Digitally savvy corporations can finally stop worrying that their last Tweet or Facebook post might have inadvertently disclosed material information to investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission recently issued a new “Guidance Update” that provides welcome direction on when and how social media may be used by publicly traded companies while remaining in compliance with federal regulations.

The SEC has long been concerned with timely disclosure of company information to the public. In 2000, the agency promulgated Regulation FD in an effort to prevent earnings and other important information from trickling out to investors and the public at large. Through the use of the SEC’s online filing system, EDGAR, and the processes set forth in Reg FD, timely notification could be made. The problem? Reg FD does not address the digital world we now live in.

Continue reading " All the Public Companies: Put a #Hashtag on It "

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that public relations professionals juggle many different responsibilities and wear a number of different hats every day. They must execute several strategic moves on behalf of their client, the agency they work for or their stakeholders. PR pros play multiple roles and have become experts in the area of rapid transition. These do-it-all professionals are definitely a force to be reckoned with. Think twice before accusing a PR person of not being able to handle a task at hand. Truth is they’ve probably dabbled in whatever it is you’re throwing at them and have discovered a more efficient way to accomplish the task.

In this week’s PRSA “Friday Five” post — an analysis of the week’s biggest public relations and business news and commentary — we look at how public relations is evolving in the face of technology, social media and other traditional roles once thought to be out of PR’s realm.

Continue reading " Friday Five: PR Pros Happily Put on Extra Hats "

Having the expertise to manage your brand’s social media presence takes so much more than simply using Twitter and Facebook on a personal level. Community managers have their hands full researching social media tools to help them maximize their brand’s social presence while not spreading their brand too thin trying to create a presence on every platform that exists. While some brands have successfully made a business case for social media in their company, other brands are learning to manage their organization’s expectations in regard to the return on social media stunts initially meant to garner a reaction instead of a specific outcome.

In this week’s PRSA “Friday Five” post — an analysis of the week’s biggest public relations and business news and commentary — we explore the skills, various tools and resources needed to fulfill the very well-rounded role of community manager. We also look at a few brands successfully tackling their social media strategy and those social PR stunts that sometimes fall on deaf ears.

Continue reading " Friday Five: The Intricacies of Social Media Management "

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is in the news again, not for enraging subscribers over a price increase or for presiding over a steep decline in share price, but for using social media to tout a company milestone.

Hastings took to his Facebook page in June and praised his staff for achieving a monthly viewing rate in excess of 1 billion hours for the first time in the company’s history.

Continue reading " Assessing the Net of Disclosure: Should the SEC “Like” Facebook? "

This has been a trying couple of weeks for the U.S. The East Coast was battered by Hurricane Sandy and a nail-biting presidential election finally came to an end this week. While neither of these events is directly related to public relations or the communications field, both made quite the impact across multi-media channels.

In this week’s PRSA “Friday Five” post — an analysis of the week’s biggest public relations and business news and commentary — we take a look at how the 2012 presidential campaign lent its expertise to marketing and we discuss how Hurricane Sandy took social media by storm. 

Continue reading " Friday Five: 2012 Presidential Election Tackles Marketing and Sandy’s Big Social Media Debut "