Public relations function as a strategic asset for organizations aiming to foster and sustain positive relationships with their stakeholders. The true value of PR reveals itself most clearly during crises. 

When faced with unexpected challenges, organizations must adeptly navigate a complex landscape of public opinion, media scrutiny, and potential regulatory consequences. Effective PR can determine whether an organization experiences a swift recovery or endures prolonged reputational damage.

The cannabis industry is constantly changing and while there are many things that are pushing the movement forward when it comes to state-specific laws, there are still plenty of gray areas.

However, no matter which way someone looks at the market, the cannabis industry, which includes cannabidiol (CBD) products, has been getting increasingly popular.

Recently, the social giant Facebook announced that it would start testing ads inside its virtual reality system Oculus Quest. The company announced that the ads would be tested inside one of the games of the device, called Blaston, by Resolution Games. Additionally, the public was informed that the ad program would then continue to expand into other games.

The goal of this testing effort was to enable the company to create a self-sustaining platform that could help VR development in the future. Sometime later, Facebook started putting up ads inside some of the virtual reality apps offered in the Oculus Quest device.

Creating an effective crisis management plan can be a hard task for any communication team. Not only because of risks associated with potential crises—including everything from the damage of reputation to loss of key customers—but because creating a detailed crisis communications plan for an unknown event is a challenge.

Facing these challenges, many communication teams prefer to bury their heads in the sand and wait for a crisis to happen before making an appropriate communication plan. But, studying well-known crises—among them Lance Armstrong, Virginia Tech, BP, and Dreamworld—crisis communication teams should learn that waiting until the last minute to plan for one is the worst strategy of all.

Crises come and go, and many, like the pandemic, can’t even be foreseen. Nonetheless, those that seriously affect the brand, its employees, operations, and leadership can have devastating and long-lasting effects. The acceleration of social media has added to the challenges of crisis communications, an impact that a Pentland Analytics study says has doubled the impact on shareholder value.

The study also found that those companies that responded well saw an average increase in the value of 20% while those that didn’t experience a 30% decrease. In a world where today’s COVID-19 crisis is much bigger than the brand but can have a tremendous effect on its business and operations, it’s highly advisable and not too late to craft and employ a social media crisis management strategy.

The coronavirus pandemic has presented a global crisis unlike any other that has been experienced in the past, affecting every industry on the globe. With the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting operations within the healthcare industry, it’s crucial for healthcare communication pros to develop and implement unique internal healthcare communication strategies.

Noting that a company’s internal communication strategy can hold together a business and can help an organization to overcome a crisis, including the COVID-19 pandemic, adopting outstanding strategies is key. The following are some notable strategies that organizations can adopt.

A crucial part of a public relations campaign are bylines, it is content on a publication that features the authors name. Bylines are featured at the beginning of the content, or at the end as a signature.

Having a list of contributed bylines that have been by a professional is an excellent tactic for any public relations strategy. It’s a way to demonstrate to an audience that the brand or the executive emphasizes thought leadership and helps the brand establish itself as an industry expert and as a voice.

If you ask any business owner, they’ll tell you the same thing: Today is more competitive than ever when it comes to making your brand stand out in a packed marketplace.

If you want your business to thrive, one of the most important things that you need to do is to have a distinctive PR campaign that will stand out and effectively brand your product or service.