The technological landscape, and the way in which people are using the web, has undergone a dramatic transformation. People have adopted social media in their millions (Facebook recorded 900 million users worldwide this week) and are now spending much of their internet time on social networks. In response to this shift in behaviour, many companies are looking to follow consumers and market their products directly to them through social media channels. As a result, an entire new industry has been developed, and people with the knowledge of how to reach people through social networks are finding that they are very much in demand with employers.

There is however a great deal more to social media marketing than knowing how to set up a Facebook page or how to write a tweet. Professional digital marketers need to be able to plan strategies that actually get results and build a community of loyal followers on the web that will act as advocates for a brand. They also have to be able to show how a company can reap a measurable ROI (return on investment).

For those with digital marketing skills, a world of opportunity has arisen from the many companies looking to increase their online visibility and market to potentially millions of customers across the World Wide Web.

Opportunities
As well as being directly involved in delivering public services such as environmental, leisure employment and social services, there are also jobs in the healthcare, teaching, the Armed Forces, the Emergency Services and local councils.

The number of roles varies depending on the economic and political climate. Despite this, local authorities are required to offer certain services at a matter of statute, meaning those roles will always be needed.

The public sector does offer a huge amount of career progression and invests heavily in training to develop personal and workplace skills. Staff are often promoted from within, so staff retention levels are high.

Salaries

Salaries are very competitive with the private sector and are graded so that each employee knows what level they are on and what they need to do get promoted or to achieve a pay rise.

Flexibility
The public sector environment is one that has a flexible approach to alternative working patterns such as part-time work, flexitime and job sharing. Free childcare is also available to many.

People working in communications jobs in the UK and other desk-based roles could be wasting up to 21 days every year by misusing email and being overloaded with constant messages.

This is according to Dr Monica Seeley, an expert on email management, founder of the Mesmo Consultancy Group and author of Brilliant Email.

She suggested that with the rise of the smartphone, people think they must reply to an email immediately, which could lead to saying something unintended.

"The other side is – in these times of austerity – there is no need to throw out the work/life balance," she added.

Dr Seeley urged employers to remind their staff that there is no need to pick up emails outside of work, yet research by Mesmo Consultancy Group found that 25 per cent of Britons expect an email response within an hour.

This 'always on' culture, however, could lead to errors and stress.

These blogs are a very useful resource for those working within the marketing industry, whether in private sector or public sector jobs. They are often a chance to keep up with thought leadership and new trends in the industry and they can also inspire new ideas and best practice.

With that, here is our pick of the best marketing blogs.

Welcome to Optimism http://wklondon.typepad.com/welcome_to_optimism/

A lively and engaging blog from London creative services agency Wieden + Kennedy.

Seth Godin http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

The most famous marketing blog of all. Seth is a revolutionary in the field.

Chris Garrett http://www.chrisg.com/

A particularly useful blog for insights on new media.

Blogstorm http://www.blogstorm.co.uk/

Perhaps the best UK blog focusing on SEO – a science that none of us can afford to ignore.

E-consultancy’s digital marketing blog http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog

Well-recognised as leaders in the field, digital marketing consultancy E-consultancy publish an easy-to-read and very informative blog.

Adliterate http://www.adliterate.com/

A very popular blog focusing on branding and advertising.

For a successful career in communications jobs, candidates must overcome their fear factor of speaking in public.

One of the main issues of giving presentations and public speaking is concerns of a person's image, explained Susan Heaton-Wright, a vocal and body language expert at executivevoice.co.uk.

She said that in a "world where image is so apparent", fears of what an employee will look like at the head of boardroom or on stage and how they will sound are the things that they are most terrified about.

To help overcome this "fear factor", she advised staff to master a basic technique for public speaking and ensure that they are fully prepared, both mentally and physically.

"A presentation or speech is a performance and is physically and mentally demanding, so a lot of preparation is required," she explained.

The expert also stressed the importance of testing any technical equipment before the presentation and turning it on at the start so that the audience is not left waiting.

Her comments come after research by Right Management found that more employees are becoming stressed, with many issues arising outside the workplace.
 

Marketing and communications jobs could be required this year after new research said that 2012 could see the rise of the modern social customer.

A report by first direct said that the modern-day customer expects to engage online and not sit in a call centre queue, while these people can also help businesses increase their profits.

Furthermore, social companies are empowering their staff to interact with customers online, according to the research, suggesting more people could be required in these roles in the next few years.

Natalie Cowen, head of brand and communications at first direct, said that her team have already introduced a strategy on this.

"We started to recognise some time ago that the tide was turning and a customer service revolution was taking place this time in social media," she explained.

"Our early response was to introduce Talking Point and became the first bank to give customers their chance to say, live and unedited, how they felt about the bank."

It comes after the Boston Consulting Group's new report revealed that while 96 per cent of companies are using Facebook, few have a marketing strategy in place.

People in communications jobs are seeing changes in the way they do their jobs because of the impact of apps and other devices, according to one expert.

Television technology commentator Ella Williamson said that people are tending to work longer hours because of the introduction of smartphones and tablets, therefore enabling them to keep in tune with what is happening from any location.

She added that devices may also be extending office hours, therefore changing the way companies work.

Additionally, many are using social media in different ways to connect better with their audience, she added, as well as keeping up to date with what their competitors are doing.

Ms Williamson explained: "It's just at the touch of a button and there's a breadth of information just at your fingertips. In a professional sense you've got LinkedIn , so you can network on the go, which is brilliant from a professional capacity.

"Also, if you think of all of the resources at your fingertips, you've got Wikipedia, Google and also shopping and Twitter."

Speaking about the rise of social media websites, Ms Williamson said that there are many benefits that a business – and people in communications jobs – can take advantage of.

"Twitter is being used increasingly in the workplace – a lot of companies have a Twitter handle and it's great for knowing what your competitors are doing and great for interacting," she remarked.

With news you can keep up to date – even if you're not able to listen to the radio, you can stream via an app or see what's happening on [news sites]."

It is not a surprise, therefore, to find that the number of smartphones, tablets and notebook PCs being shipped across the world is going to continue growing.

In-Stat announced today (February 1st) that while the consumer electronics market was once driven by the ability to playback music, video or other voice communications, it is now being led by the demand for information, communications and entertainment.

While the overall mobile market is expected to grow by 8.7 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR), the three leading platforms – smartphones, tablets and notebook PCs – are set to grow by 25.7 per cent CAGR through to 2015.

Smartphones, too, will increase their mobile phone market share from just under 20 per cent of total handsets in 2010 to 43 per cent in 2015 – a big rise, again showing the hunger for information and communications features.

As Jim McGregor, chief technology strategist at In-Stat said: "Even in PCs, where increasing performance was once the mantra, CPU vendors are now focused on the performance efficiency of mobile computing and using the resulting products to drive advancements in other forms of computing including desktop PCs, servers, and embedded applications."

For people in communications jobs, the ability to work on the move is everything. Ms Williamson concluded that the increased use of these technologies is because they will let you "work in places that perhaps previously you couldn't".

More people will be required with savvy communications skills in marketing jobs in the future, according to new research published today (January 31st).

The Boston Consulting Group's Marketing Capabilities for the Digital Age report found that while 96 per cent of companies are using Facebook and 83 per cent using Twitter, few have a strong marketing strategy.

It believes that if one can be put into place, companies will gain from higher sales, lower costs and greater brand equity.

Strikingly, around 77 per cent of the companies questioned said that they are struggling to stay on top of where to reach customers, suggesting more people could be required to help out.

Finally, 55 per cent of survey respondents have only minimal or informal metrics to measure the impact and return of digital marketing efforts.

Meanwhile, Nigel Hawthorn of Blue Coat Systems believes it is too late for companies to impose restrictions on workplace device use, suggesting companies could also be exposed to security risks.

The government must do more to help small companies create new communications jobs and other roles as many other firms look to reduce the number of employees they have.

That is according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), which said that ministers must do as much as they can to incentivise job creation with small businesses.

It said that in the first three months of this year, companies of this size are looking to do the opposite and in fact reduce their headcount.

And that comes against the backdrop of the FSB's Voice of Small Business index, which revealed 4.8 per cent of small companies did so in the final quarter of last year.

A net balance of 6.5 per cent of small companies are looking to lay off workers in the first three months of this year – the highest since the FSB began creating the survey – leading the organisation to ask for more help from government.

John Walker, national chairman of the FSB, explained that the beginning of this year is "beginning to look bleak" with confidence "incredibly low" across the sector.

"If the government makes the right choices and puts action into words we can turn this around," he explained. "The government has a good chance to make a real difference to the livelihoods of small firms when it reports on the Modern Workplaces consultation."

He added that "tinkering and increasing existing employment laws will only serve to worsen" the current plight.

"But by putting simple measures in place, such as excluding micro firms from the right to request flexible working for all, will help free businesses from the shackle of red tape so they can grow, innovate and take on new staff."

One sector that could see growth is marketing. Market insight firm Cint said earlier this month that brands undertaking market research are set to reap the rewards through customer loyalty.

The company found that 62 per cent of consumers are likelier to buy a product if their opinion has been sought by the brand, while nine in ten prefer to undertake market research via new technology.

Additionally, consumers believe that the retail sector will benefit the most from consumer insight, suggesting more people could be recruited for these roles in the future.

Bo Mattsson, the chief executive of Cint, explained that businesses of several types will be able to benefit from undertaking more studies and seeking consumer opinions.

"Market research is an extremely useful tool for agencies and brands to ascertain opinions of their products and services," he commented.

"The industry has embraced new technology, which this survey proves to be invaluable, as respondents opt primarily for online surveys or smartphone applications with which to give their opinion."

This could certainly be one way of energising a flagging economy. According to the FSB, small business confidence plummeted at the end of last year as high inflation, rising utility bills and reduced spending began to bite.

It would appear further help is required on all sides to help with growth in employment.

Marketing and communications jobs could follow in the coming months after it was revealed that one in five Christmas retail searches were done on mobile phones.

Additionally, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) found that total retail search volumes increased by 24 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, compared to the same three-month period in 2010.

Furthermore, there was a 169 per cent year-on-year growth in mobile and tablet search volumes, suggesting more people will be needed by retailers to help market products to new platforms.

Stephen Robertson, director-general of the BRC, said that searches from smartphones and tablets has "nearly trebled" on the previous year.

"The significant growth in searches from countries such as Brazil and Russia shows the opportunities presented by emerging economies. For many retailers, tapping into these booming consumer markets is an increasingly important strategy for growth," he added.

It comes after figures from Econsultancy found earlier this week that the email marketing sector grew by 15 per cent last year.