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With U.S. consumers spending up to 5 hours daily on mobile devices, social media usage patterns are a goldmine for marketers. Yet social media alone is not enough. Shoppers are more than their mobile Facebook or Twitter profiles. Other sources should be added to social media data, our author argues and provides 3 easy steps to augment consumer insights to create more data-driven, research-backed campaigns.

Communications executives have begun in earnest to make their way into boardrooms, C-suite meetings and the critical business conversations at their organizations. But the pace is not fast enough and the courage of their convictions not always on display. You could even say: “PR people need to get a spine.”

Communications executives have begun in earnest to make their way into boardrooms, C-suite meetings and the critical business conversations at their organizations. But the pace is not fast enough and the courage of their convictions… Continued

Letters, digital or sent via U.S. mail, are likely to make direct contact with customers. It’s important, then, to be certain they reflect your brand’s well-crafted messages. We offer many tips on how to make such letters more effective, but most important is that they burnish your company’s reputation with all stakeholders.

With the firings of Charlie Rose, Matt Lauer and Garrison Keillor, the face of crisis PR has been changed, for the moment at least. When your client is fired before he can even say, “I need crisis PR,” what’s left for crisis PR people to do? On the other hand, perhaps all these men still need crisis PR. Look at Charlie Rose, who was ambushed on the street and gave a very inappropriate response to a question.

The modern workplace is changing rapidly, and PR agencies and communications leaders at brands and nonprofit organizations must adapt to provide the best benefits and opportunities to attract and retain the best talent. On Nov. 29, PR News celebrated those organizations that have gone beyond mere adaptation at its 2017 Top Places to Work in PR dinner at the Edison Ballroom in New York. Workplace culture and the recognition that employees are people first, and PR pros second, ruled the evening.

There are various reasons for companies to create branded content. Whatever the reason, the PR axiom, “think like a journalist,” can apply to organizing a content creation effort. Here’s how one former journalist took her media training and applied it to build a successful branded content shop that augments the job-searching site Monster.com.

Is your company adding to the problem of content pollution? It is if the stories and video you produce fail to engage their intended audiences. Of course, should you avoid measuring for engagement and share of voice, for example, you’ll never really know whether or not your content is resonating. Fortunately, measuring is easily done today. The hard part is stepping out of your comfort zone, abandoning flawed vanity metrics and aligning measurement with goals and targeted audiences.

NBC News anchor Matt Lauer has been fired after sexual allegations were raised by a fellow employee at the company. On Nov. 29, a memo from NBC News chairman Andy Lack was released to the press announcing the firing to NBC employees and citing a complaint of “inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace” as the reason for Laurer’s termination. This comes amid a wave of revelations of sexual misconduct by public figures in the media, politics and entertainment spheres. But NBC’s swift response appears to be a shift in the way these stories have broken thus far.

Snapchat has announced a new feature that recognizes users’ images and suggests graphic overlays and filters. These smart filters can parse an image and suggest relevant graphics in several categories. Pets, concerts, food, sports and beaches are among the top suggestions. For communicators, the new feature is more than just a fun way to decorate posts. The rollout sends a larger message to brands about the app’s ability to drill down beyond users’ interests and into their daily behavior.