✅ Monday briefing: Kremlin comment trolls, news audiences, in-house comms effectiveness, functional comms standard, links limited, Twitter communities, and more

Media, industry, research and insight, social media and platforms, and a thank you

We’re back after a break over the summer. Holidays over. Back to school. Head down. Normal service resumes. It’ll be Christmas before you know it.

This newsletter is crowdsourced each week from my blog and community of practice for people studying and working in marketing, media and PR. It’s a hive mind, newsroom and source of information, help and support.

Media

👹 KREMLIN COMMENT TROLLS: An operation to influence public opinion saw comments posted on Western news sites in support of Russian interests according to research by Cardiff University's Crime and Security Research Institute. It found 32 prominent media outlets across 16 countries have been targeted including The Daily Mail, Daily Express and The Times in the UK. Spotted Alan Morrison.

🚪 GB NEWS: Former Sky and BBC presenter, Andrew Neil, is not making his expected return to GB News this week. The continued absence of the founder and chairman comes as the station is planning for a relaunch, which is likely to differ from his original vision. Spotted Sarah Waddington.

📈 NEWS AUDIENCES: Audience data for July suggests that the Mail Online is the most-read online newspaper brand in the UK. According to Ipsos Iris data the Mail Online recorded 518 million page views, followed by The Sun with 335 million, and The Guardian with 305 million views. Spotted Andrew Bruce Smith.

Industry

💬 IN-HOUSE COMMS EFFECTIVENESS: A report called the Evolving Communication Function published by The Institute of Public Relations finds that the strength of internal relationships and reporting lines are the greatest indicator of the performance of an in-house communication team. It finds that the size, investment, and scope of a team is highly situational. Source Stephen Waddington.

🤑 SCALING SERVICE: Profitability, valuation, and timing are the key factors in selling an agency according to Frank PR founder Andrew Bloch in conversation with The Family’s Paul Stollery. If you run a professional services business or are thinking about starting one you should subscribe to Paul's newsletter. Source Paul Stollery.

Research and insight

📊 GOOGLE RANKINGS: It typically takes two years to rank in the top ten on Google for a common keyword, and more than three years to grab the number one spot. A study by Ahrefs examined two million random keywords to determine how long it takes a web page to rank. Spotted Andrew Bruce Smith.

🏛️ FUNCTIONAL COMMS STANDARD: The Government Functional Standard: Communication sets expectations for the management and practice of government communication. It includes standards for announcements, media management and coordinated communication activities aimed to support an organisation’s policy and priority objectives. Spotted Seán Massey.

🔗 LINKS LIMITED: Platforms limit the reach of external links to stop users from straying elsewhere. Rand Fishkin says that it removes the incentive for creators to publish content on their own platforms. Play to a platform's strengths, engage in comments to draw traffic, and invest in an email newsletter. Spotted Andrew Bruce Smith.

Social media and platforms

👥 TWITTER COMMUNITIES: A new feature on Twitter, Communities, is designed to improve community management and make it easier to connect around shared interests. Tweets will still be public, but replies will be limited to other community members. Spotted Andrew Bruce Smith.

⛑️ TWITTER SAFETY MODE: Twitter’s new Safety Mode is aimed to help reduce anxiety and stress associated with a Twitter pile on. The feature will automatically block accounts that use potentially harmful language, and/or send repetitive and uninvited replies or @mentions your way, to help you avoid any negative impacts. Spotted Alan Morrison.

🔮 END OF LINKEDIN STORIES: The Stories format on LinkedIn is set to be retired almost as quickly as it was launched. The format will be removed from the platform before the end of September and be replaced with video updates posted on a profile. Spotted Tim Hudson.

Thank you: Hadrian’s Wall trek

❤️ TRIP REPORT: Thanks to everyone who donated to my Hadrian Wall's Trek and sent my son Dan and I messages along the way. It was like 2010 all over again when social media was a much kinder, gentler medium. We raised more than £2,500 for Choose Love. It protects vulnerable people from danger and is actively supporting the refugee effort in Afghanistan.