2 cents worth

houstonprsolutions — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:07:25 +0000

“I’ve been seeing social media consultants pop up like dandelions, especially as the economy gets tough and people turn to consulting while they look for other work” said Dawn Foster, webworkerdaily.com.
After scanning the conversations professionals in the market are having it is obvious they are afraid how the profession is defining itself. Public Relations is not a new concept but the established profession is. This accompanied with the new and organic nature of the Internet, you get a market with a lot of possibilities along with unestablished guidelines and expectations. So what should we be asking ourselves?

What are the pros and cons of a profession in its infancy?
First we have a great opportunity to expand our arsenal allowing us to address problems with many solutions. But the risk of this can be a loss of focus on our main goals. I can’t think of a profession this applies more then social media and PR. Just because you can use Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, WordPress, twitter, Del.i.cous, reddit, Blogspot…(I think the point was made), does not mean you should.

As an established practitioner how can I raise market expectations for professionals in my field?
The enemy of PR and social media is unrealistic expectations. A company who approaches you with the attitude of, ‘We have a zero based budget and we want you to double our sales in the next month, we want Buzz and something Viral”. So you contain you laughter and conclude that the customer watched ‘I remember the 90’s’ on VH1 and has some new terms they want to share with you. But ultimately this is the fault of a vague job description. If you let the media or non-professionals control the conversation then the goals are lost and the focus becomes all the bells and whistles.

As a person eager to begin climbing the ladder, how do I set myself apart in an industry with such a haphazard structure?
You should see this as an exciting challenge. You are entering a profession that has few beaten paths so the sky is the limit. This will allow you to show personalized creativity to stand out. The challenge is that too many people underestimate the qualifications of a social media consultant. I owned a lemonade stand when I was little so the transition to owning my own smoothie king was a matter of location. How does this make any more sense then the mentality that maintaining a personal Facebook account makes a Social Media Liaison extraordinaire. So you must establish yourself as more then a Facebook junkie but a professional with set goals and standards who is capable at using Facebook strategically.

Why this stuff is important?

houstonprsolutions — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:19:09 +0000

I found this great article talking about the importance of Public Relations. From a small business view, how does this apply to you? Also how does this apply to Houston?

http://ventureblog.com/articles/2003/07/the_importance.php

Hello Houston!

houstonprsolutions — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:15:45 +0000

Hello Houstonians,

We are very excited to begin working in by far the best community, Houston. HoustonPRsolutions has been working behind the scenes for many years and looking forward to using our experience to help the commercial underdog. Our motto, why should an effective PR campaign cost small businesses an arm and a leg? Also why pay full price for a corporate PR firm when you can exploit the cheap, and often more innovative college talent?