Check Out Helena Enciso’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Helena Enciso

Hi Helena, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, specifically the 626. Fresh out of my all girls high school, Ramona Convent Secondary School, I made my way straight to the Bay Area. My higher education journey began at San Francisco State. Moving away from my home and immediate family as a young 18 year old — taught me more lessons than I could’ve ever imagined. It was truly the first time I had complete responsibility for my decisions, my plans, my own finances and my laundry.

As a typical creatively lost teenager, I took about every type of class throughout my undergrad. I initially went into college with the idea that I would become a lawyer or history teacher. My major at the time was Political Science, but everyone I knew assured me this wouldn’t last. They were 1000% right, that idea quickly faded once I took my first political science class. I was bored out of my mind. As my first year in San Francisco quickly passed, I focused on having fun and getting to know the city to see if I really pictured my life there or not.

Once I made it past Freshman year, surviving on Top Ramen, pizza from the cafeteria and quesadillas, I knew it was time to get serious about what I wanted to pursue. I am thankful to say that I made it through college debt free with the help of my family and FAFSA. With that being said, I still was well aware that this came with a ticking time clock. My ultimate goal was to be out of college with my degree in 4 years. I knew, even back then, that not everyone had the privilege of receiving enough financial aid to comfortably pursue their higher education.

As my 2nd year approached, after a short summer back at home, I had to make my way back to the Bay Area to essentially figure out my life. At the time, Public Relations & Influencer Marketing, was such a new concept. The monetized digital space in general was barely started to plant its seed. This was the 2015 era of my favorite beauty bloggers like @iluvsarahii and @desiperkins. I would literally watch their makeup tutorials and admire the creative process that the whole community embodied. I knew that I wanted my future career to be in the creative space even if the universities hadn’t caught up to this yet.

San Francisco State unfortunately did not offer Public Relations as a degree path at the time and Communications felt a little too broad for me. After doing tons of research, I learned that California State University, Long Beach offered a Bachelors Program for Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations. This was the closest I was going to get to what I felt my path was supposed to be. Keep in mind, social media was barely being recognized as a profit generating tool let alone a career path for influencers. Throughout my Sophomore year, I applied to a few local universities near home in case I wasn’t accepted to CSULB. Fortunately, I was accepted and was able to make the big move back home for my Junior year.

I started at CSULB in the Fall without a single idea of where the social media marketing world would be today. Like I mentioned before, they didn’t even offer Public Relations as its own program. Looking back, I’m immensely grateful for the degree falling under the Journalism program because I was able to really focus on building my writing skills (A huge help in my career now). As I wrapped up my degree, I interned for a local non-profit, His Little Feet and on campus at 49er Media. The professors and overall curriculum at Long Beach State is top tier, especially in the Journalism Department. They truly prepare you for real life and most importantly, getting hired. My portfolio was filled with social media work and writing samples, which I honestly think set me a part from other candidates in the PR space. I was in and out of CSULB in no time — accomplishing my goal of finishing in 4 years and what I’m most grateful for — graduating debt free.

I spent 2 weeks that Summer traveling abroad in Spain with my mom and grandmother. I honestly was in no rush to come back home and job hunt especially with how grueling I had heard the process would be. I casually applied to jobs here and there while nannying for a few families in the area. I was introduced to the nanny space at SFSU by my college roommate and took full advantage of the flexibility throughout college. Honestly, I could’ve made a great living at this if I needed to and got very comfortable doing this in the midst of applying to jobs that would allow me to actually apply my degree. At some point, I even questioned whether I should just pursue being a nanny because I enjoyed doing it so much.

Not too long after graduating from CSULB, I was hired for my current role at Miss Lola as the PR Coordinator. I graduated in May and was hired in September. Thankfully, my job hunt wasn’t as gruesome as I thought it would be. Six years later, I’m still with the brand. Watching the social media marketing industry change is one of my favorite parts of my career. Living through the 2020 Pandemic and seeing how that even created a shift in how the world consumed content. We went from long form media on YouTube to aesthetic images on Instagram to fun organic content on TikTok to now the majority of consumers being so fatigued with influencers in general. Being able to predict and forecast some of these pivots is also one of my favorites.

In my current role, as the PR Coordinator at Miss Lola, you can find me doing just about anything from Influencer Outreach, event coordination, planning brand collaborations, writing copy, trend forecasts in the digital space and definitely building meaningful connections within the influencer community. Every day is different, but that’s what makes my job fun! Aside from the fun stuff, I’m a very analytical type of person. I thrive off of organization, data and more importantly interpreting data which is definitely another vital part of my career. I love calculating ROIs and measuring my team’s success in whichever metric that may be depending on the project.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’d be lying if I said it’s been a smooth journey. Making the move to San Francisco as a barely adult taught me more than any textbook could. I got my first job at ALDO on Powell Street in downtown San Francisco. I remember the day of my first shift, I took the MUNI the opposite way. At one point, because I was going to transfer schools, I was taking 21 units while working at the same time. Balancing that student / working life, like any other college student can attest to, was very hard.

When it came to job hunting post bachelors, I think I was lucky in the sense that my family was super supportive and didn’t put much pressure on me to find a job immediately after graduating. Because of that — I feel like I also didn’t put so much pressure. I just had the mindset that what was meant for me would be.

In the digital marketing space, you can definitely say I’ve had my fair share of trials and tribulations. For starters, my career journey began just before the 2020 pandemic. I spent a few of my early years in the industry — which I might argue are some of the most important years in your career — learning to adapt to this new normal. In general, trying to get oriented in any field is hard , but it was a crazy experience to do this while witnessing how a health crisis could affect everything in the influencer marketing industry. In a e-commerce fashion world, it truly was unknown what the future would entail. This was the first real shift I witnessed with social media trends and forecasting. The world quickly shifted from aesthetic photos on Instagram to fun, real life content on TikTok. Pictures to videos was a drastic change in itself but to see the trends in types of content and creators that performed well was another.

Prior to the pandemic, it was pretty hands on industry. Event coordinating to make real life connections with influencers that brought the brand new audiences. Slowly shifting back to that post pandemic was also a challenge. Types of content styles had completely shifted and it was almost like brands were being watched & critiqued extra for hopping back into the pre-pandemic swing of things. Post pandemic, I can honestly say that adapting to the new organic rawness of TikTok pretty much dominating the social media platforms was difficult as well. By the time you realize that a social platform is taking over, it’s almost too late to get your foundation built on it. As a marketing professional, I had to take a deep dive quickly to establish a roster of brand ambassadors on TikTok. Through everything, it was very difficult for me to find my confidence in my craft. But now I know that, that happens naturally with time and experience. I’ve learned to be stand by my work through all these learning experiences.

Overall, in the creative space, there’s always going to be a challenge because the industry is constantly evolving. Especially now, where we’re kind of in that state of mind where a lot of consumers are experiencing influencer fatigue. It’s such an over saturated industry right now because of how well aware everyone is that it does have the potential to be a great career.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Technically, my job title is the PR Coordinator at Miss Lola. Miss Lola is an e-commerce women’s fashion boutique that was established in the heart of DTLA. It’s a female founded / Latina owned business. I’ve been with the brand for over 6 years at this point, since the start of my career. My colleagues are so talented and honestly are the reason I’ve learned so much about this industry.

My day to day is so different. I mostly handle a lot of influencer outreach, sending out PR packages, planning any brand activations, sourcing creative brand awareness opportunities, event coordination and everything in between. I have a lot of creative freedom which I’m grateful for.

Some of my favorite parts about my job include bringing the team’s visions to life when hosting branded events. I strive to do things differently, I never want to put myself in a box. It’s a silly thought, but I hope that when other brands / creatives need inspiration — they look at the work I’ve delivered in the same way I look to some of my favorite brands. I’ve always been fascinated with the BTS side of the industry since well before I was actively in it. The majority of my job is honestly planning. Planning events, planning content, planning PR packages, etc. It’s a 50/50 mix of creativity and

I’m proud of everything I’ve accomplished while working in my current role, honestly. I think mostly because I had no idea what I was doing in the beginning, but through it all I’ve truly found my confidence and feel like I’m in my professional element. There are lots of semi-boring things I’m proud of like establishing an affiliate program for the brand and a collaboration that’s currently in the works.. coming soon! I share a lot of the fun stuff on TikTok with some Day in the Life’s here and there. Another one of my favorites is collaborating with a local coffee shop on a custom branded coffee sleeve and latte. I’ve also built my own talent list for the brand from literally 0 to a few hundred creators at this point on my own. I’m still fan girling over getting my favorite Cheetah Girl, Adrienne Bailon-Houghton, to wear our product and one of my favorite WNBA players, Nika Muhl as well! Another proud moment, was being able to plan a Friendsgiving dinner and Mother’s Day Photoshoot experience for customers instead of influencers.

I think I do things differently because I don’t dwell on the success of my work. In my head, it’s always, “What’s next?” I’m constantly thinking about the next opportunity. I’m not really afraid to seek new opportunities or try something different because I have the mindset that there’s not much to lose.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
If I can take away any lesson from my entire journey in this creative industry, it’d be that learning to adapt is crucial! There are some careers that once you start — things pretty much never change. In this industry, that does not apply. Tomorrow I can wake up to an entire new trend that blew up over night, literally exhibit A “BRAT SUMMER”, and having to learn to apply that while still being on brand. Everything can change in a heartbeat, and you have to be able to adapt. More than anything, you have to be willing to learn. If you’re not willing to learn new skills, you’ll never survive. Being willing to put yourself out there is also super important. This industry is built on networking and relationship building. You have to be aware of your own personal brand, who you are, and how you’re perceived.

I would also say, you can never be too prepared. Expect the unexpected. In PR/marketing, anything can go wrong or right if you’re lucky. I think that’s why my type A personality does so well in this environment. I think of everything and have to have a chart for everything.

As far as advice for anyone looking to pursue a career in digital marketing, I would say do your best to build a strong portfolio. You can add anything to it, especially nowadays. That could include content creation or writing samples. I highly recommend reaching out to a non-profit you’re passionate about and volunteer your time/services, in exchange for building your portfolio. It’s a great conversation starter in interviews and shares a little bit about what you’re passionate about.

Overall, be willing to learn + adapt to this roller coaster ride that we call social media marketing & PR.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/houseofhelsss?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@houseofhelsss?_t=8oVAI5EqmPn&_r=1

Image Credits
Both group photos and individual silver outfit photo – @herenow.la MOISES MARTINEZ