3 tips for making your mark as an executive communicator

Behind any great politician, CEO or other leader is…you!

As an executive communicator, you have the power to establish executives as credible and trusted public figures, but doing so requires going above and beyond the commonplace.

Here are three ways you can craft vibrant, compelling addresses for your execs:

1. Be familiar with the speaker’s personality. Your speeches must sound authentic.

2. Build strong relationships. This ensures you’ll have access to executives when you need it.

3. Use humor appropriately. Identify which topics lend themselves well to a joke-and when you must exercise caution.

These are just a few of the practical insights you’ll hear at our 2016 Leadership & Executive Communications Conference on Oct. 18-19 in Washington, D.C. You’ll also hear from experts from The White House, The Coca-Cola Company and KPMG.

Register here to save $100.

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Quiz: Commonly misused or misspelled words

I’ve written more posts than I can count about confusing word pairs, words that are hard to spell and words that aren’t really words.

Instead of another article about usage, let’s see how you fare with a quiz.

Read the list below and make note of which words or phrases areincorrect—either from misspelling or from misstatement. Check your answers at the end.

[RELATED: Improve your writing today with this free guide.]

Definitions and usage guidance came from Oxford Dictionaries, Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster.

1. Alterior motive

2. Augurs well for the project

3. Brussel sprout

4. Caddy-corner

5. Center around

6. Conversate

7. Coursing through my veins

8. Cut and dry

9. Derring-do

10. Digestive track

11. Dire straits

12. Door jamb

13. Doughnut

14. Duct tape

15. Easedrop

16. Fine-tooth comb

17. Harebrained

18. Home in

19. Mute point

20. Old wise tale

21. Per say

22. Sleight of hand

23. Thunder and lightening

24. Wet your appetite

Answers:

1. Incorrect. “Alterior” should read “ulterior.”

2. Correct.

3. Incorrect. “Brussel sprouts” should be “Brussels sprouts.”

4. Incorrect. “Caddy” is not correct; instead, use “catty” or “kitty.”

5. Incorrect. Things don’t “center around,” but rather “center on” or “revolve around.”

6. Incorrect. It should be “converse.”

7. Correct.

8. Incorrect. It should be “cut and dried.”

9. Correct.

10. Incorrect. It should be “digestive tract.”

11. Correct.

12. Correct.

13. Correct.

14. Correct.

15. Incorrect. “Easedrop” should be “eavesdrop.”

16. Correct.

17. Correct.

18. Correct. “Home” is to “focus in on a target”; “hone” means “to sharpen.”

19. Incorrect. “Mute” should read “moot.”

20. Incorrect. Instead of “wise,” it’s an “old wives’ tale.”

21. Incorrect. “Per say” should read “per se,” meaning “by or in itself.”

22. Correct.

23. Incorrect. “Lightening” is incorrect; “lightning” is correct.

24. Incorrect. “Wet” should be “whet,” which means to “stimulate an appetite or desire.”

How did you do, PR Daily readers? What words or phrases cause you trouble?

Laura Hale Brockway is writer and editor from Austin, Texas. Read more of her work on PR Daily and at impertinentremarks.

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30 jobs in the PR and marketing world

Employers on the hunt for talent this year might want to focus on branding.

According to LinkedIn’s Top Attractors list, a few factors determine which companies and agencies attract and retain talent.

Suzy Welch contributed to the project. She said:

I’ve been working with LinkedIn over the last few months on a project to understand which companies excel at both luring and keeping jobseekers. The result is an eye-opening ranking of the companies dominating the talent game. [When] scanning the list, it doesn’t take long to see the two qualities common across all of the winners: They have an energized culture and offer a chance at career enhancement.

Aside from a high-energy workplace or opportunities to advance, the list’s top attractors had three additional commonalities:

Its founder is calling the shots

Is your marketing agency or PR firm led by its founder? If not, LinkedIn data suggest that could be why there hasn’t been an influx of new talent.

“The vast majority — 65 percent — of the top 20 attractors have their founders at the helm, most of them bearing names that are as familiar as family,” Welch said.

Wharton Business School professor Adam Grant attributes the attraction to a brand’s identity. The more established a brand, the more appealing it will look to job seekers.

“People are drawn to a company with a strong identity—they want it to stand for something distinctive and enduring. The founder is a symbol that it will.”

Glamourous brands attract top talent

If you’re seeking a new opportunity, odds are, you’re looking at what LinkedIn calls “household names” or brands.

Data suggest job seekers are being wooed by familiar branding tricks. According to Welch, many gravitate toward organizations where news is breaking, the economy is growing and the future is forging ahead. A well-known reputation is key.

From Welch:

Consider this: Of the top 20 companies to land on the Top Attractors list, only three wouldn’t be considered household names. Even as you go down the list, well-known brands dominate, with, for instance, Dell at No. 22 and Estee Lauder at No. 30.

Immense talent seeks generous benefits

Although an organization’s draft beer selection might not be the sole reason someone accepts a position, organizations are getting creative when it comes to perks.

[FREE DOWNLOAD: Reach staff with personally relevant emails.]

Welch said:

Some of them you’ve heard of —health club memberships and extended maternity and paternity leave, for instance. Others are more unique, such as dog-friendly offices and free cooking lessons in every cuisine under the sun (at Google), and coverage for sex-reassignment surgery (at Pandora.)

Marketing and PR pros seeking a generous and “glamourous” environment should consider a new technologies marketing manager positon with Amazon (No. 5 on the top attractors list).

Candidates should be prepared to identify and evaluate partnership opportunities and own the development of value propositions, core content, marketing and go-to-market strategies for new developer programs.

Not the job for you? See what else we have in this week’s professional pickings:

AV producer— Netflix (California)

Marketing and digital communication coordinator— McFarland Clinic (Iowa)

Associate content manager— About.com (New York)

Public relations assistant— Harper Pierce (Missouri)

English copywriter— TransferGo (United Kingdom)

Senior associate, web content marketing— Discover Financial Services (Illinois)

Content marketing specialist— Navistar (Illinois)

Social media and community manager— Twist (New York)

Brand assistant— American Greetings (California)

Community content manager— Penton (Colorado)

Marketing communications assistant— Four Pillars Marketing (Ohio)

Marketing manager— Myfone App (Denmark)

Media specialist— Merkel (Pennsylvania)

Marketing coordinator— Dialogue Direct (Illinois)

Travel editor— BBC Worldwide (New York)

Brand management director— Capella University (Minnesota)

Digital communications manager— Zalando (Germany)

Brand marketing manager— Sutter Health (California)

Freelance copywriter— Appear Here (New York)

Assistant media planner— JMC Brands (Ohio)

Content and CRM marketing specialist— Plexuss.com (California)

Social media manager— The Social Client (France)

Marketing assistant— JBL Group (Georgia)

Public relations account executive— Matter Communications (Massachusetts)

Marketing executive— Bauer Media Australia (Melbourne)

VP of social media— PageGroup (New York)

Video product marketing manager— Aquent (California)

Marketing manager— Synexus Clinical Research (United Kingdom)

Account executive— iostudio (Tennessee)

Copywriter, content specialist— Iris Worldwide (Illinois)

If you have a position you would like to see highlighted in this weekly jobs listing, please email me at clarel@ragan.com.

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What the Microsoft-LinkedIn deal means to you

Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn for $26.2 billion was huge tech news, but likely even bigger news for corporate communicators.

Since LinkedIn has grown into such a key tool, the merger will have a big impact in our industry.

It isn’t surprising people are nervous. After all, this isn’t the first social media acquisition for Microsoft. If you remember, they acquired Yammer years ago—which didn’t propel that platform to new and exciting places.

Here are five thoughts on how the deal will affect communicators:

1. No sudden moves for at least six months

I’m no M&A expert, but reading between the lines on communications from the two parties, I can say this: Don’t expect big changes to LinkedIn in the near future. My experience in similar deals is that the first six months to a year were spent researching and gathering information, discovering points of integration.

2. LinkedIn’s gain: Access to huge resources

The big win here for LinkedIn? They have access to Microsoft’s capital. For a while, people were worried that LinkedIn wasn’t focused on improving what some already consider a lackluster user experience. With Microsoft’s cash, LinkedIn should be able to make improvements. Still, as mentioned above, don’t expect anything soon.

[FREE DOWNLOAD: 10 ways to enliven senior executives’ communications]

3. Robust LinkedIn profiles become even more important

One obvious potential integration that impacts almost all corporate employees: LinkedIn’s social data seamlessly merging with Outlook. Think about the information LinkedIn could provide on every email: current position, years at job, relevant experience, etc. Imagine how much more effective your emails could be with that information so readily available. Further, when employees build stronger relationships, they’re more productive and more likely to stay with the company.

4. Executive profiles become crucial

I continue to be baffled that so few executives have LinkedIn profiles. Consider that in light of the scenario in No. 3. How embarrassing will it be for executives’ Outlook emails to come up blank. Executives may not need a LinkedIn profile to find a job, but they do need one to communicate with employees.

5. The employee communications newsfeed

What if Microsoft figures out a way to combine all employees’ newsfeeds into a single organization-wide information source, essentially displaying just what employees of X organization are sharing and what employees are saying about it. Voila, the employee communications newsfeed. Off the shelf. It might be a stretch, but I could see it happening.

A version of this article first appeared on ArikHanson.com.

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Meet Frank Sinatra, writing coach

I’m a longtime fan of Frank Sinatra. So are my 22-year-old triplets. One of their babysitters used to play Sinatra’s music for them and, as preschoolers, they’d walk down the street singing such songs as “Fly Me to the Moon” or “You Make Me Feel So Young.” It was adorable and often created a bit of a sensation. (Especially when my kids wore their sunglasses.)

I was thinking about Frank recently, and it occurred to me that some of his song titles offer great advice for writers. No, I’m not talking about “Wishing Will Make It So.”

Most of Frank’s songs are more on the money. Here’s a few of his titles to think about before you sit down to write:

“Accentuate the Positive”

Consider these words from songwriter Johnny Mercer:

“You’ve got to accentuate the positive

Eliminate the negative

And latch on to the affirmative

Don’t mess with Mister In-Between”

I’ve worked with many people who fear writing. The printed word holds nothing but terror for them. They worry what their boss or client is going to think. Worse, they worry about what they’re going to think of themselves. Something negative, they assume. So here’s my question: How can you write if your hands are clutched in a death-grip?

Free download: 10 punctuation essentials

All the evidence shows that if you’re happy and positive, you’re more likely to succeed. People who are optimistic have great social support, see stress as a challenge rather than a threat and do better at everything — including writing. Corporate trainer Sean Achor argues this point quite convincingly.

“Anything Goes”

As Cole Porter put it:

“In olden days, a glimpse of stocking

Was looked on as something shocking,

But now, God knows, anything goes.”

Smart writers know that their first job is to write a crappy first draft. It matters not one iota what goes into that draft because nobody else should see it. The benefit of the crappy first draft is that it allows you to write quickly, holding your critical faculties in abeyance. Then you edit, and you can even be harsh and demanding. When you’re writing that first draft, though, anything goes.

“In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning”

Lyricist Bob Hilliard wrote:

“In the wee small hours of the morning,

While the whole wide world is fast asleep,

You lie awake and think about your writing*

And never, ever think of counting sheep.”

*Confession: I replaced “the girl” with “your writing” in the third line.

Most writers gravitate to writing first thing in the morning or late at night. I was born a night owl but turned into a morning lark about 10 years ago. I’ve found that 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. is my most productive time, and I schedule my most important work for mornings. If you’re not a morning lark, I bet you’re a night owl. We all tend to write better when no one else can disturb us.

“I Guess I’ll Have to Change My Plan”

Howard Dietz was thinking about love when he wrote this, but writers could be forgiven for thinking he was telling their story.

“Before I knew where I was at,

I found myself upon the shelf and that was that,

I tried to reach the moon but when I got there,

All that I could get was the air.”

How many times have you written yourself into a corner? You start on a piece, thinking you have a good through-line and then, bam, you don’t know what to write next. You have some key facts or quotes to include and nowhere to put them. You’re out on a limb, grasping air. (In the song, Frank loses his girl. But if you’re a determined writer, you needn’t lose the story. You can just change your plan.)

“My Way”

The song that’s most often associated with Sinatra? It’s a cheesy Paul Anka classic. Here are a few lines to refresh your memory:

“Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew,

When I bit off more than I could chew.

But through it all, when there was doubt,

I ate it up and spit it out.

I faced it all and I stood tall,

And did it my way.”

I give lots of general advice to writers, but I recognize that there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. We’re individuals who need to discover our own ways of getting words onto the page and making them better.

So keep your head up, keep trying and eventually you’ll find your way to achieve writing success.

A version of this article first appeared on LinkedIn.

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How online communication hampers real relationships

No doubt online communication is amazing, and it’s changed the way we connect as a society.

It allows us to build relationships with people whom we might never have met. On an organizational and brand level, online communication expands the reach of our messages and helps us connect with consumers in a more personal way.

On a personal level, it allows us to form communities with people far and wide, and removes the constraint of time and location. Consider:

• Several of my closest friends I met first online.
• I’ve had great relationships with people I’ve met using online dating platforms
• As you can see from the photo in this post, Snapchat is a very important platform for me to explore different career opportunities, such as being a cop or a Viking. This is very important for my long-term professional development.
• Heck, if it wasn’t for online communication, I might never have met Gini Dietrich and had the opportunity to be part of the Spin Sucks/Arment Dietrich team.

But online communication doesn’t come without obstacles.

What it is—and isn’t

Online communication isn’t communication and it doesn’t denote relationship.

It’s a great tool to facilitate both of those things, but it is limited in scope.

[WHITE PAPER: Today’s internal communications challenges and how to remedy them]

Imagine if most of your communication with someone was entirely through Snapchat or Twitter and that the relationship never went further (such as meeting in person or via a phone or video conference).

There would be many things you’d miss:

• The nuances of in-person communication.
• The ability to converse directly (minus the conduit of a Snapchat filter or trite tweet).
• Many of the aspects of communication and relationship that we rely on as humans to connect.

Online communication as barrier

A recent study published in the Journal of Research on Adolescence showed the results of this communications gap in practice.

The researchers compared the percentage of time adolescents spent communicating with romantic partners in person or on the phone vs. using text messaging and social media sites, to their levels of competence in two basic relationship skills: managing conflict and asserting their needs.

They found that teens who spent the majority of time interacting online had underdeveloped relationship skills.

“In the area of handling some of the tricky parts of relationships, it looks like the more adolescents are using these electronic forms of communication, the worse they’re doing over time in some of these traditional skills,” said, Mitch Prinstein, co-author of the study and professor of psychology and neuroscience.

How it affects business

In a world so heavily reliant on online communication channels, how do we prevent our use of them from detracting from the actual communication and relationships? We use them as they were intended - as tools.

Whether we are building a strategic plan or working with clients or colleagues, we recognize how the tool we’re using might deaden nuanced communication.

We also must ensure we communicate in a more directly connected way, such as video conferences or in-person meetings (we do both with our internal team and clients). Make sure clients do the same (and implement these actions in the communications strategies we build for them).

Finally, we need to acknowledge the potential of this skills gap in younger workers and provide opportunities for them to communicate more directly and coach them to develop these skills.

Awareness will prevent us from becoming drones.

#DontBeADrone

A version of this article first appeared on SpinSucks.

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4 tools for optimizing hashtags for your business

Hashtags often identify trending topics on Twitter.

If Twitter’s own findings are to be believed, then tweets containing one or more hashtags are 55 percent more likely to be retweeted than those with none at all.

Not only are Twitter hashtags useful for monitoring trending stories related to your business, but they can help you generate new engagements by amplifying your reach beyond your own followers.

When you add a relevant hashtag to your tweet, you are exposing that message to all those following a particular trend. They help you to be part of that expansive conversation, which can result in cultivating new relationships.

Hashtags are an integral part of the marketing strategy for most successful social media marketers.

If you have yet to explore this avenue, it’s time for you to tap the huge marketing potential of Twitter hashtags.

To take advantage of this important feature, you must first identify those that are relevant to your business. Here’s how:

1. Twitter’s Tailored Trends

Under the native Tailored Trends section, you can find popular topics personalized by an algorithm based on your preference, location and followers.

You can specify your current geographic location to find local events and discussions about any particular trend. To view trends elsewhere, go to the advanced search option and select a new location.

Given its access to the Twitter database systems, Tailored Trends is the most accurate hashtag research tool available for free. One drawback: Tailored Trends is limited to the top 10 trending list.

[RELATED: Social Media Virtual Master Class for PR and communications pros]

If you are looking for more, you will have to use a third-party tool, such as those that follow.

2. Hashtagify.me

Hashtagify.me addresses the major shortcoming of Tailored Trends-the limit on hashtags. You can use Tailored Trends to find additional, related hashtags.

Hashtagify.me provides 10 popular hashtags for a particular keyword, so for each original hashtag, you get 10 new ones, making a total of 100 relevant hashtags.

3. TrendsMap

TrendsMap won’t suggest new topics, but you can visualize the use of particular hashtags on a world map.

You can view the trending topics by continent, country or city, thus helping you find the most popular hashtags trending in a given location or region.

It’s especially helpful for small businesses trying to keep up with local market trends.

4. TagBoard

TagBoard enables you to consolidate conversations surrounding a particular hashtag on an array of online platforms-Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Google Plus.

You can amplify your overall reach on social media and attract potential business leads from different platforms.

Final thoughts

Once you have identified relevant tending hashtags, include them in your tweets to reach a wider base of users.

They can also inspire new topic ideas for creating engaging content on your business website, thus boosting traffic and, ultimately, conversions.

What tools do you use to find trending hashtags? Please let us know in the comments section.

A version of this article first appeared on Spin Sucks.

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8 things PR grads need to know

It’s graduation season—the time of year when many new PR pros are putting their degree to work.

You have a lot to learn.

Here are some lessons that may not have been taught in class but will help you navigate your career.

1. Work hard to stand out. Did you know there are now 4.8 PR pros to every reporter . I found this to be an eye-opening statistic. For those new to the profession, it means you need to rock it. Build a solid foundation by honing your writing and storytelling skills, which will be important whatever your ultimate career goal may be. Check your attitude at the door. Go the extra mile without being asked, and you’ll get further faster.

2. Write! It’s a vital skill for PR practitioners. What’s the best way to become a better writer? Write. If you don’t have a lot of writing experience, find ways to write more. Ask for opportunities at work or write your own blog. Even if no one reads it, the experience you gain is worth it.

3. Get involved in a professional organization. The most important benefit is getting to know others and building your network. Volunteering can also help you develop new skills or improve on existing ones. Another tip: When you’re just out of school, some organizations offer a deeply discounted membership. The American Marketing Association has a “young professional membership,” so even if your employer won’t cover it, you most likely can afford the cost. Consider it an investment in your future.

[Related: Conference: The Employee Communications, PR and Social Media Summit at Microsoft HQ]

4. Don’t beat yourself up when the story you pitched doesn’t appear. With media relations, the story doesn’t always run — and that’s not your fault. Even after you’ve scored an interview, the story may never see the light of day, and you may never learn why. This is out of your control, and it isn’t the fault of PR. It’s the nature of the news business. You do your best, but usually you have no control over when — or if — the story appears. Does the client always understand this? No. But it’s a reality of the biz. Don’t waste time feeling bad about. Move on.

5. Don’t give up a media pitch too quickly. Pitches can fail. It’s part of media relations, but that doesn’t mean you should give up. If you don’t get a response, there are other alternatives. You send it again. You can reach out via social media. You can rewrite the pitch. You can even try self-publishing via a platform such as LinkedIn Pulse or Medium. Get creative.

6. Educate your clients too. The client doesn’t always get what PR is — and what it isn’t. Whether you work in-house or at an agency, there are situations when education is in order. PR isn’t advertising. It isn’t a “one-and-done” activity. Public relations can open doors for your client, but they need to be an active participant in the process for it to be most successful.

7. Get used to being edited. Editors will change your work — and you need to be OK with that. Occasionally your editor or your boss or your client will change something was correct. You need to learn how far to go in pursuing your point and when to let it go. I once had a manager who disagreed with me over a term I used in an article that I knew was right. He said no. He was the boss, so I had little choice after I voiced my objections than to let it ride his way. Yes, it was difficult. Eventually, he admitted he was wrong and apologized. Had I pushed too hard, it may have caused a rift that didn’t need to happen. Pick your battles.

8. Know there will be twists and turns on your career path. Your career path may not always lead straight up the ladder — and that’s perfectly OK. You may start out in one area only to find you prefer a different focus. It’s great to gain experience in a variety of companies and work environments so you know what you like best. There are things to be learned from working in agencies, startups, small businesses, corporations and nonprofits.

You may love being a big fish in a small pond or the opposite. Whatever path you choose, agency experience can be valuable. If you have an opportunity to work at one for even a year, you’ll gain a sense of how accounts are set up, get a taste for the roles and learn how to handle client services. All will benefit you no matter what path you ultimately pursue.

Michelle Messenger Garrett is a public relations consultant, speaker and award-winning writer with more than 20 years of agency, corporate, startup and Silicon Valley experience . A version of this article originally appeared on Muck Rack , a service that enables you to find journalists to pitch, build media lists, get press alerts and create coverage reports with social media data.

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The Facebook live event is sold out

The live event is sold out.

Unless you’ve already registered to be there, the only way to take part in our Social Media & Storytelling Summit at Facebook is to sign up for the webcast.

Get all the top social media strategies straight from the experts without leaving your desk. Every takeaway that live-event attendees will get, you’ll get, too-minus hefty travel fees and time away from the office.

You’ll also receive a DVD of the entire event—every track, every session, every keynote, every panel, including PowerPoint slides and notes. You and your team members can watch every session over and over again.

Get this live webcast for only $795.

That’s a discount of almost 45 percent off the live-event fee!

Register here.

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What you know about emojis is wrong

More than 75 percent of workers admit to using emojis in professional communications, according to a [Tf1] Cotap Inc. survey . I have mixed feelings about that.

There is no shortage of industry experts who will tell youemojis are here to stay , and we should get used to them. Again, I have mixed feelings. Before I am labeled a spoilsport, allow me to explain. I have no real problem with emojis; I use them myself. I just haven’t been convinced of their usefulness at work.

Allow me to explain further by knocking down the classic pro-emoji-in-the-workplace arguments:

“Millennials use emojis in daily communications, and we must adapt to the new normal.”

Actually, most millennials don’t like to use emojis at work. According to a Fusion Poll, 57 percent of the millennials responding thought they were inappropriate for the workplace. In fact, employees over the age of 65 are more likely than any other age group to say it is “always appropriate” to send emojis to a direct manager, peer or subordinate. That makes sense when you consider that the emoji originated from the emoticon, which was created by a Baby Boomer named Scott Fahlman, way back in 1982.

I receive emojis in work emails from professionals who graduated college ages ago, while most of my millennial-aged workers are more likely to walk into my office and start talking. Perhaps emojis are not as urgently relevant as marketers would have us believe. The media love to link millennials to every new tech trend, but in my experience this generation is more about making connections in person.

Free download: A step-by-step guide to assessing which internal communications channels are working for your organization.

“Emojis help clarify intent by attaching an emotion to the message”

The general wisdom is that some workplace messages are ambiguous, and emojis help the reader better discern the intentions of the sender. Emojis are the key to emotional expression? I don’t buy it.

A study from Syracuse University showed that no matter the message, we tend to misinterpret work emails as more negative or neutral than intended. That negativity bias is more pronounced as the message sender moves up the hierarchy, i.e. an employee will perceive more negativity coming from their boss than a peer. Here’s the kicker: Emojis are misinterpreted just as often as text. In a Harvard Business Review article on email etiquette, Andrew Brodsky gives a prime example:

“I asked employees for an email that they felt was written very poorly, and one employee provided me with the following message from a manager:

‘The intro of the commercial needs to be redone. I’m sure that’s the client’s doing and you will handle it :).

Warm Regards, (Manager’s Name).’

To me as an outsider (and I’m guessing to the manager as well), this email seemed well-crafted to avoid offending the employee. However, the employee felt differently and explained: ‘She knows perfectly well that I made the terrible intro, and she was saying, well I’m sure the client made that segment and that you will tackle it, and then she put a little smiley face at the end. So overall, a condescendingly nasty tone.’ ”

Yikes! So it seems that emojis and emoticons are not bulletproof methods for communicating tone or intention.

“Emojis can make an average message cheerful and make the reader smile.”

OK, there actually have been studies showing that adding smiley faces to emails can reduce negative email interpretations. But that’s also exactly what troubles me. If people are constantly misinterpreting your emails to the point where emojis are required, at what point do you just start writing better emails?

I second that emoji

Case in point: In the same Cotap Inc. study, it was shown that 81 percent of American workers find it challenging to convey emotion in digital communications. The top three emotions they reported having the most difficulty with:

1. Frustration (57 percent)
2. Disappointment (39 percent)
3. Urgency (35 percent)

Now, consider the top three most popular emojis in the workplace:

1. Happy face (64 percent)
2. Thumbs up (16 percent)
3. Winking face (7 percent)

How does slapping smiley faces on everything help employees communicate their frustration? Emojis allegedly help people express feelings, yet in reality they are regularly used to mask them. They become passive-aggressive tools, a subconscious way of expressing displeasure. They don’t clarify, they add noise.

A version of this post first appeared on TLNT .

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Calling all communicators: Ragan's for hire

Custom publishing is crucial to your communications strategy.

Want to increase sales? Avoid expensive advertising?

Ragan Custom Publishing can help. Give us your next copy editing, infographic, video or feature writing project. Get hours back in your week.

Why should you rely on us?

• We’ll save you time! You have endless deadlines. Consider us the experienced new employee you can count on.

• You need quality from someone who knows communications just as well as you do. Take the guesswork out of hiring writers! For 50 years, Ragan has been the trusted name in communications.

• Your audience is sick of VP-babble. Ragan writing is clear, concise, vivid and readable. We use real research and real ideas. We write in a pleasing, interesting style.

From copy editing to infographics, video production to feature stories. Ragan’s got you covered.

Check out our Ragan Custom Publishing offers here.

Email or call Kristin Farmer, kristinf@ragan.com or 312-960-4405, for a full list of open opportunities and a customized quote.

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Facebook ads are out, hand-picked events are in

For social media managers who rely on users to share their Facebook content, the platform has a better idea—Live Events.

In addition to seeing events-related material pop up on users’ newsfeeds, the social media giant is offering a “human-curated” selection of events “that appeal to a wide audience,” a Facebook blog post states.

The individually selected Featured Events will appear on top of users’ upcoming events lists across 10 U.S. cities.

Here’s more from Facebook:

Featured events are lists created by a team at Facebook that show fun local things happening in specific cities. Events on these lists are drawn from art, entertainment, family, festival, fitness, food and drink, learning, community, music and sports events, and we try to find events that appeal to a wide audience.

What are the chances of your next event being chosen? Pretty good, if Facebook’s curators dub it “fun” or “local.” Paying to advertise on the networking website won’t help much, the blog states.

Here’s how Facebook says it will determine which events are included:

The team regularly reviews local art, entertainment, family, festival, fitness, food and drink, learning, community, music and sports events. The team also considers factors including location and capacity. Factors like whether or not the event host has bought ads for the event on Facebook are not considered by the team.

If you seek to have your organization’s next outing chosen, keep in mind that Featured Events lists only include public events hosted by a Facebook page. Private events are not included.

Bouncing back from controversy

In May, Facebook’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, was criticized for how his organization selected “Trending Topics.” He was blasted online as many accused the company of instructing curators to publish primarily left-leaning political content.

In light of that, Facebook says the Live Events team will not include events primarily focused on politics or worship.

“After Trending [Topics] we’ve learned a lot,” Facebook Events product manager Aditya Koolwal told TechCrunch.

On a local level

The feature was available Monday in Chicago, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C., the Chicago Tribune reported.

For marketers of sports teams, music festivals or even local farmers’ markets, the new feature could possibly lessen the amount of money they currently spend on social media advertising.

In Chicago, the Tribune reported that a Chicago Fire soccer game, the Mamby on the Beach festival and The Chosen Few DJs Music Festival were recommend by Facebook’s Live Events team this past weekend.

[RELATED: Join us at Facebook HQ for the Social Media and Storytelling Summit.]

The Tribune added:

Suburban events also made the cut: The company recommended the Glen Ellyn Food Truck Picnic in the Park and Lisle’s Eyes to the Skies festival.

Facebook’s Koolwal says curators will try to avoid selecting events that might not be able to accommodate an influx of attendees. She told TechCrunch:

What we do is have a team of people who are basically looking at events on Facebook that have broad appeal, that a lot of people could go to, and they’re highlighting ones they think will be good to list out. But that downplays the distinct tastes of Facebook’s users. Finding events that appeal to everyone will be a challenge.

According to Facebook’s blog post, Featured Events will not replace its algorithmically generated event suggestions, including its dedicated events space.

Instead, those events are based on users’ preferences and activity, such as past events, events popular with your friends and community or events hosted by pages you’ve liked.

How do you think your social media team might tailor your content to grab a Facebook curator’s eye, PR Daily readers?

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How smartphones increase productivity

A new survey from CareerBuilder finds employers nearly 20 percent of full-time workers are productive fewer than five hours a day. The cause of that lost productivity? They say smartphones.

We have been here before. First, employers blamed the web for lost productivity. They responded by blocking access to the web, only to open it later when they realized it actually contained work-related content. Later, social media sites were the culprit. Businesses responded, predictably, by blocking access. Now, a quarter of companies are banning personal calls and cell phone use.

Nearly half of employers insist smartphone distractions have compromised work quality, lowered morale as other employees are forced to pick up the slack, negatively impacted relationships between employees and bosses, and led to missed deadlines.

Only 10 percent of employees with smartphones agreed that their productivity has dropped because of phone use, though 66 percent said they use their phones several times during the workday.

[FREE DOWNLOAD: Not all staff sit at a desk all day. Here are 10 ways to reach them.]

Looking at the amount of time employees spent on non-work-related websites, Websense calculated a multi-billion-dollar loss in productivity. The problem with its calculation is that it had nothing to do with productivity. How many extra hours were those employees working in order to complete their tasks? How much work were they doing away from the office? It says something that, at the same time Websense made its case that productivity was suffering, the U.S. Department of Labor released statistics revealing a rise in U.S. worker productivity.

I suspect the same thing is happening here: Bosses see workers on their phones and assume that must mean they’re not getting their jobs done. To be sure, there have always been employees who waste time. Those using smartphones today probably used crossword puzzles before, but to paint everybody with that brush is wrong.

 

Just how wrong becomes clear when you look at new data from the Pew Research Center about how employees use social media at work. The data is relevant since other research shows most social media activities these days happen on smartphones. According to the Pew report, 24 percent of workers say they use social media to make or support professional connections, which often pays off for the company. Twenty percent get information that helps solve problems at work, 17 percent build or strengthen personal relationships with coworkers and another 17 percent learn about someone they work with. Twelve percent ask work-related questions of people outside the organization and 12 percent ask work-related questions of people inside the organization.

As for the top result, 34 percent say they use social media to take a mental break from work. While that may seem like a waste of time to a boss who doesn’t know any better, the fact is that mental breaks improve productivity. A University of Melbourne study, for instance, found that workers who took breaks to leisurely surf the web were 9 percent more productive than those who didn’t.

The lost productivity myth actually produces even worse results. Workers at companies with stricter social media policies are less likely to use it to solve work problems. A quarter of workers at companies without such policies use social media to solve problems at work while only 16 percent of those working at companies with restrictive policies take advantage of the resource. Fewer employees at companies with policies take mental breaks from work, which lowers their productivity, according to the research.

It’s also worth noting that smartphones are increasingly the way employees tap into enterprise social networks, company intranets and other work-related resources. A ban just keeps employees from the resources the company wants them to use.

Bans are counterproductive

Ultimately, studies like the Careerbuilder survey lead companies to make knee-jerk decisions that ultimately do more harm than good. Most workers believe social media helps their job performance. The remedy is to measure real productivity: Is the work getting done? Is it getting done on time? Does it meet quality requirements?

Second, bosses need to manage by exception. The vast majority of workers won’t let their smartphone activities get in the way of doing a good job. After all, they want the bonuses, promotions, raises, recognition, and the other benefits of doing good work. Deal with the minority of employees whose performance is suffering and leave everyone else alone. It won’t build employee engagement if workers who manage to use their phones and do a great job are punished for the behaviors of a few others.

Third, figure out how smartphone use benefits the organization and promote those behaviors. Employees who tap into peer networks online solve problems considerably faster than those who don’t. A quarter of employees say they never use the internet for work-related tasks. Now that’s a contributor to lowered productivity.

A version of this article first appeared on LinkedIn.

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Infographic: Sizing up marketers' measurement woes

It doesn’t matter which book you read, conference you attend or expert you ask—they all say that measurement is the key to communications success.

You know this. The word “measurement” probably plays on repeat in your head every time you begin a new project.

It’s not that you don’t want to measure. It’s that communications and marketing measurement can be downright difficult sometimes. (OK, most of the time.)

You’re not the only one struggling. An infographic from Conversion Logic reveals some challenges that marketers say hold them back from measuring effectively.

[WHITE PAPER: Today’s internal communications challenges and how to remedy them]

See if any of these obstacles sound familiar:

• Seventy percent of marketers have a hard time justifying the cost of measurement.

• Fifty percent say it’s difficult to trust the accuracy of their measurement reports.

• Fifty-six percent say finding staff members skilled in measurement is a major challenge.

• Most marketers juggle six or more measurement tools.

• Fifty-nine percent of marketers say collecting and centralizing data is their biggest challenge.

What measurement problems does your team face? Sound off in the comments.

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Red Cross apologizes for ‘super racist’ poster

If there’s a chance people could get offended by your materials, think twice before publishing.

The Red Cross learned this lesson after pool-safety materials displayed in multiple facilities sparked outrage online.

Fortune explained:

The poster in question, called “Be Cool, Follow the Rules,” shows children of different races playing together in a pool. The white children are shown diving and swimming, activities deemed “cool.” The children of color are pushing, running, and carrying beverages—and are labeled “not cool.”

Backlash grew after a Twitter user—who complained to a lifeguard and management of the facility where she saw the poster—shared a picture online and called it ‘super racist’:

Hey, @RedCross, send a new pool poster to @SalidaRec bc the current one they have w your name on it is super racist http://pic.twitter.com/TY8MmFB3Qk

— John Sawyer (@JSawyer330) June 21, 2016

Others quickly piled on with criticism of their own:

Really, @RedCross? Why are all the “not cool” kids also not white? #notcoool http://pic.twitter.com/R15qoeGAzy

— Emmy Betz (@EmmyBetz) June 21, 2016

Umm, did the @RedCross really release a pool safety poster that only shows POC “breaking” the rules? #NotCool, guys https://t.co/YmtNg6eDgU

— Maria Wich-Vila (@mariawv) June 21, 2016

@RedCross What’s Not Cool is racist pool signs! Do better! #notcoolredcross #noracistpoolredcross #BlackLivesMatter http://pic.twitter.com/Km88KsmEAR

— Liz Spann (@ElegantGoose) June 21, 2016

Red Cross’ social media team assured individual Twitter users that the poster was being removed:

@EmmyBetz Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We’re removing this from our site immediately & are creating new materials.

— American Red Cross (@RedCross) June 21, 2016

RELATED: Keep your cool in a crisis with these 13 tips. 

The organization also issued a statement apologizing for the poster and said it would seek advice with a “diversity advocacy organization” for future materials:

The American Red Cross appreciates and is sensitive to the concerns raised regarding one of the water safety posters we produced. We deeply apologize for any misunderstanding, as it was absolutely not our intent to offend anyone. As one of the nation’s oldest and largest humanitarian organizations, we are committed to diversity and inclusion in all that we do, every day.

To this end, we have removed the poster from our website and Swim App and have discontinued production. We have notified all of our partner aquatic facilities requesting they take down the poster. Our organization has emphasized to our partners and on social media that it was absolutely not our intent to offend anyone and apologized for this inadvertent action. We are currently in the process of completing a formal agreement with a diversity advocacy organization for their guidance moving forward.

For more than 100 years, part of the Red Cross mission has been to help everyone be safe in, on and around the water. Countless lives have been saved with our water safety educational and aquatics programs. In order to further support our mission and dedication to inclusion, we launched our Aquatics Centennial Campaign (http://ift.tt/291h5nO) in 2014. We are working to reduce the drowning rate in 50 high-risk communities over a 5-year period by helping to teach at least 50,000 more children and adults to swim. With this campaign, we are focusing on areas with higher-than-average drowning rates and participants who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to take swim lessons.

Once again, we apologize for any inadvertent misunderstanding with regard to the production of this poster, and believe we have taken every step to address the situation.

How would you rate The Red Cross’ mea culpa, Ragan readers? What would you advise differently?

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The most-hated buzzwords in the English language

A higher-up at Ragan had seen the word “supercharge” once too often in Ragan promotions. The exec prohibited its use in our copy.

This started a synergistic conversation in our office: What other words and phrases should we ban?

If we forbade ourselves all superlatives, would we still be able to write our usual literate, persuasive appeals to our audience asking them to attend our conferences and workshops?

We decided to take it public. Why not ask Ragan followers for their most-despised words? Why not ask everybody? We did so, in the office, on HARO, at home.

The result: We’re digging ourselves out from an avalanche of detestation, hatred, vitriol, bile and nausea directed at cant words and phrases. See below for details. (See also my helpful, expert commentary on each of our readers’ responses.)

1. “Synergy.” If a prospective client uses synergy without irony, it’s a red flag on working with them. They’re being lazy.

— Karl Sakas, agency consultant, Sakas & Co.

Karl: Lazy prose is writing that doesn’t get its minimum daily requirement of irony.

2. “Leverage.” A perfectly good noun hijacked by PR people into an atrociously overused verb. Perhaps I hate it most because I can’t seem to stop using it myself—though always with a pang of guilt.

— Jim Miller, president, Momentum Communications Group

Jim: Why is this word NEVER used correctly? Why? By the way, you use it too much.

3. “Disrupt.” Everything claims to be disrupting the industry now, even when it’s the most basic service that literally multiple companies offer. It seems like I can’t go a single day without seeing a headline about how Person X founded Company Y to disrupt the processing industry.

— Ellen Cunningham, marketing manager, CardFellow

Ellen: Just wait for the TV series imitating “Shark Tank” titled “The Disrupters.”

4. “Tasty.” For having clients mainly in the restaurant industry, it is overused, overrated and actually does not describe anything properly. There are so many better words that can be used to describe a dish in a pitch.

— Samantha Halper, media relations manager, Alternative Strategies

Samantha: I can almost taste your distaste. Let’s put this word on the back burner.

[FREE DOWNLOAD: Increase employee engagement with personalized email communication.]

5. “Innovative/groundbreaking.” Save the hyperbole and let me read about why it’s so special.

— Brian Scios, Children of Domestic Violence

Brian: Yours is a break-through sentiment-path-making, over the top, disruptive.

6. “Innovative.” [This} has become so overused that it now brings about feelings of its exact opposite meaning. It has joined the ranks of disruptive.

— Jane Callahan, freelance communications consultant, JKC Communications

Jane: Good point. I agree: ‘Innovative’ has become the new 'traditional.’ It’s crazy!

7. “Innovative.” If everything is so stinking innovative, how do we know what is really smart, cool, unique, and different? Just because you have a new scent for your candle, a new color for your doorbell, or a new way to slice cheese doesn’t mean it’s innovative. Putting a man on the moon-that was innovative.

— Kim Livengood, Eclipse Agency

Kim: Like you, I refuse to be dismissed as a reactionary because I don’t believe that every good thing MUST BE innovative. Keep fighting the good fight!

8. “Curated/bespoke.” Especially when they are applied to experiences. Unless you are an art gallery or a men’s tailor on Savile Row, stick to “personalized.” It’s simpler that way.

— Sarah Jones Gillihan, vice president, Benson Marketing Group

Sarah: Amen! 'Bespoke’ is so much tonier than 'personalized.’ Why? Because it’s veddy British. Instant panache. Instant chic. “Personalized” is a perfectly intelligible word that most literate Americans don’t have to look up.

9. “Curated.” This is a more recent term that seems to be a PR person’s favorite when referencing everything from lineups to cocktails and menus. I’ve been guilty of using this one in the past but refuse to any longer. Stop now!

— Mike Stommel, creative director and principal, Lucky Break PR

Mike: Oh, Mike, you poor guy. Don’t you know the whole world’s a museum, and everything is 'curated’? Living is curating. Existing is curating. Vegetating is curating.

10. “Solutions.” Not everything in life is a problem to be solved. There are opportunities. There are challenges. … How can you bring me the right solution when you don’t know the first thing about me?

— Jenny Ulum, managing director, strategic communications, King Estate Winery

Jenny: I think we both agree that some things in life are permanent difficulties that defy one-time fixes, no matter what the believers in “everything has a solution” think.

11. “Solutions.” Every politician does media interviews saying they offer solutions but no one ever explains what those solutions actually are. It’s their way of saying, Vote for me!

— Beth Baumann, outreach specialist, Tedder Industries

Beth: Those solutions are valid. Every political solution contains at least 10% real fruit juice!

12. “Juice.” I hate the word juice or any variation: juiced-up, give it some juice, etc. It’s not a jazzy synonym for the word enhance instead it’s a cringe-inducing verb that doesn’t work in any context.

— Ellen M. Hoffman, PR & marketing manager, JDC Healthcare Management

Ellen: Did you read my words to Beth above? Every solution contains 10% real fruit juice. The world’s fate world depends on solution juice!

13. “Ideate.” Shorthand for: None of us have a clue what to say or do. No plan. So let’s all go back to our desks, pretend to think about it and hope the sun goes supernova before anyone brings it up ever again.

— Bill Baker, founder, Baker Communications Group

Bill: I’m a real ideate. I had no objection to “ideate” before I read your comment.

14. “Best of breed.” It’s a freaking product or service, not a dog show.

— Len Fernandes, owner, SierraTech Public Relations

Len: Geez, it’s a metaphor! Cut 'em a break. What do we call a winning content-marketing contest entry? Answer: “Best of read.”

Bill Sweetland is a living language reactionary who repudiates the notion that language changes, grows, “evolves.” He insists that language only devolves.“

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15 copywriting formulas to drive clicks and deepen engagement

Storytelling is an essential element to attract readers and drive engagement. So how can you add this element to your blog posts? Can you even fit a captivating story into a social media update or a 140-character tweet?

Here’s the great news: Yes, and there’s a formula. Many storytellers and copywriters have tested the best introductions and seques, and these formulas just plain work—in blogpost introductions, social media updates, emails and anywhere else you need them.

Should you turn to a formula each time you write? One of my favorite perspectives comes from someone who knows copywriting better than anyone: Copyblogger’s Demian Farnworth. He argues that being an efficient writer means keeping your tools handy. You don’t have to recreate the wheel every time.

A great formula - whether storytelling or headline writing or any other - saves time and boosts productivity. Here are 15 you should take for a spin:

1. Before — After — Bridge

Before — Here’s your world …

After — Imagine what it’d be like, having Problem A solved …

Bridge — Here’s how to get there.

This is our current go-to formula. Describe a problem, describe a world where that problem doesn’t exist, then explain how to get there. It’s simple, and it’s versatile.

Example:

2. Problem — Agitate — Solve

Identify a problem

Agitate the problem

Solve the problem

Copyblogger calls this formula the key to dominating social media.

If differs from the first formula in just one way: Instead of describing a life without the problem (the “after” part), it describes life if the problem were to persist (the “agitate” part).

Example:

3. Features — Advantages — Benefits (FAB)

Features — What you or your product can do

Advantages — Why this is helpful

Benefits — What it means for the person reading

This formula highlights one of my favorite bits of advice: Focus on benefits, not features. We’ve taken this advice to the extreme by avoiding the word “feature” when launching new tools.

Example:

 

4. The 4 C’s

Clear

Concise

Compelling

Credible

This formula reminds me to stay focused on the benefits to the reader. Keep the writing clear, keep it concise, find a compelling angle and write with credibility.

Example:

 

5. The 4 U’s

Useful — Be useful to the reader

Urgent — Provide a sense of urgency

Unique — Convey the idea that the benefit is unique

Ultra-specific — Be ultra-specific with all of the above

This formula seems ready-made for social media. The elements of urgency and specificity fit well with the fast pace and text constraints of Twitter. If you can master this one, you can expect to see great results for your social media marketing.

Example:

 

6. Attention — Interest — Desire — Action (AIDA)

Attention — Get the reader’s attention

Interest — Feed readers fresh information

Desire — Outline benefits of your product/service/idea and proof that it does what you say

Action — Ask for a response

AIDA is one of the most standard formulas and has been used for direct mail, television and radio, sales pages, landing pages and so much more. Many of the ideas that follow will play off these elements.

[WORKSHOP: Learn advanced techniques for corporate storytellers and writers in this event hosted by Mark Ragan and Jim Ylisela.]

My favorite part of AIDA: attention. With blogposts and social media, this can amount to writing an amazing headline.

Example:

 

7. A FOREST

A - Alliteration
F - Facts
O - Opinions
R - Repetition
E - Examples
S - Statistics
T - Threes (Repeat something three times to make it memorable.)

You would be hard-pressed to fit this into a social media update, but it is perfect for a blogpost or landing page.

For those times when you’re pinched for copy on social media, you can pull elements out of A FOREST. Post with alliteration or facts or threes.

Example:

8. The 5 basic objections

1. I don’t have enough time.

2. I don’t have enough money.

3. It won’t work for me.

4. I don’t believe you.

5. I don’t need it.

Readers can easily come up with reasons not to read or click or share. Those reasons will likely fall into one of these basic buckets. Keep these in mind as you’re writing. If you can solve all of them, wonderful. If you can solve even one, great.

Example:

9. Picture — Promise — Prove — Push (PPPP)

Picture: Paint a picture that gets attention and creates desire

Promise: Describe how your product/service/idea will deliver

Prove: Provide support for your promise

Push: Ask your reader to commit

Many of these formulas involve showing someone a picture of a desirable outcome. The PPPP follows up this dream with specific ways that the product/service/idea can help, along with proof that it actually does. The final step - call to action - is crucial, and it can be as simple as a short URL.

Example:

 

10. The psychological pull of open loops

Create a cliffhanger

The success of open loops is rooted in psychology. We need closure, and when we don’t get it, we feel anxious, which spurs us to seek it out, to keep reading.

Felicia Spahr described this phenomena in a post at KISSmetrics, pointing out the prevalence of open loops in Hollywood filmmaking and TV.

Open loops in TV shows are the equivalent of that cliffhanger that keeps you up at night or that story line that was never explained. Those aren’t just “blips” in a script. They are put there so that it’s harder for people to get off the couch than it is to stay and watch “just one more episode.”

Example:

 

11. The Reader’s Digest blueprint

According to famed copywriter John Caples, you can take great inspiration from studying how Reader’s Digest articles are composed.

They are fact-packed.

They are telegraphic.

They are specific.

There are few adjectives.

They arouse curiosity.

Example:

Copyblogger’s Demian Farnworth and Jerod Morris put this formula to good use in the way they open blogposts. Here’s what they’ve learned:

• Your opening sentence should be short, even as short as one word
• The wrong quote can repel readers
• A great story begins in the chaotic middle
• You borrow liberally from your swipe file

On social media, the Reader’s Digest blueprint might look like this:

 

12. Sonia Simone’s 5 pieces every great marketing story needs

1. You need a hero

2. You need a goal

3. You need conflict

4. You need a mentor

5. You need a moral

You might pick up on some familiar threads in Copyblogger cofounder Sonia Simone’s formula. “Conflict” fits with Problem-Agitate-Solve. “Mentor” fits with the new-world vision of Before-After-Bridge. All five elements together make for great storytelling.

Example:

 

13. Write to one person

Good advertising is written from one person to another.

The above is a quote from Fairfax Cone, one of the leading voices in copywriting. His tip reads more like advice than a formula, but the takeaway is just as good. Who is your ideal reader? Find out (perhaps using marketing personas), then write to them and them alone.

Example:

 

14. The 3 Reasons Why

Why are you the best?

Why should I believe you?

Why should I buy right now?

This trio is an expansion on a tried-and-true question that all copywriters strive to answer: “Why?” Copyblogger’s Brian Clark has a neat way of summing up all these questions:

Why should I buy from you at all when I understand your competition better than you do, and there’s no difference?

Example:

 

15. Star — Story — Solution

Star — The main character of your story

Story — The story itself

Solution — An explanation of how the star wins in the end

This formula doesn’t necessarily need to be linear. You might tell your story and introduce your star at the same time. And the star can be anything—your product/service/idea or even the reader.

Example:

A version of this article first appeared on Buffer.

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A guide to infographics

An infographic about infographics? That’s so meta.

Years after this communications tool was introduced, it’s still an effective way to combine text, statistics and imagery to tell a story.

If you’re considering infographics as part of your content strategy, where do you start—and how do you get from an infographic idea to measuring its effectiveness?

[RELATED: Learn new techniques to attract audiences with visuals at our infographics virtual event.]

An infographic from One Spot provides some excellent pointers for content marketers looking to hop into the infographic game, including these six tips:

1. Use a 3-color palette with contrast.

2. Choose similar type styles.

3. Develop an easy-to-follow flow.

4. Keep text legible.

5. Use negative space.

6. Cite your sources.

Check out more—including infographic resources and common types—in the full infographic below:

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4 keys to a successful intranet management team

A famous African proverb says it takes a village to raise a child.

The same theory applies to your intranet; it needs strategic management and visionary direction to succeed.

When I think about my company’s core values and vision, I see the need to tell customers that we care about them and that we value integrity and transparency. We must infuse the passion and heart of our entire team into everything we do, but that alone won’t ensure our success.

We still need leadership and vision, and so does your intranet.

Here are the components you need to ensure that your intranet consistently delivers value to employees:

1. Instate a CEO.

The CEO is the company’s visionary, the person who dreams up ideas and is eager to see them come to fruition. A CEO looks for ways to do things better, save more money, direct success and ensure employees are happy and productive. The CEO steers the ship and sets the tone for company culture.

This type of person should be in charge of your intranet. Choose anyone in your company, but he or she should have the qualities listed above.

2. Create a leadership team.

Running a successful intranet takes teamwork. Look for department leaders who are eager, caring and passionate about their jobs. Your intranet CEO should bring these leaders together to help execute their visions and ideas. The leaders should meet regularly to share their progress and success stories.

Collaborate on ways to increase success and reach immediate goals. As you develop ideas and implement them with your intranet, calculate the return on investment for each initiative. This will show the rest of your company why the intranet is crucial to the organization’s and employees’ success. It might also help you get more money for future intranet projects.

[RELATED: How to create an intranet that employees will love (free download)]

One of the top teaching hospitals in Australia, Gold Coast Hospital, built a simple and secure application on its intranet that enables senior physicians to rate interns’ performance and share notes and comments on how the intern handled diagnoses, medications, procedures and bedside manner.

The online assessment eliminated a laborious process that required time, paper and resources for data entry. The assessment is private, searchable and accessible to senior physicians through tablets, iPads and kiosks. An internal audit showed that the assessment saves $10,000 annually.

3. Find cheerleaders and champions.

Every department has cheerleaders. Find the people who love to be social, enjoy their work and want to spread that joy. Then, ask them to contribute to and drive support for the intranet.

Cheerleaders have passion, and with a little encouragement they will be happy to promote your intranet to the rest of your staff.

Karleen Murphy is my company’s cheerleader. It’s not in her job description, but she genuinely enjoys organizing team-building events, posting customer kudos on our intranet and sending cute, funny memes based on what’s happening around the office. She loves the intranet and brightens everyone’s day. You don’t need many intranet cheerleaders, but having a few to drive adoption helps significantly.

4. Remember your intranet’s primary goal.

Not many companies can survive without paying attention to customer service. Although your goals for the intranet might vary over the years, remember that your intranet’s fundamental purpose is to help employees. Consider these questions:

• How can the intranet make life easier for employees?
• How can it ensure employees’ loyalty and retention?
• Which company processes frustrate staff?
• How can I better communicate the company’s vision?

One of our clients, a bank, has a mature intranet with a ton of features and content. The client’s top priority is customer service, and the organization is constantly seeking innovative ways to improve its customers’ experience.

The bank uses its intranet to drive innovation. All employees who interact with the public know they can go to the intranet for any resources that they need to help a customer. They heavily use online forms to create data points about customers, as well as surveys that front-line staffers complete while they are with a customer.

Intranet management doesn’t have to be a full-time job, nor do you have to create job descriptions for each role identified here. Make sure you have a dedicated intranet champion (your intranet CEO), and regularly look for leaders and cheerleaders to help you achieve your intranet’s goals.

Like other enterprise software systems, your intranet has a direct and lasting function: to serve staffers and improve your employee’s workplace experience. Like every successful company, your intranet needs vision and leaders.

If you have experience creating an intranet management team, please share your insights in the comments.

Carolyn Douglas is the founder of Intranet Connections. A version of this article originally appeared on the Intranet Connections blog.

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EPA: Filtered water in Flint is safe for all

It’s been a busy few days in Flint, Michigan.

On Thursday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lifted its recommendation that pregnant women, nursing mothers and children under 6 consume only bottled water to avoid lead exposure.

The Associated Press reported:

The announcement is based on tests of filters that have been distributed for months for free by the state of Michigan and the federal government. The EPA says the filters remove or reduce lead to well below the action level of 15 parts per billion. The EPA says samples from high-risk areas in Flint have been coming back at less than 1 part per billion.

According to DetroitNews.com:

“These findings reaffirm the effectiveness of filters at removing or reducing lead. This is an important step forward for providing a stable water system for the City of Flint,” said Tom Burke, EPA science adviser and deputy assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development, in a statement. “Residents can be confident that EPA’s sampling results correspond with previous tests and are consistent with outside experts’ findings.”

The state’s Flint Water Response Team has distributed more than 124,000 water filters in the city since January.

Gov. Rick Snyder has issued a statement, which a political reporter for the Detroit News shared on Twitter. Snyder seeks to reassure people that the water is safe, and he said the EPA’s decision to lift the ban indicates progress and collaboration: 

Not everyone on Twitter agreed. #FlintWater had numerous comments about this week’s gun violence sit-in led by congressional Democrats, noting that the Flint crisis hasn’t garnered the attention it has needed:

The litigation side of things

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has kept the lead contamination story front and center with his actions in the Genesee County Circuit Court.

On Wednesday, Schuette filed a civil lawsuit against French engineering company Veolia Environnement SA and Houston-based engineering services firm Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam (LAN). He said the companies “botched” their roles in the water crisis that exposed people to dangerously high lead levels.

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According to Yahoo News:

The lawsuit charged Veolia with professional negligence and fraud that caused Flint’s the lead poisoning to continue and worsen, and LAN with professional negligence. Schuette said the state is seeking damages from the companies that could total hundreds of millions of dollars. His office said additional claims against the firms or others may be filed in the future.

At a press conference, Schuette said:

Many things went tragically wrong in Flint, and both criminal conduct and civil conduct caused harm to the families of Flint and to the taxpayers of Michigan. In Flint, Veolia and LAN were hired to do a job and failed miserably, basically botched it. They didn’t stop the water in Flint from being poisoned. They made it worse.

In a statement, LAN said it “was not hired to operate the water plant and had no responsibility for water quality.” The statement also said the firm will “vigorously defend itself against these unfounded claims.”

Another headline that had social media buzzing involved news about a legal bill of nearly $500,000 for a former Flint supervisor:

[The city] may be on the financial hook for a long time picking up the legal tab in a potential criminal probe of a former emergency manager as well as giving out a handsome severance to a former city attorney who resigned his job to take another position.

No summer doldrums here; the news cycle in Flint remains busy.

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What running has to do with career goals (Hint: a lot!)

Eight months ago I started running.

I used to dislike running and never quite understood what people would see in it—until I started.

Now I can’t go a single day without squeezing in a run. I want to know all there is to know about becoming a better runner-training techniques, nutrition, equipment, the whole shebang.

As I dug deeper into the world of running, I realized that many of the tips and guidelines I was finding out there could be applied to my own career.

Let me explain.

The difference between a marathon runner and a couch potato is that one day, the runner decides to step out the door and take a walk, maybe a walk/run, and then a jog, followed by a short run, and all of a sudden a one-mile walk has turned into a three-mile run.

If you look closer, that’s what successful people have in common: hours and of hours of hard work and dedication. No silver bullet nor magic spell will do it. It must start with you. No way around it.

Here are some career tips straight from the world of running:

Wiggle those toes

When choosing your running shoes, make sure they’re a bit wider and longer than your feet. That’s because as you run your feet will swell and need some wiggle room.

When applying for a new position, make sure you can grow into it. I always like to think that the perfect fit is the 50/50 one—50 percent what you bring with you and 50 percent what you learn from it. Everybody wins.

Face traffic

This rule can literally save your life. Running against traffic helps not only you see what’s coming but also lets oncoming traffic see you.

When trying to advance your career, keep both your eyes open: What changes is your organization is going through? Is the industry facing new challenges? Could new technologies help you become more efficient? How can you add value in a constantly evolving environment?

Don’t let change catch you off guard-rather be part of it. Better yet, drive it.

Keep pushing beyond your comfort zone

After training a while, those 3.1 miles will feel easier and easier to achieve. It’s a great feeling, but here’s the catch: Running 3.1 miles forever will not get you the endurance to run that marathon. You must keep pushing.

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A point comes in our careers where we all feel comfortable. Your opinion is respected, you have a lot of autonomy and you no longer have to ask for permission to take action. However, dealing day after day with the same old issues doesn’t lead to innovative thinking.

To shift your mindset and grow, you have to be challenged. Don’t be afraid to go that extra mile and enter uncharted territory.

Hills are your friends

Hills are a nightmare. For a beginner runner like me, they are intimidating. I never know if I’ll be able to make it to the top. Nevertheless, I always try and almost always make it.

Here is the thing—hills are inevitable. So you might as well face them and collect the rewards. Hill running makes you run faster and improves your form and your endurance.

In your career, you will have to deal with bad managers and difficult assignments, but what you get from it is up to you. Some of your greatest lessons may come from it—your approach is what will define your success or failure.

Celebrate your success

You ran that marathon, so now what? Take some time to celebrate.

Pausing to acknowledge your accomplishment is as important as achieving it. Moving forward without a sense of progress can make your successes feel meaningless. Use this as an opportunity to revisit your aspirations and set new goals.

So, go ahead. Don’t be afraid of trying new things, pushing harder and going the extra mile. If I can do it, you can do it.

A version of this article first appeared on LinkedIn.

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