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Your strategy for getting that copy to the top of the newsfeed only works until it doesn’t, right? Not entirely. As an extension of solid communication skills, good, clear and direct writing will always be a highly valued skill on social. We caught up with Devon Harris, brand strategist at Twitter, to learn about some new and evergreen strategies for making sure your brand copy reaches—and resonates—with as many people as possible.

The alleged murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has grown in intensity as a news story during the course of the past 17 days. Incidents involving the deaths of many more people fail to gain such traction. Several elements surrounding the Khashoggi incident may explain why.

Properly pitching journalists is a subtle art, especially in our rapidly changing media landscape. So how can communicators use these shifts to their advantage in their pitching strategy, instead of getting lost in the shuffle? Here are some tactics top communicators use to make sure journalists not only see their pitches, but want to write about their brands’ stories.

Communicators pointed to four major tactics that they have successfully implemented to earn trust, get their more difficult clients in the press, open their minds to spend, and change their opinions of the value that PR can bring to business.

Yesterday (Oct. 17) we wrote about the worsening reputation of USA Gymnastics (USAG). That post is updated with more bad news involving USAG. A former USAG president was arrested Oct. 18 for obstructing Texas’ investigation into Dr. Larry Nassar’s alleged crimes at the Karolyi Ranch. Our Oct. 17 post is updated with information about the arrest.

On the surface, this effort to give Senator Warren’s claims factual support seemed like an artfully executed campaign. Later that day, though, it became clear that the DNA test had done more harm than good. Senator Warren’s gaffe amounts to lessons learned for communicators about timing, why mixing heritage into your outreach strategies can be a dangerous game, and how to take cultural stand without angering any constituency of people.

Communicators in the CSR and sustainability space often need to be opportunistic as they search for ways to build their programs. Using the United Nations General Assembly as an example, Judith Rowland of FleishmanHillard provides tips communicators can use to leverage opportunities at large meetings of public and private leaders.

Having just a few extra minutes to monitor a situation can mean the difference between good and bad crisis management. The so-called assessment moment is at the crux of a free report from PR News and DataMinr, a real-time information discovery company.

Since he took office, President Trump has managed to sidestep the expectations typically placed on leaders in how they present themselves to the media. Though he may receive criticism from those who disagree with his policies, he has retained ardent supporters, while many CEOs are stepping down for infractions like a flubbed statement or a poorly-handled crisis response. Trump might be an anomaly in that fashion, but he also provides some valuable insights—both positive and negative—into how communicators and their senior leaders can deal with the media.

CEOs and board members spend much time worrying about and discussing risks to growth, though a new study from Deloitte indicates they lack strategic plans to counter the risks they’ve identified, such as disruptive technologies and cyber events, which lead the list. The study also shows brand reputation and culture are receiving too little attention.