#MDMC17 Live: Getting to Know the Speakers

By: Brittney Hager
Screen Shot 2017-06-22 at 10.17.35 AMThis year’s Midwest Digital Marketing Conference (MDMC) was a great opportunity to gain some new knowledge in the digital marketing world. With so many unique and insightful speakers, many people were sitting there like sponges trying to soak up all the tips, opinions, and insights that many of these speakers offered during their sessions. Fortunately, a few of these speakers stopped by for a live interview with “In Your Business with UMSL Business” podcast, conducted by UMSL Business students. Three speakers, in particular, shared some of their thoughts on their future industries and some advice to those interested in their fields.
Jered Schneider
UMSL Business student Hal Deane had the pleasure of speaking with Jered Schneider who is the General Manager at SnapShot Interactive, an award winning video production and web firm. Jered shared his thoughts on how many consumers favor buying products that include a video from e-commerce sites and how companies are utilizing these videos to connect deeper with their customers. He also shared his feeling on virtual and augmented reality and where he sees this industry heading in the future.
Ben Williams
Ben Williams, Director of Communications and Operations at the Cologne based Eyeo, was interviewed by an UMSL Business student Jerry Strutynski. Eyeo is known widely for their AdBlock Plus browser add-on. Jerry talked with Ben about the controversy and negative thoughts attached to the AdBlock Plus add-on and how he and his company handle those thoughts in their industry. In the interview, Ben described the two directions that he sees ad blocking going toward in the future. He also spoke about how the procedure of “white listing” ads will be changing very soon, and the importance of allowing quality ads to be seen by viewers if they want to allow them.
Dre Baldwin
The third speaker that UMSL Business had the opportunity to speak with was Dre Baldwin, the world’s only “Work On Your Game” expert. Baldwin is also an expert on mental toughness, confidence, and discipline. He teaches traits that someone would need to be successful as an athlete and how to apply those traits in the business world. In this interview, UMSL Business student Curtis Hoffman spoke to Baldwin about his journey from playing professional basketball and how it transformed into the career he is currently doing today. He discussed what exactly “Work On Your Game” means and why it is important to him. He also mentions the impact that Youtube had on creating his own personal brand and how Youtube has changed over the past few years. Curtis also asked about the national campaigns that Dre has worked with and Dre provided insight into how it is to be an influencer for big companies. He also shared a few tips for potential entrepreneurs in this interview as well.
To listen to full interviews, click here.
MDMC is an amazing opportunity to hear from speakers such as these three, and so much more, about their journeys through their careers and where they also see their careers heading in the future. New podcasts are coming soon, so stay tuned in!

How To Master LinkedIn Like Coca-Cola

By: Brittney Hager
Coca-Cola Blog Post Photo.jpg
LinkedIn is a social network that has been around for a while, but has recently become an important professional networking site for companies to share much of the content that they create. It is important that you do not get LinkedIn confused with other social media platforms, such as Facebook or Twitter, because LinkedIn is a very different story.
LinkedIn is known for their professional setting and goals. They expect their customers to use their pages to advance themselves or their brands in a career-oriented setting, instead of posting the latest selfie to rack up some likes like it happens on many other social networking sites. One company that is doing this well is The Coca-Cola Company. Coca-Cola, which was rated #1 on Hubspot’s “12 Businesses With Fantastic LinkedIn Company Pages”, has mastered how to use their LinkedIn page to push out great content and increase their workforce. Here are a few ways how Coca-Cola is mastering LinkedIn.
Clear and Recognizable Profile Page
The Coca-Cola Company’s profile page includes their famously recognizable logo as their profile picture, and a cheerful collage of Coca-Cola pictures for their cover photo. Their “About Us” section includes a well-written description of the company and some goals that they strive to maintain. Also included in this section is affiliated and showcased pages. Information on the location of their headquarters, company size, and the company’s website can also be found here. All of this information gives viewers a clear idea of what this company is about.
Interesting and Informative Content
Coca-Cola does a great job of including posts that highlight the future of their company and fun information for upcoming product launches and campaigns, such as their “Share a Coke” campaign posts. This type of content is great for consumers that are interested in the company’s successes, future growth, and potential new products.
Including a Career Page Tab
Having a “Job” tab creates a great opportunity for consumers to become a part of your company. On The Coca-Cola Company’s Job tab, there are links for “Jobs that match your skills” and “Jobs Recently Posted”. This makes it easy for potential applicants to see what positions that they might be good at, or what new positions are there to be filled. There are also “Employee Insights” on the same page which include information such as places where the company offices are located, seniority and education levels, and some job skills that are required to work for the company. These things are all very convenient for potential applicants to know before diving into the hiring process.
Utilizing these areas of LinkedIn could increase awareness and keep consumers connected on a more professional level with your company. It could also increase your chances to find potential employees that may be a great fit for your company.