Digital & Technology

The focus for many social media programs over the last few years has been about “Reach” (e.g. followers, likes and subscribers) and “Engagement” (e.g. shares, retweets, comments). What hasn’t been as easy is proving that a social media program is working.

Not every campaign needs a paid/earned/owned media strategy, of course, but most every marketing effort needs an immersive component that will make the respective audience feel vested in the brand.

For users and those looking to communicate a message or call to action to them, a poorly received ad on social media is a lose-lose. Facebook knows this, and they are working on it. On Wednesday, the company announced the introduction of “Relevance Score,” its latest step in the effort to improve the relationship between users and advertisers.

When pitching a journalist via email, you have about five seconds to grab his/her attention—and that’s if it’s a slow day in the newsroom.

It’s another sign for communicators that if they want to extend their reach—and spike their brand’s Google rankings—they’re going to have to add more visual storytelling to their messaging.

As millennials move into the decision-making process, BuzzFeed, Funny or Die and the other outlets they grew up on need to be a part of the media relations conversation.

PR and marketing executives fail to use myriad Google channels when they seek to boost their communications strategies.

In a few months, non-Twitter users are going to be seeing plenty of tweets through their interactions with Google search.

Many trend forecasts focus on the need for increased visual content, the continued shift to mobile, and real-time marketing. What’s absent is whether those are always the right tools.

The measure of a good traveler is how lightly he or she travels. Forget the excess baggage of 2014. Here is a notable short list for PR pros to keep in mind for 2015.