An online business has the luxury of avoiding many expenses and issues that affect traditional companies. It probably doesn’t have to lease commercial space or use a StorageMart to store old files. It doesn’t need to worry as much about its geographic base, employee commuting costs, and storage inventory. The fact that so many startups these days focus their efforts online, consequently, should come as little surprise considering the substantial cost advantages. [click to continue…]
So many marketing professionals are already trying to redefine social media for the coming year. Will Facebook and Twitter maintain their clout or will smaller start-ups sneak up from behind? Is it time to pull a “Myspace” on Foursquare and LinkedIn? Something to ponder over the weekend. Thanks to Josef Ohlsson Collentine for sourcing this infographic.
Digital advertising has quickly advanced from a fringe buy to an imperative part of companies’ media mix.
Let’s go back ten years. Online advertising was maybe a fraction of the US total media spend. If it only took twelve years to get to where we are technologically, I can’t even fathom what 2024 will bring.
Robert Channick of the Chicago Tribune brings up an interesting point. The medium has leapfrogged every advertising vehicle except for television. Is this the next step? Could the two be integrated to create the next marketing revolution?
Channick’s research shows that online advertising is looking at a 20 percent increase in 2012. Everything from search and banner ads to commercial videos will clock in at $31 billion, only 2 percent growth in the U.S. ad spend. Marketers are chasing their audiences, they’re seeing the internet as the vital ingredient that its been groomed to be. Facebook pages have become the infomercials of this generation. The introduction of technologies like smartphones, high-speed Internet and the almighty iEverything has only prompted more creativity. Search advertising is the largest segment of online spending at 46 percent, video advertising is the fastest-growing, up an impressive 52 percent from last year.
Now it’s a question of finding the happy medium. The lines have blurred so much between digital and traditional advertising, it’s interesting to see clients become so much more familiar with the bells and whistles of social media. Where you used to have to spend hours explaining Facebook and Twitter and hand hold through the process, now companies are itching to make their online presence known.
Career Cast has come out with “The most stressful jobs of 2012” and to my surprise, Public Relations Executive followed not far behind Police Officer.
At #7 on the list, PR Executives even come before the Corporate Executive on the stress test. This doesn’t mean that every Public Relations Executive is going to have an extremely stressful job; it just means the majority of them do. Just the same, the police officer who sits behind a desk for eight hours a day isn’t going to be as stressed out as the one who patrols the streets.
Why is the Public Relations Executive so high on the list? PR Executives are in charge of maintaining the positive image of the corporation, company, person or government entity they represent. Sometimes this is a difficult task, especially when the client is involved in any type of scandal or controversy. Being the intermediate of communication, the PR Executive often acts as the voice of the client while interacting with the media and the public. In a very competitive field, meeting deadlines and making speeches is a large part of the job.
Ironically, the Event Planner comes in at #6 on the list, which is often categorized as a type of Public Relations. Moral of the story… If you’re looking for a place to relax, the Public Relations industry is probably not for you. But if you’re looking for a career that is going to keep you on your toes and give your something different to do everyday, then you’re on the right track.
As 2011 has come and gone, there are many things that we can take away from the year as to better our experiences with social media. Whether you deal with contract management systems or sell cars, your online reputation is highly important and how you use social media could easily make or break you in a matter of minutes. So take a minute to learn from some of 2011′s top social media PR fails, and reflect on how you can avoid doing any of the following: [click to continue…]
