programs for each.

In a video filmed at Robbins’ “Unleash the Power Within” event, the self-help guru told his audience of thousands that women were relying on #MeToo to “try to get significance and certainty by attacking and destroying someone else.” Audience member Nanine McCool is shown attempting to explain to Robbins that he misunderstood the importance of #MeToo before being interrupted by him with more provocative statements and actions. But is this purely bad PR for Robbins in this era?

PR News’ recently published Influencer Marketing Guidebook details the power of nano-influencers who are not traditional internet personalities but still wield influence online. And though these are average people who may be against using conventional marketing tactics in their internet communities, businesses can still find ways to work with nano-influencers without overstepping bounds. Here are five ways brands can leverage their nano-influencers.