OpenAI is the Future

Logo of OpenAI, the future of AI.

OpenAI is the company behind many artificial intelligence (AI) systems, such as ChatGPT, DALL-E2, and Bing’s new AI-powered search engine. OpenAI’s products are bleeding into all aspects of life, from writing emails and cover letters to customer service. OpenAI’s ultimate goal is to make AI beneficial to all of humanity and protect against its abuse, as outlined in their charter.

Continue reading

Digital Communication Gone Wrong

Lessons Learned from Mistakes Made

When digital communication goes wrong, it can have serious consequences for a company, from damaging its reputation to causing financial loss. As businesses increasingly turn to digital communication to connect with their audiences, it’s important to be aware of the potential risks that come with this powerful tool. Taking a look at real-life examples of digital communication gone wrong can provide current and future communication professionals lessons from these cases to help businesses avoid similar mistakes.

Be Aware of the Culture

Kendall Jenner handing a police officer a Pepsi

One example of digital communication gone wrong is Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner ad. In 2017, Pepsi released an ad featuring Kendall Jenner joining a protest and seemingly solving a conflict by offering a police officer a can of Pepsi. However, the ad was widely criticized for trivializing serious social issues and cultural appropriation. The lesson here is that businesses need to be aware of the social and cultural contexts in which they operate and avoid using sensitive issues to promote their products. 

Monitor Your Channels

Another example of digital communication gone wrong is McDonald’s #McDStories campaign. In 2012, McDonald’s launched the campaign, asking people to share their positive experiences with the brand using the hashtag. However, the hashtag was quickly took over into a bashtag with people sharing negative experiences and criticism of McDonald’s. This shows the potential for negative feedback and the need for businesses to carefully monitor their social media channels.

Respond Quickly

In 2017, United Airlines faced widespread criticism after forcibly removing a passenger from an overbooked flight. The incident was captured on video and shared widely on social media, leading to a PR disaster. This underscores the importance of having clear policies in place for managing crises and responding to negative feedback in a timely and appropriate manner. 

Get Feedback Before a Launch

Dove’s 2017 ad that appeared to show a black woman turning into a white woman after using Dove soap also received criticism for promoting racist stereotypes. This is a reminder that businesses need to be aware of the potential for unintentional messaging and carefully consider the potential interpretations of their content.

Manage Your Accounts

The final example of digital communication gone wrong is in 2012, a KitchenAid employee tweeted an offensive political joke about Barack Obama from the company’s official account during a presidential debate. While this tweet was widely criticized, KitchenAid successfully managed this social media crisis with a quick public apology from the company. This is an example of the importance of carefully managing access to social media accounts and making sure that employees are fully aware of the potential consequences of their actions.

Simple Steps

In conclusion, these digital communication case studies show the potential risks of getting digital communication wrong. Businesses need to be aware of the potential for negative feedback, carefully consider the social and cultural contexts in which they operate, have clear crisis management policies in place, be aware of the potential for unintentional messaging, and carefully manage access to their social media accounts. By taking these simple steps, businesses can avoid the mistakes of these digital communication case studies and build stronger connections with their audiences.

Why Professionals need Grammarly

Grammarly is the helpful solution for all professionals’ spelling and grammar needs

As the world becomes faster, the expectation for workers increases. As new forms of AI, such as DALL-E and Chat GPT, begin to threaten to take over various jobs, professionals need to be on their top game. Grammarly – is the solution for many professionals who need to get many documents written in a day but still need to maintain quality.

Continue reading

Pinterest: The Positive Social Media Platform 

In a sea of many popular social media platforms, Pinterest is differentiating itself. Pinterest is looking to position itself as a positive social media platform. Their goal is to create a platform that leaves their users with beneficial experiences. 

Pinterest’s Additive Algorithm

Pinterest has made many intentional choices over the last decade to create a more positive platform. One way of doing so is through their conscious algorithm that suggests content based on signals from their users. The platform hopes that their platform’s AI is additive, not addictive will help curb the social media crisis. Recent data has shown that social media users scroll on average one mile every day. 

Pinterest feed.

Pinterest Prioritizing Emotional Well-Being of Users

The platform is also focused on protecting the emotional well-being of its users, specifically teenagers. Pinterest utilizes a strict self-harm policy to remove content that could put teens’ mental health at risk. In addition, the platform wants to “design in the good” and make Pinterest more representative. An example of their efforts can be seen in their hair pattern search and skin tone ranges. Pinterest believes that “no one should have to work harder to find content that’s relevant to them.” 

Pinterest feature where users can explore posts by skin range.

UC Berkley Study on the Positive Impacts of Pinterest

These actions Pinterest has taken are proving to have actual impacts on its users. In a new study performed by UC Berkeley, researchers examined the effect of Pinterest on college students’ stress levels. The data showed that as little as 10 minutes on Pinterest daily helped lower their stress levels. In addition to lowering stress levels, it helped provide a buffer against burnout. This study helps show that Pinterest’s strategic tactics to create a positive platform are working. 

With many social media platforms dedicating resources to compete with TikTok’s addictive algorithm, Pinterest is a bright spot. Rather than adapt its platform like Instagram is with Reels, Pinterest is forging a new path as a positive social media platform. As of July 2022, Pinterest has 433 million monthly active users, and it is expected to continue growing.

Teaching your Grandma: Instagram

Instagram is like a second language to any Gen Z, but to any grandma, it is a foreign language. We all know that Instagram is a popular social media platform that allows users to share photos and videos with their followers. But our feeds won’t be complete without the presence of our loving grandmas. Teaching your grandma to use Instagram is easy with just a few simple steps.

This is a photo of a grandmas instagram photo. It shows the caption as #selfiesunday and some fun comments.
Grandma is on IG!
Continue reading

Utilizing LinkedIn as a Powerful Tool

As a young professional, networking can be one of the most essential tools for advancing your career. One of the most effective ways to network is through LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional social network. LinkedIn is a powerful tool that can help you connect with people in your industry, explore job opportunities, and showcase your skills and achievements.

Graphic showcasing the LinkedIn logo with an individual talking about the platform to a crowd.
LinkedIn Graphic
Continue reading

The Importance of Email Newsletters

In the wake of social media marketing, many can belittle the value email newsletters still hold. Newsletters have been a part of marketing for a long time, and for good reason. They are a powerful tool that businesses can use to connect with their audience, build brand awareness, and increase sales. When utilized correctly, you can position your brand for success.

Continue reading

Why You Should Use Podcast Advertising 

In 2022, weekly podcast listening reached a new high of 192 million Americans listening every week. Podcasts are a new engaged audience that PR professionals can use to showcase their brand. Podcast advertising allows brands to pay for promotions within various podcast shows and episodes. 

Woman recording a podcast.

According to recent data, podcast advertisements are the most recalled type of advertisement. 86% of respondents said they remember hearing an ad on a podcast, comparatively, only 80% and 79% remembered on social media and website advertisements respectively. Data has shown podcast advertising results in four times better brand recall compared to traditional display advertisements. This data is great news for advertisers, it shows that podcasts offer high exposure to an engaged audience. 

In addition to high levels of recall, podcast advertisements also have strong engagement. On average, 56% of listeners said they would recommend a brand to someone after hearing a podcast advertisement on their favorite show. 

Podcast advertisements allow more time and freedom to tell your brands story. Another benefit reveled from recent data is that only 12% of respondents said they always skip ads. In this same survey, 33% of respondents said they never skip ads. 

How to Best Advertise on Podcasts 

It is important to find a show with a similar demographic as your brands target demographic. As of January 2023, there are over three million podcasts, so it is imperative to find the right match. There are many different categories and types of podcasts, so you are able to target niche audiences. 

Image of the top 50 most listened to podcasts.

How to Measure Success 

Another benefit of podcast advertising is the ability to measure the success of a campaign and determine the ROI. Many advertisements will use promo codes and/or vanity URLS to track the engagements. Promo codes can help incentive purchases and first time purchases. Brands can offer unique promo codes during their podcast advertisement reads. This is a great way to track the data of the campaign and measure the sales. Vanity URLs offer another way to track engagement. 

The podcast industry is rapidly growing and it will become an important new medium to utilize.

Social Media Crisis Management: Best practices for PR Pros

Mitigating a Social Media Crisis

Social media crisis management is a critical aspect of PR and communications, and it requires a sincere and quick approach before things get out of hand. Social media has transformed the way we communicate, connecting people from all corners of the world. It’s also transformed the way businesses operate, providing a platform to engage with customers and promote products and services. However, with great power comes great responsibility, and businesses must be prepared to handle the potential risks of social media. As PR and communications professionals, it’s our duty to ensure that businesses are equipped to manage social media crises. These crises can arise at any time, and they can have a significant impact on a company’s reputation and bottom line.

Managing social media crisis

Best Practices

To effectively manage social media crises, PR professionals must be proactive, vigilant, and authentic. This means being alert to potential risks, monitoring social media channels regularly, responding promptly to issues, and communicating honestly and transparently with all stakeholders. One of the most important aspects of social media crisis management is identifying potential crises before they escalate. This requires staying on top of industry trends and potential issues that may arise. By doing so, PR professionals can take preventive action to address issues before they become full-blown crises.

Another critical element of social media crisis management is having a well-defined crisis management plan in place. This should include a crisis communication protocol, key stakeholders, and a process for responding to crises. By having a designated crisis management team and a clear plan, businesses can reduce damage in the event of a crisis. When a social media crisis does occur, it’s important to respond promptly and authentically. This means fully acknowledging the issue, taking responsibility for any mistakes, and providing regular updates on the situation. Being transparent and communicating openly can help to restore trust with stakeholders.

Learning from Mistakes

Finally, it’s important to learn from each crisis experience and update crisis management plans accordingly. Taking a look at past case studies can teach you what to do and what not to do in an event of a crisis. By taking a reflective approach, businesses can identify areas for improvement and better prepare for future crises. Social media crisis management is a critical aspect of PR and communications, and it requires a dynamic, transparent, and genuine approach. By staying attentive, having a well-defined plan in place, and communicating openly, businesses can minimize the impact of social media crises and emerge stronger in the long run.

The Power of TikTok and How Businesses and Individuals Can Capitalize On The Popularity

In recent years, the power of TikTok has taken the world by storm, becoming one of the most popular social media platforms in existence. It has revolutionized the way we consume and create content. It has provided a new space for people to showcase their creativity and connect with others. TikTok has widely impacted the world and is just the beginning of a new social era.  

Continue reading

DALL-E: The Disruption the Art World needs

How DALL-E’s disruption is both a blessing and curse for creativity

DALL-E – the disruptor of worlds or at least the art world. This online service is one of the many AI artwork generator platforms disrupting creative-based industries right now and causing many debates on how this technology benefits and hurts businesses centered around art. 

Continue reading

The Power of Pinterest

Starting in 2010, Pinterest is a social media platform that dedicates itself to being a search engine for inspiration and ideas. The platform is limitless, as you can find posts and mood boards for fashion, music, art, fan fiction, sports, and so on. The power of Pinterest from a professional standpoint is simple: pins.

Pins

On Pinterest, each pin holds a different feature and usage. These pins are used strategically to optimize the effect you want to have on the viewers of your page. Learn more about how to become famous on Pinterest here.

Regular Pins

The regular pin prompts the user to link to any page (image, video, blog) that they are viewing. This is the most common and primary function in a user-creator perspective.

Pinterest introduces Idea Pins globally and launches new creator discovery  features | Pinterest Newsroom
How Pins Get Featured

Collection Pins

The collection pin allows you to link specific product pages to a post. This will take the user directly to the page linked inside the post. This feature will also open up the viewer’s perspective of the page and allow them to visit more than what they specifically intended to discover. This is a MUST-USE feature for companies trying to engage with the viewer and increase the traction their page is receiving.

Pinterest Ads: A Step-By-Step Guide For Your Business I Pinterest
More on Pinterest Collection Pins

Promoted Pins

The promoted pin is essentially a glorified regular pin. However, these pins can be verified by Pinterest and show the viewer that this product, image, etc., is a promotion. This is essential for a company’s credibility and confidence from the viewer. You are showing your viewer that your company is legit and acknowledged by the platform and the users of Pinterest.

Why is this important?

Pins drive users to a page in the most effective way for browsing. Now, If a user is searching for styles for their summer lookbook, a company should not have them save the post of the dress they are selling but give a direct outlet for them to design an outfit around this dress using other products in their collection. Additionally, these products should be linked clearly and time-efficiently so that when they return to their lookbook, they can shop the creator’s website instantly. Enticing users to click on one’s pins may seem like the most obvious usage of Pinterest. However, effectively using the resources that Pinterest provides will skyrocket users’ online interactions with your business or your site.