2017 flew by!

I didn't even notice how the end of the year came because so many things happened last year in my professional and personal life such as getting my dream promotion at HubSpot, signing a book contract with Wiley about Inbound PR, snorkeling in Iceland in January, seinig a leopard in South Africa, learning to make sushi, making a ton of new friends and in total, checking in at Dublin Airport 15 times  to make trips.

When reflecting on my year, my blog is an important piece to think about as well because it's a big part of my life. It's now been 6 years since I started it and I've been publishing a new post at least once a week every week ever since.

It was this blog that led to my book so I'd like to show you the most popular blog posts of 2017 as well as a few charts around traffic performance and online sources. 

The Most Popular Blog Posts on Iliyana's Blog Published in 2017

Next to the marketing trends for 2018, you need to pay attention to the social media trends as well. 

As Stephen Waddington says in his 2018 PR reflections, social media is maturing. It's becoming a lot more visual and in the moment, especially with short video messaging, however, it still has its challenges specifically around fake news and transparency. 

But with all those new developments, networks, features, and tools, what is really here to stay?

Social media changes in the blink of an eye so what can you trust? 

As I always say, you need to focus on what's going to work for your business and your own goals so that you get the highest returns. 

To give you some ideas on what you could pick from and what you need to pay attention to in the world of social media in 2018, I sought out an infographic from Filmora that highlights 9 social media trends. Take a look below: 

9 Social Media Trends in 2018 [Infographic]

Just a couple of weeks left until 2017 is over. What a great year, wasn't it? 

We saw the rise of AI and live video and the slow death of ebooks and organic only on Facebook. Exciting times! 

I'm sure everyone is deep into 2018 planning so now is the time to review what's worked for you in the past year and decide what to focus on for next year and beyond. 

In your considerations, you need to think about what's happening in the marketing world and pick which trends to jump on based on your goals and priorities for the year. 

You can't always do everything so you need to be selective and choose what's going to bring you the biggest return. Technology and digital can't do anything for you unless you have a strategy and a measurement plan at hand. 

To help you plan for next year, MDG Advertising have created a very good infographic that dives into the 5 big marketing trends to watch in 2018. Take a look below: 

5 Big Marketing Trends in 2018 [Infogpraphic] 

It's time for another "Why Work in PR?" interview and I'm delighted to introduce you today to Maria Gergova-Bengtsson who will share with us her exciting PR career story and offer key advice for students and young professionals who want to learn more about the industry and how to get into it. 

I'm glad to call Maria my friend even though we only met a few months ago in Sofia where she invited to speak at the IPRA conference. I truly admire Maria for the dedicated work that she is doing in the Bulgarian market, the team she has grown around her successful PR agency and the global network of professionals that she has built.

Before you move onto the interview, don't forget to follow Maria on Facebook and say Hi to her team on Twitter @United_Partners. 

(If you've missed any of the previous interviews, you can take a look as well: Richard Bailey, Pippa Hanson, Jessica Hodkinson, Chryssa Skodra, Farzana Baduel, Scott Guthrie, Sarah Hall, Angharad Welsh and Alex May.) 

Why Work in Public Relations: Interview with Maria Gergova-Bengtsson

I'm fascinated by culture. 

As someone who's lived in four countries over the last eight years, works in a global company, and collaborates with people from dozens of cultures on a daily basis, cultural differences are very much top of mind for me.  

It all started at university in a module on Intercultural Relations where I was introduced to the cultural dimensions study of Geert Hofstede, however, I do believe that cultural differences are heavily underestimated in the business world. 

They are not top of mind for when decisions are being made, emails are sent, meetings are run or changes are implemented. Essentially, cultural differences impact all of our communication. 

Cultural awareness is not something you are born with, it's something you develop.

To develop it, you have to study it, you have to experience it in work regularly and you have to reflect on it during and after certain situations so that you continuously grow your cultural awareness and next time you are faced with a similar situation, you'll know how to act better by adapting to the cultural setting and requirements.

Today, I'd like to help you develop that cultural awareness.