A few months ago I participated in the largest transnational survey on strategic communication worldwide - the European Communication Monitor (ECM). The results were published a few days ago and, as always, I was eager to find out to what extent my input corresponded to the answers given by the other participants and if I had correctly identified the same emerging trends in the field as they have. As it turns out, I seem to be on the same page as most other practitioners.

Here's some research background first:

The ECM 2014 surveyed 2,777 communications professionals from 42 countries to study key issues of communication management and public relations, the digital age, networking, leadership, gender and mobile media.

The research findings confirm that without any doubt the digital age has transformed how communicators work, interact and share experiences. However, the rise of online channels and social media not only have major strategic implications, but also bring about considerable challenges for professionals:

I recently reviewed Gini Dietrich's new book"Spin Sucks: Communication and Reputation Management in the Digital Age (Que Biz-Tech)" for online PR magazine Behind the Spin. (If you missed the piece, head over to Behind the Spin and have a look here, it will get you excited about this post.) In my review I conclude that the book is "a great read for people starting their PR careers, but also for those who want to understand the collision of old and new communications channels and the power of digital".

I really enjoyed reading the book partly because of the way it was written. Gini has a very clear, but also attention-grabbing style of writing, which you must have noticed if you've been reading the Spin Sucks blog. (If not, start now!)

And so while scrolling the pages on my Kindle, I made notes of the passages I really liked, which turned out to be a pretty long collection of quotes that I want to share with you.

Below are my favourite attention-getters and learnings from Gini. I hope you enjoy them!

Digital disruption is today's reality. Even in the relatively new field of corporate responsibility (CR) and sustainability digital and social media are forcing companies to make a 360-degree turn and revamp their communications, marketing, supply chain operations, and basically every part of the business. Why? Because digital has penetrated our personal and professional lives at every level, making direct two-way communications between consumers and brands possible anywhere, anytime. This, in turn, has resulted in increased customer expectations for brands to shift to an experience-based, consumer-centric approach to sustainability in digital channels.

A recent survey sheds some light on the rise of social media for corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability.

The Lundquist CSR Online Awards Survey examines how experts in corporate responsibility, sustainability professionals and other stakeholders engage with companies. It also analyses how well Europe's top 100 companies respond to stakeholder needs with their corporate websites and associated digital presence.

Over 350 CSR experts and sustainability professionals from 44 countries have contributed, allowing to develop a clearer picture of the trends and user expectations about the use of social media for sustainability communications and stakeholder engagement.

The press release is dead! That's what many have been saying since the emergence of social media. The press release is still here though – perhaps somewhat advanced and taking up new forms such as social media release of video release etc. Dying or not, the press release in whatever form is still a valuable tool to transmit information and announce company messages. To have these messages heard, or in this case read, you need to make sure that you not only have written a well-thought-of and structured release, but you need to grab people's attention.

And that's where text might not always suffice.

People are visual creatures. We consume images 60,000 faster than text; we remember 80% of what we see and do, and only 20% of what we read.

Perhaps this is one reason why visual content can increase your press release visibility by 5,000!

Surprised? It's a massive number, I know, but it is based on a recent analysis of over 1 million press releases.

PR Newswire discovered that in contrast to text-only pieces visual content improves the performance of press releases enormously:

Social media for business sustainability is going mainstream. That's what the latest Social Media Sustainability Index found. But how did that happen? And most importantly why? What is the potential of social media for sustainability communications and how does it add real business value? Read along to find out, I am about to enlighten you, or more precisely, a dear friend of mine is about to do so.

One year ago I had the pleasure of having a Google+ Hangout with the most enthusiastic person I know – Julie Urlaub.

Julie kindly agreed to participate in an interview with me as part of my research for my second BA dissertation that was also published as a book.

Julie is a true pioneer when it comes to social media for sustainability. She lives and breathes it and she is extremely passionate about her work.

She is Founder and Managing Director of Taiga Company – a sustainability and social media consulting firm specialising in sustainable storytelling. Julie is also the author of The Business Sustainability Handbook.

She not only understands the potential of social media for sustainability, but also successfully advises clients how to make best use of it and encourages people around the world to adopt a greener lifestyle.