Our year is drawing to a close and we’re looking forward to the great things coming down the pipeline in 2012 both for Text 100 and the digital world in general. But let’s not forget where we came from! Take a look back at some of this year’s most popular Hypertext posts, and you’ll see that some content continues to resonate with readers. Tips for Facebook engagement are as in-demand as ever; the question of digital spend and paid media continue to be top of mind; careers in PR and communications are always popular; and statistics and infographics remain important as communicators look to provide data for all-things-digital.

 

Do you have a favorite Hypertext post from 2011 (or earlier) or a particular trend that always catches your eye? Share your thoughts with us on Twitter, Facebook or the blog. 

 

Most Popular Hypertext Posts - 2011

Ten Practical Steps for Improving Your Facebook Presence – Now that many brands are advertising Facebook presences ahead of their actual web presences, it is more important than ever that we understand the conversations that are happening on brand Facebook pages. Are they positive or not? What type of content engages fans? Why do fans actually become fans in the first place?

 

What You Need to Know About German Social Media – Insights from the Text 100 Munich office on the region’s unique online behaviors and cultural considerations, including where the country stands in relation to other European social media markets, popular social networks and cultural trends.

 

Tumblr: A Brand’s New Best Friend, or Too Untested to Handle? – For brands that love the speed and ease of Twitter’s micro-blogging platform, but are beginning to question the 140-character limit, an answer may be here: Tumblr. The New York Times recently shed light on this incredibly simplistic (but increasingly popular) blogging platform as a “hit among Internet enthusiasts,” bringing in 30,000 new members a day. Time Magazine recently named Tumblr one of the top five social media sties. But what makes this platform “the next big thing,” and how much potential exists for brand engagement?

 

The Best Career Advice I’ve Ever Received – In this guest blog post from career expert Ron Culp, he offers three important bits of advice he learned in working with his long-time mentor, the late Jack Raymond, a former New York Times reporter turned C-suite PR consultant.

 

As PR Continues to Become More Digital, Enter the Infographic! – We’ve covered infographics on Hypertext before, and we’re seeing graphical representations of information and data increasingly being used by journalists. I’m not only talking about infographics along the lines of the Royal Wedding Social Media Snapshot posted by Mashable or one of my favorites, salaries of professional athletes. Rest assured there’s myriad opportunities for B2B and B2C brands as well. Publications are looking to charts, graphs and other images that provide readers with an at-a-glance visual view of data that makes it much more digestible and easy to interpret, including Fast Company’s Infographic of the Day and USA Today’s Snapshot. And there’s value that goes even beyond generating the attention of the news media as we see readers and influencers sharing infographics via social platforms.

 

Best Practices: Determining the Value of Facebook Ads – As PR professionals, we tend to favor earned and owned media over paid media, but we recognize the value in making strategic investments in paid placements on specific platforms.  Facebook Ads and Google Adwords continue to duke it out for domination of the search engine marketing market and are great platforms for drawing attention to a new campaign or product. Making an advertising investment isn’t a decision that should be taken lightly. However, for brands just getting set up on Facebook and looking to do a quick promotion of their page, advertising within the medium is a great option. But before jumping head first, consider the following about your audience and their reactions.

 

Sponsored Hashtags & Promoted Tweets – Worth the Investment? - With news that all users will see promoted tweets in their timelines by Q4, Twitter advertising strategies are getting hot. When Virgin America used hashtag #VXREDHOT to spread information and promote a contest, it saw its fifth highest day in sales, ever. Coke tested promoted tweets during the World Cup last year and recorded 86 million impressions and an engagement rate of 6 percent. Here are three lessons learned from early adopters.

 

Text 100 Named Best Midsize Agency to Work For – Here’s Why – When I joined Text 100 in November, 2000 as the head of North America HR, I had never traveled outside North America – I didn’t even have a passport. And yet, ten years later here I am, leading the global human resources team for the 2011 Best Midsize Agency to Work For as recognized by The Holmes Report. I couldn’t be prouder to engage with such an amazing group of people and appreciative for the opportunities I’ve had through my work. 

 

Think Twice Before Running a Live Q&A Session on your Facebook Page – Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his team ran a live Q&A session on the PAP Singapore Facebook page to engage the citizens of Singapore in an online debate about the issues surrounding Singapore’s General Election. While well-hyped up in the build up to the session as the first time any political party used this tactic, there are a few issues where the event could have been managed a bit better.

 

Finding Online Statistics About Almost Anything – The internet, as we all know, has a plethora of information out there just waiting to be found. But how can you easily mine pages and pages of data to find what you are looking for? In the PR business we often require the latest and greatest up-to-date statistics to strengthen media pitches and press releases, client and new business proposals and sometimes even to share on Twitter to make us look more intelligent than we already are! But have no fear communications professional, the brains trust at Text 100 is willing to share some of its secrets with the interwebs.

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Let's not forget about the great content shared this week on Hypertext! Check out what you might have missed below. And remember, we want to hear from you! Share your ideas for future content by reaching out to us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or by emailing Text 100's community manager, Amber Rinehard.