PRLN April 13, 2022: Meta’s hefty metaverse fees, Substack expanding and workers doubt employers care about their well-being
FROM OUR MEMBERS
Amid increased Russian threat, here’s how to prepare for a cyber attack. A crisis expert walks through the important pieces of a response plan, and what needs an immediate update.
RESEARCH & DATA
Perception that employers care about their workers’ well-being has dropped precipitously amid efforts to bring workers back to the workplace and end pandemic-era rules. The data from Gallup is a warning to companies amid the ongoing shakeup of the global workforce.
Gallup notes that employees who “strongly agree” that their employer cares about their well-being are 69% less likely to be looking for a new job, 71% less likely to be experiencing burnout and 36% more likely to be thriving in their overall lives.
Check out the full report from Gallup.
MEDIA RELATIONS
Extend the reach of your pitch with these tips. Journalists and PR pros offer their secrets on making the most out of your news item.
Substack is looking to expand beyond newsletters. The popular platform for email newsletters and direct-to-consumer writing will start dipping its toes in other kinds of media, per reporting from the New York Times.
In practice, that means Substack will be not just a delivery channel for written newsletters but more of a multimedia community. Executives want users to create “personal media empires” using text, video and audio, and communicate with subscribers through expanded comments that could feature GIF images and profiles for readers. This week, Substack announced new tools for writers to recommend other newsletters.
Twitter takes advantage of April Fool’s Day with feature launch. Here’s how the social media company aced its media relations strategy around the tease of a forthcoming edit button.
DE&I & PURPOSE
Make sure there is representation of different body types in your work. Here’s a look at how you should think about size inclusion in your messaging.
Follow these rules for accurate and clear ESG reporting. Comms pros with dentsu share their thinking behind transparent comms around environmental, social and governance issues.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Meta’s virtual marketplace will take a big cut of all transactions. News leaked that through fees, the metaverse offering will take almost half of any transaction on its platform.
A Meta spokesperson confirmed to CNBC Wednesday that Meta will take an overall cut of up to 47.5% on each transaction. That includes a “hardware platform fee” of 30% for sales made through the Meta Quest Store, where it sells apps and games for its virtual reality headsets. On top of that, Horizon Worlds, will charge a 17.5% fee.
Fake social media accounts complicate public debate over Maine utility. While the accounts aren’t “bots,” they are suspicious, experts say, and reveal what could be unsavory PR tactics applied in online forums. The story is a case study for how misinformation is being weaponized in public debates.
CRISIS COMMS
Crisis pros can take lessons from the Academy’s response to Oscars-night slap. Here’s what one crisis pro thinks are the takeaways from a tough news cycle.
Amazon defends warehouse worker safety after damaging report. Numbers show that warehouse accidents are above average in Amazon facilities, a number which the online retailer claims was exacerbated by the need to hire new workers during the pandemic.
“Like other companies in the industry, we saw an increase in recordable injuries during this time from 2020 to 2021 as we trained so many new people — however, when you compare 2021 to 2019, our recordable injury rate declined more than 13% year over year,” said [Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel].
STRATEGY & TOOLS
What’s on your reading list for 2022? Here are some of the top recommendations from our community on books PR pros must read.
Career lessons from Tom Brady’s football dominance. Being the GOAT doesn’t happen by accident. Here’s how you, too, can rise to the top of your profession through practice and patience.
AGENCY NEWS
How Havas PR jumped in to promote the ‘Save Ukraine’ telethon. Here’s a look at how the agency coordinated a global effort with lessons learned along the way.
Are you investing in office space post-pandemic? Here’s how Bliss Group is thinking about its new Manhattan office and the future of work.
ON THE HORIZON
- April 15 – Passover begins
- April 17 – Easter
- April 22 – Earth Day
- April 23 – Passover ends
- May 1 – International Workers’ Day
- May 1-2 – Eid al-Fitr
- May 5 – Cinco de Mayo
- May 8 – Mother’s Day
- May 30 – Memorial Day
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
- May 11 – Media Relations and Measurement Conference
- May 12 – Member Summit in New York City
- June 15 – Employee Communications and Culture Conference
- June 29 – PR Daily Awards Deadline
- Aug. 16-17 – Workplace Wellness Conference
- Sept. 21-23 – Ragan’s Social Media Conference at Disney World
CONTACT US
Ted Kitterman, Editor-in-Chief, tedk@ragan.com
Justin Levine, Manager of Councils, justinl@ragan.com
FROM OUR MEMBERS
Amid increased Russian threat, here’s how to prepare for a cyber attack. A crisis expert walks through the important pieces of a response plan, and what needs an immediate update.
RESEARCH & DATA
Perception that employers care about their workers’ well-being has dropped precipitously amid efforts to bring workers back to the workplace and end pandemic-era rules. The data from Gallup is a warning to companies amid the ongoing shakeup of the global workforce.
Gallup notes that employees who “strongly agree” that their employer cares about their well-being are 69% less likely to be looking for a new job, 71% less likely to be experiencing burnout and 36% more likely to be thriving in their overall lives.
Check out the full report from Gallup.
MEDIA RELATIONS
Extend the reach of your pitch with these tips. Journalists and PR pros offer their secrets on making the most out of your news item.
Substack is looking to expand beyond newsletters. The popular platform for email newsletters and direct-to-consumer writing will start dipping its toes in other kinds of media, per reporting from the New York Times.
In practice, that means Substack will be not just a delivery channel for written newsletters but more of a multimedia community. Executives want users to create “personal media empires” using text, video and audio, and communicate with subscribers through expanded comments that could feature GIF images and profiles for readers. This week, Substack announced new tools for writers to recommend other newsletters.
Twitter takes advantage of April Fool’s Day with feature launch. Here’s how the social media company aced its media relations strategy around the tease of a forthcoming edit button.
DE&I & PURPOSE
Make sure there is representation of different body types in your work. Here’s a look at how you should think about size inclusion in your messaging.
Follow these rules for accurate and clear ESG reporting. Comms pros with dentsu share their thinking behind transparent comms around environmental, social and governance issues.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Meta’s virtual marketplace will take a big cut of all transactions. News leaked that through fees, the metaverse offering will take almost half of any transaction on its platform.
A Meta spokesperson confirmed to CNBC Wednesday that Meta will take an overall cut of up to 47.5% on each transaction. That includes a “hardware platform fee” of 30% for sales made through the Meta Quest Store, where it sells apps and games for its virtual reality headsets. On top of that, Horizon Worlds, will charge a 17.5% fee.
Fake social media accounts complicate public debate over Maine utility. While the accounts aren’t “bots,” they are suspicious, experts say, and reveal what could be unsavory PR tactics applied in online forums. The story is a case study for how misinformation is being weaponized in public debates.
CRISIS COMMS
Crisis pros can take lessons from the Academy’s response to Oscars-night slap. Here’s what one crisis pro thinks are the takeaways from a tough news cycle.
Amazon defends warehouse worker safety after damaging report. Numbers show that warehouse accidents are above average in Amazon facilities, a number which the online retailer claims was exacerbated by the need to hire new workers during the pandemic.
“Like other companies in the industry, we saw an increase in recordable injuries during this time from 2020 to 2021 as we trained so many new people — however, when you compare 2021 to 2019, our recordable injury rate declined more than 13% year over year,” said [Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel].
STRATEGY & TOOLS
What’s on your reading list for 2022? Here are some of the top recommendations from our community on books PR pros must read.
Career lessons from Tom Brady’s football dominance. Being the GOAT doesn’t happen by accident. Here’s how you, too, can rise to the top of your profession through practice and patience.
AGENCY NEWS
How Havas PR jumped in to promote the ‘Save Ukraine’ telethon. Here’s a look at how the agency coordinated a global effort with lessons learned along the way.
Are you investing in office space post-pandemic? Here’s how Bliss Group is thinking about its new Manhattan office and the future of work.
ON THE HORIZON
- April 15 – Passover begins
- April 17 – Easter
- April 22 – Earth Day
- April 23 – Passover ends
- May 1 – International Workers’ Day
- May 1-2 – Eid al-Fitr
- May 5 – Cinco de Mayo
- May 8 – Mother’s Day
- May 30 – Memorial Day
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
- May 11 – Media Relations and Measurement Conference
- May 12 – Member Summit in New York City
- June 15 – Employee Communications and Culture Conference
- June 29 – PR Daily Awards Deadline
- Aug. 16-17 – Workplace Wellness Conference
- Sept. 21-23 – Ragan’s Social Media Conference at Disney World
CONTACT US
Ted Kitterman, Editor-in-Chief, tedk@ragan.com
Justin Levine, Manager of Councils, justinl@ragan.com
