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Communicators know words mean everything. What you say in a press release, advertisement or tweet can make or break a brand. So it’s not a surprise that search engine optimization remains an important strategic tactic on a digital level. Proper SEO makes sure brands get noticed in that continuous quest to the first page of Google, Yahoo or Bing.

In an ideal world, PR, social media and sales departments would be as flexible and fluid as a professional basketball team moving up and down the court. In this behind-the-scenes look at how the Atlanta Hawks integrate sales, PR and social internally, the Hawks’ social media manager, Nic Bell, shares a case study in integration: how the social team unified PR, customer service and sales functions in order to advertise a slate of games against high-profile teams. (They ultimately sold out their entire Black Friday ticket allotment.)

At 1.1 billion users, the mobile app WeChat is a force to be reckoned with. But for most people in the western world, it’s a black box. Communicators may want to take a look inside, as the platform offers many intriguing opportunities.

Building relationships with journalists is the lifeblood of PR pros. Yet communicators seem to make the same mistakes over and over when interacting with journalists. Here are four of the most common miscues and some simple ways to rectify them.

Mark Zuckerberg’s op-ed in the Washington Post made a strong call for social media regulation in four areas—harmful content, election integrity, privacy and data portability. But while vape maker JUUL got ahead of regulation in a smart way, the same PR tactic fell flat for Facebook. Here’s why.

Veteran PR pro Arthur Solomon continues his traditional review of headlines that were instructive to young communicators. In truth, they’re good lessons for all PR pros. The first headlines offer lessons in career management, media relations and crisis response.

What’s next for PR? Why not ask a futurist! Scott Steinberg is regarded as one of the world’s most celebrated business speakers, futurists, authors and strategic innovation consultants, as seen in 600+ outlets from CNN to Time and The Wall Street Journal. Here’s a sneak peek at his keynote for PRNews’ upcoming Measurement Conference.

Here at PR News, we see such corporate pranks as a perfect window into the optics of humor and how they can, or can’t, work in your external messaging. Following last year’s April Fools’ Day recap of the good, the bad and the ugly, let’s look at some of this year’s campaigns that had us splitting our sides, and others that made our stomachs churn.

As part of PRNEWS’ 75th anniversary this year, we depart from our normal fare of tips, tactics and strategies and offer a look at the life and times of the founder of this publication, Denny Griswold.

For years, PR measurement suffered as the forgotten stepchild of communications. It’s a bit different now, measurement advocates say. In anticipation of PRNEWS’ Measurement Conference later this month, we asked several people scheduled to speak at the Conference about C-suite expectations of measurement and what they see ahead for measurement.