Digital & Technology

Finding and developing content stars among a brand’s employees and customers is something Southwest Airlines knows a little bit about. Brooks Thomas, who plays a key role in Southwest’s social content strategy, will be sharing how-to’s and some case study examples of his brand’s star-making process in his keynote presentation on June 6, 2016, at PR News’ Digital PR & Marketing Conference in Miami Beach. He offers some quick Southwest-style tips here to help you develop your own cast of content stars.

It’s impossible for PR pros to stack up against the cultural powerhouse that Beyoncé’s become over the years—when her messages get transmitted, all others get muffled. There are a few things, though, about Beyoncé’s marketing style that PR pros would be remiss to ignore.

Since PR professionals often are charged with developing effective online content, this article details six steps for creating search engine-friendly content.

Earlier this year, Facebook expanded its live video service to all users, and now the social media behemoth is really throwing its weight behind the effort. A barrage of new features and functionalities is coming to the service, Facebook announced this week: reactions, going live to groups and events, live filters, live video invitations and much more embody a push to dominate live streaming.

Instagram arguably is the best way for visually based brands (beauty, fashion, travel, etc.) to reach women. For anyone wanting to market to women it’s an addictive form of image-based social media that should not be ignored.

Here are 10 tried-and-true tips to help you build an engaged Instagram following, from the basics to the more advanced. Think of each potential photo post as part of a whole.

Restaurants have always benefitted from the unofficial and unmeasurable—yet wildly successful—marketing technique of word of mouth, and they continue to do so, but online. Food blogs, Instagram accounts and Twitter feeds are fast replacing friends and family as the source of recommendations and inspiration for the next meal out. A big difference is that you can track and measure digital word of mouth better than ever.

It was big news Monday when Google unveiled a redesign for AdWords to select users of its cash cow product. The product of years of observing reportedly hundreds of global clients using AdWords, this first redesign in forever is expected to make it easier for users to track the words they’ve bought. Deploying Google’s Material Design strategy, users will find a series of graphs called Overviews replacing pages of data about specific words.

Dashboards must start with your company’s communications and business goals, along with objectives that you know are measurable. You also need to know your audiences and tailor your dashboard to their needs. With all that knowledge in hand, you then pick metrics. If the dashboard is intended for senior leadership, your metrics should be based on what the C-suite’s inhabitants want to see tracked.

April 1 is a great day for brand PR. Everyone gets a pass to joke around and show off their lighter side, and audiences take it in good humor when they get suckered. And though it’s expected, it’s not expected—that is, nobody is going to be upset at your brand for not taking part.

…except maybe when it comes to Google. They stepped up to the plate this year, along with other prominent brands.

The official account of the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs, using the hashtag #springbreakingbadly to warn travelers about scams they might encounter, reminded readers that they’re “not a 10” and therefore to use caution when someone shows interest in them abroad. As is often the case in these matters, the advice may be solid, but the delivery is suspect.