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David Mullen

David Mullen on PR, Integrated Communications and Social Media

Are We Forcing Social Media Tunnel Vision on Young PR Pros?June 28

*This is a guest post by Meg Roberts.

Last week, David pointed out that senior professionals might be setting up young PR pros for failure because they are being asked to handle elements of social media campaigns without the proper experiences necessary for successful communications programs.

The post made me wonder about the other side of this issue: are young PR professionals being set up for failure because they aren’t being given enough opportunities to investigate and learn traditional tactics and strategies?

As companies continue to look at younger staff members for social media expertise, senior employees, recent graduates, and interns should work together to ensure young professionals have well-rounded task lists that include a variety of skills necessary for communication campaigns - both online and offline.

Recently, I’ve learned several of my friends have been tasked with heading up corporate Facebook pages and/or Twitter handles. While this is great and necessary experience, it can lead to an unbalance in recent graduates’ skill set.  For example, a young woman I graduated with s

We’re Setting Up Young PR Pros for FailureJune 24

The future of our industry is full of bright-eyed, energetic, smart new graduates. Some were lucky enough to start their first job in the past few weeks, while the rest are still looking for their big break. They’re eager, optimistic, ready to conquer the world. And we’re setting them up for failure.

As more brands have begun incorporating social media into their overall marketing strategy, too many are looking around for the youngest person in the building or hiring an entry-level PR graduate and placing all the responsibility for social media integration in their hands.

What’s the rationale? The ones I’ve heard have been along these lines: “They’ve grown up with this stuff, so they know what they’re doing” and “They’re already on Facebook, so…”

This isn’t good for two reasons.

1. Many schools are NOT adequately preparing students on the topics of social media integration, social media strategy or social media tools. I’ve heard this from more than a few recent graduates in the past couple months. I had lunch with a friend this week who graduated in May and she, too, confirmed that there was little to no social media discussion in her classrooms. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough professors like

Should Brands Approach Social Media with a “Pilot Program” Mindset?June 16

My typical answer to that question has been “no.” Consistent participation usually leads to the best results in social media efforts. Approaching it as a test can lead to lower commitment levels from the brand and abandoned blogs and Facebook pages that look more like ghost towns than thriving communities.

But a couple things I’ve heard the past few days have me reconsidering.

A colleague interviewed Amber Naslund at BlogPotomac last week. One of the questions I passed along to my colleague was the very topic of this post. Amber’s response? She’s fine with it if that’s what it takes to get clients into the space.

Tonight, I watched a PR Week video interview with John Bell, managing director of 360 Digital Influence, Ogilvy. He said that one of the biggest trends he’s seen during the past six months or so is that more clients are moving away from big “cathedral” programs in social media and toward pilot programs where they can rapidly get some quick learn

Happy 1st Birthday, Blog!June 15

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year already. Instead of marking the occassion with words, I decided to create a short video. (Those of you reading this in email may need to click through to see the video)

For anyone who started frequenting the blog in the past six months, I’ve also shared a few of my favorite posts from the first six months. You’ll find those below the video.

As promised, here are some of my favorite posts from the first few months of this blog:

Social Media Isn’t the Second Coming
I’ve seen some suggestion recently that “traditional” PR tactics are being put to death by social media. That news releases and social media releases have no use. That pitching story ideas by Twitter will soon be the norm. I hate to burst the bubble, but social media isn’t the second coming of…well, you know who. Read the full article…

Should Marketers and Media Wield Their Power for Good?
I shared a few videos with some friends this weekend as I led a discussion on the impact media has on defining beauty and sexuality in our culture. I found myself asking “do marketers and media have actual influence over how consumers view themselves and the world around them?” I say, “yes.” That led to a bigger question. If so, do we have a responsibility to use that power for good more often?

This Post Will Make Your Day 10x Better - Guaranteed.June 11

Fridays are a cause for celebration by their very nature. (Hello weekend!) So I hope you’ll grant me a little grace to go off-topic and share something worth celebrating.

I was sitting in a hotel bar last Friday evening eating dinner and watching CNN with no sound. As you can imagine, it wasn’t very productive news gathering without being able to hear what the images and video were about.

In a matter of seconds, though, that changed.

A 10-year-old girl’s reaction to a wonderful surprise captured me. I was so taken by her display of emotions, in fact, that I fought back tears. And I couldn’t wait to get back to my room and search CNN.com high and low for the video so I could get the full story.

It was also interesting to see this 10-year-old girl’s reaction juxtaposed against her toddler sister’s reaction at the beginning of the video. Though at opposite ends of the spectrum, both underscore the sacrifices families like theirs make every day - sacrifices that are easy for the rest of us to not even consider most of the time.

That’s why I think reminders like this are worth slowing down for and the pure joy of another person worth celebrating.

Embedded video from <a href=”http://www.cnn.com/video” mce_href=”http://www.cnn.com/video”>CNN Video</a>