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Facebook announced several new features in its latest Messenger update, a few of which may make it easier for brands to get their Messenger accounts discovered. The update includes simpler in-app purchases, a sharing option for individual messages and an introductory screen when users begin a Messenger interaction.

Facebook, among others, is rapidly becoming a video-centric platform, and its algorithms are rewarding communicators who take the time to post video. But not all video is created equal, and you’ll find that those communicators who know how to play the game regularly see more views and more engagement with their video content than those who are fumbling in the dark.

Wells Fargo became part of a club Sept. 9 that it had no interest in joining. For want of a better term, we’ll call it a crisis club, although the media and PR practitioners use that word too loosely when describing smaller issues and dilemmas. Full disclosure: The crisis club exists only as a conceptual construct. Sort of like the fake Wells Fargo accounts.

It just got a whole lot easier for Twitter users to tune into Periscope live streams. Twitter announced a new notification feature that lets users easily sign up to receive alerts when someone they follow goes live. One of the reasons Facebook Live has found success is Facebook’s default enabling of notifications for live broadcasts. Now that Twitter has followed suit, brands now have a much better way to notify fans about Periscope streams through push notifications.

For the third year running as part of AMEC’s September Measurement activities, we’ll be hosting a Twitter chat with some of PR News’ Measurement Hall of Famers. Mark your calendar for the Measurement Twitter Chat: Monday, Sept. 19, 11 a.m. to noon ET. Hashtag: #PRMeasure

The question of Hillary Clinton’s health has dogged her campaign for president well before she quickly left a ceremony in New York on Sept. 11 that honored the 15th anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks. Republican candidate Donald Trump has tweeted consistently that Clinton lacks the strength and stamina to be president.

Impacting an audience starts with understanding that audience. So, if you want to encourage a specific behavior with your audience (such as making a purchase), then you need to understand their preferences, concerns, and behaviors.

It’s imperative that as communicators we showcase our good work, we prove our worth, we take integrated communications seriously and we don’t squander the leadership position in content marketing and social media. To get there, we need to brush up on measurement, data and analytics.

It’s true – a lot of people just don’t understand what PR people do. They think it’s about pitching the media, chasing positive coverage, then rinsing and repeating. Certainly media relations is an important component… Continued

We conclude our 2-part series about how PR and communications are taught in colleges and universities.
There was plenty of agreement between what our PR and communications pros told us and what the quartet of academics we interviewed said. Writing—specifically, writing for PR vehicles that is clear, concise, creative and persuasive—was among the skills both the pros and academics emphasized. Several of the academics said students lack familiarity with PR writing, which, they said, is different from writing term papers. Our academics said this is an area they stress extensively with students.