Guild of Health

Archive for August, 2009

The Red Cross is a major medical association, which conducts many first aid courses for professionals and non-professionals alike. You can get a Red Cross first aid training certification during this summer vacation and be a helpful hand in need.

Enrolling For A First Aid Course

Red Cross first aid training courses can be in many different fields such as CPR, Industrial Accidents first aid training and so on. Depending on what your requirements are you can find a course with the Red Cross. Today, many jobs require you have a basic first aid training to be hired such as, crew members and flight attendants who need to have a first aid certification in order to get on board and that is because they all need to be able to provide a helping hand in case of any emergency.

Red Cross first aid training courses can take couple of weeks or a few months depending on the course you choose however, they are recognized worldwide and are extremely intense. You can also apply for an online Red Cross first aid training course should you not have the time to spend in traditional class courses.

Online courses are recognized as well but they usually will take longer than the traditional ones as you will only access them when you have time; some the exams will have to be conducted in local hospitals or clinics close to you but not online. Online courses are as competitive as the traditional ones just that you will complete them from the comfort of your home.

Online Red Cross first aid training have special forums which you will be able to access whenever you choose, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; you will also be able to chat with fellow students and professors as well when they are available.

Helpful Tip

Red Cross first aid training is highly recommended to everyone who wants to acquire the knowledge and expertise of being able to assist with saving a life in the time of need. First aid alone has saved millions of people as sometimes a few minutes counts before you can get professional help.

Many attend first aid training just because they have an ailing family member and they want to be prepared in case of an emergency. Heart attack alone can kill or complete matters ten folds if first aid if not being given in the first couple of minutes of the stroke or is the first aid id being given wrong.

Learn to save lives today and enroll in a Red Cross first aid training course. You will be able to understand your body better and those of others as well thus, leading a better richer life in the process.

Despite many industries’ economic struggles in 2008, online marketing continued an upward trend of growth and demand and is expected to do the same in 2009.

Last year, rich media–particularly video–remained one of the highest growing and most effective online marketing tools. The New York Times even went so far to say that interactive marketing was virtually recession-proof [1].

A quick look at the numbers illustrates why this isn’t hype. Video ad spending increased 81% in 2008 [2] in attempts to get a slice of 129.5 million online video advertising viewers [3]. In 2009, spending is expected to increase 44.9% [4] in hopes of reaching an estimated 144.1 million viewers [5].

If you aren’t yet integrating rich media on your site or aren’t considering it as a priority for 2009, you may now be asking yourself why you aren’t or are questioning whether it is actually effective. Here are some points to consider.

Everybody Else is Doing It

This potentially flimsy argument recalls a parent asking a child, “If everybody else jumped off a skyscraper, would you still do it?” The difference is that the millions being spent on rich media are not hypothetical, and presumably, and there’s clearly something that is driving demand for it.

Although spending on search optimization and marketing remains the top format for online advertising (nearly $11 million was spent last year [6], and that is estimated to reach $12.2 million in 2009 [7]), advertisers spent a hefty $1.8 million on rich media in 20088, and approximately $2.1 million will be spent this year [9]. So what is it that is making rich media so attractive to advertisers?

Why Rich Media Works

There are numerous reasons for why and how rich media is effective. Some key factors include:

– Video is more effective than still images: If “a picture is worth a thousand words,” then video is worth millions of words–and that translates into serious ROI. Research suggests that rich media performs better than GIF/JPG ads, particularly for ad awareness and message association [10].

– More people have broadband: Quickly streaming smooth and interruption-free rich media requires bandwidth that dial-up simply can’t provide. With a reported 55 percent of Americans now having broadband Internet service [11] (compared to an all-time low of 10 percent that still use dial-up [12]), consistently delivering quality content to a large audience is more possible than ever.

– Rich media expands and enhances content: Ask most people about their site’s content, and they’ll often immediately–and exclusively–think about text and perhaps still images. Although not entirely incorrect, they are, however, missing out on what makes rich media “rich” and how it enhances content.

More importantly, they are missing out on rich media’s ability to generate visitor interest, Web traffic and ROI. Video has also been show to increase the duration of a visitor’s stay more than 15 percent.

– Unprecedented customization: The increasing ease of producing highly customized rich media content ensures an exciting, dynamic and informative experience for users.

For example, AVID Design recently completed Vida Sana, a Spanish informational vodcast video for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida. An ensemble morning-show format video was written, cast, filmed and produced entirely in-house. Colors and themes were selected during set design to appeal to the market, as well as to accommodate the Vida Sana campaign logo. Post-production motion graphics and video editing were completed at AVID Design’s state-of-the-art facility in Atlanta.

Vida Sana is expected to help open doors for Blue Cross into other Latin markets across the United States, broadening the company’s reach and ability to grow in an insurance industry leadership role within this rapidly expanding demographic.

References

1 “Some Recession Proof Corners,” nytimes.com, 19 May 2008

2 “Economy Deals Online Ad Spending a Hit,” eMarketer.com, 25 November 2008

3 “Online Video Growth Continues,” eMarketer.com, 15 January 2009

4 “Economy Deals Online Ad Spending a Hit”.

5 “Online Video Growth Continues”.

6 “Economy Deals Online Ad Spending a Hit”.

7 Ibid.

8 Ibid.

9 Ibid.

10 Marissa Gluck and Rick E. Bruner, “The Evolution of Rich Media Advertising: Current Market Trends, Success Metrics and Best Practices╙, doubleclick.com, September 2005

11 “55% of Adult Americans Have Home Broadband Connections,” pewinternet.org, 2 July 2008

12 Ibid.