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As professional communicators, we must align common practice with the business community’s demands. If executives require information and context to determine which investments are most likely to produce viable long-term success, PR’s earned media data stream must integrate with other business data. The good news is that new ways to measure earned media are at hand.

Internal communications often is the dark-haired stepchild of PR. The communicators we spoke with insist a strong internal communications effort is a key ingredient in helping to avoid uncomfortable situations, including when disgruntled employees go to the media with their complaints.

PR pros and the company executives they collaborate with often become friends. After all, working closely on everything from brainstorming to crisis communications can be incredibly bonding. The questions arise when colleagues becomes friends and then find themselves working together. Can friends transcend the client-PR firm structure? These tactics will help.

Our monthly roundup of data-related items begins with a 500-person survey about PR measurement. While it’s said to be common knowledge that the amount of data is overwhelming communicators, this didn’t rate very high in the survey. Next, a FleishmanHillard report shows consumers don’t expect companies to take stands on every issue. Last, a survey debunks the notion that coverage of the 2020 elections will make it impossible for companies to tell their stories on TV.

During our Aug. 22 PRNEWS Webinar, “Boost Coverage With Your Own Brand Newsroom,” Jennifer Nycz-Conner, director of brand communications at Hilton, Kevin Deane, digital design director at Northeastern University, and Jen Schertz, senior communications manager for Certified Angus Beef, discussed their organizations’ journeys to build and nourish in-house brand newsrooms that gain the attention of the media and appropriate audiences.

An internal struggle can emerge, reminiscent of impostor syndrome—the worry that everyone else has it handled but you. Deadlines and extra channels go hand in hand. How can a communicator be expected to stay on deadline when they’re constantly translating company news across multiple channels and formats, seemingly without end?

Emerging platform TikTok has seen a lot of buzz these days, and perhaps rightly so: It has added 1.2 billon users over just one year. A new shoppable hashtag campaign from Ralph Lauren is already… Continued

Most of the time you should just say no to Facebook, target tweets carefully and, most importantly, embrace LinkedIn and its tools. LinkedIn exists to help people and businesses connect, and an effective strategy will put your story in front of a large audience. It is best used as a platform to highlight your thought leadership, announce the good stuff you’ve got going on, and put your savvy people up front to let them shine.

On Monday, PepsiCo Inc., the parent company of Frito-Lay’s iconic Doritos chips launched a new advertising campaign during the annual entertainment celebrating the pulse of youth culture—the MTV Video Music Awards. The campaign, titled “Another Level,” removes all logos and names from Doritos packaging, leaving behind unmarked bags of blue and red, and the archetypal triangle snack shape.

It can be difficult for brands, large and small, to ensure their CSR efforts truly make a difference. For brands on a budget, it’s even more difficult to gain a foothold in philanthropy. FleishmanHillard’s Judith Rowland proposes several ways brands with modest CSR funds can make an impact. For example, she urges them to look to fill unmet needs. And there are plenty of them, she argues.