In my part of the world we are headed into the Christmas season. People in many other cultures also take a break at this time. I take this opportunity to wish you and your family my best wishes for the festive season. May it lead to continued happiness in the coming year. And I thank you also for subscribing to Cutting Edge PR e-News. Looking forward to your company in 2012!
Articles in this issue
This issue of Cutting Edge PR e-News features some social media predictions for 2012 by Gini Dietrich, and an article on the important topic of how to lead a project when you don’t have formal power or authority. A follow-up article in the next issue will focus on the practical details of influencing and motivating your team members.
Are PR practitioners being outgunned in social media control?
A recent survey on the state of social media found some unsettling implications for PR practitioners. The survey by US management consultancy Booz and Company with Buddy Media found that responsibility for social media is often spread among multiple departments, with PR rated in third position (48%) among departments responsible for leading social media, behind Marketing (81%) and Digital (62%).
The disturbing aspect is that 88% of respondents reported that they used social media for PR purposes. How could PR departments be responsible for social media in only 48% of cases, but overall 88% of respondents use it for PR? The implication of this is that other departments are in charge of the PR aspects of social media use, or they use PR consultants. The main uses of social media reported in the survey were:
96% Advertising and promotions
88% PR
75% Customer service
56% Market research
48% Sales/commerce
Source: www.booz.com/media/file/boozco-campaigns-to-capabilities-social-media-and-marketing-2011.pdf
Television still strong with US audiences
The latest detailed Nielsen US television audience report reveals that television is still highly popular with viewing audiences. The amount of time the average person spent viewing rose to a record level in 2011. The average person spent around 34.1 hours a week in this activity. This figure has risen consistently from 31.4 hours in 2004-2005.
Women aged 18+ were the highest viewers in 2011 with an average of 38.5 hours per week, while males 18+ watched for an average of 34.4 hours. Both figures increased slightly from 2010.
Viewing among teenage audiences aged 12 to 17 years dropped slightly from 24.2 to 23.5 hours weekly. On the other hand, the number of hours spent in front of the TV set by children aged 2-11 rose from 25.4 to 25.6 hours per week.
Nielsen found that 99% of all households had a TV set in 2011. This saturation figure is a slight increase from 98% in 2010. The firm estimated that the number of sets per household might drop to 97% in 2012, no doubt as the internet continues to rise as a competitor despite future convergence synergies.
Source: http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/us/en/reports-downloads/2011-Reports/2010-2011-nielsen-television-audience-report.pdf
Job applications need common sense all round
Lesson number one in job seeking is to tailor your application specifically to the advertised selection criteria. Nevertheless, there are always people who just send mass emails (just like mass press releases) in the vain hope of attracting interest from the receiver.
Earlier this month, when a job seeker emailed a UK recruiter with a generic application email that he had also sent to 4,000 other people, the recruiter emailed back: “Please f*** off. You are too stupid to get a job...” The trouble was the reply also went to all the other 4,000 people on the applicant’s email list, which caused an uproar. The recruiter consequently lost his own well-paid job for being so rude. The moral: if you are going to be rude, don’t do it in writing.
Interestingly, an Australian study by Telstra, reported in November, found that 28% of employers turned to social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to aid in assessing job candidates.
Around 40% of Australian employers have refused a job applicant based on content posted to an applicant’s Facebook or Twitter profile. On a more positive note, a third of employers surveyed have hired a candidate based on partly on insights gained from the candidate’s social networking accounts. Good luck with your job!
Until next time
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