Social Media & SEO

Hardly anyone is suggesting abandoning the internet, though it’s probably not a bad thing for communicators and marketers, whose professional lives often revolve around digital communications, to appreciate a declining number of people see the internet as a good thing for society. The findings of a Pew poll might be more marked had it been conducted after Facebook-Cambridge Analytica come to light.

How can communicators on social break through the timeline to create branded content that doesn’t feel forced or fake, but instead is fresh and fun—all while maintaining the organization’s voice? Arby’s tackled this problem by leveraging one of the greatest forces on the internet today: nerd culture.

At PR News’ Social Media Awards Luncheon in New York, keynote speaker Jennifer Dulski, Facebook’s head of groups and community, hinted at a major announcement coming that afternoon from her division. Minutes later, the company announced via its blog four new features aimed at supporting communicators who manage Facebook Groups.

The winners of PR News’ 2018 Social Media Awards span a wide variety of organizations, from brands like Volvo, PepsiCo, JP Morgan Chase & Co., IBM, Cisco and Bayer to agencies like Rogers & Cowan, SHIFT Communications and Weber Shandwick.

In today’s fast-paced world, there are few things more frustrating than receiving an emoji from a friend that your device doesn’t recognize. What other profound visual iconography have you been missing out on since you skipped that latest software update?

For a change of pace we asked data partner Shareablee to find the TV shows with the most consumer engagement during Q1 2018. The list of top 10 shows spans the gamut from new, tween-oriented series to morning news shows and an aged comedy series in syndication.

Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, but when it results in the flatterer eating your lunch much of the enjoyment associated with flattery evaporates quickly. This is the case with Snapchat’s features, which Facebook has copied without mercy. Facebook’s features, though, are pulling ahead of Snapchat’s in terms of usage.

Whether you’re in marketing or PR or both, if you’re responsible for social media engagement then there’s a good chance “team” roughly translates to “just little old me.” In those cases, creativity and time-management skills can only get you so far. What you need are some shortcuts.

Three new Facebook Stories features are being tested in India, but are due to roll out in the U.S. soon. These updates could be useful enough for professional communicators to warrant making Stories a new priority in their Facebook strategy.

Late last week, U.S. Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller delivered two subpoenas to Jason Sullivan, a social media and Twitter marketer employed by former Donald Trump adviser Roger Stone during the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign, raising the question as to whether or not incorporating bots into your social strategy is worth the risk.