Stories by Mark Renfree

In the many months since its E. coli outbreak and the subsequent cleanup, Chipotle has made several attempts to rebuild trust in the brand. The release of the short video, “A Love Story,” did little to divert attention away from E. coli. Not even free burritos could bring the masses back into its restaurants. The new campaign meets customers’ fears head-on, a smart move that might have appeared bolder had it launched sooner.

It turns out that one of those right-brain skills—good writing—may be the best SEO weapon available. Now more than ever, SEO success depends on strategic writing skills. Creating content that satisfies search engines’ need to deliver useful information improves Google search rankings.

More than a billion people watch countless hours of video every day on the platform, making it one of the largest social networks around. But YouTube’s biggest flaw is that it’s never felt very social. That’s all about to change. YouTube announced the public beta for a new feature called “Community,” which aims to make the platform a much more socially engaging destination.

It just got a whole lot easier for Twitter users to tune into Periscope live streams. Twitter announced a new notification feature that lets users easily sign up to receive alerts when someone they follow goes live. One of the reasons Facebook Live has found success is Facebook’s default enabling of notifications for live broadcasts. Now that Twitter has followed suit, brands now have a much better way to notify fans about Periscope streams through push notifications.

The question of Hillary Clinton’s health has dogged her campaign for president well before she quickly left a ceremony in New York on Sept. 11 that honored the 15th anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks. Republican candidate Donald Trump has tweeted consistently that Clinton lacks the strength and stamina to be president.

There were high expectations as NBC News headed into what was referred to as a preliminary debate between the two presidential candidates. But for many the “Commander-in-Chief Forum” that aired on MSNBC on Sept. 7 crumbled in the hands of its host, the longtime “Today” show anchor, Matt Lauer.

An undisclosed IT problem disrupted the British Airways’s check-in process at airports around the world causing lengthy delays. But for many that were stuck on the ground, the lack of information from the brand was less than ideal. Unlike other outages experienced by airlines like Delta and Southwest, British Airways focused on responding to people individually on Twitter with generic statements.

The right here, right now nature of live streaming can be freeing when used by individuals: Measuring success is often an afterthought, if considered at all. But for brands and communicators tasked with foraging in this relatively new space, live streaming brings its own baggage to the content production process. Of course, Facebook Live’s usefulness isn’t limited to B2B PR folks. Communicators from all disciplines should consider turning to Facebook Live as their go-to when creating short-form mobile video for Facebook, especially given that Facebook puts so much algorithmic weight behind live videos.

Facebook Offers, a way for brands to share discounts and promotions on Facebook, received a significant update on Aug. 30, according to a company blog post. The social behemoth optimized the service for mobile, while expanding tracking abilities and giving brands more ways to promote their coupons. Facebook now lets organizations create Offers that can be redeemed online or through an in-store purchase.

After facing intense backlash for the price increase of EpiPens—a life-saving medication for individuals with severe allergies—Mylan CEO Heather Bresch outlined the company’s plan to make the drug more affordable during an Aug. 24 interview on CNBC. By shifting the conversation to the broader—and incredibly divisive—issue of health care in the U.S., Bresch offers her critics something else to direct their ire at. But what she really did in this interview was display a mastery of media training skills.