Social Media & SEO

It’s nearly impossible to keep up with all of the major platforms’ updates in real time—especially in the summer, when half of your staff is likely on vacation. In recent months, there have been a number of rollouts and announcements of what’s to come from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snap. Here are the features and updates to start experimenting with, and changes to come that your team will want to keep an eye on.

The New York Times reported Facebook receiving a record $5 billion fine from the Federal Trade Commission in regards to “deceiving users about their ability to control the privacy of their personal data.” Facebook also received a $100 million penalty from the Securities and Exchange Commission for neglecting to inform investors about the risks of utilizing private data. To top it all off? The FTC ordered Facebook to hold themselves accountable and increase transparency surrounding data practices by creating a privacy committee.

More, more, more seems the catchphrase of the digital way of life. Perhaps, though, we’ve reached an inflection point. Several social media and digital thinkers lately have started to espouse the need for a less-is-more viewpoint. The latest is John Shehata, a Condé Nast VP, who argues that instead of creating more and more content that few will read, a path to success is to use SEO analysis to pick evergreen content that can be strategically refreshed and re-published.

Companies may expend tremendous energy and time to find the right influencer for their brand. Unfortunately, they often fail to look deeply into an influencer’s past for clues of potential future behavior. Although many details surrounding a recent incident in Denmark remain unclear, it reminds us of the need for companies to research the reputation of influencers before going into business with them.

So, the White House plans to host its first ever social media conference this Thursday. But Facebook or Twitter have not been invited. What does a social media summit look like without two of the biggest platforms participating? And who’s going to this thing, anyway? The White House has been mum. But based on what we do know, we take look at what might be discussed.

Here at PRNEWS, we regularly meet communicators who just can’t get enough SEO training. We want to know best practices for SEO, but don’t know where to begin—and the rules keep shifting! Ahead of our Digital Boot Camp: Using Google Tools for Communicators immersion class later this month at NYC’s Yale Club, test your understanding of what SEO means for communicators with this handy quiz.

For the past few years, future-focused communicators have seen cryptocurrency as a potential tool for promoting brand transparency and accountability. That’s because blockchain, the digital technology that logs cryptocurrency transactions, acts as an unalterable ledger.… Continued

With PRNEWS’ Top Women in Healthcare Communications awards luncheon coming up later this month, we asked our data partner Shareablee to look at the most socially active pharma and healthcare insurance providers for the first months of 2019. Clearly, these sectors need to address their social media strategies as both suffered major downturns in consumer engagement vs 2018.

We rarely cover live events in this publication. PRNEWS senior content manager Sophie Maerowitz gave us a reason to make an exception. She attended a PRSA session featuring former Hearst executive Joanna Coles, who offered so many interesting tips and tactics that we had to share them with you. Here are some gems from the sharp yet blunt mind of Coles.

There’s been a generational and cultural shift toward activism over the last few decades, as consumers call for more organic and open conversations about CSR from businesses. With this, the spirit of reversing capitalism-induced environmental and social damage has also become a trend in marketing. And millennials are largely the ones driving the shift.