Social Media & SEO

Even though Cher didn’t famously belt out, “If I could turn back time…” until the 1980s, the desire to go back and fix the mistakes of your youth has been around since time immemorial. We took to the PR News Facebook page to ask what advice communications professionals would give to their 21-year-old selves.

The multimedia floodgates are open, and for good reason. Audiences are eager for short, playable, sharable content, and the playing field of PR has evolved alongside it.

If Anthony Weiner thought his campaign woes couldn’t get any worse, then Barbara Morgan likely changed his mind. Morgan is Weiner’s communication director and yesterday she responded to a former intern’s tell-all article in the Daily News with a barrage of insults and obscenities, which adds yet another layer of discreditable behavior to the campaign.

MyLife.com recently concluded its second annual survey that looked into social media behavior. Edelman recently released a white paper titled, “Sponsored Content: A Broader Relationship with the U.S. News Media.”

When Twinkies parent company Hostess went out of business late last year there was an outpouring of sentiment from millions of people for the spongy cake with the creamy filling, which dates back to 1930. Saying goodbye to such an iconic brand was hard to, er, swallow for a lot of older consumers, who equate Twinkies with their childhood.

Branded content is ubiquitous, but you need to have a solid strategy in place to capitalize on it. Doing so will not only ensure that your content gets seen, but also that it doesn’t end up going viral for the wrong reasons.

Facebook is going to implement menus and options that will enable users to say why they are hiding a particular ad or sponsored post in their news feed. This presumably voluntary feedback will help brands target their paid content better on Facebook.

At a complimentary CARMA/PR News webinar on Tuesday, Aug. 6, Don Bartholomew, SVP, digital & social media research for Ketchum, will discuss how to align key performance indicators (KPIs) to demonstrate the organizational impact and value of social media, and what industry efforts are being made to standardize social media measurement.

With the rise of social-media communications, PR execs work a lot more closely these days with the advertising industry on strategic marketing efforts. Now they have another opportunity, thanks to a new program that LinkedIn just rolled out.

An errant Facebook comment or distasteful quote from a company executive can ignite a crisis in a matter of minutes. Here’s how to fight back on social.