Archive for the ‘Conferences’ Category
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 |
I was fortunate enough to attend the Information Architecture Session at IM
Spring Break and I’m so glad I did. This session was another brilliant one
as the panel consisted of Steve
Plunkett, Todd
Malicoat and Carolyn Shelby.
For those of you who don’t already know…. Information Architecture is the
way a website is organized to make it user-friendly as well as search-friendly. You want users
to not only easily discover the site, but be able to follow the information
on the site so they can easily get to their ultimate destination. Without the
proper information architecture you might be bringing the wrong kind of viewers
to the website. Or, you might be getting the right type of viewers, but they
can’t locate what they need once they get there. Could you imagine a viewers
frustration if this happened? Trust me…. they would never come back once they
have those kind of struggles on your site.
A bad information architecture outcome can be virtual suicide for any website,
but with the help of this amazing panel they have brought us all one step closer
to Information Architecture Nirvana. So, without further ado…. here
is what went down at the Information Architecture Session at IM Spring Break.
First up was Steve Plunkett
Steve spoke about Information Architecture and how it affected Search.
The three categories that he went into detail about was…
- Collected Data Structure
- Search Evolved: File Management – DAO ( Digital Asset Optimization )
- Conversions and Forms
Collected Data Structure
- Domain authority
- Directories, flash and filenames (see Digital Asset Optimization)
- Activity within record, references, file changes, relocations.
- Bounce rate (www/email/groups)
- Segmentation
Search Evolved: File Management & Digital Asset Optimization
Steve when into great detail talking about the fact that Search has changed.
No longer is it just about optimizing a website, but also other digital assets
such as….
- PDFs - There are 25 fields in .pdf that you can optimize for Google.
- Spreadsheets
- Feeds - RSS Segmentation
- Social profiles
- employee cost
- personality research
- Video/flash
- Podcasts
- Whitepapers
- Games/widgets
- Images
- Analytical challenges
** Steve pointed out that EVERYTHING you do points back to domain
name. Name all of your files, images, PDF’s with keywords and domain name.
Conversions and Forms
- Conversion paths - users answer questions in a form and then they land
on a page that delivers tailored content to their specific answers.
- Conversion reporting
- Email database
Things to Remember
- Help search engines find your site by building your website in a search
friendly data structure
- Leverage content by optimizing digital assets
- All search results are not created equal. Always keep the end in mind (conversions)
to provide value for SER
Next up is Todd Malicoat
As far as Information architecture goes Todd Malicoat gave us some awesome
tips for two different types of websites: The Blog and the eCommerce site….
Blog
- Use snippets - Instead of having the entire post on the
front page Todd suggests using just snippets. This way there is no duplicate
content on the site.
- link to your best posts - Put a section on your blog that
lists your "best of" posts.
- funnel pagerank and anchor text
- automated internal linking - Automated internal linking
keeps pages themed and helps older posts. Related Posts plugin for WP helps
to automate the improvement of building an internal link structure
- Tag clouds - Not always great to use - dupe content and
dilutes link pop
eCommerce
- Link to top selling products - home page, every page, body
- Use another word other than "Home" for the Home page….
such as the name of your product.
- French Fry Pages - These type of pages offer little value
and dilute link population (such as the privacy policy page)
- sitemaps- These work great for very large sites work well.
They help funnel the juice.
Todd explains that search engines aren’t as smart as some might think….
"Search engines are smart…but not that smart. You really want to spoon
feed them the information you want them to have."
Next up was Carolyn shelby
Carolyn talks about how to determine the best architecture model for
our needs….
- All in One - everything on the homepage
- Flat - all pages peers, every one accessible from each
- Hub and Spoke (Daisy) - useful for multiple, distinct linear
workflows
- Strict Hierarchy - lower-level pages can only be accessed
via its parent
- Multi-Dimensional Hierarchy - many way of browsing to the
same content
Content Creation - Create an outline (Yes, a real outline)
- She mentions if you don’t know how to do an outline you really
need to go back to school to learn. It is just that important.
- define the site topic
- Do keyword research - pay attention to the phraseology
that your audience uses; pay attention to most common search phrases; explore
your niche to get ideas for additional topics.
- Mingle with the peasants - interview customer service,
talk to sales people who deal with the public, read consumer reviews (online,
offline, wherever), talk to non-your-industry people about your topic. This
where you can get some of the best and clear ideas.
Some tips that Carolyn mentions…
- Remember we are not Normal - Carolyn mentions that due
to the industry we are in and the experience we have in search …. "We
are not normal…we do not search like regular people…we’ve been touched…"
So, in order to remedy this we need to think outside of the box when it comes
to Content Creation and Research.
- Check your 404 logs to see what people are typing in as
a "guess". This can help identify the terms the site’s audience
uses.
- Don’t forget the Logs - As far as Keyword Research goes
Carolyn says, "Keep track of internal site search logs. Look for clues
in access logs."
- Keyword Research Tool - She also mentions a great site
to use to get keywords is SeedKeywords.
- Don’t forget to Think outside of the Box - Carolyn even
mentions that she has even used a more nontraditional method to this that
really works. She has her daughter’s friends come over and then she asks
them, "If you were to search for "such & such"
how would you go about finding information on that?" And,
without offering them any help she watches what they enter into search to
find the information on that topic. She watches step by step how they go about
getting information on that topic. Here she gets a real clear
answer on how some people might search for a certain topic.
Carolyn did a recap of both of her IM Spring Break Sessions
on SEO 101. So, make sure to check that out.
It was another awesome session at IM Spring Break. Steve, Todd and Carolyn
gave us a bunch of really terrific information to insure our success with Information
Architecture. Remember, it is your job to make sure that when readers or users
come to your website they can quickly find the information they are looking
for. One way to lose a user forever is to make finding what they want
difficult. Follow the suggestions and tips this amazing panel gave you… and
you will be on your way to information architecture bliss.
Above image
by Dana
Lookadoo
Posted in Conferences, SEM, SEO, Tips and Tutorials, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 Basics, Websites | 4 Comments »
Friday, April 10th, 2009 |
The IM Business panel at IM
Spring Break was one of the most anticipated sessions at IM Spring Break.
Apparently, it was a favorite from Scary
SEO and they were asked to come back and speak again. However, there was
one minor change….. Tony
Adam was going to speak on the panel along with Christopher
Hart and Pamela Lund.
I’m sure Tony must have been a little nervous…. after all there was a lot
to live up to. As a matter of fact, Christopher Hart pointed out to me that
Tony wouldn’t even be considered to be part of this "team" officially
until he passed the test…. the test being making his session rock. Tony was
being put on the “Chris Hart probationary period” until he proved himself worthy
of this Internet Marketing Dream Team made up of Christopher Hart and Pamela
Lund.
So, here is how this session went down. Read on to find out if Tony Adam rocked
his session and passed his probationary period.
Chris Hart Begins
Corporate Evolution
- Maturing of the proposal process
- Many views are represented from the start
- Most important is the C-Class Executive, Buy-in from the top Down - "C-class"
being Chief Whatever (CEO, CIO, CFO, etc…) The Chief Whatever
needs to be part of it from the very beginning.
How Budgets have changed
- SEO, SEM, PPC, SMM, SMO and any other A-E-I-O-U styled acronyms were additional
budget line items.
- Those who embrace change are rewarded those that fight the change will lose
out.
- SEO, SEM, PPC, SMM, SMO are not specific projects…. They are all part
of the business and effort.
Costs
- Services are not driven through menu selection
- Return on investment is not calculated with a formula
Corporate evolution
Metamorphosis happens - Corporate Evolution/Budgets/Proposals
Just as wild animals such as the Cicada, Elephant and Blue Whales have metamorphasized
to adapt to the World around them to ensure their survival…. we have to do
the same as well. Those who embrace change will be rewarded. Those who don’t
adapt and instead fight change will have to find new jobs.
Chris reminds us It’s not a big ticket item, it’s all
of the things that happen behind the scenes.
Bottom Line….
The old Corporate no longer works … SEO, SEM, PPC, SMM, SMO needs to be considered
from the start….. before anything begins. Corporate evolution requires it
all to be part of the entire strategy from the very beginning.
Pamela Lund up next
In the beginning
- Be confident when quoting
- Give realistic expectations
- Educate your clients
During the project
- Over communicate
- Prioritize tasks to appear more productive
- Use a project management system
Ongoing communication
- Assume nothing
- Document verbal communication
- Schedule meetings intelligently
- Don’t pretend results are good if they aren’t
- Don’t lie
**If you lie you will get caught. If they check on something that you
had said with another marketer that marketer will be more than happy to throw
you under the bus.**
If it hits the fan
- Have someone else you can bring in
- Don’t use accusatory statements
- Don’t get angry or raise your voice
- Be prepared to walk away (aka firing clients)
Tony Adams is up next
You want people to get excited about what you are doing.
- Step 1: understand the culture - Pay attention to the culture
of an organization.
- Step 2: Personalities - There are many different personalities.
The "always angry"; the "combative type"; the "know
it all type; the "disapproving type"…. Tony says you want this.
- Step 3: Listen - There are always deadlines…. Everything
will always will be urgent!!
- Step 4: Relationships - Create relationships and partnerships
- make meaningful connections. Get yourself some BFF’s!!
- Step 5: Get Involved! Make sure to get involved in every
meeting you can.
- Step 6: Influencing - This is where your chops don’t mean
a thing!! Take a break and knock one back!!
Tony being the amazing person he is….. makes sure to have plenty of
Beers for everyone attending this session proving his "take a break
and knock one back!!" is an important part of the process.
This is where the high fives come in!!
- Step 7: Provide the resources necessary - provide the tools
necessary to succeed! Create SEO Guidelines, create avenues of sharing your
knowledge.
- Step 8 make sure they play by the rules - Review, Review,
Review. Pretend you are QA and make sure they play by the rules.
- Step 9: continue the evangelism. You now have buy in and
relationships. Keep them happy. show them the numbers…show them the results.
Keeps them happy.
If you take anything away… relationship + influence and persuading
= it will get you there.
Wow!! I’m sure I don’t have to explain to you that not only did Tony pass his
probation period per Chris and Pamela, but he NAILED it!! He was amazing as
was Chris and Pamela. They are and will forever be the Internet Marketing Dream
Team in my book. It was another amazing session at IM Spring Break.
Above image
from session taken by Dana
Lookadoo.
Posted in Conferences, SEM, SEO, Tips and Tutorials, Websites | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 |
If you wanted to know how to use Build a Brand Using Social Media
then this session was the one to attend. Jeff
Quipp, Brian Chappell
and Li Evans
were an amazing combo…. Together they were the perfect mixture of How-to,
tips, suggestions, visuals….. absolutely all the facts needed to give you
a good start in Branding.
Jeff Quipp discussed the How-to’s of branding by going into great detail on
what Social Media can do for Branding. Brian Chapell added his thoughts and
tips on monitoring your brand and Li Evans finished off this amazing session
on Building a Brand with video and photo sharing.
All three speakers made sure to cover everything from the most basic to more
complex. They gave us the social media recipe to whip up the best branding dish
for any company…. large or small.
Here how it all went down…
First up was Jeff Quipp
Define Your Brand - How do you want your Brand to stand out?
Many Businesses often wonder what Social Media can do for them. Jeff did a
really great job at explaining this in great detail.
Social Media Helps….
- Create awareness of the Brand
- Communicate the Company’s / Product’s Key Messages
- Instill trust in the brand
- Naturally propagate the crafted message(s)
He goes on to explain the 3 Steps to Branding via Social Media
- List the Key Messages
- Determine the best content formats to convey your messages
(video, audio, text)
- Craft the content - Must support the key messages you wish
to convey…. at least for branding purposes.
Some ways to do this….
- "just in time" blogging
- make the news- do something sensational!
- resource/educational posts
- the message must reflect positively on the company!!!
- Determine the best Social Media to Employ
- Test the Content
- If the Key is in getting others to carry the chosen messages forward….
test it first (if its not news)
- Refine content and retest
- Using the solicited feedback, refine the content. Retest, again soliciting
feedback.
- Network to Promote
- Get involved in the chosen social media
- start befriending others and promoting their GOOD content
- Be sure to promote good content!!!
- Seek out key influencers and particularly support their stuff.
Brian Chappell was up next
Brian immediately reminds us that "You have to make sure you know your
target audience…. otherwise you are wasting your time. Social Media is not
a salt shaker. You can’t apply social media marketing tactic onto regular strategies
to see success. Social media can not be an after thought…. has to be thought
of at the core of marketing initiatives."
You need to be creative…. there is no cookie cutter approach
to Social Media.
Brian urges us to extend our brand off of our site…. secure names elsewhere
so no one tarnishes our brand. He suggests Streko’s site CheckUserNames.com
as a good place to do this.
Must Monitor & Interact in Real time
Social Monitoring Benefits:
- Product Development
- Customer Service
- SEO / Marketing Initiatives
- Monitor your Competition
Don’t forget about SEO
Empower your customers - Let them build the ad, create your
idea and implement new product offerings.
Next up was Li Evans
Building a brand through Social Media - Through Video & Photo Sharing
I love that Li went into using Video & Photo Sharing to build a brand through
Social Media. For someone like me who is very visual I can understand the importance
of branding this way.
Li starts with, "So you have serps and links….now what?
How do you get people to remember you?"
Branding is essential. Even your avatar is important. Li reminds us that our
avatar is who we are…this is how people relate to us.
Tips
- Make sure your avatar is your brand.
- Make sure your pictures are saying things about your brand
- Start your own group and encourage people to share their pictures / videos
and join the group.
- Extend your brand and talk to the people that are part of the group.
- Bring influence of the brand into the picture.
- Don’t forget the Tags!!
- Keep your marketing consistent - ex. icon / logo on videos and photos
- Brand your Channels - w/ consistent colors
- No matter how small your company Branding Matters!!
- Don’t forget about branding even in Local.
- Optimizing is fundamental
- Research where your audience is.
**YouTube - YouTube beats Yahoo for searches. That’s pretty cool. And,
it shows us how important videos can be in Search.**
Li ends with saying that “Branding and Being Social Is Key”
So, as you can see it was another amazing session at IM Spring Break. Follow
the Branding Recipe that Jeff Quipp, Brian Chappell and Li Evans suggested and
I have no doubt you will be off to a great start with using Social Media for
Branding purposes.
Posted in Conferences, SEM, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, StumbleUpon, Tips and Tutorials, Web 2.0 | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 |
This session was amazing. It reminded me a lot like a baseball line-up. Before
you start thinking that I totally lost my mind let me explain a bit why I say
this.
First up to speak was Neal Rodriguez.
And, speak he did!!
In baseball the first player in the line-up is generally a person that is fast.
A player that has a great potential to steal bases. He gets the rest of the
line-up motivated and ready to play their hearts out. And, this is what I feel
Neal did during this session. He motivated the audience and got them ready for
the rest of the game.
Seriously, he could have been talking about cleaning the lint out of my laptop
keys and I would have listened intently to everything he said. He had me wanting
to stand up and cheer with excitement just by listening to his passion and watching
him talk about something he felt strongly about.
Social Media in the Grind ‘09
Neal explains how Social News is directory that’s unbelievable. Social News
are the stories that make you go "WTF!"
Unbelievable is part of the ingredients to the entire recipe. Stories need
to be compelling and controversial.
Assault the reader!!
Make your reader say, "Hell Yeah!"
To Do that:
- Do your homework - Study sites that make the front page
frequently. * Di66.net *
- Reciprocity - Help your fellow socialites. The Key to any
relationship. * Source - DiggStatistics.com
*
Neal reminds us that "The More you do the better your will
get at it."
In baseball the middle of a line-up has the power hitters. These are the baseball
players that have a great chance of getting a home run. These are the players
you can count on for giving you what you came to the baseball park to see. In
this case that is David
Snyder and Todd Malicoat.
David Snyder spoke about "How not to utilize Social News and Bookmarking"
He reminds us that the keyword is "Social". Social
News & Bookmarking exist as a place to center conversations and sharing
around content. And, the end user is the most important part of this process.
How Social News and Bookmarking can be used by marketers….
- Not an end means, but a tool to increase visibility of content, and conversation
around content.
- You get what you give from Social Media
DON’T
- Hire people for pushes where you pay based on the outcome
- "Push" content without first thinking about the community
- Approach social bookmarking as a business looking to engage.
The next power hitter up to bat was Todd Mailicoat
He spoke about "How to sell social media marketing for in house
SEO’s"
- Show a Competitor
- fear
- uncertainty
- doubt
- greed
- Show the Stats
- digg
- delicious
- reddit
- stumble
- buzz propeller
- Introduce the Concept - The plan
- Show the Value
- Explain the Value of the links
- theme value
- power source
- outbound links
- unique linking domains
- placement
- age
- Explain why link baiting and viral marketing
- global link popularity
- sometimes anchor text (based on title)
- Better Rankings
- Links competitors can’t get
- Close the Concept
- Add the Bonus - lots of traffic and branding
So, as you can see this entire session was amazing….. it kept me on my toes
wanting to start the wave.. All three speakers hit the ball out of the park
and kept the audience happy and cheering for more. No doubt in my mind…. A
Win!!
Posted in Conferences, SEM, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Web 2.0 | 2 Comments »
Monday, April 6th, 2009 |
After spending four days in Florida with the IM Spring Break crowd and attending
the conference & enjoying the parties at night It didn’t take me long to
realize that this is hands down the best conference I have ever attended. And,
from reading others tweets I come to the realization that this conference is
a "must attend". In case that wasn’t enough to get you to realize
you should be totally bummed you decided not to attend the IM Spring Break Conference
here are a ton more reasons you should Kick your own Ass for not attending IM
Spring Break.
- Small conference….. big knowledge. I know small isn’t
always, the best description of something wonderful. But, trust me on this
one. What I think made this conference so amazing was the small size. I had
a chance to sit down with practically everybody and have a nice conversation.
At no time did I feel rushed to hurry a conversation so that I could find
the next one to talk to. There was plenty of time to get to everybody.
- Intimate Conversations - Due to the small size of the Conference
I was able to have some wonderful intimate conversations with not only Industry
Leaders, but the awesome guys running the whole show. That has never happened
to me…. but on the first day I shared lunch with Loren Baker and his beautiful
wife, Janna.
- The Best of the Best in our Industry speaking on Search,
Social and Internet Marketing - Loren, Dave
and Jordan
made sure to get some of the best in our industry speaking on the panels….
making sure we were learning everything from the most knowledgeable in the
field.
- The Q & A’s after with amazingly awesome top secret info…..
seriously, TOP SECRET. Only people that were there have the benefit of hearing
the information. And, even if something wasn’t covered in the Q & A’s
there was plenty of time for conversations with the speakers later. If you
are beginning to the get the feeling of kicking your desk for not attending….
I can understand.
- The food, the YUMMY food. And, I am not talking simple
meals. I’m talking about meals that knock your socks off by simply looking
at the colorful presentation. Loren, Dave and Jordan spared nothing to make
sure we ate like Kings and Queens.
- Open Bar - The attendees of IM Spring Break were offered
Open Bar every night. Do I really need to say anything else about this? I’ll
just repeat it….. Open Bar EVERY Night.
- The pool - A Gorgeous pool that many of us got to enjoy…..
whether we wanted to jump in or not. Ladies and Gentlemen I would like to
personally thank Streko
for my shoes just finally drying.
- Poker Games - Yes, we even had poker. And, even though
there were some winners and some losers from the looks of everyone participating
we enjoyed ourselves either way. I even managed to spend some money during
Poker just watching… Not sure how that happened.
- Arm Wrestling Neil Patel - At what other event could I
have a chance to kick one of the Speakers Ass’s in Arm Wrestling. I doubt
anywhere else. But, at IM Spring Break I was offered the chance to do just
that. I took Neil up on the offer to arm wrestle and I fought really hard
to beat him. Unfortunately, I totally got my ass kicked. I’m pretty scrappy,
but he must be freakishly strong for his small size. He also took $20.00 from
me from losing.
- Beautiful Friendships - While at IM Spring Break I was
fortunate enough to build beautiful friendships that I have no doubt that
will last a lifetime.
- Free Chiropractor on Call - We can all totally use a good
back massage from time to time. And, there were plenty to go around at IM
Spring Break….. thank you Chiropractor
Mike.
- Killer DJ - At the indoor BBQ Party there was some awesome
music during the open bar and dinner. I mean, I’m talking killer music. Thanks
to Steve Plunkett
for giving up his yummy dinner to make sure to keep us totally happy until
the live band started. Proof the music rocked is in the pics my friend…
- Lots of Dancing - Steve had the music playing for 2 hours
until the live band started. Giving us 2 hours extra to dance…. and dance
they did!!
- Live Band - Yes…. Loren, Dave and Jordan spared absolutely
no expense to make sure the attendees of the conference were kept happy and
entertained the entire time. They hired a live band to get people out on the
dance floor. But, it turns out they were just the opening band for a rock
band MUCH larger….
- SEO Rock Band - This might come as a total surprise to
you, but many of the leaders in our wonderful Industry are also musically
gifted. Our very own David
Szetela and Jeff
Quipp surprised all of us by announcing that they were going to get on
stage and entertain us with The SEO Rock Band. And, they were good. No, I’m
lying….. they were freakin awesome!! Like, I’m talking about lighter waiving
and girls screaming kind of awesome. But, that wasn’t the end of it….Loren
Baker and Tony Adam
got on stage with them and were just as amazing making up their own SEO lyrics
to popular songs. It was so much fun. Still not over…. I got more. Brasco
from WebMaster Radio sang La Bamba perfectly. I mean, perfectly. Steve
Plunkett did some singing as well… as did Aaron
Chronister’s beautiful fiance, Jenny. It was an amazing night with some
of the best fun I have ever had. Many of us want to know when the SEO Rock
Band’s CD will be coming out…. it truly would be a must buy!!
… and the lead singer even had his groupies:
- Neil Patel made me Breakfast - I’m assuming that Neil
was feeling bad for hurting my ego the night before in arm wresting, but whatever
the reason he made me a toasted bagel, went out of his way to find the exact
type of cream cheese I wanted and spread it on my bagel. Thanks, Neil….
it was an awesome bagel.
- Drinking being part of a session - The wonderful Tony Adam
brought out beers for everybody during his IM Business session. He was going
through his 9 Steps to get people excited about what you are doing. And, as
he pointed out sometimes you just need to "take a break and knock
one back!!" I agree, Tony.
- Milk & Cookies - Thanks to Allyson
Fergison, aka SEOaly
we all were able to enjoy her homemade
cookies. Allyson was the very lucky winner of the free pass to IM Spring
Break. She was so excited to have won she apparently didn’t know what to do
with her pent up energy that she decided to bake like a mad woman. And, a
mad woman she was….. she came to the conference with 600 freshly back chocolate
chip cookies. Could you imagine this happening at a huge conference? No, I
don’t think so. I’m telling you… small intimate conferences is where it
is at!!
- Rock’n Keynotes - We got to hear some of the best keynotes
I have ever heard. The keynotes were from Chris
Winfield, Neil Patel
and Rae Hoffman.
Really, really great stuff…. all three were totally passionate and equally
motivating. The best combination.
- Sushi baby - I will have to admit…. I have never had
sushi. I have always been afraid to try it because of the fact it is raw fish.
But, upon being pushed to try it…. try it I did. Oh My God…. it was so
good!! I am now sushi’s biggest fan.
- Bacon Explosion - At the IM Spring Break BBQ Party the
food continued to be just as impressive as any of the other meals that the
gentlemen of IM Spring Break provided for us. This meal had a BBQ
flare. But, the highlight of the meal had got to have been the Bacon
Explosion. This dish was thought up by Aaron Chronister and loved by everyone
I spoke to that night. I can’t even describe the taste to you…. just trust
me when I say it is like no other. And, you have got to experience it for
yourself. Yep, just another reason you should be kicking your own Ass for
not going to IM Spring Break.
- Appearing on Webmaster Radio - Webmaster Radio was at the
conference the entire time and many of the attendees of IM Spring Break appeared
on Webmaster Radio being interviewed. Even I was one of the lucky ones. It
was so much fun!! I felt like a superstar.
- Weight loss - Apparently the more you eat the more weight
you lose. It probably has something to do with the fact that you
can eat healthy even at a conference.
Okay, you still don’t believe me that this was the conference of the year???
Don’t take my word for it…. check out what Alysson Fergison had to say about
it. Her tweet totally sums up my entire post…
Just to let you know….. IM
Broadcast has other conferences coming up in the future. They mentioned
doing one in the next few months in California and another Scary SEO in October…
this time in Atlantic City. So, keep an eye
out for the next IM Broadcast Conference and sign up. Otherwise….
you are totally missing out on the best Marketing, SEO, and Social Media Conference
out there!!
Thank you to those who allowed me to use the wonderful photographs they took
during IM Spring Break. Most of the photos on this page came from either Janna
and Loren Baker at the IM
Spring Break Facebook Fan Page, Rafael
Montilla and Dana
Lookadoo’s Flickr Page. So, make sure to check out their photo pages so
you can check out the rest of the IM Spring Break pictures.
Posted in Conferences, Parties, SEO, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Web 2.0 | 11 Comments »
Friday, April 3rd, 2009 |
The first session of IM
Spring Break on Social Media day was "Creating Content for
Social Media – How to create the content and make it stick".
Kenny Hyder, Greg Finn and Brent Csutoras were on this sessions panel and what
a Rock’n job they did. It was an awesome session!!
First up was Ken of PositionTech.
He started with "Content is King. And, if your content sucks
it won’t go anywhere." And, moved on to explaining that it
takes more than just ideas. Your content needs to be compelling. To show this
Ken compared the two sites Watch
it Shred with Will
it Blend. Both of these sites have a very similar type of viral content….
Watch it Shred has videos of many different items that they put through a large
shredder to see if it will shred. Will it Blend puts many different types of
items into a blender to see if they will blend. They both started their YouTube
accounts around the same time, but Watch it Shred has 3,553 subscribers while
Will it Blend has 178,164 subscribers. Why such a huge difference? Because of
the question, "Will it Blend". And, this question
causes the viewer to wonder…. will it in fact blend? See, questions
need answers. Viewers watch to find out…. will it blend. The question is compelling.
Kenny offers some tips….
Tips to make your content sticky
- Think about what has done well.
- Be compelling - how can I intrigue my readers?
- Think about your audience
Next up was Brent Csutoras
Brent starts off talking about how Businesses often wonder how social media
pertains to them. What should I write about…. how is my product going to work
in social? How am I going to participate?
But, Brent assures us it doesn’t have to be the most extreme thing. Social
Media can apply to anything.
For a company to come up with things to write about he suggests….
Step back & Identify your:
- Social Goals - What do you ultimately want? Do you want
more links? More traffic, etc..
- Desired Keywords - what do you want to be known for? What
do you want people searching for when they find you?
- Related Keywords - loosely related terms.
Once that is done the Research begins.
Research social sites for what has worked for others or failed
for others, Check competitors and see what they are doing, and Check Search
Engines.
Some tips that Brent suggested were…
Tips
- Involve your staff - memos. Keep all informed of plans.
- Current events - watch them and use them. People love what’s going on right
now.
- Avoid "10" - Top 10 gets old fast.
- Don’t accept crap and don’t push crap either. Throw it in the trash.
Next up Gregg Finn of 10e20
who spoke about Tactics for Creating content.
Gregg starts talking about content and what makes for bad, good, great and
pants crappingly awesome content. Yes, I did say, "pants
crappingly awesome" content. You are dying to know what that means huh?
This is how Gregg defines it…
Pants Crappingly Awesome Content
- Content that stands out
- Readers Can’t stop reading it
- Takes serious man hours to create
- Extremely well written
- Great looking
- Immediately vote and IM friends about it.
Gregg then goes into some detail about the Do’s & Don’ts of Creating Content…
Do’s
- Be comprehensive. Make sure your content is inclusive.
- Be consumable - Make it so the reader doesn’t have to read
every word for them to understand it.
- Be Relevant - Make sure your message is on point, content
"fits" on your site.
- Be Niche - Quality targeted content is better than average
general content.
- Be Thorough - Make sure all spelling / grammar is on point.
Take the time to do it right.
- Be Supportive - Provide detailed media, link to sources
when necessary.
- Be Attractive - Take the time to use well designed images.
Don’t
- Don’t be overly linkbaity - Users can see when you are
trying too hard.
- Don’t be sloppy - Check with others on spelling & grammar.
- Don’t be greedy - Keeps ads minimal & make sure pop-ups
are non existent
So, as you can see the "Creating Content for Social Media" session
was a huge success. The speakers rocked. And, the information I got out of it
was amazing. Wait until you hear about the other sessions…. the rest of the
Social Media Sessions at IM Spring Break were just as good as this one!!
Posted in Conferences, SEM, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Tips and Tutorials, Web 2.0 | 1 Comment »
Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 |
It is Day 1 of IM Spring Break here in beautiful Deerfield Beach, Florida.
And, Dave Snyder,
Loren Baker
and Jordan Kasteler
have an entertaining and educational day planned out for us. Day 1 of IM Spring
Break is dedicated to Social Media…. which I am totally excited about.
First off was Chris Winfield’s Keynote. Chris is the President and Co-Founder
of 10e20. His Keynote was
absolutely the perfect way to open up Day 1 of IM Spring Break. Chris spoke
about Social Media in Business brilliantly…. I love how passionate and excited
it was to speak about it…. Totally motivating. It was awesome to hear him
speak.
Chris began his keynote by announcing that Social Media Marketing in Business
is way more than just Facebook and Twitter.
Social Media is one big conversation.
Now, this is when Chris gets into the true nitty gritty of Social Media Marketing
in Business. He begins talking about the question that many of us as Social
Media Marketers have heard asked hundreds of times….
Why would a Business Want to get involved in Social Media?
A business should get involved in Social Media for a number of reasons. Such
as,
- achieve recognition with a wider audience
- create/ improve reputation
- enhance credibility
- attract evangelists
- public relations
- link attraction
- traffic
Ok, so now we know why businesses should get involved in Social Media. But then
what? What types of Social Media should Businesses get involved in?
No worries… Chris covered that as well. And, in great detail.
Types of Social Media Businesses should get involved in
- Blogs
- MicroBlogs (Twitter)
- Social Networking
- Myspace
- Facebook - Facebook Ads & Facebook Pages
- Niche Social Networks
- Online Videos (YouTube)
- Forums & Groups
- Photo Sharing - (flickr & photobucket)
- Yahoo Answers
- Online Review
- Wiki’s
- Social News and Bookmarking Sites
Even after going into great detail on all of that Chris then went into making
sure people know who you / your business are.
Let people know where you are
- Have your social links in your email signature
- Include your social networks on mailing lists
- On the business web site make sure you have links to where people can locate
you online…. your other social networks / profiles.
Chris then goes into how to build up a network of people online.
How to build up a network of people
- Check their website - many websites list where you can find them on other
social networks.
- Go to digg & other social sites’ profile page and see if they list their
other social networks there
- on social sites there is usually a way to direct message them
- go to conferences and talk to them and find out how to connect with them.
Chris finishes his keynote by reminding us that, "Social Media is
opportunity for you!!!"
Posted in Conferences, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking | 3 Comments »
Thursday, March 5th, 2009 |
I’ve been kind of out of the loop for a few months. I’ve been dealing with
some family issues and lowered my social media work load a bit so I could
deal with the issues. Things are beginning to get easier and I am beginning
to be able to find some breathing room. Winter was difficult and long, but
happily Spring is on its way and I totally can’t wait for it to arrive.
Spring brings new hope for me and also brings warmer weather, beautiful flowers,
leaves on the trees, fresh air and the sounds of children playing outside. April
brings May flowers. But, there is something else that April will bring to the
Search and Internet Marketing community… A conference that is one of the most
talked about, anticipated and affordable conferences in Search. Not sure what
I’m referring to??? Well, let me spell it out for you….
I - Internet Marketing - Three
days of Internet Marketing focused education and networking in beautiful Florida.
Sounds good to me.
M - Money - This Search
Conference is only $370, but is packed with 3 days of awesome sessions and
great parties. At this cost it’s a steal!!
S - Social Media and SEO Days.
A day will be spent on each. And the Speakers on those days Rock. Speakers include
Kenny Hyder, Greg
Finn, Brent Csutoras,
Reg Saddler, Todd
Mailcoat, Neal Rodriguez,
Li Evans,
Jeff Quipp,
Brian Chappell,
Carolyn Shelby, Wil
Reynolds, Rhea Drysdale,
Steve
Plunkett and Rae Hoffman.
Day 1 Moderator - Jordan
Kasteler and Day 2 Moderator – Loren
Baker. I told you they rocked, didn’t I?!
P - Poker Tournament - There
is a Poker Tournament on the first night. You never know how that will turn
out, but you know it will be a good time!!
R - Rhea Drysdale - She will
be speaking during SEO day and I’m totally looking forward to this. Not just
because I’m hoping that she will appear as SheRa,
but also because I was lucky enough to meet Rhea a few months back and I think she’s wonderful, but have yet to hear her speak. So, I can’t wait for that.
I - Information - You can count
on learning plenty of new and useful information from the speakers who happen
to be some of the best-of-the-best in our industry.
N - Networking - Oh, Yeah!! This
conference will have tons of chances to network with the speakers, monitors
and other colleagues in our field. This conference is small, only a few hundred
attendees, that makes the chances you will be able to spend some time with the
speakers quite likely.
G - Goals - They have two main
Goals with their events. 1. be the best value in Internet Marketing
conferences and events; 2. to provide the best education and
networking mix available in an Internet Marketing conference. Sounds great to
me.
B - Beerlympics - Okay, I’ll
admit it….. I have no idea what this actually is, but I’m dying to find out.
I have no doubt that the Beerlympics will be one of the highlights of the entire
event.
R - Rae Hoffman - I have yet
to have heard Rae Hoffman speak nor have I been fortunate enough to meet her
at any other conference. But, I love her blog and I’m hoping to get to meet
her at this event. Not only is she speaking at this conference she is also doing
the Keynote on day 3.
E - Entire Event - Hello?! Have
you not been paying attention?? Check out what I mentioned thus far….. This
event ROCKS!!
A - Affiliate Marketing Day -
Affiliate Marketing Day is day 3 of this conference and it is sure to be a great
day of sessions!! Check out the speakers…. Michael
Streko, Aaron Chronister,
Rae Hoffman, Frank
Watson, Brandy Eddings,
David Szetela,
Chris Hart , Pamela
Lund and Tony Adam.
Moderator – David
Snyder
C - Community - Many of the attendees
are part of the online communities that you frequent on a daily basis. This
is your chance to network with these members face-to-face. And, meet other members
of the community that you have yet got a chance to get to know online. This
is a great way to build up your friends in the online community…. by meeting
them face-to-face.
K - Keynotes - 3 Amazing Keynotes
by impressive members of the Search and Internet Marketing Community.
I-M S-P-R-I-N-G B-R-E-A-K
So, if you haven’t figured it out already….. I am talking about the
IM Spring Break Conference coming up next Month. It takes place from
April 2-4 in beautiful Boca Raton, Florida. Like I mentioned earlier the cost
is so reasonable at $370 for the entire 3 day conference. And, if you use the
code SEO when booking the hotel it will only cost you $119.00 per night. Totally an awesome
price.
Check out the IM
Spring Break Sessions….. they sound wonderful, don’t they?!
So what are you waiting for? Go buy your tickets now for IM
Spring Break!! Hope to see you there.
Posted in Conferences, Parties, SEM, SEO, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Sphinn, Tips and Tutorials, Web 2.0 | 7 Comments »
Thursday, November 20th, 2008 |
Next month from December 8th thru December 12th is the Search
Engine Strategies Conference in Chicago, IL. SES Chicago is the only major
Search Marketing Conference and Expo in the Midwest and I’m fortunate enough
to not only be attending but to be doing a couple Pre-Show interviews. Today
I’m interviewing Erik Qualman.
Erik Qualman is a Search
Engine Watch Expert and the Global VP of Online Marketing for EF Education.
He’s also an acclaimed fiction
author. Erik
will be speaking on the Social Media Optimization panel along with Liana
Evans and Jonathan
Ashton. This is going to be an awesome session to attend if you are a search
marketer. Join me….. I’m attending.
Q: Why Should a business worry about Social Media Optimization?
A: If you knew what you do now
back ten years ago in the Search Engines (SMO) you would be a multi-millionaire
and ranked #1 for some popular keywords (mortgage rates, vacation packages,
etc.). A similar opportunity has arisen with Social Media. It is a new frontier
and there is some huge opportunity for those that move quickly and know what
they are doing. Users are already starting some of their searches directly in
Social Media (e.g. YouTube has taken over the #2 spot from Yahoo! in terms of
searches). Also, the traditional Search Engine result pages (SERPs) have many
social media placements listed high. For example if you perform a search for
“John Deere” the #3 organic listing in Google is for the John Deere
Wikipedia page.
Q: Many businesses don’t understand Social Media & therefore don’t
want to invest their time, energy & money into Social Media Marketing. What
would you say to these businesses to get them to understand the importance of
SMM and SMO to their Company?
A: Look at Barack Obama’s
successful use of social media to create his “brand” from the bottom
up. I believe his success speaks volumes to the power of Social Media. President
2.0
Q: If you were only able to offer one tip regarding Social Media Optimization….
what would it be?
A: A business that tries and
fails will be much better off than a company that does nothing.
Q: Are there any Social Media Optimization techniques that you feel
businesses should avoid?
A: Business should avoid trying
to make everything perfect before launch. The key is to get something out there
and then adjust based on the social graph’s response. Also, it’s
important for companies to not try and be on every network at once. Select the
social media placement that has the highest potential for success and learn
and build from there. It’s okay if you are only on MySpace and not Facebook,
or vice versa.
Q: How can a business measure whether their Social Media Optimization
techniques are working….. whether it is the SMO that is bringing more business/sales?
A: The best approach is to take
a new or limited marketing supported product and show success (i.e., you know
the success came from SMO as that is all you were running). There are also many
free and robust tracking tools out there that can show where the volume is coming
from. For example I know that some business I’ve spoke with now receive
20% of their organic traffic from Facebook.
This is just a tiny taste of what you would be getting if you attend the Social
Media Optimization session at SES Chicago. Find out more information on this
session and the other sessions at SES
Chicago by checking out their detailed website.
Posted in Conferences, Interviews, Social Media, Social Media Marketing | 3 Comments »
Sunday, October 12th, 2008 |
Last
October I attended the IM Charity Party the night before SMX East was to
begin. I had to go home the very next morning without attending SMX. I was determined
after meeting all of those wonderful people last year that I would attend the
conference in 2008. However, when the time came I just didn’t have the extra money for the conference itself. With my 12 year old getting braces this year, The Westin costing $350 a night,
and with me wanting to attend more conferences this year…. I just couldn’t pull the cost of the entire conference. I instead decided to just pay for the Networking Pass, but was worried that I would get as much from it as I was spending to go to NYC. I’m writing to say, It is totally worth every penny!!!
Things I Learned from getting the SMX Networking Pass
- Amazing breed of people, almost super hero like, that have
this never ending energy and stomachs for endless drinking…. yet they are
some of the most professional people I have ever met.
- What a supportive Industry!! If one
of the members of this wonderful industry falls down they are there to help
pick them up. And, even give
them a big freakin vase of water if needed.
Shana Albert, Brent D. Payne and Brandy Wood
- No competition (unless you are talking about drinking,
taxi rides or the way you smell)- Even though there might be competition
between the members of the marketing community for jobs or whatever…. you
don’t sense that here.
- Unbelievable Humor - These people are not only professional,
but some of the funniest
people
I have ever met in my
life. I laughed constantly through my entire time in New York City.
- Intimate face-to-face chats. These people are beautiful….
seriously, they are beautiful inside and out. I know, very cliche. But, so
true. I had some nice
face-to-face chats with amazing people that I probably never would have
had online. I’m a total online chick, but close
face-to-face talks rock!!
- There are prizes to be had. I won a door prize at the IM
Charity Party. And, its a good one…. I won a One
Year Membership to SEOmoz.
I am totally stoked about that. And, even more important than that is the
fact that they raised a bunch of money for an awesome cause….. The
Ronald McDonald House. I feel awesome about that!!
- Being able to hang out at night with some of the smartest in Marketing
and purchase awesome pizza for a $1.00 in a Pizzeria / Convenient store. Seriously,
this is what this place was. They made the pizza right out in the open next
to where they sell tampons, deodorant and washer fluid…. only in New York
City.
Shana Albert, Martin Bowling, Eric Lander and Brandy Wood
- Men in Search really are very handsome….. and smell
good too!!
- Picked up some pretty cool swag at Javits Conference Center….
Enough to make my kids very happy when I returned home. Which is really cool
because I promised them I would buy them stuff in New York City, but I was
way too busy
being selfish networking to buy them cool stuff. I did find a
really strange kiosk in the Port Authority on my way home for some odd “I heart
New York” goodies.
- Within 24 hours of arriving home I had my first new client.
This totally has everything to do with me Networking at SMX East. Now, my
Networking Pass is completely paid for and I could totally afford to attend
the next conference…. the entire all-access pass this time.
I’m not saying that the SMX East Networking Pass replaced purchasing the entire
SMX East All-Access Pass…. it doesn’t. As a matter of fact, there are so many
sessions that I would have loved to attend. So much I could have learned if
I was able to attend the sessions. But, at this time it just wasn’t possible
for me. But, the networking portion of SMX was a total success.
Posted in Conferences, Link Love | 17 Comments »
