Got a mailer yesterday which I found interesting because it falls into the same category as my last entry which is, in my words, the power of the internet is unleashing the dregs of the earth and the con artists. 

This flyer said “Valorie gets a free conference invitation to learn how to earn income by attending the internet training conference.”  They have logos from ebay, yahoo, google and msn. 

At first you think wow here is something that could be interesting but when you look closer and see that the only contact is an 800# (with no website to check them out…hey wait, I thought they were internet based!) and that the confernece is at a Holiday Inn (sorry holiday inn) and that you get a free business organizer that has actual hard copy pages in it, then you must know it is a scam.

Does ebay know about them?  Does google know about them?  Does yahoo know about them?  How about MSN?  I don’t think so!

For a legitimate learning experience, you can attend the Business Smart Tools Conference where legit companies come and speak on how they are using the internet to gain more exposure and to bring on more clients.  GE, Hearst, BusinessWeek to name a few are supporters of this conference.  Xeorx is speaking next year.

You can also call Creative Concepts directly to learn more about social media and public relations and how you can leverage the internet to futher your business goals.

My team and I, Valorie Luther, will work with you to not only investigate all of the opportunities existing for you but we will also work hard to preserve your hard earned reputation by making the right choices for your firm.

Call 203.259.4202 or email info@creative-conceptsllc.com.  We are in Fairfield, Ct but can work with you wherever you are…we are virtual and international!

Ran into a PR firm who tried to play the social media game…they used buzz words in their client plan like “blog” and “viral marketing” without fully understanding the meaning or approach (look up the words at least so you know the definition)…ran into a company (many times) who says they have social media tools like video emails but all they want to do is create a pyramid scheme so they can make money off of your selling their product vs. their product being the answer to a business dilemma (Joe, you are loosing the quality race and in time will feel the affects of signing on the helpless and naive).

I have 2 points to make:  Social Media has now hit a new level of power and success because the bottom feeders, as my associate David Parmet calls them, are rising to the surface and trying to make money. 

My second point is why do so many PR people have to bullshit their way through the door….if they know something (please, anything at all), then stick to that or go out and learn a thing or two, practice it and then bring it to the customer. 

One of my goals is that Creative Concepts will change the face of PR!  The client will pay for actual work completed vs. paying for lots of empty words that amount to nothing.  CC isn’t going to lie and say we know how to do something if we have no idea.  If we have no idea about a topic or business direction, then we go out and educate ourselves to the point of becoming experts so we can pass on the knowledge so we can support our clients and vendors which always leads to a strong partnership!

There are so many PR firms out there who have frustrated and annoyed clients (did you know that your clients were feeling this way?  Did you ask?).  Creative Concepts will create positive buzz about the PR industry one client at a time.

On a side bar, I saw a study done by BzzAgent who says that word of mouth (for the above PR firm mentioned by me, this is “viral marketing”) hinges on quality not novelty.  Thank god, I always hope for the best to rise above!  People move towards the best of anything instinctively (the best movies, the best clothes, the best cars… have longer staying power) and so when you have a superior product, it is only a matter of time before the word gets out and stays out!

Quality always wins the race no matter how long that race can take.  Creative Concepts is here to stay!!

Hello hello, yes I have been busy trying to catch up from visiting lots of cool customers who are having lots of amazing conversations about the internet and how to use it…yahoo is all I can say…give me a pillow is what I say too.

Here is something to note:  came across this blog entry from Ted Jenkins.  At one point in this blog, I listed all of the demo companies for the Business Smart Tools conference.  One of the goals for the conference was to showcase new companies that could enhance various processes in business or provide a completely new product or service for the corporate community.  Ted listed these companies as tech PR tools which is incorrect.  I tried to make a comment on his blog but you need a password to leave a note…Hey Ted, check out the companies so you can learn more about them, Hey Ted, is that really blog when you don’t allow others to make a comment?  Just curious!

On another note, check out Helloworld.  I would give you the link but I like you too much.  It isn’t that the product they offer is bad because video anything is very hot right now (they do web based streaming video solutions) but what is truly scary is how they are trying to make money.  It feels like Amway all over again.  Two guys called me before the conference saying that they wanted to talk to me and they wanted to be involved.  OK, that is valid but I said it was too late to participate but they could come as attendees.  They had no time for that..they kept talking about….you know I can’t remember what they said but they did not listen to me and they talked a lot!  Not a great beginning!  Later, I realized that they make money mostly via pyramid scheme.  They care more about bringing on people to sell vs. being passionate about their product. 

You know that social media is heating up when it brings these kinds of characters to the surface.