Those are only a few of the available stats. Yet, with all that's known about digital media, it is still evolving. The facts change quickly from year to year and even month to month. So, it's no surprise many PR and marketing professionals still aren't certain how to play in the space. To be sure, scores of companies are marketing online – with sophisticated search engine strategies, their own corporate Facebook profiles, Twitter handles and YouTube channels. However, many more still offer only Web sites or simply repurpose their offline marketing tactics in the online world. Even after watching other brands take hits to their public images recently, many are not even monitoring what is being said about them online and have no policies in place for how their own employees can represent the company online.

To say the least, these are missed opportunities. Organizations that don't begin to leverage digital media and interact with online audiences may find their communication methods outdated in a world that is rapidly going digital. To help our readers get or stay on track, this issue of Perspectives provides insights on some of the ways companies and brands can effectively use digital media, as well as learnings on a range of digital media topics.

The "Voices of Influence" section includes four prominent figures in digital media and marketing: Jonathan Kopp, global director of Ketchum Digital and a former member of the team that led President Obama's youth campaign; Charlene Li, an adviser to Ketchum and co-author of Groundswell, a bestselling book about how businesses must operate in a world transformed by social media; Jeff Hayzlett, chief marketing officer of the Eastman Kodak Co., a Ketchum client; and Matt Creamer, an editor for Advertising Age magazine who writes widely about digital marketing.

In "Viewpoints," we offer do's and don'ts for engaging employees through social networking and articles on measuring "earned conversations" online. In a special section called "What's Clicking," Dawn Bates, manager of consumer relationship marketing for household-products maker Kimberly-Clark, also a Ketchum client, talks about using digital media to successfully reach a new target audience.

Our "Roundtable" includes lessons learned from Ketchum's digital media specialists in Argentina, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Spain, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. And "Street Smarts" offers additional interesting stats.

No matter where your organization is in its use of digital media, I believe this issue of Perspectives offers something of value. E-mail me at ray.kotcher@ketchum.com to let me know what you think.

Best regards,

Ray Kotcher
Senior Partner and Chief Executive Officer, Ketchum