Stories by Mark Renfree

Sometimes pitches can get lost in the daily deluge that is a reporter’s email inbox. And there are plenty of journalists who are simply more engaged on social than other means of communication. One of the great things about social media is that PR pros can cultivate opportunities by being present on the platforms journalists use to identify story angles and sources.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump ignored a staple of political communications in his announcement of Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate. The news ran on different platforms at different times, and lacked the cohesion that typifies many political campaigns. After the announcement, the seemingly disjointed communications continued in their first interview together in a 60 Minutes segment aired July 17.

If you’ve ever scoured the internet for an elusive answer to an arbitrary question, chances are you ended up on the popular Q&A site Quora. But the site is more than just an information repository; it’s a fully functioning social network. There are 100 million monthly unique visitors on Quora who are potentially looking for reliable information about your brand. If you don’t provide it, someone else will.

Even though Snapchat lacks many of the brand-friendly features of Facebook and Twitter—native analytics, business profiles, etc.—it’s never been a better time to join the growing community. For cautious communicators, there are plenty of ways to participate in the conversation on Snapchat. At PR News’ Snapchat Boot Camp on July 12 in New York City, speakers offered a variety of case study examples to show how PR can use the burgeoning platform effectively.

No matter how great the current state of analytics is, the experience of putting together a visual campaign on social media may bring back nostalgia for the days when data was harder to come by. There’s just too much to measure. With the various types of media available—video, still images, infographics, etc.—the task of developing a fitting measurement framework at the beginning of a campaign can be uniquely tricky.

There is no secret recipe that will ensure good press—or even coverage. But executives still want their companies to be written about, so there has to be a way to improve your chances of getting picked up by the media. Media pitching is hard. It takes equal parts knowledge, skill and luck, but there are still new and engaging ways get the kind of coverage that’s sure to make the C-suite salivate.

OK, so Snapchat has made the grade. This leads us to…the next Snapchat. To celebrate Social Media Day, PR News looked to the future and compiled this list of emerging apps and technologies PR pros should keep an eye on. Then again, maybe nothing on this list will be around for next year’s Social Media Day.

Even though still images are taking a back seat to video this year by both content producers and the big social media networks, images are still the backbone of great social content. Luckily for communicators the technology required to create amazing still images continues to get cheaper and easier to acquire—everything you need comes built into any of the current flagship smartphones. But it’s not just about having the newest technology or the best tools available. The most important aspect of taking a great picture is the person behind the camera.

Hopefully there’s time in the short months before the unperturbed seasons move onward to not only get sucked into a good story, but also to learn something new and better your professional self as well. The unfortunate reality is that on top of work, family and fun this summer there just isn’t enough time to cover everything. In the search for the perfect reading list, difficult decisions are sure to be made. In an effort to help you along the journey to literary enlightenment, here are six books from various genres that PR pros should check out this summer.

In many ways, Facebook is using a time-tested PR tactic to increase the popularity of live video—influencers. By tapping some of the most popular media outlets and celebrities to create live video Facebook will have an incredible stockpile of content. Communicators should take a page from these prominent media companies and celebrities and jump on this burgeoning trend. Those who make a name for themselves now are sure to reap the rewards after live video inevitably becomes a main feature of the platform.