My Edelman Digital colleagues have a paid internship available for somebody to work in the London office across several accounts; assisting with content, reporting, community management, idea generation and a lot more.

The team is looking for someone with a qualification in Media, PR, Marketing or a related discipline, but are more than happy to talk to bright people with other qualifications too. The ideal candidate will have a solid grasp of digital, social media and Web 2.0 tools, as well as superior research (qualitative and quantitative), writing and editing skills.

They need somebody who can work effectively with team members and clients, and who is highly organised, detail-oriented and a self-starter with the ability to efficiently manage multiple deadlines. The candidate will also have experience in using tools such as MS Word, Powerpoint and Excel, as well as an understanding of other digital tools.

Also, in an era where unpaid internships are unfortunately all too common, I’m proud to say that my employer has publicly committed to pay the minimum wage to interns and subsequently, this internship pays £15k per year.

 The main responsibilities are:

• Assist with in basic community management and updating to Facebook pages and Twitter channels
• Involvement in every aspect of creating and implementing innovative content plans and campaigns
• Prepare and/or review all client reports, including but not limited to activity reports, monthly reports and status reports, incorporating audience and sentiment analysis
• Assist with content plan
• Develop understanding of client’s internal organisation, business and sector
• Work with client on day-to-day basis
• Manage work process, supporting senior account team members as appropriate
• Keep account team abreast of timelines and deadlines
• Analyse key word research
• Exhibit effective project management working closely with account teams
• Analyse market research including using online services

I know and have worked with the team during my time at Edelman and can vouch that it’s a fun, exciting, challenging and fast-paced environment; a great way to cut your teeth in the world of digital and work with some fantastic clients.

If you’re interested in the internship, drop Eamonn Carey an email at Eamonn.Carey@edelman.com

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been researching and speaking to industry colleagues in order to create this years list of 2012 PR Graduate Schemes.

Despite growth stalling in the wider economy, it’s great to see the PR industry in rude health (judging by the number of grad schemes that is). The list is broadly the same size as previous years and as we’ve come to expect, it is predominantly made up of the larger, international agencies with London offices.

As someone who regularly writes about content marketing I was delighted to see that my Edelman Dublin colleagues with the help of the talented Dave Molly recently created this excellent infographic containing interesting data about Facebook in Ireland.

We all know the high value attached to online content, such as infographics and it is this type of content which people often want to write about, link to, ‘Like’, comment on and share throughout their social networks. All of these actions provide short term online outcomes, such as good quality inbound links and drive conversation, but can lead to long term offline benefits, like increased brand recognition and thought leadership positioning.

The infographic itself shows the fantastic growth of the worlds most popular social network, listing the top Irish Facebook brand pages and gives a breakdown of demographics of Facebook users in Ireland. I’m sure many of the metrics will come in useful when planning future digital campaigns.

This week my Edelman colleagues Eoin Dowling and Piaras Kelly launched an infographic video which appeared on the Edelman Digital blog and highlighted the explosion of social media usage amongst key audiences, as well as the Irish love of digital technology.

I found the data about social networks insightful (Facebook has grown by 500% since 2009 etc), which will definitely help with the planning of future digital campaigns. However, for me the key takeaways are around the untapped potential of mobile in Ireland.

Everywhere you go in the country it seems everyone has a mobile device – and with over 5 million handsets in operation, representing a huge 116% mobile penetration rate, this statement is no exaggeration. However, the way in which people use mobile devices is changing and the video alluded to this.

People in Ireland currently browse the web via PCs and laptops, but over the coming years we can expect to see this dominance disrupted by mobile technology. Whilst iPads may be out the grasp of many, smartphones are increasingly attainable and there is a growing number of people who want to stay connected. As we have seen in other markets, people not only want to communicate with friends via calls and texts, but stay connected with email, news and brands.

This surge in smartphones sales means that by Spring we expect there will be 1.1 million people with smart devices in their pockets, swelling the number of apps downloaded beyond its present 8 million mark.

This fantastic growth means that mobile poses a challenge we should not shy away from and with near field communication (NFC) chips, which allow debit and credit purchases via smartphones not too far off, it also presents a great opportunity for brands to engage with consumers on another growing platform. For many brands mobile is not yet on the radar and remains an untapped area, but if your company sells products through its website to the public, then an app or .mobi website may well, be a wise investment.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. In short, social is important amongst Irish customers. It’s the here and now. But mobile is getting here and is definitely part of the future. However, I’m not naive enough to suggest all brands should invest in mobile right now. You don’t want to get into this space if none of your stakeholders are. As always, it’s about timing, balance and integration.

Brands need to hit upon the right mix of maximising the now, but also keeping an eye out for what is round the corner. After all, its the profits made now which enable brands to look to and have a future.

If you would like a chat about the now or indeed the future, please feel free to drop me a line at contact[at]ben-cotton[dotcom] or check out the Edelman website.

The Edelman Trust Barometer 2011 findings were published last week on the eve of the opening of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Whilst everyone agrees that being trustworthy is undoubtedly a good thing, it is fascinating to hear the impact being trustworthy has on consumer behaviour and corporate reputation.

2010 will be remembered for some huge corporate crisis situations, such as the BP oil spill, Toyota product recall, as well as bank bail outs and other misdemeanours in the financial sector. Given such a roller-coaster 12 months it was interesting to hear that if you go into a crisis as a distrusted company, it takes only 1-2 negative stories for a person to believe negative news. However, if you go in as a trusted company, it takes only 1-2 positive stories for you to achieve belief.

Whilst there is a lot of data to digest, the following points are what I think will have the biggest impact on my work in 2011.

1. The importance of search
Most PRs are beginning to appreciate the importance of search and the barometer confirmed this, with search engines ranked as the first place people look for information. This is really important as an understanding of SEO is not within the traditional skills set of many PRs – something that will have to change. The key point to stress is how important it is to ensure content about your client can be easily found online. Some simple solutions include having information that people want on an optimized website, blog and digital embassies, such as a Facebook Group, Twitter stream and YouTube channel. I expect search and content to be key battlegrounds in 2011.

2. Get your CEO or expert to talk
Given the economic uncertainty over the last 12 months, it is perhaps unsurprising that credible spokespeople such as CEOs or experts are the most trusted people to speak during a crisis. People are looking for expertise, knowledge and reassurance as we emerge from the financial crisis into an age of information obesity. The key insight for me is which expert should do the talking during a crisis. The barometer found that if a crisis is related to a product recall issue a company expert or the CEO should do the talking. However, if the issue is to do with the environment or a community issue, it has to be the CEO. Generally speaking, trust in the CEO is actually rising and I believe there is an expectation that bad CEOs have left their posts, whilst good leaders have successfully guided their organisations through tough economic times and remained.

3. Engage NGOs
One of the standout findings from the barometer is that for the first time, trust in NGOs in key developing markets is equivalent to that of business, a fantastic increase over the past five years, which has been attributed to the evolution of local civil society brands and rising prosperity. Importantly NGOs continue to be the most trusted institution in Western economies. Subsequently, serious consideration has to be given to NGOs and the role they could play in any communications programme. NGOs have far more credibility, trust and influence than many give them credit for.

4. The media are less trusted
Trust in the UK media is falling, which no doubt can be attributed to the march towards infotainment from hard news and the phone hacking saga which shows no signs of relenting. As PR professionals this is hugely significant. Although, a double page spread in a red top is often deemed a huge success in terms of ‘coverage’ and ‘AVE’, if the publication is not viewed as credible or trustworthy you are going to struggle to transfer this ‘success’ into action. Action is the important word here. Communications activity needs to transfer into actions that have business outcomes. This finding should also get us thinking beyond the traditional PR model that targets journalists and towards the stakeholder universe model. PR is about engaging communities that matter to companies rather than gaining column inches.

5. Decrease in trust in ‘people like me’
The barometer found that people over the last year have been turning to experts rather then ‘people like me’. This is interesting for anybody working in social media and could impact how we approach communications, but it may also be something to do with the maturing of the definition of ‘people like me’ which Mark Hanson, Deputy Managing Director of Wolfstar also picked up on. Personally, my Facebook friends and Linked In connections are people I know or have down business with, but a much smaller number I consider to be ‘people like me’ or those I would trust for a recommendation. The report notes:

“This may be a result of changing attitudes about what constitutes “a person like me” rather than an indication of a significant decrease in the actual credibility of peer-to-peer communication. With some estimates indicating that the average Facebook user does not know one-fifth of the 500 people typically listed as friends on his or her page, it is reasonable to ask whether the meaning of the word “friend” and by association “a person like me” has become devalued.”

You can check out the #Trust2011 hashtag to see other people’s thoughts on this years findings. It’s always insightful to see what the Edelman Trust Barometer discovers and I would be interested to hear what your key takeaways from this years findings are.

From personal experience I know this time of year is an incredibly busy part of the student calendar, so I thought I’d remind those who are interested in applying for the Edelman graduate scheme that you have until Monday 31 January 2011 to get your application in.

Although, I have not personally experienced being part of the Edelman graduate scheme, as an interested outsider and colleague, I’ve spoken to many of the grads – and without exception they find it a tough, educational and thoroughly enjoyable introduction to the world of PR. It’s a good scheme and grads are supported with mentors, as well as gaining experience across a range of departments.

If you’re still in two minds about applying – I would say go for it. Edelman is a great place to work. It’s a fast-paced and exciting environment where you will get to work with fantastic people on some of the worlds biggest brands. Admittedly, there can be long hours at times, but there are also some nice perks, such as drinks on a Thursday, massages and breakfast, as well as the occasional glass of bubbly.

Do let me know if you have any questions on life at Edelman. You can find out more information on the Edelman graduate scheme here, as well as a list of 2011 PR grad schemes here.

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been doing some research and speaking to industry colleagues to create a list of 2011 PR Grad Schemes.

At present, the list is about the same size as it was last November and I fully expect it to expand beyond fourteen fifteen opportunities. It also consists, mainly of the larger London based agencies, which is to be expected as smaller, regional agencies do not tend to run a formal graduate scheme.

The list demonstrates that whilst many final year students will be acclimatising to their final year and thinking about dissertations, the race for a graduate PR job has also begun.

I anticipate this list will grow in the new year, so I will be making amendments as new opportunities arise.

On a personal note, the feedback I received after last years list was tremendous and people seemed genuinely grateful. I hope this years proves just as useful for the class of 2011. Sarah Stimson deserves a lot of credit for very kindly sharing her list of 2011 PR Grad Schemes. Thank you, Sarah.

Note to companies: if you have a scheme please email me and I’ll add you to the list.

Updated 27 March 2011

Blue Rubicon
Closed

Burson-Marseller
Open for internships all year round

Chime Comms
Closed

Content & Motion
Open – C&M are looking for a final year student or recent graduate to join their team.

Diffusion
Closed

Edelman
Closed

Fast Track
Closed

Fishburn Hedges
Closed

Fleishman-Hillard
Open
Operates a six month training scheme all year round. On completion of the graduate training scheme performance will be reviewed and, if satisfactory, graduates will be considered for a permanent position.

Four Comms
Closed

Hill & Knowlton
Closed

Hotwire Group (encompassing Hotwire and Skywrite)
Closed

Ketchum Pleon
Open
Closes 29 April 2011

Lexis PR
Closed

Speed Comms
Closed