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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.

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.

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.

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.

A pair of major PR firms are taking a page from the playbook of consulting firms, offering clients easier paths to a variety of expertise. Weber Shandwick is launching a unit that will consult to brands about corporate culture. On its 90th birthday Ketchum is promising to encircle clients with 14 industrial specialities as well as the traditional PR communications offerings.

With Instagram boasting 800 million active monthly users and 80% of them following brands on the platform, we asked communicators for best practices for being successful on the graphic-based platform. They told us carefully picked influencers and attention to creating consistent visuals are critical.

Elon Musk and Bill Gates have roughly the same number of social followers and posted nearly the same amount of content in Q1 2018. Yet each of Musk’s posts generated an incredible 266,000 consumer engagements, propelling him to the top of the quarter’s Business influencers’ list. Gates’ posts did well, at about 18,000 consumer engagements each.