Social Media & SEO

The media has a tendency to whack the federal government. On the other hand, when Washington does something good, and uses PR principles to do so, we feels it’s our duty to give props. That’s the case with the FTC’s clear, concise restatement of its influencer guidelines. There’s even a video.

The word “engagement” gets thrown around so often, it’s become nearly meaningless in the social media world. And, while most buzzwords come and go, real engagement is a long-term play. If you’re not seeing a lot of engagement from your Facebook posts, tweets or product pictures on Instagram, you may want to take another look at your long-term strategy. True audience engagement isn’t easy, and it takes a long time to see results.

We’re guessing the sudden and untimely death of Deadspin (no pun intended) as a purveyor of no-holds-barred sports and social commentary will provide a case study for business students in what not to do with a successful endeavor. This post, from PR pro Dave Dykes and PRNEWS staffer Nicole Schuman, argues that the incident also offers a bevy of PR lessons.

On Oct. 25 Google debuted BERT, its biggest algorithm update since RankBrain in 2015. And BERT is definitely big. Google says BERT will impact one in ten search queries. In short, BERT improves Google’s understanding of language and should benefit authentic content that addresses readers’ pain points.

Data is critical to measurement. But what about data privacy? And why do communicators need to know about data privacy? In short, privacy laws are everywhere, argues Stephen Payne, the veteran communicator at Feld Entertainment who now also has responsibility for privacy. PR pros can benefit from at least a basic understanding of how data privacy laws work, he writes.

It’s been an tumultuous week in Menlo Park, California. Facebook once again dominated the news cycle with a widely-maligned public speech from Mark Zuckerberg. Next was a series of new policies intended to curb hostile foreign governments from once again weaponizing the social network to influence our 2020 elections. For communicators, this saga has proved to be many things—a lens into the distrust that engulfs marketing communications, a lesson on the power of self-regulation, and a reminder of what transparency does (and doesn’t) look like in action.

If it’s done right, SEO can improve both the quantity and the quality of your web traffic. SEO usually plays off of communications quite well, too. When used cohesively, you can build a powerful, integrated marketing campaign that produces data-driven results. If you recently started an SEO campaign, you’ll need a way to track the performance—and success—of your work. But which analytics are the most important to track? Here are five SEO metrics you simply can’t afford to ignore.

The digital era is wonderful in many ways, though social media can sink a brand that runs a tone-deaf ad campaign quicker than you can say, ‘Why didn’t we have a PR pro at the table in the first place?’ Here are seven tips for PR pros to consider that will help brands avoid cultural missteps when they roll out ad campaigns.

You think it’s too early to begin preparing for Halloween? What a ghostly thought. In fact, Halloween is a wonderful time to dig up some fun for your brand and its followers. Accordingly, here are three scary tips for injecting some excitement into your brand on October 31 that even the devil will find thrilling.

There are some roadblocks unique to the B2B space, from using social to win customers to translating complex technical language into accessible messaging. Four B2B marketers shared their approach to tackling these challenges with our sister publication, The Social Shake-Up.