Stories by Sophie Maerowitz

In today’s rapid-fire world of communications, brand reputations can be torn down in a moment by a single tweet or Facebook post. One of the major facets of being prepared for such a crisis is having a staff that’s ready to respond and rebuild at a moment’s notice. To investigate the process behind preparing staff for a calamity, PR News opened its Crisis Management Boot Camp on Feb. 23 with a session on building a flameproof crisis team.

With several months left before the chill lifts for much of the country, it can be easy to slip into the winter blues during the work week (that is, unless you’re joining us in sunny SoCal next week at PR News’ Digital Summit & Crisis Management Boot Camp, Feb. 23-24 in Huntington Beach, CA). To ease your winter blues, we asked PR News’ Twitter followers to share the mantras and inspirational quotes that help them stay motivated.

During the the 2017 Grammy Awards ceremony, Nike premiered its star-studded “Equality” ad, part of its newest campaign calling for racial and social equality on and off the court. Nike made its campaign as much a part of the conversation leading up to the Grammys as whether Adele or Beyoncé would sweep their respective categories. So how did Nike, a shoe brand, make sure that it shone nearly as bright as Beyoncé’s golden goddess costume during the festivities? Here’s a look at Nike’s strategic execution of the “Equality” campaign leading up to, during and following the Grammy ceremony.

If you’re trapped at the airport or at home in the first (and hopefully last) blizzard of 2017, PR News has you covered with reading material: These sunny influencer tips from the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board will have you thinking of warmer days in no time. Bill Karz, vice president of digital marketing at L.A. Tourism and Convention Board, shares influencer tactics as a sneak peak of his session at PR News’ Digital Summit, Feb. 24 in Huntington Beach, CA.

The top social platforms see upward of 22 billion video views per day.That number is expected to climb this year. PR pros who haven’t yet integrated video into their campaign strategy are likely missing out on reaching significant portions of their audiences. But that doesn’t mean they should jump into video without a solid game plan or expect to go viral on their first attempt.

Smart brands keep their separate channel audiences in mind and develop content with a specific purpose for each channel. One such brand, Boingo Wireless, uses Facebook to repost content that reflects its audience’s interests, Instagram to share behind-the-scenes moments, Twitter to showcase thought leadership and Spotify as a space for users to have fun and blow off steam.

Beyoncé announced on Instagram that she is once again pregnant, a revelation that sent the social media world into a frenzy. The post, a photo of the star posing nearly nude holding her belly, won 6.4 million likes and broke the record for most-liked post on Instagram (the previous record holder was Selena Gomez, with 6.3 million likes). While most PR pros probably can’t claim the nearly 100 million Instagram followers the pop icon boasts, here are a few major takeaways to consider the next time your brand has a big announcement.

With an ever-shrinking pool of full-time journalists to pitch to, it’s harder than ever to get your brand messages heard and covered by the media. As a result, some PR pros have turned away from traditional PR pitching and are taking a new approach: earning media with video content. In this video, Doug Simon, president and CEO of D S Simon Media, interviews Michael Smart, principal of MichaelSMARTPR, on using video to earn media.

James Chong, senior manager of social customer engagement at TOMS, is tasked with managing TOMS’ social budget while spreading its cause-related messaging to new audiences. Chong, who will be speaking at PR News’ Digital Summit Feb. 24 in Huntington Beach, CA, shares the arguments for paid social that he’s made to senior leaders.

Social platforms are in a constant state of evolution, with new features being rolled out at a breakneck pace. And every brand can benefit from keeping an eye out for upcoming social platform updates and trends. Yelp, for instance, with its diverse audience of businesses and consumers, prioritizes staying current to ensure it serves content in the most engaging way possible. John Carroll, manager of local outreach at Yelp, will be speaking on what’s next in social at PR News’ Digital Summit, Feb. 24 in Huntington Beach, CA. He shares seven trends in social media to be on the look for in 2017.