Like the TV commercials say, “Free is better.” The only problem with the Internet is that it’s not always free, and sometimes the price can be steeper than you’d ever want to pay.

That’s the warning offered from Todd Drowlette, Chairman of classified listing site Move That Block (www.movethatblock.com). Drowlette said that his research into the consumer-to-consumer advertising space on the Internet revealed a wide variety of practices that exist for the sole purpose of deceiving the consumer.

“We all tend to have faith in the ‘truth in advertising’ laws protecting us from bait and switch scams,” Drowlette said. “The problem is that the Internet is so saturated with bait and switch sites, the government would never have enough resources to prosecute them all. So, it’s really up to consumers to beware and be aware of the kinds of sites that are out to get their money, get their email addresses or just flat out rip them off.”

His tips include:

• Free or Premium – Before signing up with a listing site, surf it carefully to ensure that all their user listings are free. It’s common for them to charge companies for display ads and banner, but that’s only one of their revenue models. Many sites advertise free user listings, but in reality, only the first one is free and only after you sign up for a paid membership. Make sure you understand exactly what you will be getting for free before you sign up.

• Credit Card for ID Purposes – Some sites will ask for your credit card information to determine that you are of legal age to place an ad. Don’t believe it. If someone wants your credit card information, it’s because they want your money, not your ID. In some cases, you’ll find an unauthorized charge on your card, but because you didn’t read the fine print when you signed up, it’s impossible to get the charge reversed.

• The Fine Print – When you register on a classifieds or pay-to-use site, don’t just click through all the registration procedures. Each click constitutes an agreement with the site, so read the Terms of Service and Privacy Policies carefully. This is not just fine print. These documents spell out your legal rights, and the site you’re visiting is counting on the fact you won’t read them. In addition, the privacy policy spells out whether they will sell your email address to spammers once you sign up. Sure, the ads are free, but you’re actually paying with your email address and personal information, which may be sold to spammers and other promotional companies who will inundate you with junk mail.

• Free to Post – Sure, it might be free to post, but that may be all you can do. Many sites use that as the come-on, and then advise you that only premium (paid) members can see your listing, or that you cannot get responses until you pay for a premium membership yourself. Make sure everything is free before you post. After all, what’s the point of posting if you can’t communicate with anyone who sees it?

About Todd Drowlette

Todd Drowlette began his entrepreneurial career at age 11 with a morning paper route in the Canadian border town of Malone, New York.  In 2003, he went on to graduate from Siena College with high honors before becoming a member of Siena College’s Associate Board of Trustees. In 2010, Todd authored the book “Everything I Needed to Know About Real Estate, I Learned on my Paper Route.”  He has spent the last four years running IKON Realty Group, LLC, one of the country’s premier boutique commercial real estate firms, specializing in retail real estate.  Todd’s firm has represented some of the nation’s largest property owners and tenants. It was from this career that the idea emerged to create the world’s first premium quality, free-to-post and search site, MoveThatBlock.com.

Remember the good old days? All you had to worry about was whether or not your website looked great on a 17” monitor and worked in Internet Explorer and Firefox, and if somebody said they couldn’t get your site to load just right in Safari, you asked “what the heck is that?!?” And then—just when things had settled down a bit—came the mobile web … and that huge collective groan you heard was the sound of a million digital content designers saying “Let me get this straight … you seriously want me to make this work on a three-inch screen?”

So why do those three-inch screens even matter? Because right now, it’s estimated that more than 40% of US consumers use smartphones, with the number growing rapidly as mobile hardware and software functionality becomes more and more sophisticated and enticing. You probably know somebody (or more likely several somebodies) who can hardly wait to get their hands on the new iPhone 4; and a friend of mine recently joked that while “Wanna see my Droid?” has always been a hot pickup line among Star Wars nerds, it’s now a perfectly mainstream question asked by people who don’t even adhere to the Jedi Code.

Here in the US, iPhones, Androids, and Blackberries are leading the pack when it comes to mobile data use, in that order; and access to mobile data is projected to grow by 40% over the next five years. So if those numbers matter enough to you to begin thinking about reaching your audience via their smartphones, here are a few tips and considerations to keep in mind:

• Go small or go home. While it’s possible for mobile users to access your “regular” website on a smartphone, it’s also possible for their heads to explode from the eyestrain alone, not to mention the frustration of sliding the page around to get little glimpses of what you have to say. If you’re serious about delivering content to mobile users, create a mobile-optimized site.

• Think on your feet. The information needs of a user on the go aren’t the same as one at a desk. They want quick access to only the information they need most; so repurpose your existing web content for the mobile web by zeroing in on the portion of your product, service, and message that are most important to a user on the move.

• WWWWH. You’re limited by both space and time thanks to the size of the screen and the user’s need for immediate info; so keep it simple. Who (you are), What (you do), When (you’re open), Where (to find you), and How (to contact you). Simply covering those five bases will go a long way toward making your mobile website a powerful marketing tool.

The world of mobile content is growing and changing like crazy, and the factors that should be considered in reaching your mobile audience are far too many to cover in one blog post alone. If you want to know how to make the most of the tremendous opportunity that mobile marketing represents, join us for “What’s All The Buzz About Mobile Marketing” presented by Tim Grace on September 17th at our next Social Media Optimization Summits event. In this four-hour workshop, you’ll see and hear how to use mobile marketing to attract new customers and build the loyalty of your existing ones, including: integrating mobile marketing into your existing campaigns and strategies; how to optimize your existing web presence for mobile devices; when native apps are needed (iPhone, Droid, etc.) and what’s involved in building these tools; leveraging the power of texting and location-based services; and put your new skills and knowledge to work as you join in creating a mobile-optimized site and an iPhone app while the workshop is underway!

Optimization Summits founder, Tami Siewruk, speaks with (from left to right) Duncan Alney, Mark Juleen, Christopher Penn, Tami Siewruk, Mack Collier, Geno Church, Erica Campbell, Jason Falls and Jay Ehret about trending topics in social media.

Where do you think Social Media is going? We look forward to hearing your views!

Optimization Summits founder, Tami Siewruk, speaks with (from left to right) Duncan Alney, Mark Juleen, Christopher Penn, Tami Siewruk, Mack Collier, Geno Church, Erica Campbell, Jason Falls and Jay Ehret about trending topics in social media.

Thank you for stopping by!  We would enjoy hearing where  you think social media will be in the future so please feel free to leave us a comment.

Follow our Workshop Leaders on Twitter

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Email Marketing and Customer Retention by Christopher Penn Blue Sky Factory

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Firebelly Marketing’s Duncan Alney had the opportunity to speak with John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing, about his new book The Referral Engine while both were at #optsum Video

Think Like A Rockstar: How to Build Fans and Community Around Your Social Media Efforts! Slideshare Presented by Mack Collier

Getting Out of the Social Media Bubble by Mack Collier

Sunday Night Confessions. Feeding My Inner Cookie Monster By Geno Church Brains On Fire

Blog Post by MarketingInProgress.com A Recap In Progress

Geno Church on Movements By Brett from MarketingInProgress.com

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Beyond Facebook Part 1 By Mark Juleen, Brent Williams and Charity Hisle

Beyond Facebook Part 2 – Optimization Summit By Mark Juleen, Brent Williams and Charity

Achieving Measurable Results with Advanced Business Blogging Slideshare from Hubspot’s Mark Roberge

From 30lines Mike Whaling Here’s the video about Facebook he shared with the audience at My Mom’s on

Optimization Summit Resources by Jay

OptimizationSummits Recap: What Inspires You? By Jonathan Saar

Optsum recap Multifamily 5 by 5 video part 1 with Heather Blume

Twitter Stream for #optsum

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The Poken from #optsum Video by Mark Juleen

Optsum recap Multifamily 5 by 5 video part 2 with Heather Blume

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Dear Colleagues,

This is just a brief note to help you prepare for next week’s Optimization Summit event in Dallas!

• The event is being held at the Sheraton, Dallas; physical address 400 North Olive Street, Dallas, TX 75201. Should you need to contact the hotel directly, please call toll free: 1-866-716-8134.  Hotel, airport, and ground transportation information is available at http://optimizationsummits.com/?page_id=50.
• The event begins with a Meet & Greet Tweet Up, sponsored by For Rent Media Solutions, at the Sheraton’s Draft Media Sports Bar on the lobby level of the hotel from 6:00-8:00 pm on Monday, March 22.  Stop at the Multifamilypro staff table on your way in to receive your nametag and agenda booklet. If you miss the Meet & Greet, we’ll continue check-in at 7:00 am on Tuesday morning in the Houston Preconvene area located outside of Houston Ballrooms B & C on the 3^rd floor of the Sheraton Conference Center.
• The complete event agenda is available at http://optimizationsummits.com/?page_id=553.
• The Workshops on Tuesday and Wednesday are hands-on, so bring your laptop!  Electrical outlets will be available, but make sure your battery is fully charged just in case you’re accidentally unplugged.  Wireless internet access will be available in all Workshop rooms free of charge.
• General attendee prerequisites are listed at http://optimizationsummits.com/?page_id=996.
• If you plan to attend Erica Campbell’s workshop on Video & Photo Sharing for Optimal Growth & Brand Exposure on Wednesday, visit http://optimizationsummits.com/?page_id=281 now to review course prerequisites.
• If you’re attending Wednesday’s Beyond Facebook: Marketing On Other Social Networks workshops led by Mark Juleen, Charity Hisle, and Brent Williams, please take a moment to review the course prerequisites at http://optimizationsummits.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Prerequisites-for-Beyond-Facebook.pdf.

• Building An Awesome Brand!  Here’s a little prep work: Designing Brand Identity

• Please be careful to keep all your gadgets with you throughout the event or label them so we can easily reunite you with anything that gets lost, left behind, or might be easily confused with somebody else’s (especially laptop power cords).

Before Next Week:

• Take a moment to visit your registration file for the event at http://www..regonline.com/checkin.asp?eventid=804031# (click on “Already Registered” to access your file) and make certain all of your contact information is correct. This info will be used to create the event Networking Directory that all attendees will receive so that you can maintain the valuable connections you’ll make next week!
• You should already be following us on Twitter @Time2Optimize, but you can now also add our attendee-only twitter channel which we’ll begin using at the event, @optsumattendees The event hashtag is #optsum.  You can find us on Facebook at Optimization Summits, too!

• If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to reply here or call us at 727-784-9469!

We’ll see you there!

Tami & Team Multifamilypro

• As part of your Optimization Summits registration, you’re going to receive a Poken! Visit http://www.poken.com/web/guest/go

before the event to open your free Poken account and enter your contact info so you’ll be ready to link your Poken to the account as soon as you receive it, and start sharing contact info with other attendees!

By V.Scott Ellis
Every year we start off with good intentions, plans and promises for the new year. Websites are a lot of work and are constantly evolving and changing. This year try taking it one step at a time and building throughout the year. Not only will you keep those promises, you might find that planned incremental change will have an exponential effect on the growth of your website. You might even exceed your own expectations.

Try these 10. Take them in any order you want, but they are listed in an order indented to build upon previous steps. Do one a month or one a week, whatever you can realistically manage but don’t try to do one a day. Some of these will take time and you’ll want to give them the time they need to work so you can determine efficacy.

I’m not going to promise you that these will drive your traffic from 10 to 1000+ visitors per-day, but they will enable you to go after that kind of growth and more importantly, capitalize on it when you get there.

1. Migrate to a Content Management System

If you aren’t already on a Content Management System (CMS) then this should definitely be your first step. If you’re not a coder then you’ll need to hire someone to help you but once you get it set up and designed they way you want you will be able to manage the content yourself and even change basic functional elements. Rather than having to call someone every-time you want or need to update your site, you’ll be able to do it yourself. It will be faster, easier and won’t cost you every-time you make a change.

If you are not sure where to begin I recommend WordPress for the CMS and contacting a professional to get you going.

If you are already on a CMS, WordPress or otherwise, make sure your CMS is running the latest version and that any plug-ins you use are up-to-date. If you are not happy with your CMS for whatever reason this is also a great time to either consider migrating to something else or contacting a professional to see what can be done about the issues you have.

2. Map Our Your Content

Most websites, whether we want to admit it or not, have been put together without much planning. But even for the small or medium business an effective content plan will make building, designing (or redesigning) and executing a much easier process. It will also help you stay on track and give your website a cohesive consistent message. By considering all of your content options (and there are more than you think) and figuring out how they fit together you will save yourself a lot of headache and do you visitors a favor. If you aren’t sure what content mapping looks like or how it works, see my introductory video tutorial on building the ultimate website content map. http://www.vsellis.com/qx1

3. Refresh Your Design

There may not be anything wrong with your current design but web sites do tend to look and feel out of date after a couple of years. Often, even a basic refresh or few tweaks will bring it up-to-date. If you haven’t updated your site in the last 1 – 2 years now would be a good time to touch it up or, if appropriate, consider a total overhaul. You may find that if you did the content mapping exercise (#2) that a big overhaul will give you many more options and help you leverage your marketing efforts better.

If you really don’t need to make any changes to your site aesthetically or have done so recently this is a good time to test things like validating your HTML, CSS and cross-browser compatibility.

4. Implement The Basics of Search Engine Optimization

You’ve been hearing a lot about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) over the last couple of years. The dirty little secret of SEO is that most of the mechanics aren’t really all that difficult but many sites still don’t take advantage of them making it that much more challenging for people who are looking for you (or your services or content) to find you. If you aren’t on a CMS based site (See #1) then this will take much more manual effort (one of the many reasons to move to a CMS). Once on a CMS platform your task should be easier. That said not all CMS’s are created equal and when it comes to out of the box SEO, WordPress is the clear choice. Regardless of what CMS you use make sure you have managed at least the following basic SEO mechanics:

1. Meta Page Titles

2. Logical Articles Titles

3. Good Use of H1 Tags

4. Meta-Descriptions

5. Friendly URL’s

5. Add One Marketing Element To Your Site

Have you thought about starting an email list/newsletter? What about a landing page for a product or service? Perhaps an auto-responder series that teaches something? Whatever method you have considered to help capture leads, make sales or build a mailing list, take the first step and choose one. Some of them may even work together so you can kill two birds with one stone like creating an auto-responder sequence that is delivered via a mailing system. This will not only help establish your expertise but build your mailing list at the same time.

6. Video

By now we all have a pretty good idea of the power of online video. You’ve almost certainly thought about adding video to your stie but may not have because the process of doing so probably felt daunting or you didn’t really want to be on camera or whatever. The good news is it has never been easier to create your own video. Whether you choose to do it yourself or hire someone (you’ll need a budget but it doesn’t have to break the bank). Easier still, if you aren’t ready to bite off your own video production or make your first appearance on camera, you can easily embed other videos on your site but looking for quality, relevant content on places like YouTube, Vimeo, WordPress.TV, Viddler or Blip.TV (to name a few). Start using video sooner than later, it’s still early and the use of video is going to do nothing but grow.

7. Start Blogging & Write A Piller Post

For now I’m going to assume that you are already blogging. If not it’s time to get started. Some CMS’s will allow you to blog within them so it is fully integrated into your site. If you are doing this professionally (as a part of your business, freelance work …) I don’t recommend using a hosted blogging service. You want to get your content on your domain. WordPress excels at this but other CMS’s allow for it as well. Either way, get blogging. But once you start, commit to it and do it regularly and you’ll reap the benefits.

If you are already blogging then this is the year you write your first piller post. Most blogs are composed of a lot of posts, some stronger than others. It’s these “pillar” posts that really keep people coming back and build your readership. How do you create a “pillar” post? It’s often a post that gives people some thoughtful, creative and well presented way to do something, overcome a hurdle or solve a problem. My recommendation is to give away some “secret”. Is there some way you do something that works really well? Will this make others lives easier? Have few if any other bloggers talked about it? I’m not suggesting that you give away all of your trade secrete or even give one away completely but give them something that is really juicy and meaningful and people will respond. If you want site visitors, quality content rules the day.

8. Burn Your Feed

Essentially this means driving your RSS feed through Feedburner. There are several good reasons to “burn” your feed:

1. If your feed URL needs to change for any reason it will be transparent to your feed subscribers

2. It allows people to subscribe and automatically get updates to your site when you post

3. You’ll get to see the analytics of your feed subscribers

9. Create a Landing Page and Split Test

Landing pages can be annoying (internet marketing for the sake of internet marketing anyone?) but when used well they can be very effective marketing and lead generating tools. Ideally your landing page is devoid of any that that distracts from the one thing you want it to accomplish (sell something, generate a lead, build your mailing list, …). Once you have created a landing page it is important to test the page to see what works and how it can be improved. The easiest method is basic A/B Split Testing in which you essentially monitor the effectiveness of your page, then change one thing and see if the effectiveness improves, gets worse or is unchanged. If it gets better then you use that version and make another change, and so on…. trying to constantly improve the performance (conversion) of that landing page. Start this sooner than later any by mid-late 2010 you could have a very refined landing page (or set of them) doing any number of things for you. But build this on your CMS (#1) in conjunction with the basics of SEO implemented (#3), your first true online marketing initiative in place (#4) and consider using attention getting video (#5). Do you see where this is going!

10. Integrate You Social Media Channels

Last but not least get your social media channels integrated into your site, whatever those channels may be that are most appropriate for your business. Social media isn’t going anywhere and continues to represent a huge opportunity, especially for small and medium businesses to connect with people. Your website is the foundation of your online presence but from there you can reach out through those other channels uncovering new opportunities and improving your overall business.

There are likely a million and one things you could do with your site but start with these 10. Pace yourself as you go through them to make sure you do them well and you’ll be way ahead going into 2011 and more well prepared to capitalize on business opportunities.

Join Scott when he presents WordPress 101…Build a website in a day!
WordPress is one of the most popular, flexible, and easy-to-use open source applications available for building dynamic websites and blogs. This interactive, hands-on session will teach you to use WordPress to optimize your web presence by actually creating a website or blog from setting up your domain; choosing a host; selecting a format template; customizing your design; working with “widgets”; maximum search engine optimization (SEO); and more.

V. Scott Ellis
Scott Ellis has been on the cutting edge of web technology since 1997 building websites, e-commerce engines and on-line marketing strategies for corporations and clients such as CSC, Vignette, IMB, Verizon and others. After a 2 1/2 year stint in Management Consulting with Risk Management Firm Protiviti, Scott co-founded BlackBox Technologies with partners Martin Wind and Victoria Wind who had been colleagues for the past 10 years. With a focus on Web 2.0 technologies and websites, BlackBox was established to provide technology guidance to all sizes of companies from start-up’s to large corporations interested in taking advantage of leading edge web technology.

With a background in web content management and design, Scott’s expertise has enabled him to build a practice around a philosophy of helping clients build technology into their business while keeping their business goals and ROI at the forefront rather than putting the technology first.

Scott holds a Bachelors in Psychology from Purdue University and currently resides in Dallas, TX.

You can find him on the web at:
BlackBox-Tech.com
VSEllis.com
Twitter: @vsellis
Facebok: http://www.facebook.com/vsellis
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/vsellis
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vsellis
scott.ellis@blackbox-tech.com

By Pam Lontos

NOTE: Pam Lontos is president of PR/PR, a public relations firm that works with speakers, authors and experts. She is the author of “I See Your Name Everywhere” and is a former vice president for Disney’s Shamrock Broadcasting.

If you haven’t gotten on the Social Media Marketing (SMM) bandwagon yet because you think it’s just a fad with no real bottom line benefit, think again. One professional speaker has been using SMM for less than six months and has received two book contracts with mainstream publishers, has contracted four full-fee speaking engagements, has secured a keynote for a large international convention, has been contracted for a monthly column in a large distribution magazine, has received a consulting deal in a new niche market, and has contracted with two foreign governments for consulting services … all because of social media marketing.

“But that’s just a fluke,” you may say. Not so … the fact is for those who do SMM regularly, these kind of results are more common than you’d think!

If you’re ready to receive some serious benefits from your SMM campaign, adhere to the following dos and don’ts.

·Don’t be unpredictable.
You want people to know that they’re going to get a message from you every Monday, Wednesday and Friday (or whatever days you decide). So pick a distribution schedule and stick with it. If necessary, put reminders in your calendar so you remember to post your microblogs on those days.

·Don’t abandon your traditional PR.
Don’t assume that you can abandon everything outside of the social media marketing realm once you start having some success. SMM is just one part of the funnel that brings people to your product funnel. It’s a useful and cheap part, but you also need the credibility and marketing from other traditional publicity tools, such as print publicity, radio interviews and television appearances.  In addition, some online reputation sites will give you a lower ranking if you don’t have anything in the “real world.” Just remember, you still need media exposure and a physical presence, in addition to your online presence. Acclaimed financial expert Suze Orman is at the top of her game because you see her name everywhere – she’s interviewed in magazines and newspapers, is seen on TV and heard over the radio. That’s why so many of us rely on her advice; she is seen as the financial expert because she is all over the media. So, be sure to keep getting publicity in print and other traditional media, in addition to generating attention with SMM.

·Don’t be negative.
Unless your image or brand has something to do with complaining, don’t do it. Only complain if complaining is what you’re known for. It’s better to give positive reinforcement in your microblogs because people are bombarded with negative messages every day. You don’t want your message to be lost among the other negative ones. You want to be the one positive thing in people’s day. You want them to look forward to the next time they get your message.

·Do follow the right format for your microblogs.
Be sure that your micro-blogs include helpful advice, insightful tips or unique trends that your followers will learn from; this kind of information will grab their attention and make them want more. Each microblog should be 140 characters, including punctuation and spacing, in addition to your Web site link at the end. The more helpful and unique your messages are, the more interest you will generate, thus bringing more people back to your site.

·Do “funnel” your SMM contacts to your Web site.
The goal of your microblogs is not only to reach your target audience and help them solve their problems, but also to drive them back to your Web site to sell your products or services. That’s why it’s so important to include your Web site at the end of your microblog message. So, when your readers want more information or want to buy your products and services, they can go directly to the source: you!

·Do have a place to collect all your postings.
Anytime you do a post on Twitter, Facebook or any of the other SMM sites, you’re really creating a microblog. You need a place where your microblogs collect. Twitter provides that service, but if you use theirs you’re giving them all the traffic. Rather, have your microblogs collect on your own blog.
Then you can have your long posts there, as well as your shorter microblogs.

·Do devote enough time to your SMM campaign.
Individuals who are successful with SMM spend an average of five to seven hours per week developing and working within their network. If you can write your microblogs quickly you won’t add too much time.  Remember, it’s not always about the number of contacts you collect, but rather having the “right” contacts and reaching your target audience.

·Do make sure your profile is 100 percent complete.
You won’t get ranked in the social media searches unless your profile is 100 percent complete. Realize that a photo for your profile accounts for 20-40 percent of your ranking, so if you don’t include a picture, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Therefore, the biggest profile factor after your name and e-mail address is your photo. And by the way, logos don’t count as a photo, even if your logo includes a picture of a face. The bottom line is if you want your message to spread through the Internet, make sure your profile is complete.

Get Famous with SMM
Social Media Marketing is a vital addition to any PR campaign. When you follow these simple dos and don’ts, you’ll get people following your every move, which will lead to more customers and higher sales – the exact payoff every business needs.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pam Lontos is president of PR/PR, a public relations firm that works with speakers, authors and experts. She is the author of “I See Your Name Everywhere” and is a former vice president for Disney’s Shamrock Broadcasting. PR/PR has placed clients in publications such as USA Today, Entrepreneur, Time, Reader’s Digest, and Cosmopolitan. PR/PR works with established speakers, as well as those just launching their careers. For a free consultation, e-mail Pam@prpr.net or call 407-299-6128. To receive free publicity tips, go to www.PRPR.net and register for the monthly e-newsletter, PR/PR Pulse!

Jason Falls Social Media Explorer is the online home and blog of Social Media Explorer LLC, which is my consulting company. I’ve been called all sorts of things by folks around the social media, public relations, marketing and communications industries. I shy away from self-aggrandizement, but you’ll find some quotes about me from others below.

I see myself as a social media educator, a social media strategist and a public relations professional. I help companies understand the social web and show them how engaging consumers online can help their business. I’m also a writer, both of blogs and other materials, and try to spend much of my spare time doing that.

If I have a unique perspective it would be the result of having lead a national advertising agency’s Interactive and social media efforts, working with Fortune 100 brands as a social media strategist and serving as an independent consultant in the social media industry. I have advised major, regional and niche brands including Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark and Knob Creek bourbons, NASCAR driver Robby Gordon, Humana, Purely Products, SHPS, Sun Tan City, Mighty Dog, Louisville Slugger, Bionic Gloves, The National Center for Family Literacy and WeSeed.com.

My work has resulted in social media executions deemed “innovative” and industry firsts, particularly in the spirits industry. One project I was involved in won a 2009 Sammy Award, the main honors given to work in social media. Paul Gillin, Tamar Weinberg and Kyle Lacy have written about my work in books, which is really flattering.

Perhaps the most fun I have is speaking and conducting seminars for conferences, groups and even private corporate events. I’ve spoken in three countries and on two continents, unless you count my late night soliloquies at the hotel bar in Cancun on vacation.

SocialMediaExplorer.com, the blog, gets a fair amount of recognition, of which I’m very grateful. The most notable of which is probably listing in the top 20 or so (it changes daily sometimes) of the Advertising Age Power 150 Blogs. For a few weeks in 2009, I was actually ranked No. 1. (Not sure why.)

I maintain a handful of professional affiliations and memberships, including serving as president and co-founder of the Social Media Club Louisville. I am also a member of the Public Relations Society of America, International Association of Business Communicators and Greater Louisville Inc., (the Louisville Chamber of Commerce).

Giovanni Gallucci

A recovering .NET programmer turned tech evangelist who provides strategy for social media, brand development, and Online PR for forward-thinking companies and individuals. Giovanni designed, developed and deployed online communities when MySpace was no one’s space, has used a Mac since before the “i” anything, and created vertical search engines when Larry and Sergey (Google’s co-founders) were still undergrads.
Look for Giovanni’s upcoming book entitled “The Social Media Operator’s Manual” and “Facebook: An Hour A Day”published in October 2009. The nexus of Giovanni’s online universe can be found at gallucci.net. Giovanni is a keynote speaker who presents at national events like ad:tech, FlashForward, Macworld, and Search Engine Watch Live! and has been covered in a variety of media outlets including AdAge, AdWeek, The Dallas Morning News, Fox Business News, The Houston Chronicle, Inc. Magazine, InfoWorld, NBC, The New York Times, The London Telegraph, USA Today, and Wired Magazine among others.
Giovanni provides social media marketing services through Simply Interactive and other top-tier interactive agencies and public relations firms.

Best Practices: Content, Conversation, and Community: Building the Social Media Mullet ,Workshop Leader Duncan Alney, President, Firebelly Marketing

This is an intermediate to advanced session about building sticky content that engages or mobilizes people, starting conversations and achieving conversation momentum, and building community with the goal of developing relationships and deep trust. You’ll see real case studies from big and small companies, as well some valuable best practices. The marketing landscape is changing dramatically, and new social platforms are changing the way customers and businesses interact, communicate, and influence each other. Create a meaningful connection with your online audience by not only building a solid, valuable fact base, but also understanding the emotional, intellectual, and behavioral insights and motivations behind your audiences’ buying decisions. You’ll walk away with the know-how to use text, images, video, contests, and more to meet and exceed the informational expectations, demands, and desires of your online audience; employ a growth strategy that will increase your audience over time; engage friends, fans, and followers in an ongoing conversation; and keep them coming back for more!

Duncan Alney, President, Firebelly Marketing

Duncan Alney is focused on configuring and integrating social media marketing strategies to help companies build emotional relationships and build value for both brands and their audiences. His clients include QDoba Mexican Grill, United Way, American Cancer Society, YATS, and J.C. Hart – and he works with his team to develop and measure conversations, content and community.

Duncan has worked in the brand communications field for 17 years, and holds degrees from Hanover College, USA and St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta, India. He’s an award winning short film maker and a voracious writer, blogging for Digitalia, a social media marketing blog, and publishing Passionati, an online magazine on music, film, travel, food, and life. Duncan is also an avid traveler, chaser of food experiences, photographer and film maker. He’s completed 5 marathons and several triathalons.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.  You launched a new blog or maybe you created a Facebook Fan Page, thinking that you’d tap into these amazing social media tools as a way to connect with your customers and create raving fans and passionate evangelists for your business.  Now it’s 4 months later and you have 12 fans on your Facebook page, and virtual tumbleweeds taunt you as your blog struggles to reach 10 visitors a day.

What happened?

Many companies find themselves in this exact situation, and this workshop will show you how to think like a rockstar. Rockstars don’t have customers, they have fans.  And this doesn’t happen by accident, rockstars have a very special connection with their customers that makes them become raving fans for them and their products.  Some companies are finding that they can use social media in many of these same ways to build vibrant online communities that are passionate about them.

In the “Think Like a Rockstar; How to Build Fans and Community Around Your Social Media Efforts” workshop, you will learn:
·    The four key things that Rockstars do to create fans for their work and how you can do the same with your social media efforts
·    The keys to building a vibrant community around your social media efforts
·    The importance of ‘fishing where the fish are’ when you’re trying to build awareness
·    How to create content that taps into the ‘Bigger Idea’ that’s more relevant and exciting to your customers

Mack Collier is a social media consultant, trainer and speaker that specializes in helping companies use social media to better connect with their customers. He has been actively immersed in social media since 2005, and in that time, has helped businesses of all shapes and sizes better connect with their customers via these amazing tools and sites. While being passionate about the social media space, what truly excites Mack is the human connections that can result from the proper use of these social tools. His motto is “Don’t focus on the tools, focus on the connections that the tools help facilitate.” His goal is to help his clients create those connections with their customers, and nurture them into relationships that help grow their bottom line.

His social media ‘homebase’ is The Viral Garden, which in 3 years time Mack has grown into an influential marketing/social media blog with a monthly readership of over 200,000. He is also a frequent contributor to the website Marketing Profs, as well as the marketing blog Daily Fix, and small business blog Search Engine Guide. His thoughts and writings have been referenced in several mainstream publications and websites, including The Washington Post, MSNBC.com, Ad Age, CNET, and The Boston Globe.

Mack is also a requested speaker and has presented at some of the top social media conferences and events, including South By Southwest Interactive, Marketing Profs Digital Marketing Mixer, and Small Business Marketing Unleashed. He is also passionate about teaching companies how to use social media sites and tools more effectively, and offers training and seminars privately to companies, in addition to his public speaking schedule.

Mack wrote this bio. The third-person thingie is just for fun.  If you need to reach him/me, please email me.

Jason Falls Social Media Explorer is the online home and blog of Social Media Explorer LLC, which is my consulting company. I’ve been called all sorts of things by folks around the social media, public relations, marketing and communications industries. I shy away from self-aggrandizement, but you’ll find some quotes about me from others below.

I see myself as a social media educator, a social media strategist and a public relations professional. I help companies understand the social web and show them how engaging consumers online can help their business. I’m also a writer, both of blogs and other materials, and try to spend much of my spare time doing that.

If I have a unique perspective it would be the result of having lead a national advertising agency’s Interactive and social media efforts, working with Fortune 100 brands as a social media strategist and serving as an independent consultant in the social media industry. I have advised major, regional and niche brands including Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark and Knob Creek bourbons, NASCAR driver Robby Gordon, Humana, Purely Products, SHPS, Sun Tan City, Mighty Dog, Louisville Slugger, Bionic Gloves, The National Center for Family Literacy and WeSeed.com.

My work has resulted in social media executions deemed “innovative” and industry firsts, particularly in the spirits industry. One project I was involved in won a 2009 Sammy Award, the main honors given to work in social media. Paul Gillin, Tamar Weinberg and Kyle Lacy have written about my work in books, which is really flattering.

Perhaps the most fun I have is speaking and conducting seminars for conferences, groups and even private corporate events. I’ve spoken in three countries and on two continents, unless you count my late night soliloquies at the hotel bar in Cancun on vacation.

SocialMediaExplorer.com, the blog, gets a fair amount of recognition, of which I’m very grateful. The most notable of which is probably listing in the top 20 or so (it changes daily sometimes) of the Advertising Age Power 150 Blogs. For a few weeks in 2009, I was actually ranked No. 1. (Not sure why.)

I maintain a handful of professional affiliations and memberships, including serving as president and co-founder of the Social Media Club Louisville. I am also a member of the Public Relations Society of America, International Association of Business Communicators and Greater Louisville Inc., (the Louisville Chamber of Commerce).

At the Dallas 2010 Optimization Summits, you’ll experience learning by doing. You’ll build your own two-day curriculum out of flexible full-day, half-day, and two-hour component workshops on topics ranging from Social Media to Revenue Management, all of which are carefully planned to build upon each other progressively, and expand your understanding and skill set exponentially. The knowledge you receive will be continually reinforced by hands-on interaction to make certain you have not just the knowledge, but the know-how!

REAL-TIME RESULTS

Whether it’s designing a real Facebook page that’s optimized to develop stronger relationships with your customers,  or using WordPress to design a powerfully communicative website or blog that represents your newly optimized brand, or actually raising your existing website to top search engine ranking; you won’t just listen … you’ll see, hear, and do. Even before you leave the event, you will design and develop your own New Media solutions, and begin to experience real-time results that will continue to grow as you apply the solid strategies and integration plans you’ll also receive.

“Business as usual” is no longer an option, and that’s why the Dallas 2010 Optimization Summits should be a key element of your transformation plan. There will simply be no better opportunity or environment to develop the skills and knowledge you need to meet the challenges of today’s New Media world.  Joining us means that you’ve chosen for your business to survive.  But we’ll go you one better … be there and we’ll teach you how to THRIVE.

We’ll see you there!

“2009 was about learning social media. 2010 will be about figuring out how to use it well.” Jason Falls

Internet marketing conference, Social Media Measurement, OptimizationSsummits, Social media, Social media ROI, Social-media-marketing, Social-media-strategy

Duct Tape Marketing Using Social Media to Generate Referrals – Wednesday- Two, Two Hour Sessions

Everyone’s buzzing about the awesome online global power of social media tools, but few people focus on touting practical ways to use social media to generate leads and referrals for the local business. In this session, John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing, will reveal practical strategies and tactics that any small business can use to leverage online social media tools to create deeper customer relationships, valuable strategic partnerships, local leads and ultimately more sales and profits.

John Jantsch is a marketing and digital technology coach, award winning social media publisher and author of “Duct Tape Marketing – The World’s Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide” published by Thomas Nelson, with foreword by Michael Gerber, author of The E-Myth and afterword by Guy Kawasaki.
After working with small business owners for over 15 years and growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of a systematic approach to small business marketing, including online and social media, Jantsch decided he could make his mark on the small business world by creating the perfect small business marketing system.
He has made it his mission to bring the simple, effective and affordable Duct Tape Marketing approach to the millions of struggling small business owners all over the world through workshops, the Duct Tape Marketing small business marketing system and the Duct Tape Marketing Authorized Coach network. His Duct Tape Marketing Blog was chosen as a Forbes favorite for small business and marketing and is a Harvard Business School featured marketing site. His blog was also chosen as “Best Small Business Marketing Blog” in 2004, 2005 and 2006 by the readers of Marketing Sherpa.
What Others Are Saying About Duct Tape Marketing Speaking Appearances

“John Jantsch was a fantastic keynote speaker for our eMarketing For Entrepreneurs Conference. Working with John was a pleasure, as he not only served as keynote speaker, but also as a breakout session facilitator. His vast knowledge and experience in the area of marketing — and specifically eMarketing — showed throughout the day. There is no doubt that John contributed to the conference’s incredible approval rating, with 97% of polled participants stating they would recommend the conference to others.”
-Brad Kleimann, Corporate College Cleveland, OH

“John Jantsch is one of the best resources available today for small business owners looking for real-world marketing ideas that actually work. Duct Tape Marketing proves that there are REAL business benefits to a disciplined approach to marketing!”
-Anne Plese, Marketing Alliance Manager, Sage Software

“Your presentation at our annual conference was informative, right on point and clearly targeted to our audience of independent information professionals. You provided practical insight on the topic of small business marketing that should be shared with all small business owners. You presented in a manner that was thoroughly captivating with just the right balance of humor. Our members left wanting more and anxious to put into practice the tips you provided. Thanks for the inspiration! “
-Jodi Gregory – President Association of Independent Information Professionals

“I thought I’d let you know that we thought the PRSA workshop yesterday was fantastic. We got a lot of great ideas from it. We have already set up our own blogs to practice our blogging skills.”
-Plattform Advertising

At the Dallas 2010 Optimization Summits, you’ll experience learning by doing. You’ll build your own two-day curriculum out of flexible full-day, half-day, and two-hour component workshops topics on  Social Media marketing, management and training , all of which are carefully planned to build upon each other progressively, and expand your understanding and skill set exponentially. The knowledge you receive will be continually reinforced by hands-on interaction to make certain you have not just the knowledge, but the know-how!

REAL-TIME RESULTS

Whether it’s designing a real Facebook page that’s optimized to develop stronger relationships with your customers,  or using WordPress to design a powerfully communicative website or blog that represents your newly optimized brand, or actually raising your existing website to top search engine ranking; you won’t just listen … you’ll see, hear, and do. Even before you leave the event, you will design and develop your own New Media solutions, and begin to experience real-time results that will continue to grow as you apply the solid strategies and integration plans you’ll also receive.

“Business as usual” is no longer an option, and that’s why the Dallas 2010 Optimization Summits should be a key element of your transformation plan. There will simply be no better opportunity or environment to develop the skills and knowledge you need to meet the challenges of today’s New Media world.  Joining us means that you’ve chosen for your business to survive.  But we’ll go you one better … be there and we’ll teach you how to THRIVE.

We’ll see you there!

“2009 was about learning social media. 2010 will be about figuring out how to use it well.” Jason Falls

Internet marketing conference, Social Media Measurement, optimization summits, social media, social media ROI, social-media-marketing, social-media-strategy

Websites-Tuesday -One Two Hour Workshop
This session is designed to reveal the latest capabilities in website design and functionality. We’ll examine the components a website needs to fully serve today’s customer demands and desires, and discuss specific elements that will make your site stand out from the rest. You’ll walk away with the knowledge of what’s possible on the web today and how to optimize your site’s ability to satisfy your customers and attract more new business, starting now!

John Pozadzides is the CEO of iFusion Labs (the parent company of Woopra), host of the popular Wealth Nation podcast, former Chief Marketing Officer for Layered Tech, founder of HTMLHelp.com, and former Vice President for SAVVIS Communications. John is also co-organizer of WordCamp Dallas 2008, WordCamp Dallas 2009, and likely the most prolific WordCamp videographer on the planet.

His site HTMLHelp.com was one of the first 3,000 domains on the Internet and was founded to teach people how to do Web development in the very early days, when John was also contributing to the development of the HTML language and the original CSS specifications.  He was later named to the W3C’s Hall of Fame on the 10th anniversary of CSS (see Web Design Group).

You can also learn more if you simply Google “John P”.  He is #1 out of about 188 million results!  As a prolific author, he has published over 1,600 articles on his blog, which according to Alexa is about the 30,000th most visited site on the Internet (out of 500 million registered domains).

John routinely lectures on blogging, social media and web development and has been published and quoted as an industry expert in magazines, books and other periodicals around the world.  In addition to being the CEO of his own start-up, he also acts as an angel investor and adviser to other start-ups.

John’s favorite quote:

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, and die gallantly.

Specialization is for insects.

—Robert A. Heinlein from The Notebook of Lazarus Long

At the Dallas 2010 Optimization Summits, you’ll experience learning by doing. You’ll build your own two-day curriculum out of flexible full-day, half-day, and two-hour component workshops on topics ranging from Social Media to Revenue Management, all of which are carefully planned to build upon each other progressively, and expand your understanding and skill set exponentially. The knowledge you receive will be continually reinforced by hands-on interaction to make certain you have not just the knowledge, but the know-how!

REAL-TIME RESULTS

Whether it’s designing a real Facebook page that’s optimized to develop stronger relationships with your customers,  or using WordPress to design a powerfully communicative website or blog that represents your newly optimized brand, or actually raising your existing website to top search engine ranking; you won’t just listen … you’ll see, hear, and do. Even before you leave the event, you will design and develop your own New Media solutions, and begin to experience real-time results that will continue to grow as you apply the solid strategies and integration plans you’ll also receive.

“Business as usual” is no longer an option, and that’s why the Dallas 2010 Optimization Summits should be a key element of your transformation plan. There will simply be no better opportunity or environment to develop the skills and knowledge you need to meet the challenges of today’s New Media world.  Joining us means that you’ve chosen for your business to survive.  But we’ll go you one better … be there and we’ll teach you how to THRIVE.

We’ll see you there!

“2009 was about learning social media. 2010 will be about figuring out how to use it well.” Jason Falls

Build An Awesome Brand!

With so many options available today to present your brand online and so much competition, it’s not just important to have a cohesive identity, but also to have one that stands head and shoulders above the ever-growing crowd! This power-packed session will teach you how to build an extraordinary brand from the ground up, or conduct an extreme makeover of the brand you already have; how to use images to go beyond mere visual attraction and create seriously eye-popping visual impact; integrating your brand elements together into a memorable and remarkable brand experience from the very point of contact; and optimizing your presence online through brand evangelism.

Offline or online, branding is the most significant thing you can do to ensure the future success of your business. Don’t just survive: Thrive! Jay Ehret and The Marketing Spot present “Building An Awesome Brand” A comprehensive and complete one-day track to building a brand that commands the marketplace. Build an awesome brand from the ground up or give your brand an awesome extreme makeover. Four, two-hour sessions that will build an amazing brand structure for your business, start to finish.

I. BRAND FOUNDATIONS
Creating an awesome brand starts with a sturdy foundation. In this session you will create the energy and personality of your brand. Using three brand core elements, you will set a defined course for your brand so that you never have to guess what to do next. This is branding meat and potatoes.

II. BRAND IDENTITY
Visual identity matters. In this session you will learn how to take a brand foundation and unveil a visual brand that pops and demands attention. More importantly, it communicates your brand personality. Learn how to use logos, websites and marketing materials to tell the tantalizing story of your business.  This is branding sexiness.

III. BRAND INTEGRATION
Brands are for getting and keeping customers. In this session you will How to unleash your brand to the public, building loyalty, inspiring word-of-mouth, and creating advertising that is tailor-made for your new brand. This is the brand experience.

IV. ONLINE BRAND OPTIMIZATION
Business isn’t just a physical presence or storefront. No matter what type of business you have you cannot ignore your online presence. In this session you will learn how to use to use social media, search engines and online advertising to bolster your brand with a substantial online presence. This is brand expansion.

Amazing, superior, significant:  when is the last time you heard someone describe your business in those terms? It’s time to take charge of the marketplace with a brand that dominates. You need an Awesome Brand!

Jay Ehret

Chief Officer of Awesomeness for The Marketing Spot in Woodway, Texas. A small business marketing coaching and consulting firm he founded in 2001.  He is a marketing coach, consultant, speaker, and blog author. He specializes in building remarkable local brands with his 4-Spot Marketing Model.

Jay authors The Marketing Spot small business marketing blog and hosts and produces the Power to the Small Business podcast.

Jay is a frequent speaker at conferences and industry association events. He is a featured speaker at the 2010 National Golf Course Owners Association annual conference. In addition Jay has been a featured speaker at South by Southwest Interactive, the National Continuing Education Association Marketing 2.0 Conference, and the Houston Small Business Development Center. In November, Jay was a featured speaker at the premier Global Golf Marketing Conference in Seoul, Korea.

Jay is a media apostate and a social media antagonist. He doesn’t believe you need to cast your lot exclusively with traditional media, new media, social media, or whatever media term crops up in the next year. Jay believes in the doctrine of Straddling the Fence because the grass is greener on both sides.

Website: www.TheMarketingSpot.com
Blog: www.TheMarketingSpotBlog.com
Podcast: http://TheMarketingSpot.podomatic.com/
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/TheMarketingSpot
Twitter: http://Twitter.com/TheMarketingGuy
YouTube: www.YouTube.com/TheMarketingSpot

Jason Falls Social Media Explorer is the online home and blog of Social Media Explorer LLC, which is my consulting company. I’ve been called all sorts of things by folks around the social media, public relations, marketing and communications industries. I shy away from self-aggrandizement, but you’ll find some quotes about me from others below.

I see myself as a social media educator, a social media strategist and a public relations professional. I help companies understand the social web and show them how engaging consumers online can help their business. I’m also a writer, both of blogs and other materials, and try to spend much of my spare time doing that.

If I have a unique perspective it would be the result of having lead a national advertising agency’s Interactive and social media efforts, working with Fortune 100 brands as a social media strategist and serving as an independent consultant in the social media industry. I have advised major, regional and niche brands including Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark and Knob Creek bourbons, NASCAR driver Robby Gordon, Humana, Purely Products, SHPS, Sun Tan City, Mighty Dog, Louisville Slugger, Bionic Gloves, The National Center for Family Literacy and WeSeed.com.

My work has resulted in social media executions deemed “innovative” and industry firsts, particularly in the spirits industry. One project I was involved in won a 2009 Sammy Award, the main honors given to work in social media. Paul Gillin, Tamar Weinberg and Kyle Lacy have written about my work in books, which is really flattering.

Perhaps the most fun I have is speaking and conducting seminars for conferences, groups and even private corporate events. I’ve spoken in three countries and on two continents, unless you count my late night soliloquies at the hotel bar in Cancun on vacation.

SocialMediaExplorer.com, the blog, gets a fair amount of recognition, of which I’m very grateful. The most notable of which is probably listing in the top 20 or so (it changes daily sometimes) of the Advertising Age Power 150 Blogs. For a few weeks in 2009, I was actually ranked No. 1. (Not sure why.)

I maintain a handful of professional affiliations and memberships, including serving as president and co-founder of the Social Media Club Louisville. I am also a member of the Public Relations Society of America, International Association of Business Communicators and Greater Louisville Inc., (the Louisville Chamber of Commerce).

At the Dallas 2010 Optimization Summits, you’ll experience learning by doing. You’ll build your own two-day curriculum out of flexible full-day, half-day, and two-hour component workshops on topics ranging from Social Media to Revenue Management, all of which are carefully planned to build upon each other progressively, and expand your understanding and skill set exponentially. The knowledge you receive will be continually reinforced by hands-on interaction to make certain you have not just the knowledge, but the know-how!

REAL-TIME RESULTS

Whether it’s designing a real Facebook page that’s optimized to develop stronger relationships with your customers,  or using WordPress to design a powerfully communicative website or blog that represents your newly optimized brand, or actually raising your existing website to top search engine ranking; you won’t just listen … you’ll see, hear, and do. Even before you leave the event, you will design and develop your own New Media solutions, and begin to experience real-time results that will continue to grow as you apply the solid strategies and integration plans you’ll also receive.

“Business as usual” is no longer an option, and that’s why the Dallas 2010 Optimization Summits should be a key element of your transformation plan. There will simply be no better opportunity or environment to develop the skills and knowledge you need to meet the challenges of today’s New Media world.  Joining us means that you’ve chosen for your business to survive.  But we’ll go you one better … be there and we’ll teach you how to THRIVE.

We’ll see you there!

“2009 was about learning social media. 2010 will be about figuring out how to use it well.” Jason Falls

Internet marketing conference, Social Media Measurement, OptimizationSsummits, Social media, Social media ROI, Social-media-marketing, Social-media-strategy

At the Dallas 2010 Optimization Summits, you’ll experience learning by doing. You’ll build your own two-day curriculum out of flexible full-day, half-day, and two-hour component workshops on topics ranging from Social Media to Revenue Management, all of which are carefully planned to build upon each other progressively, and expand your understanding and skill set exponentially. The knowledge you receive will be continually reinforced by hands-on interaction to make certain you have not just the knowledge, but the know-how!

REAL-TIME RESULTS

Whether it’s designing a real Facebook page that’s optimized to develop stronger relationships with your customers,  or using WordPress to design a powerfully communicative website or blog that represents your newly optimized brand, or actually raising your existing website to top search engine ranking; you won’t just listen … you’ll see, hear, and do. Even before you leave the event, you will design and develop your own New Media solutions, and begin to experience real-time results that will continue to grow as you apply the solid strategies and integration plans you’ll also receive.

“Business as usual” is no longer an option, and that’s why the Dallas 2010 Optimization Summits should be a key element of your transformation plan. There will simply be no better opportunity or environment to develop the skills and knowledge you need to meet the challenges of today’s New Media world.  Joining us means that you’ve chosen for your business to survive.  But we’ll go you one better … be there and we’ll teach you how to THRIVE.

We’ll see you there!

“2009 was about learning social media. 2010 will be about figuring out how to use it well.” Jason Falls

WordPress 101
WordPress is one of the most popular, flexible, and easy-to-use open source applications available for building dynamic websites and blogs. This interactive, hands-on session will teach you to use WordPress to optimize your web presence by actually creating a website or blog from setting up your domain; choosing a host; selecting a format template; customizing your design; working with “widgets”; maximum search engine optimization (SEO); and more.

WordPress Intro
Table of Contents
WordPress Intro    1
1 WP101    2
1.1 Module 1 (2hrs)    2
1.1.1 Intro To WordPress as a CMS    2
1.2 Module 2    2
1.2.1 Organizing Your Content    2
1.3 Module 3    2
1.3.1 Function, Form and Putting The Pieces Together    2
1.4 Module 4    3
1.4.1 Extending the Reach of Your WordPress Site (moderate)    3

1    WP101
1.1    Module 1 (2hrs)
1.1.1    Intro To WordPress as a CMS
What WordPress is and What It Does (15min)
Why WordPress? (5min)
Installing & Managing WordPress (30-45min)
Requirements (LAMP)
FTP Basics
Install
File Permissions
Adding Themes & Plugins
Keeping it Secure (15min) (moderate – advanced techniques)
Organizing the WordPress Admin Interface  (5min)
Tools for Making Working In WordPress Easier (15min)
Q&A  (20-30min)
1.2    Module 2
1.2.1    Organizing Your Content
Posts vs. Pages in WP (5min)
Building Your Content Map (45min) (moderate level)
Diving Into Content Types (30min) (advanced)
Using Media (Audio & Video)
Email & Auto Responders
Writing For the Web (20min)
Q&A (20min)
1.3    Module 3
1.3.1    Function, Form and Putting The Pieces Together
Basic WP Settings (15min)
Advanced WP Settings (15min)
Importing Existing Content (5min)
Walking Through The Admin Interface (30min)
Example of Adding a Post
How Media And Images Work In WP (advanced, we’ll cover a lot of territory here)
Plugins (30min)
The Good and The Bad of Plugins
Standard/Best Practice
Finding More Plugins
Themes (30min)
Premium vs Free
Original Design
Q&A  (10min)
1.4    Module 4
1.4.1    Extending the Reach of Your WordPress Site (moderate)
SEO Mechanics (30min) (basic to moderate SEO)
Integrating Social Media (30min)
Twitter
Facebook
Sharing from your blog/site
Setting Up Your RSS Feed (15min)
Other Tools (5min)
Ping.Fm
Su.pr
Pretty Link Pro
Q&A  (40min)

Ping.Fm

Su.pr

Pretty Link Pro

Q&A  (40min)

V. Scott Ellis
Scott Ellis has been on the cutting edge of web technology since 1997 building websites, e-commerce engines and on-line marketing strategies for corporations and clients such as CSC, Vignette, IMB, Verizon and others. After a 2 1/2 year stint in Management Consulting with Risk Management Firm Protiviti, Scott co-founded BlackBox Technologies with partners Martin Wind and Victoria Wind who had been colleagues for the past 10 years. With a focus on Web 2.0 technologies and websites, BlackBox was established to provide technology guidance to all sizes of companies from start-up’s to large corporations interested in taking advantage of leading edge web technology.

With a background in web content management and design, Scott’s expertise has enabled him to build a practice around a philosophy of helping clients build technology into their business while keeping their business goals and ROI at the forefront rather than putting the technology first.

Scott holds a Bachelors in Psychology from Purdue University and currently resides in Dallas, TX.

Internet marketing conference, Social Media Measurement, optimization summits, social media, social media ROI, social-media-marketing, social-media-strategy