Topics

As PR pros working in an age when even the term ‘new media’ feels old and social apps appear and disappear like stairwells at Hogwarts, we can’t simply sit back and watch earned opportunities slip away. We must evolve and expand by mining new communications platforms for the earned potential that lies within them. Since media companies have adopted social channels as a viable distribution method for their content, shouldn’t PR pros be working harder to earn coverage for clients from media…on social media?

Several situations last week prompted us to think about how brands respond (or don’t) to situations that could become crises. Ken Peterson, communications director of Monterey Bay Aquarium, and Bell Helicopter CCO Robert Hastings urge brands to include an evaluation process in their emergency plans to determine whether or not a situation is a crisis. This evaluation process should include monitoring social conversations and news coverage. That’s step 1 at the Aquarium, Peterson says. Step 2 is an initial assessment to “ramp up or stand down.”

In our regular feature about trends in PR and communications, Scott Sleek of the Association for Psychological Science discusses the changes his organization made at its web site when it determined the social media market had shifted.

Chances are that most of the people around you are looking a new job. One of the best ways for PR pros to keep current with skills and potential employment possibilities is to take advantage of the contacts that you’ve been provided through your career, family and social networks. It’s imperative to make networking a lifelong commitment. At a certain point in our lives and careers we can easily become complacent in our roles and surroundings. We need to be sure to make an effort to invest personally, professionally, intellectually and socially in those individuals strategically placed in our path.

Instagram video has become useful and powerful content for strategic communicators. In much the same way as photos, Instagram users can like, share and comment on videos. For clients and organizations new to Instagram, the likes, shares and comments can give a marketing and PR team data about how a client’s or organization’s content is performing. Plus, these simple metrics can provide insight into what could be done to improve them.

It’s that time of year again: Spring is in the air and so are graduation caps. Recent college graduates looking to enter the communications field will face the challenge of their first round of interviews, rife with think-on-your-feet moments. Whether you’re graduating or have a friend or family member entering the PR workforce, here are six interview prep tips for aspiring PR pros.

Twitter rolled out new tools and controls May 17 that allow users to view and modify the data that helps advertisers target them. Users are now able to turn off interest-based ads entirely (although they would still see other paid posts) or curate their interests to see ads that are more relevant to them. To see which interests Twitter thinks you have, go to Settings -> “Your Twitter data.”

It’s generally accepted that brands are highly vulnerable to crises. We’ve all heard the maxim, “It’s not a question of if your brand will experience a crisis, but when.” The good news is that since communicators work across the enterprise, they are well placed to know where a crisis might erupt. But how about when it doesn’t take an experienced communicator to know that a brand might be vulnerable? We look at two incidents where issues have arisen and brands might be tempted to act.

It’s been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. If this is true, then you could argue that video and other multimedia content are worth millions. This is especially the case in the very crowded brand journalism waters, where The Coca-Cola Company is using content to simultaneously build brand love and corporate trust. Coca-Cola Journey makes (and sometimes breaks) Coca-Cola news, bringing to life the stories bubbling just beneath the surface of our business. We made this big bet because we believed that authentic stories matter.

Trying to replicate what made a post get 300 likes when your account routinely sees 100 likes per post can make you want to bang your head against the wall…Or, it can ignite a new test-and-learn campaign. Your team can make educated guesses about what worked and incorporate those elements into future posts.