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PR News editor Seth Arenstein spoke with senior-level communicators at brands to find out how they’re crafting communications efforts that produce data that means something to CEOs and CFOs. Meaningful data and insights for the C-suite—that’s the pot at the end of the rainbow for PR pros.

The week started off with a highly politicized media scandal when Roseanne Barr tweeted a racist characterization of former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett. And now, comedian Samantha Bee and her network TBS are in similarly hot water after Bee aired a few choice words about Ivanka Trump on her show, “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.”

The digital in digital PR shouldn’t be reserved for promoting content, it should be the starting point for how we create content. Besides seeking trending topics and content gaps, digital tools can help analyze your competitors’ backlink profiles to establish opportunities. More than that, measuring digital data should inform your next steps, argues Kerry Sheahan, who heads content and PR at Britain’s Better. agency.

Type any word into Google followed by the word “video” and you’ll see a number of YouTube links load at the top of your browser. That’s because YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine next to parent company Google. And as such, it’s a crucial tool for communicators to leverage in their search engine optimization efforts, says Nati Katz, director of global agency Burson-Marsteller’s technology practice.

During the Obama administration and since the political rise of Donald Trump, Americans have grown more accustomed to expressing strong convictions on social media, and brands that are even tangentially related to such commonly held strong opinions have found themselves under pressure to weigh in quickly. Trending news stories lead to social posts, and suddenly brands are in the hot seat.

ABC’s cancellation of “Roseanne” seems to be a case where a brand takes a moral stand on an issue, in this case racism. Bad behavior is bad business, right? A deeper look at the situation reveals a calculation about corporate reputation and how that influences a brand’s future earning potential. It now falls to the company’s communicators to explain away the issues.

After waiting about 24 hours, President Trump responded earlier today to ABC’s cancellation of “Roseanne” yesterday (May 29), tweeting, “Bob Iger of ABC called Valerie Jarrett to let her know that ‘ABC does not tolerate comments like those’ made by Roseanne Barr. Gee, he never called President Donald J. Trump to apologize for the HORRIBLE… Continued

The post The Message Behind ABC’s Cancellation of ‘Roseanne’ appeared first on PR News Blog.

These summer reading recommendations for PR pros might not show you how to get your brand message through the media clutter, but they will inspire you with their storytelling qualities, humor and, in some cases, exceptional research.

For brands on Instagram, it might seem nearly impossible to compete with large corporations that can afford paid post after paid post in order to jump to the front of the line. But in reality, there are a few key ways to game the Instagram algorithm without breaking the bank.

Corporate responsibility leadership or PR spin? That’s a question the media has been pondering regarding Starbucks’ trainings to combat racial bias in its employees. The coffeeshop giant is shuttering all of its stores across the U.S. for four hours the afternoon of May 29.