Track 1: Introduction to Online Marketing

If your company’s online marketing just became your responsibility or you simply want to get the broad perspective on all the moving parts, start with this track. Get grounded in the nuts and bolts of how the Internet works so you won’t be mystified by technology or bewildered by the vocabulary. This track offers the overview that puts all the pieces in place.

Session 1a. Understanding the Internet & the Web

Steen Rasmussen, Senior Partner, IIH Nordic
As a communication platform, the Internet offers amazing opportunities but includes some serious drawbacks. The first is the need for a dictionary’s worth of buzz words. Don’t be the one scratching your head – be the one that understands enough to offer up answers to problems and new ideas. This session maps out the plumbing, identifies all the moving parts and explains the (short) history of how we got here. Where’s here? Multi-platform content, social/community features, video, API’s, mobile, analytics and accessibility are just a few items on the growing list of “must-haves” for building a site for 2012. If you’re not sure what’s important, This session can help:
  • Steps and activities to build a successful site in 2011
  • How to get the most bang for the buck when it comes to things like “Community”
  • What to think and do about mobile right now
  • The top 5 “must-haves” for your website and why
  • What you need: Resources, Vendors and Partners

Session 1b. Web Marketing Principles

Alan Danzis, Vice President, Social Media Strategy, Ketchum Social Media Group
From the start, marketing online has always been about pull rather than push like broadcast, direct marketing or print. The basic rules of customer-centric marketing are presented and the tools of the trade are laid out and categorized. From avoiding email spam filters and the ground rules of user interface design to successful search engine optimization and winning social media marketing strategies, this survey ensures that you understand the full spectrum of online marketing methods

Session 1c. Content-Centric Marketing

Mark Book, Senior Content Developer, (The Third Act:), Digitas
A customer-centric philosophy requires a content-centric execution. Building a strong web presence requires the marketing department to become a publisher. This session focuses on understanding your prospective customers well enough to create the kind of content they desire, particularly as it relates to video content and social distribution channels like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. Audience design strategy, customer segmentation, content delivery methods, user interface design and making your website and brand content all about your customers instead of about your company are highlighted. Ensure your investment is hitting the mark.
  • Creative engagement and activation
  • New ad formats
  • Video creation. distribution and promotion
  • YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook do not guarantee a massive audience
  • Build and fuel online video success with a holistic audience design strategy
  • Utilize paid, earned and owned media channels
  • Strategic direction necessary for appealing and engaging brand content

Session 1d. Getting Attention and Driving Traffic

Kristoffer Ewald, SVP Digital Strategy, Guava
Once you’ve built an enticing web presence, your task is getting people to show up. Banner ads, affiliate programs, search marketing, email marketing, mobile marketing, social advertising and more are compared and contrasted to help you get a feel for the possibilities. This ground floor introduction is the start to putting together the most magnetic and profitable online promotional plan possible. Start with the basics of writing and editing and learn:
  • How to think like a consumer: What do consumers value?
  • Storytelling & interactive media: Why should people care?
  • Engagement strategies: 11 surefire click tactics
  • Wow: How to get it and how to lose it
  • Click Killers and cliches: Avoiding common mistakes
  • Building your network: SEO, syndication and social strategies
  • Messages from the future: Tactics for an evolving digital market

Session 1e. Customer in Control – Marketing in a Social World

Alex Hawkinson, Chief Product Officer, ReachLocal
Your brand is in the hands of the public. Understanding social media is a must whether you believe your customers are using it yet or not. As promising as the Web was in the early 1990′s, social media is here to stay and is a game changer. This session lays out the variety of social tools from discussion groups and social shopping to Facebook likes, fans and video satires. But more importantly, you’ll learn the difference between a great social media program and a waste of time.

Session 1f. Measuring Online Marketing Success

Jeff Greenfield, COO & Co-Founder, C3 Metrics
How do you know your online marketing is paying off? This session is for those who want to get grounded in the concepts and language of web marketing optimization. This is how you prove that your online efforts are yielding results. Even better, you’ll learn how to determine which efforts are really paying off so you can optimize all of your marketing. This is the guide to which metrics matter, how to communicate with others in your organization and how to make your website work better for the sake of your customers.
  • Measuring sentiment – social media and customer satisfaction
  • The tragedy of Last Click Attribution
  • Uncover hidden revenue drivers, cross-channel assists and better allocation of ad spend
  • The one metric that is influencing real-time performance decisions