Paid content–it’s not just for blogs anymore! The Washington Post, currently known as the sad husk of one of our nation’s most influential and respected newspapers, just launched “Brand Connect“, which its editorial team describes as “a platform that connects marketers with the Washington Post audience in a trusted environment”. In other words, paid content. Sponsored posts. Native advertising. Brand journalism. And it’s not in a special advertorial section–it’s on the paper’s home page.

We could all see this coming, of course: print ad revenue at the Post has reached record lows. Sure, we still encounter the occasional impressive Game of Thrones promo printed with ink on honest-to-God paper–but print advertising should probably consider intensive therapy at this point.

You may ask why this is news, because lots of other publications do the very same thing.

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In somewhat surprising and discouraging news, an international study conducted by Adobe and Edelman Berland found that the public values the work of marketers less than the work of bankers and politicians. Sigh.

The worst part about the study (and its handy infographic PDF)? A quarter of its participants were themselves marketing professionals—and they were twice as likely as members of the general public to name their own profession as “least valuable”! Why did Edelman choose to arrange the sample in this way? They must have had a hunch that marketers don’t think too highly of themselves.

Other revealing/contradictory findings:

• Despite the fact that 53% of participants call marketing “a bunch of BS”, well over 90% also say it’s “strategic to business” and “paramount to driving sales”. So the public hates it but agrees that it is both necessary and effective? Those are some conflicting emotions right there.
• The public’s favorite place to view ads is “in their favorite magazines”–and their least favorite place seems to be “on their favorite TV shows”. Way to screw with the dominant business model, guys.
• A majority of participants call online ads “annoying”, and a paltry 3% like to see paid spots on social media. Oh and, yes, Facebook “likes” almost never drive them to buy stuff.

See, but here’s the thing that really irks us most about this poll…

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Important note to all PR professionals: We just realized that we haven’t taken enough opportunities to remind you about Mediabistro’s Social Media Marketing Boot Camp, which starts this Thursday and runs through December 13^th. Over eight weeks, the intensive program will feature presentations and how-to-demonstrations from some of the hottest names in social media in addition to peer group interactions and debates. It’s a world class conference and a small group workshop in one!

Question: Do you spend a good number of your work hours wondering how to more effectively use social media as a promotional tool? You’re not alone. In attending this one-of-a-kind boot camp:

• You’ll take in keynote speeches and Q&A sessions by established professionals who qualify as “old hands” in the still-young social media game.
• You’ll receive guidance from advisors, guests and peers who work every day to answer the same questions about creating and executing effective social media promo campaigns.
• You’ll get to make the most of priceless peer interactions by developing contacts, engaging in industry-specific discussion groups and receiving both one-on-one feedback and peer group responses to your own projects.

Want to learn from the best in the business? Key speakers include:

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Well, clicks aren’t completely worthless—but their importance is vastly overstated. That’s the verdict rendered by Facebook’s own Brad Smallwood in a report beamed in from this week’s IAB MIXX Expo—and it’s something of a revelation for those who use data to drive marketing/promotional strategy (aka all of us). But what does it mean?

According to Smallwood, all professionals trying to measure the success of Facebook ads or branded content should focus on three things:

• Impressions – number of people who see your content
• Reach – size of audience vs. cost of promo efforts
• Frequency – achieving a “sweet spot” balance between over-exposure and under-exposure

The overall message: Don’t use click-through rates to judge the success of any given campaign. It makes sense because many users see Facebook posts and ads without clicking on them–good luck selling that point to any marketing department, though. The issue may be a bit more complex than that though, and the people at HubSpot aren’t quite on board:

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Food is very big business in America, and that means companies and brands with immense advertising and PR heft competing for consumer dollars. On the surface, this strikes most Americans as harmless; it’s capitalism, after all: It’s the way things work.

But on a deeper psychological level, most consumers perceive food not only according to their specific likes and dislikes, but within the context of an unnatural vacuum created by decades worth of marketing campaigns from food growers, distributors and sellers.

For example, we like our food to be flawless; why else would so many supermarket customers spend time examining melons, tomatoes and onions as if they’re precious stones? Our trained eyes also like big, colorful displays of food lining the aisles, and we don’t see overwhelming portions as sources of waste but ways to get more for our money. So a little excess occurs every now and then; no big deal, right?

Well, consider this quote from a recent article in The Washington Post:

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Today in things you may not know: It’s tough to run a successful restaurant in New York City! For readers looking to open the East Village small plates-fusion gastropub of their dreams (you know who you are), look no further than the newly formed Metro Restaurant Marketing Group – they launched today in Manhattan, and they’re fresher than a well-made mint julep! These foodie Svengalis specialize in “social media, e-marketing and public relations” to help eatery clients stand out in a city with more than 24,000 of ‘em.

Of course, such things don’t happen in a vacuum: The heads behind Metro are also associated with Long Island’s masters of hospitality, WordHampton Public Relations. Restaurant owners and PR pros looking to enter the edible arena should keep an eye out. The rest us will practice using our Instagram filters just in case anyone actually DOES want to check out the sweet lobster rolls we ate last night.