SEMpdx Presents SearchFest 2010

SearchFest 2010 will present multiple informative learning tracks, workshops, and panel sessions designed to provide direct insight into the most up-to-date strategies and technological advancements in online search marketing.

When: Tuesday March 9, 2010

Where: Governor Hotel – 614 SW 11th Ave. Portland, OR 97205

I thought that Tuesday’s Social Media SixPack presentation went pretty well, and someone e-mailed me asking me for my slides, so I decided to post a dry run of my presentation here.

I went a bit long here. at about 10 minutes, but it might be worth watching if you want to be more efficient.

Who could forget “Members Only” spokesperson Anthony Geary reminding us that it’s great to believe in something.

If you’re an SEMpdx member, believe in the power of search marketing and are looking to get more involved, join us (pre Social Media 6-Pack Event) tonight at 4:30 pm at the Hotel DeLuxe for our first ever Membership Committee Meeting.

"The horror of that moment," the King went on, "I shall never, never forget."
"You will though," the Queen said, "if you don’t make a memorandum of it."

Lewis Carroll, Through The Looking Glass

So, I would like to have a do-over on this old post that I wrote.  Not that I think the post was wrong or bad…I actually think quite highly of it.  But, it wasn’t really what I wanted to say given its inspiration.

The Bend WebCAM (Web + Creative And Marketing) Conference brings two of Central Oregon AdFed’s highly successful conferences together into one dynamic event bursting with insight and inspiration.
Attracting some of the most innovative thinkers from up and down the West Coast and across the country, the WebCAM will allow attendees to explore topics on three separate tracks, including web marketing, search marketing, social media and SEO on the Web side, and brand management and marketing communications on the creative & marketing side. Or people can mix and match from all three tracks.

“Only one is a wanderer; two together are always going somewhere…” Kim Novak, Vertigo

So last week, some of my fellow SEMpdx Board Members and I got together for a SearchFest 2010 planning meeting.  We discussed many relevant topics (date, venue, topics, speakers, etc.) and at the end of the meeting, I was tasked with inviting a group of speakers, most of whom I consider some of my closest friends in our industry.

If you do any sort of email prospecting for your business, you’ve likely come across a “hard ass” prospect like me who likes to try to have a little fun at your expense. If you encounter such a person, this woman’s response to me is the absolute correct way to handle the situation. Even though I really didn’t have a clue about her and the company she worked for, she definitely earned a bit of my time (and my respect as well).

SEMpdx has partnered with CMD, Oregon’s largest multi-disciplined marketing agency, and specifically with the agency’s earned media group, to help further promote and raise SEMpdx’s profile.

CMD has been a front runner in developing best practices for how to incorporate social media and search within PR efforts for its clients, such as Cisco Systems, NW Natural, Intel and JELD-WEN, inc. In fact, the agency’s PR group recently changed its name to CMD’s earned media group, which better reflects CMD’s philosophy that generating exposure and building a reputation in today’s increasingly digital world requires seamlessly incorporating creative PR, search and social media solutions.

SEMpdx is proud to partner with Portland State University’s Professional Development Center to provide 2 annual scholarships for the SEM Workshop, which is part of the Digital Marketing Strategy Certificate series.

The 3-day SEM Workshop is taught by SEMpdx board members Kent Lewis & Hallie Janssen. SEMpdx and PSU are offering the $635 scholarship twice each year, one for each class. The next workshop starts October 23rd, 2009.

Most marketing professionals understand the importance of search engine optimization (SEO), paid search, and social media marketing (SMM) but a limited few understand the actual processes.  Even fewer have the experience to evaluate a search engine marketing (SEM) agency.  Frequently agencies are chosen based on a media buying or traditional advertising relationship.  Rarely are SEM agencies put through the rigorous vetting of a traditional agency.  This is a mistake.