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Podcasts are no longer the new kid on the media block. Pitted against other platforms in the crowded media space, podcasts seem to be losing their luster, as several media outlets recently have doubled down on other formats and cut their podcast units. Podcasts, though, enjoy a level of listener loyalty and trust that other formats struggle with, making them a good bet for communicators seeking to spread their brand’s narrative.

Not all brand leaders ought to have their smartphones taken away. Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has established a reputation as the rarest of figureheads—not only does she have her fingerprints on every piece of work that bears a connection to her “Wizarding World,” but she often responds to fans online directly, keeping up a dialogue and mitigating any controversies that arise.

Any communicator worth their salt knows that video is one of the best ways to engage with audiences, but it’s not as simple as it seems. What platform should your video appear on to reach your target demographics? Are most of your consumers accessing video on desktop or mobile? Is pre-recorded or live video the better option for the product or topic you plan to discuss? 16best, a buyers’ guide and reviewing website that analyzes marketing campaigns in its reviews, knows that while video is a must in marketing in 2018, there’s a lot more that goes into brands using marketing than just shooting, editing and uploading. So it created an infographic about how brands are using video in their marketing strategies, and how consumers react to it.

September is National Preparedness Month, when the federal government offers resources for people to prepare in the event of an imminent natural disaster. In the spirit of this awareness initiative, PRSA’s New York Chapter hosted a panel discussion, “Disaster Communications: Preparing Yourself, Your Team, and Your Company for the Unexpected,” at FleishmanHillard’s New York Office.

Successful writers and PR pros alike remember that the words we use carry a weight, a positive or negative connotation, and choosing what word to use can make or break your brand. Weight Watchers demonstrated an understanding of this on Monday when it announced that it was rebranding as WW, or “wellness that works,” forgoing the 55-year old brand name in favor of shifting the focus away from simple dieting to highlight the brand’s new emphasis on sustainable wellness products and initiatives.

When people are driven to engage with each other on social media seeking community and consensus about healthcare issues, organizations need to make sure they are part of that engagement. As head of pharma health policy region Americas for Bayer AG Communications and Public Affairs, Dominick Kennerson engages in corporate diplomacy and has been key in adding gravitas to the company’s digital communication capacity. In this Q&A, he shares some of the biggest challenges to stakeholder engagement in the healthcare industry—and a few solutions Bayer is applying.

There still are plenty of PR pros who think of measurement as a necessary evil, while others ignore measurement totally. For Dan Beltramo, CEO of PR data firm AirPR, the reluctance of PR pros to embrace measurement is due largely to a false sense of freedom. Ironically, Beltramo says, measurement can be liberating.

If you’re feeling like there is a new business crisis in the news every day, you’re not wrong. There were more than 800,000 crises reported in the media globally in 2017, and that number has continued to grow. So it’s more important than ever for brands to think about crisis not in terms of if one will happen, but when. Responding to a crisis is really about preparing ahead of time, so make sure you have a robust plan in place so that you can handle anything that comes your way.

Instagram has announced it would be adding the option for “select” brands to allow customers to shop via special tags on Instagram Stories. And, after piloting the feature for several months to its test group, the tap-to-buy option has been made available for all business accounts approved for Shopping. The feature is likely to pay off for brands on the platform. In March, the company published data from a survey stating that more than one in three daily Instagram users say they have become more interested in a brand after seeing it on Instagram Stories.

Each year, PR News recognizes outstanding achievements in communications and marketing at its Platinum PR Awards luncheon. The 2018 event, hosted at the Grand Hyatt in New York City on Sept. 21, saw nearly 500 top brand and agency communicators come together to celebrate the accomplishments of their colleagues in the previous year.