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The privilege of pulling the data can sometimes cost thousands of dollars. With top-flight offerings requiring a significant buy-in, it’s easy to believe that SEO requires deep pockets. With a little effort, what’s freely available online can give you the same results as the heavy hitters in the industry. The expensive tools will do all the analysis for you, taking all the disparate data points presenting them in one place. But if you’re willing to do the work, you can avoid the big spend.

Anything can be politicized, however, it takes a very serious turn when the safety of people is at stake. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, home of the National Weather Service, continues to be at odds following a tumultuous week with the White House on the communication of disinformation regarding Hurricane Dorian and the state of Alabama.

At the Platinum PR Awards Gala next week in New York City, bestselling author David Brier will break down some of the biggest questions in public relations today: What makes great brands great? How can brands can survive in today’s dynamic landscape? And how do you take your brand to the next level with storytelling that inspires? Get a sneak peek as David hammers out the secret to storytelling with PRNEWS editorial director Melissa Hoffmann.

Interns can contribute to your PR effort, hurt it or be inconsequential. The key to a successful internship program, argues PR pro Michelle Mekky, is to treat interns with respect, have enough work and guidance for them and avoid viewing interns as cheap labor.

With the continual introduction of new platforms and instant response, management and moderation becomes a key skill for any brand. Contrary to popular belief, the titles social media manager and community manager are not interchangeable. Both work towards the positive promotion of a brand underneath the direction of the marketing department, but the similarities really stop there.

The M.I.T. Media Lab’s long, underreported history of recieving donations from the late convicted sex offender and philanthropist Jeffrey Epstein contains several lessons for those working in industries that have recurring moral and ethical crises, most noticeably around acknowledging roles, calling out patterns of bad behavior and scrutinizing philanthropic relationships.

The 100th season of the National Football League got underway earlier this week, with the sort of pomp and circumstance this television behemoth is known for generating. Yet professional football, America’s most popular sport, is showing more than a few cracks. You’d not know it, however, to listen to the vague responses to real issues that emanate from the league office in NY.

Dr. Julie Albright will join us for a fireside chat at PRNEWS’ Digital PR Awards breakfast on October 18 in NY. We’ll discuss her provocative research, what this shift away from old, “nuclear family” models of the American Dream means for communicators, and the role we play in adjusting to these seismically shifting cultural behaviors.

The PRSA chair argues that the Business Roundtable’s new definition of a corporation is well suited to what communicators already do each day. They build and protect the brand, forging alliances with stakeholders. For this effort to work, though, CEOs must have full confidence in communicators and in the importance of communication.

Trying to plan out or refurbish a social strategy can seem overwhelming. Gone are the days where brands can set and forget a strategy for a year. A social plan evolves with not only brand changes and promotions, but also platform innovations and announcements. Before you sit down and decide on content and where to post that content, you need to take a look at the intended audience and goals.