Stories by Justin Joffe

Twitter may have a simple interface compared to other social platforms, but there’s still an awful lot of tact that needs to go into composing a comprehensive message in 240 characters or fewer. When your brand finds itself in the throes of a crisis, that tact can salvage and enhance your brand’s reputation.

It’s always better to catch a potential crisis when it’s on the horizon rather than having to clean up the inevitable mess once the crisis hits. Sometimes, however, a crisis is inevitable. In those instances, says John Young, social business advisor at Southwest Airlines, having a real-time crisis strategy across departments is key.

Much of the platform’s effectiveness at gauging key personal insights is now contingent on users opting in to have that information shared. By assuming that users will consciously share any of their personal information with advertisers once they are given the keys to the gate, Facebook takes a huge risk, one that could alter the industry-leading effectiveness of its insights.

The week started off with a highly politicized media scandal when Roseanne Barr tweeted a racist characterization of former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett. And now, comedian Samantha Bee and her network TBS are in similarly hot water after Bee aired a few choice words about Ivanka Trump on her show, “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.”

These summer reading recommendations for PR pros might not show you how to get your brand message through the media clutter, but they will inspire you with their storytelling qualities, humor and, in some cases, exceptional research.

In today’s fast-paced world, there are few things more frustrating than receiving an emoji from a friend that your device doesn’t recognize. What other profound visual iconography have you been missing out on since you skipped that latest software update?

Late last week, U.S. Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller delivered two subpoenas to Jason Sullivan, a social media and Twitter marketer employed by former Donald Trump adviser Roger Stone during the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign, raising the question as to whether or not incorporating bots into your social strategy is worth the risk.

The ride-share company has announced that it will no longer force victims of harassment and sexual assault into private arbitration. The move by Uber raises two questions: How far does this change in policy go toward repairing Uber’s reputation, and what does this mean for other companies with arbitration clauses?

Brian Fanzo, CEO of iSocialFanz, Work With The Coach CEO Nathan Pirtle, entrepreneur YesJulz and Snapchat pioneer Shonduras closed out the 2018 Social Shake-Up Show in Atlanta with a discussion about how influencer marketing partnerships can go wrong, and what it takes to make them worthwhile for all parties.

Brands are tapping influencers at an unprecedented rate. Yet influencer marketing is far from worry-free. Jennifer DelVecchio, entertainment marketing lead at The Coca-Cola Company, and Tracy Del Moral, director of marketing at OshKosh B’gosh, discussed working with macro-influencers and micro-influencers, respectively, during a panel at the Social Shake-Up Show.