10 new specialist qualifications for the digital industry
There’s a whiff of triumph in the air: ten new specialist qualifications for the digital industry, each seeking to provide the skills needed to become a confident practitioner in disciplines as diverse as Analytics, SEO, UX, and Social Commerce.
Econsultancy's new Graduate Certificates offer an accredited route to mastering the implementation of a range of core digital skills and offer supported learning on the job.
Created in direct response to client demand (and our own findings in the recent Skills and Structures report), these new qualifications are an important development for us.
Bridging the digital divide in the Middle East
The digital divide and the lack of knowledge in the Middle East is a major barrier to investing in online marketing, according to Econsultancy research published in April this year.
In Econsultancy's State of Digital in MENA Report, some 20% of client-side companies and 42% of agencies said that a lack of understanding about online is preventing their organisation from investing more money in digital.
As further evidence, last year, Shaik Umar, Middle East Head for IDA Singapore, reported that the digital divide and lack of skilled talent are the main problems plaguing the Gulf's IT industry. Part of the reason for the lack of skills is the smaller population of the Gulf compared to other regions.
So, what can companies do to plug the gap and make the most of online marketing?
Econsultancy: 100,000 digital marketers can't be wrong
When I joined Econsultancy a little over a year ago, there were around 30 employees spread between our UK and US offices. Since then, the company has doubled in size, and we’re still expanding, with new staff joining our offices in London, New York, Dubai, Singapore, Australia and elsewhere.
Last year the company also celebrated its tenth anniversary, and we welcomed our 100,000th member in July. Nevertheless, it occurred to us that not everybody is familiar with all that we do...
Digital graduate schemes: who's investing for the future?
A large concern that I’m hearing across the industry, certainly in the UK at least, is that there seems to be a widening gulf separating those who have digital skills and those who don't.
I think this is partly due to a lack of training investment by companies, for fear of staff leaving to rival companies later on: the online sector has a reputation for notoriously high staff churn.
17 killer SEO slides from the 2010 Seattle mozinar
Long before we were involved in running the first London Pro SEO seminar, I was a big fan of the ones SEOmoz ran in Seattle. I spoke there in 2008 and learned lots of great SEO tips, and also about how I needed to up my game every time I present.
It was inspirational to see the quality of advice given and the actionable tips and tricks that seasoned professionals were sharing.
The 2010 version was just as valuable, and I wanted to share the top tips from the event, this year and decided to do that by sharing the top slides from the two days' presentations.
Five ways your staff can improve your multichannel marketing
With the continuing increase in online audiences, the need to cross-purpose your marketing has never been more important.
Multichannel marketing represents revenue for all industries, so the importance of correctly mapping customer behaviour is critical.
However, while web analytics can help you as you attempt to create a better online service, a simple shift in organisational structure may give you access to an ideas pool you’ve haven’t previously utilised. Your staff.
Here’s five quick ways you can get the best out of an integrated approach to improvement, by combining your employees ideas and talents with solid metrics to create a better service.
Google introduces new AdWords Certification program
Google announced yesterday that it is "retiring" its Google Advertising Professionals program and that a new one, the Google AdWords Certification program, will be taking its place.
The good news: the previous $1,000 minimum 90-day ad spend required has been eliminated for individuals who would like to participate, and the minimum 90-day ad spend for agencies has been reduced to $10,000 from $100,000. That means that more individuals and agencies will have the opportunity to participate.
10 common social media mistakes
Many businesses are increasingly comfortable with social media, and many more have decided that social media is far too important not to experiment with.
But the growing level of maturity in the world of social media doesn't mean that mistakes are uncommon. To the contrary: many businesses make the same mistakes over and over again. Here are 10 of the most common.
How offline marketing boosts online effect by 40%
Who would have thought that nearly 40% of online searchers make a purchase after being influenced by an offline channel? You would expect some influence, yes, but that significant?
That’s exactly what the results from a recent iProspect study looking into offline influence on online search behaviour indicate...
Social Media Putting Marketing and PR Jobs on the Line
Social media will be an enterprise-wide mainstay by 2011, but most marketers and PR people are still trying to wrap their heads around it all. And those that don't get up to speed could find themselves without a job.
The CMO Club, polls its members on a regular basis. Just before the end of 2009 they asked this question: What would you do differently in 2010? 64% said they'd increase their spend on social media and 72% of those who are not yet doing social media said it's on their list for this year.
