(MENAFN Press) (Newswire.net -- February 9, 2013) Los Angeles, CA --
Several studies have highlighted the need for executives to learn digital skills in 2013. The LinkedIn study of professional goals revealed that top of the list for 2013 is professional development through learning new skills. The IDC 2013 Chief Marketing Officer Predictions report focuses on the need for digital analytics and says 50% of new hires will be required to have these skills. The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has identified learning the skills necessary to master digital and social media as one of the top concerns for the industry.
Sadly, many schools do not yet teach these skills in marketing and PR, says Meritus Media CEO, Sally Falkow. According to the IDC report half of new hires in marketing and PR will have a technical background because the company needs those skills. However just having technical skills wont solve the problem. The perfect hire is someone with marketing and PR knowledge and experience and these new technical skills.
The Meritus Media award-winning digital and social media training program addresses the skills required for PR and marketing success in 2013 and beyond.
The new trends emerging as essential to marketing and PR success that demand these skills are:
Monitoring (Skill: Data Mining - how to find and listen to relevant social media conversations)
Content analysis (Skill: Social Intelligence - how to extract actionable insights from the data gathered)
Visual communication (Skills: Content - how to create and distribute original, sharable images, infographics, videos)
Measuring results (Skills: Analytics - how to tie activity to business goals and track outcomes and results.)
Falkow was named PR Trainer of the Year for the Meritus Media digital and social media strategy training program she developed in 2009. To date more than 1,000 agency and corporate executives have completed this training. Most marketing and PR students complete their courses without these skills, yet companies require them in a new hire, notes Falkow. People already in a PR or marketing position who learned their craft 15 or 20 years ago need to learn these new skills to remain relevant in todays digital world.
The full curriculum of the training and coaching program is available on the Meritus Media website. http://www.meritusmedia.com
