Stories by Sophie Maerowitz

Since taking office in 2009, President Obama has included ten personal letters from the public in his daily briefs. This week, the White House announced a new direct line to the president: a Facebook messenger account, from which some of these personal letters will be selected. The automated account, answered by a bot, is the first government account to make use of the service, and presents a powerful new tool for communicators to listen to their audiences, collect information, and project a receptive and modern personality for their brands.

The infographics building process is complex and can be time consuming, but pays off in the long term with increased brand loyalty and powerful stories that audiences are far more likely to retain than written content. Data visualization experts know that clearly defined goals, reputable data, concise messaging and a good story are crucial to constructing effective infographics. Communicators from Google, Synack and Affect shared their tactics for a strong data infographics campaign.

Early in its development, Snapchat was barely a thorn in Facebook’s side, dismissed by big brands as too frivolous ever to be used as a serious marketing tool. How the tables have turned: With even The Times admitting Snapchat’s viability as an advertising publisher, Snapchat’s status has moved it into direct competition with the preeminent social media giant. Here’s what the PR News community is saying about Instagram’s Snapchatesque update.

Top PR professionals know how to draft well worded material that lends an authoritative voice to their brand. When pressed for time, however, even the most talented communicators can be forced to sacrifice quality for quantity, using tired tropes where they might be better off expressing their brand’s voice in a simpler and more meaningful way. PR News shares its list of the 10 most overused terms in communications today.

In a situation where the reader automatically deletes messages from unknown senders, then nothing will help you get read. In other scenarios, well-crafted subject lines are crucial to get readers to at least open your message. At that point “the key,” says Sheri Johnson, president of Morningstar Communications, “lies in creating personalized, relevant content delivered at the right time to fit your prospects’ needs.”

Ten years ago, Yahoo and AOL were cutthroat competitors for search engine and web portal dominance. Today, however, Yahoo’s unexpected PR savior in the post-sale fallout has been AOL’s CEO Tim Armstrong, who, having recently sold his own company to Verizon, has taken the opportunity to spin the Verizon acquisition as a merger of two user bases and an opportunity for digital advertising sales, refuting the media’s portrayal of Verizon’s opportunistic seizing of a sinking ship.

In today’s rapid-fire social media climate, it’s important for PR pros to watch for signals that forecast the next social media platform to take off and grow exponentially with users. With that in mind, we asked you, as top communicators and public relations strategists, to predict the next social media platform that’s going to explode in popularity and user growth.

Many of us dreamed of instant stardom in our childhood. Musical.ly brings that dream to life, having spawned a number of social media stars. Plus, it’s fun: Who doesn’t like lip-synching or dancing like a lunatic to their favorite songs (or at the very least, watching others do so)? Here are a few ways PR professionals and communicators can use the app creatively to boost brand awareness to the teenage set and beyond.

Japanese messaging app Line went public July 14, with the potential to raise $1.14 billion in the largest tech IPO of the year. According to MarketWatch, the company is valued at $7 billion. While the app has the largest following in Asia, its well-publicized IPO in New York today will likely stoke curiosity in U.S. mobile users, and Line’s global potential for brand-to-consumer reach should not be ignored by communicators keeping an eye out for the next Snapchat.

PR News recruited a Snapchat expert, Leslie Douglas, senior social media manager at PwC, for a crash course in Snapchat layout and navigation. At the Snapchat Boot Camp in NYC, she walked the audience through the app’s sometimes-counterintuitive interface. We share a few takeaways from Leslie’s presentation.