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#MDMC Scholarship Recipient: Samuel Craig

Hear from one of two first-ever MDMC Scholarship Recipients!

My name is Sam Craig, I am a senior marketing major at the University of Missouri – St. Louis. I am honored to be a recipient of the MDMC Scholarship. I applied for this scholarship because out of all the available grants, the MDMC Scholarship aligned almost perfectly with my academic and professional aspirations. During my first semester at the University of Missouri – St. Louis, in my digital marketing class taught by Professor Perry Drake, I discovered the scholarship and the Midwest Digital Marketing Conference. Dr. Drake spoke frequently and highly about the conference and the strength of the MDMC network; this made me excited about the possibility of entering that network. Since I became an MDMC scholar, I have been exposed to numerous opportunities for my career and education; without this scholarship, I would not have had these opportunities. The scholarship gave me increased pride and confidence in myself as a marketing student and professional. I hope to carry this pride and confidence forward throughout my career. I would love to expand my creative skills, as I have experience working for a marketing agency as a video producer and editor. I also enjoy producing music in my spare time. I hope to advance to a creative director position at a company in the near future. I value company culture and significance in the community, so I hope to achieve that goal at a company that aligns with those values. The MDMC scholarship has greatly enhanced my time here at the University of Missouri – St. Louis, and I am beyond thankful for the opportunities I have received and will continue to receive down the road.

I encourage any student who is interested in this scholarship to pursue more information on it by visiting the website or contacting Dr. Drake himself. Students can greatly benefit from this scholarship and many others like it!

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#MDMC Scholarship Recipient: Gabby Menneneier

Hear from one of two first-ever MDMC Scholarship Recipients!

Hi, my name is Gabby and today I’m going to be talking about my experience with MCMC, Professor Perry Drake, and my MDMC scholarship. I applied for the MDMC scholarship because it was a scholarship that I qualified for and my degree is focused on Marketing and Digital Marketing Communications. Being one of nine kids, my parents do not have money lying around to help pay for my college. Since enrolling at UMSL, it has been my goal to graduate debt-free and without student loans. I’ve worked very hard in the past few years to make this happen. When my last semester was approaching, I was trying to figure out a way to pay for my last semester of college to no avail. I already work more than full time, so I was at a loss. This scholarship was a Godsend for me. Without this scholarship, I would not have been able to reach this goal, but little did I know that my hard work was paying me back.

I found out about the scholarship through my professor, Dr. Perry Drake, whose classes I took in the Spring of 2018 and am currently taking in the Fall of 2018. I heard about MDMC when Dr. Drake gave us the opportunity to attend the conference as a volunteer. I was hesitant to volunteer because I have never worked at a conference before, and to make it more daunting, it was a huge conference. A couple of weeks before, I had a meeting with Dr. Drake and he asked if I would be willing to do a little more than a regular volunteer. He mentioned that he noticed how hard I work and that I’m a good student and would be capable of handling it. Trusting in his opinion, I agreed. I thought to myself that it couldn’t be that much more than a regular volunteer because I’ve never done this before…man was I wrong. The first day of the conference I arrived at 6:30am to help prep, and I was one of 5 people who was given a walkie-talkie. Instantly after taking my walkie, I assumed I was given the wrong job. I oversaw several volunteers as well as the ballroom floor where there were at least 4 to 8 sessions happening at a time for the two days. I am so grateful for this opportunity because it helped me realize the type of leader I am. It also gave me the chance to attend some sessions and learn a lot about marketing. MDMC and the scholarship it provided has given me a chance to further invest in my future. I hope to one day help a business be able to expand and reach their clientele through social media with the business and marketing skills that I have acquired.

For more information on this, and many other scholarships that UMSL has to offer, check out http://www.umsl.edu/services/finaid/scholarships/. Trust me, you won’t regret it.

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How Crowdfunding Changed The World: Interview W/ Ryan Brennell

UMSL Marketing recently talked to Ryan Brennell, founder of Gladitood, and how the era of social interaction has re-shaped the way we give! Ryan will also be teaching an exclusive ‘Crowdfunding 101 ‘ class as part of the revamped UMSL Digital curriculum!

We live in the era of social organizing. How has Crowdfunding been a part of this trend over the last five years?

I think crowdfunding is a natural progression of social organizing. We’ve been using Facebook to stay in touch with friends and family, or Reddit to talk with like-minded individuals about shared interests, and I know it’s easy to connect the dots looking back, but it just seems like Crowdfunding was inevitable. We’re making it so easy for people to connect from all over the world, it was only a matter of time before we started using this medium to raise money. Now we’re seeing it on a scale that is changing our culture. Bernie Sanders just ran the most successful political crowdfunding campaign in history during the last election. Startup founders aren’t at the whim of venture capitalists who held all the power. Now they can find their audience and let the market decide if they should be funded. Thanks to social organizing, we have crowdfunding. And thanks to crowdfunding, new opportunities exist for us all.

Crowdfunding services such as GoFundMe are everywhere. From school supplies, family tragedy’s, to lifelong dreams. How has this changed fundraising culture?

I think that the many crowdfunding platforms that have popped up, especially those like GoFundMe where anyone can raise money for nearly anything, has increased competition for fundraisers and also increased an individual’s awareness of fraud. Crowdfunding has completely democratized access to funding. If you can tell a compelling story and execute a clever promotional plan, access to a wealthy network isn’t necessary anymore. It has also made fundraising a very real piece of pop-culture. The subjects of viral campaigns become overnight celebrities, and this perpetuates the biggest myth in crowdfunding – “If you build it, they will come.”

Despite the abundance of crowdfunding campaigns, many generate zero dollars. Why is this?

The failures almost always come down to that crowdfunding myth. The idea that crowdfunding is internet magic is the reason why the vast majority of crowdfunding campaigns fail right out of the gate. You have to put in the work.

Crowdfunding campaigns can be very difficult to dissect. We see the success, but we can’t get a good look under the hood to see what’s driving those results. This makes it very difficult for those new to crowdfunding to figure out where to begin. After years of helping hundreds of campaigns succeed, and seeing plenty fail, we’ve recognized the patterns and formulas that lead to both results. Frankly, 90% of the work for a successful campaign happens before it even launches.  Realistically, there were several weeks – sometimes months – of planning ahead of a successful 30-day campaign.

Basically, crowdfunding is not a magic ‘Easy’ button. It takes work. How can someone approach this?

I like to approach it by creating a two-part plan. Part one consists of everything you need to get in place in order to put the campaign together and set yourself up to execute successfully. Part two is the actual execution.

Part one is about crafting your story, strategically planning your reward levels, identifying and building relationships with your audience, and lining up distribution channels for your campaign. This means making a video and creative graphics, coming up with creative and unique “up-sells” that don’t dip into your profits, figuring out which social channels and forums to engage, and creating a PR plan. It sounds like a lot, but if you tackle these, you are in the top 10% of your competition. If you take part one seriously, part two is a breeze. If you half-ass part one, those 30-60 days might be the most stressful of your life.

What will your new Crowdfunding course be touching on? Who is this course for?

The course is for anyone who wants to learn how to run a successful crowdfunding campaign from day 1 of planning through day X of follow up after the campaign has ended. Nonprofit organizations, startup founders, marketers, and inventors, I’m talking to you. My goal is that my students leave with not only an understanding of how to run a successful campaign but with their own concrete plan of action.  We’ll cover how to craft your story to include the four key ingredients for virality, how to identify and engage your target audience, how to utilize distribution channels to increase your reach. We’ll go over creating a great video – even without access to a professional production team, building an email and social campaign to accompany your fundraiser, and how to capitalize on the momentum of success after your campaign to keep backers engaged for your next fundraiser. The course will include a number of case studies that break down some of the most successful crowdfunding campaigns in history, including successful campaigns from right here in St. Louis!

 

 

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Inspiration and Lessons Learned from the 2018 Midwest Digital Marketing Conference

By: Weber Shandwick St. Louis

Despite the dreariness of last week’s weather, some brightness shone as marketing students, industry professionals and marketing and communications leaders gathered for the Midwest Digital Marketing Conference in downtown St. Louis. Weber Shandwick’s Digital Account & Engagement Lead Obele Brown-West led an engaging discussion on how brands and organizations are leveraging AI on social media to create compelling new content that drives commerce.

Reflecting on Obele’s presentation, I wondered how much have I purchased through social media? How did these ads even target me as a consumer? This world of social commerce isn’t necessarily new, but it’s fascinating how easily it has crept into our daily lives and how rapidly it evolves. Obele mentioned that “this presentation will probably be antiquated by the time we leave this room.” As quickly as things change in the social commerce landscape, that’s definitely a possibility.

Combining the right tools and technology with social media means transforming the way we shop in our daily lives, and transforming how we convert consumers in our professional lives. Social platforms shake up the consumer experience and directly correlate to bottom of the funnel marketing objectives.

While my bias may tell me that my colleague’s presentation was the best of them all, there was still a lot to learn from many other experts attending the conference. From crisis management, to visual storytelling, read some of my colleagues’ thoughts and takeaways from the conference below!

– Rodney Pruitt, Associate, Client Experience Digital

Social Media Crisis Management Panel

Reputation takes years to build and minutes to dissolve in the wake of a crisis. Social media managers need to have the tools and know-how at the ready to manage an issue quickly and effectively, even if they are not crisis communications experts. While most PR professionals know just enough to be dangerous when it comes to managing a crisis, there’s still a lot to learn, much of which can only come from experience. A panel of local crisis powerhouses shared their insights on how to prepare before a crisis or issue, based on their many years in the trenches. Here’s what they said:

 

—Read More at the Weber Shandwick Blog—

 

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New Up and Coming Social Media Platforms

By: Andrea Siecinski

Social media is a relatively new concept, but it has quickly become a way of life in this century. It is hard to break through the noise of the big platforms that are present in today’s society. Many venture in creating the greatest, new social media platform but do not make it due to the competition. There are some social media platforms that are making a splash and turning heads lately, though.
Musical.ly
Musical.ly is an app that started in 2014 and is a platform that is popular with today’s teenagers. Musical.ly is a site that allows its users to lip sync or dance to a song for 15 seconds and post it. According to Adweek, it is starting to rival other social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. Even Katy Perry is using it to promote her music.
Vero
Vero, which means truth, is the most recent social media platform to get a big break. It has become very popular and has got a lot of hype as of late. Vero is a place to share all sorts of media and ideas. Its feed is chronological, which has been lost on other platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Vero is also ad-free at the moment which is hard to find on other platforms.
Hive
Hive is a platform that allows its users to connect and follow people with similar interests. Users create a profile based on their interests, and Hive connects them to people nearby with similar interests. It is being marketed as a way to connect people and to create new friendships. It will also be a spot to get advice on those topics of interest. It has recently been promoted by football player Terrell Owens, and Peter Kraus of the Bachelor.
These platforms are making some headway in the social media world. Who knows if they will thrive as much as Facebook and Instagram have, but they are finding success despite how hard it is to make it. The platforms are unique in their own way which has brought them some success.

 

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The Ultimate First-Timer #MDMC18 Cheat Sheet!

What To Know About #MDMC18 For First Time Attendees

If it is your first time attending the Midwest Digital Marketing Conference (MDMC18) and you do not know what to expect, we are here to help. First off, be ready for two days full of exciting activities, new information, plenty of new people, and, of course, a lot of fun!
MDMC Session Schedule
MDMC18 is the largest digital marketing conference in the Midwest region, which is going to take place on March 27 and 28, 2018, at St. Louis Union Station. It is a full, two-day event offering over 100 concurrent sessions across nine tracks, such as, Data, Digital, Social Media, Innovation, etc.
We know, it is no easy matter to choose among the sessions presented by more than 100 speakers from such companies as BuzzFeed, Google, Pandora, Refinery29, SAS, Nielsen, GoDaddy and many more including the local talent, so make sure to read the schedule beforehand and make your choice.
Registration
Registration for the conference starts at 7 am on day one. You can receive your badge in the exhibitor hall: just tell us your name and the company you represent. Please note, there are going to be around 2000 people attending the conference this year so you might want to pre-register the day before the conference kicks off to avoid standing in the line. Pre-registration will be available on March 26, 2018, from 10 am till 6 pm, with free 15-minute parking included.
Keynote Speakers
Mark your calendar and make sure you attend keynote addresses on both days at 8:30 am. As soon as you grab your badge (and your morning coffee to keep your energy level high) head to Grand Ballroom D/E to listen to Dre Baldwin and Pam Moore setting the tone to the conference with their keynote addresses.
Venue Details
This is the third year for the MDMC to take place at St. Louis’ Union Station, which is a 120-year-old National Historic Landmark located on Market Street. The parking will be discounted for the conference attendees by over 50% to only $8.00 per day, just show your MDMC18 badge upon exiting the parking lot to receive the discounted rate on March 26th, 27th or 28th!

There will be refreshments and coffee offered at the conference, but lunch will not be provided. Food trucks will arrive at 11:30 am on each day and will be parked on S 20th Street. If you choose to eat off the venue, there will be a few restaurants in the area, such as, for instance, Maggie O’Briens or Hard Rock Café, providing discounts for the conference attendees.
Exhibitor Hall
While going from session to session, as well as during the lunch time, make sure to visit the exhibitor hall with more than 40 exhibitors this year to learn more about the companies and expand your network.
After Parties
The opening night party on Tuesday called “Your Date With Data”, will be hosted this year again by Momentum Worldwide. Momentum is a total brand experience agency located right across the street from Union Station. The MDMC18 closing party will take place on Thursday, March 28, and will be hosted by CIC and Cortex at 4240 Duncan Ave. Please register in advance for both parties using the official conference app.
Conference App
As a conference attendee, you should have received an email inviting you to download the conference app. The MDMC18 app, Guidebook, will help you access the conference schedule, create your own schedule, learn more about the speakers, see available food options, register for the after-parties, connect with your fellow attendees, and much more.
MDMC18 on Social Media
Want to get a chance to win an MDMC branded t-shirt or a tumbler? Follow MDMC on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, and give us a shout out using the #MDMC18 hashtag.

 

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Exciting Video Marketing Trends for 2018

By: Lysa Young-Bates

Increasingly, marketers are turning to total experience immersion, allowing consumers enticing opportunities to “step into” a brand’s adventure. Whether through fantastical experience or real-time video-based feedback, the ways companies produce and buyers consume is rapidly evolving, and video provides an experiential medium for meaningful brand-client interactions.

Projection Mapping
Only a few years ago, video projection mapping (a.k.a. spatial augmented reality) was primarily a playground for artists. However, brands are increasingly embracing this powerful medium for high-impact, breathtaking visual presentations. Unlike conventional flat projection, projection mapping turns any building or dimensional surface into a distortion-free canvas, combining motion graphics, animation, and 3D to re-contextualize a structure’s “built” geometry, creating fresh opportunities for massive visual scale and illusional interplay.

VR Video Marketing
Virtual Reality (VR) offers another rich-video experience where consumers can “participate” with brands. According to Marketing Tech News, “VR content has been found to elicit higher emotional and longer engagement than traditional 2D.” Further, Goldman Sachs anticipates that within the next decade, VR will bypass TV, generating revenue of $110 billion. Brands including Merrell, Adidas, Coca Cola, McDonalds, Volvo, TopShop, Patron, and the New York Times have incorporated VR into marketing campaigns, upping the ante on inspiration, engagement, and impact with their consumer-base.

360 Videos
The appeal of 360 video stems largely from consumers’ ability to control their perspective while viewing content. Google recently compared a 60-second 360 video ad against a standard format video of the same length. Neither ad was listed or promoted, appearing strictly via in-stream campaigns or through peer-to-peer shares. Also, both ads ended with the same measurable call-to-action. While full-watch view-through rate was lower on the 360 ad, it out-performed the standard video on overall view, shares, and subscribes. These metrics support 360 video’s benefits of immersion and engagement, increasing the “storytelling” quality of a video experience where customers can manipulate and interact within the view. Psychological studies further indicate that users’ affinity increases in situations where they feel greater control, offering compelling support for brands to consider meaningful ways they can incorporate this technology in their customer interactions.

Via: 
https://marketinginsidergroup.com/content-marketing/4-exciting-video-marketing-trends-2018/
https://www.creativebloq.com/video/projection-mapping-912849
https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-brands-use-360-video/
https://www.marketingtechnews.net/news/2017/jul/06/360-degree-and-vr-video-future-marketing
http://mbryonic.com/best-vr/
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Sessions to Attend: #MDMC18 Bucket List

The Midwest Digital Marketing Conference, also known as MDMC18, is the largest digital marketing conference in the Midwest, which is going to take place at St. Louis’ Union Station on March 27 and 28, 2018. Going into its sixth year, the conference boasts more than 100 speakers from such companies as BuzzFeed, Facebook, HubSpot, LinkedIn, Google, GoDaddy, Nestle Purina, Monsanto, Yelp, and brings marketing professionals together from all over the US.
Being a full, two-day event, MDMC18 will feature more than 100 concurrent sessions across nine tracks, namely, Data, Digital Strategy, Entrepreneurship, Academic, Career, Creative, Innovation, Social Media, and Technology.
With such a variety of topics offered for discussion the choice which sessions to attend is not an easy one. Keeping that in mind, we decided to help MDMC18 attendees get the most out of their conference experience and advise which sessions might be beneficial for them to attend based on their professional role.

Role: Social Media Manager
For those who manage social media and deal with various social media platforms on a daily basis, here is our recommended bucket list.
Day 1, March 27th
9:40 – 10:30 am
○          Crisis at the Speed of Social, Cully Eisenberg, FleishmanHillard
○          Digital Content Creation – Art or Science?, Finola Austin, Refinery29
10:40 – 11:30 am
○          Combining Paid Social and Influencers to Drive Growth for Your Business, Steve Weiss, MuteSix
○          Mobile and Video Media Revolution, Kevin Murphy, DistroScale, Inc.
○          Massive Instagram Growth for Small Businesses, Stefani Pollack, Build Digital Marketing, and Scott Thomas, Grillin’ Fools, Inc.
1:00 – 1:50 pm
○          Livestreaming for Your Brand, Stephanie Liu
2:00 – 2:50 pm
○          Livestreaming Panel
○          Facebook Family Feud, Clayton Clark, Big Rush Marketing
○          How to Create Digital Videos that Drive Real Results, Tyler Kelley, SLAM!
3:10 – 4:00 pm
○          The Future of Visual Search, Raashi Rosenberger, Pinterest
○          Metrics That Matter: How to Show ROI On Your Social Media Marketing, Steph Nissen, Atomic Revenue
○          Social Media Crisis Management Panel
 
Day 2, March 28th
9:40 – 10:30 am
○          Why is Fewer and Bigger . . . Better on Facebook?, John Patten, Facebook, and Stephanie Harwin, Nestlé Purina
10:40 – 11:30 am
○          $4.6 Million, 24 Hours: Using Facebook Live to Raise Millions in Louisville, Chris Strub, I Am Here, LLC, and Cara Baribeau, Community Foundation of Louisville
○          Social Video: 5 Mistakes You’re Probably Making, Jeremy Corray, Coolfire Studios
1:00 – 1:50 pm
○          The Power of Full Funnel Content on LinkedIn, Rachel Rickles, LinkedIn
2:00 – 2:50 pm
○          The Secret LinkedIn Playbook to Generate High Quality Leads, Build Relationships, Pat Henseler, LinkedSelling
3:10 – 4:00 pm
○          AI Can Drive What We Buy: How Social Media is Changing Content and Commerce, Obele Brown – West, Weber Shandwick
○          #Ad Isn’t Enough: Laws Affecting Influencer And Social Media Marketing, Mark Sableman, Thompson Coburn LLP
 
Role: Vice President / Director
Below is the list of sessions we would recommend to those holding managerial positions and defining company’s strategy.
Day 1, March 27th
9:40 – 10:30 am
○          The Challenge of Becoming a Data-Driven Company, Sean Cotton, Coegi, and Matt Hertig, Alight Analytics
○          Level Up Your Marketing: Using Gamification to Enhance Marketing Campaigns, Mitch Canter, Vanderbilt University
○          Can Elephants Dance? Agile Marketing At Scale – CA’s Story, Yuval Yeret, AgileSparks
10:40 – 11:30 am
○          Marketing & Media: The Intersection, Aaron Perlut, Elasticity, and Jack Speer, NPR-Washington
○          The Future of Advertising, Ben Williams, Eyeo/Adblock Plus
○          Building A Digital Dream Team Panel
1:00 – 1:50 pm
○          The Price of Privacy, Ayana Miller, Privilgd
○          Mobile UX Case Studies – Mistakes, That Most Of The App Designers Make, Csaba Hazi, Webabstract
○          Avoid The Trappings That Lead Digital Teams Toward Failure Or Mediocrity, Kevin Farr, CNTRD
○          Live Podcasting Panel
2:00 – 2:50 pm
○          Livestreaming Panel
○          Why Can’t We Be Friends? A Modern Marketer’s Guide to Teaming With Sales, Sam Mallikarjunan, HubSpot
○          Turning Big Data to Shopper Experiences, Shaun Brown, Momentum Worldwide, and Steve Mackinnon, IBM Global Business Services
3:10 – 4:00 pm
○          Making The Case For Interactive Email, Heidi Olsen, and Cher Fuller, eROI
○          Ways to Leverage AdWords, Google Shopping, & YouTube for Full Funnel Growth, Brett Curry, OMG Commerce
○          Programmatic: The Quality Conundrum, Lindsey Freed, Centro
○          They Filled Out a Form; Now What? Drives Sales with Marketing Automation, Shane Freeman, Eureka Consulting Group
○          Social Media Crisis Management Panel
 
Day 2, March 28th
9:30 – 10:40 am
○          How to Supercharge Your Marketing with Competitive Intel, Ellie Mirman, Crayon
○          Building Brand Love in B2B, Jazzy Danziger, Atomicdust
○          Beyond The Tactics: Integrated Marketing Strategy For New Product Launch, Joe Duffin, Spry Digital
10:40 – 11:30 am
○          How To Get Fans To JOIN Your Brand, Andrew Cohen, Moosylvania
○          Your Brand Is A Hypothesis: Data Science & Creativity, James Campbell, Slalom
○          Facebook Advertising Panel
1:00 – 1:50 pm
○          What’s The Deal With Location-Based Marketing?, Matthew Davis, Reveal Mobile
2:00 – 2:50 pm
○          Visual Storytelling: Creating A True Connection With Your Content, Carl Reed, Lion Forge Comics
○          Harnessing Our Humanity: Shifting Perceptions With Employee Storytelling, Kim Clark, GoDaddy
3:10 – 4:00 pm
○          AI Can Drive What We Buy: How Social Media is Changing Content and Commerce, Obele Brown – West, Weber Shandwick
○          #Ad Isn’t Enough: Laws Affecting Influencer And Social Media Marketing, Mark Sableman, Thompson Coburn LLP
 
Role: Small Business Employee
Running a small business has its own benefits and challenges. Here are the MDMC18 sessions that we think would be beneficial for those working for small businesses.
Day1, March 27th
9:40 – 10:30 am
○          Crisis at the Speed of Social, Cully Eisenberg, FleishmanHillard
10:40 – 11:30 am
○          Massive Instagram Growth for Small Businesses, Stefani Pollack, Build Digital Marketing, and Scott Thomas, Grillin’ Fools, Inc.
○          Combining Paid Social and Influencers to Drive Growth for Your Business, Steve Weiss, MuteSix
○          The Echo Chamber: How Content Is Ruining The World And What We Can Do To Fix It, Kasim Aslam, Solutions 8
1:00 – 1:50 pm
○          12 Principles Of Viral Content, Ryan McCready, Venngage
○          Live Podcasting Panel
2:00 – 2:50 pm
○          Livestreaming Panel
○          Facebook Family Feud, Clayton Clark, Big Rush Marketing
○          2018 Hiring And Compensation Trends, Elizabeth Ledbetter, The Creative Group
○          How to Create Digital Videos that Drive Real Results, Tyler Kelley, SLAM!
3:10 – 4:00 pm
○          They Filled Out a Form; Now What? Drives Sales with Marketing Automation, Shane Freeman, Eureka Consulting Group
○          Social Media Crisis Management Panel
 
Day 2, March 28th
10:40 – 11:30 am
○          $4.6 Million, 24 Hours: Using Facebook Live to Raise Millions in Louisville, Chris Strub, I Am Here, LLC, and Cara Baribeau, Community Foundation of Louisville
○          Social Video: 5 Mistakes You’re Probably Making, Jeremy Corray, Coolfire Studios
○          The Blogger’s Mindset – Find Topics, Write Faster, And Reach More People, Mike Alton, The Social Media Hat
○          Facebook Advertising Panel
1:00 – 1:50 pm
○          Why You Need To Optimize Your Video Content For Mobile, Elizabeth Giorgi, Mighteor
○          Branding While Broke, Keisha Mabry
○          Search Snippets: How To Create Content That Targets Spot No. 0 in Google, Jared Reed, Pan Galactic Digital, LLC
2:00 – 2:50 pm
○          Effective Advertising: The Keys To A Great Creative, Elizabeth King, Nielsen
○          The Secret LinkedIn Playbook to Generate High Quality Leads, Build Relationships, Pat Henseler, LinkedSelling
○          Harnessing Our Humanity: Shifting Perceptions With Employee Storytelling, Kim Clark, GoDaddy
3:10 – 4:00 pm
○          Making Digital More Human, Eliot Frick, Bigwidesky
○          Next Level Native With BuzzFeed, Phil Cara, Buzzfeed
○          Improving Your SEM Campaign To Reach Your Goals Panel
 
Role: Enterprise Employee
Working for a big company has its own peculiarities. We recommend the following MDMC18 sessions for those working for enterprises.
Day 1, March 27th
9:40 – 10:30 am
○          The Challenge of Becoming a Data-Driven Company, Sean Cotton, Coegi, and Matt Hertig, Alight Analytics
○          Level Up Your Marketing: Using Gamification to Enhance Marketing Campaigns, Mitch Canter, Vanderbilt University
○          Can Elephants Dance? Agile Marketing At Scale – CA’s Story, Yuval Yeret, AgileSparks
○          Crisis at the Speed of Social, Cully Eisenberg, FleishmanHillard
10:40 -11:30 am
○          Combining Paid Social and Influencers to Drive Growth for Your Business, Steve Weiss, MuteSix
○          Poetry Is The One Simple Hack To Increase Creativity, Shawn Pfunder, GoDaddy
○          Massive Instagram Growth for Small Businesses, Stefani Pollack, Build Digital Marketing, and Scott Thomas, Grillin’ Fools, Inc.
○          Building A Digital Dream Team Panel
1:00 – 1:50 pm
○          The Price of Privacy, Ayana Miller, Privilgd
2:00 – 2:50 pm
○          2018 Hiring And Compensation Trends, Elizabeth Ledbetter, The Creative Group
○          Turning Big Data to Shopper Experiences, Shaun Brown, Momentum Worldwide, and Steve Mackinnon, IBM Global Business Services
3:10 – 4:00 pm
○          Digital Storytelling: How Brands Can Better Understand Their Consumer Through Underground Blogs, Cami Thomas, FTCTV
○          Social Media Crisis Management Panel
 
Day 2, March 28th
9:40 – 10:30 am
○          Data Driven Conversion Optimization, Sara Kear, Adept Marketing
○          Marketing Trends: Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Craig Rutkowske, SAS
○          Building Brand Love in B2B, Jazzy Danziger, Atomicdust
○          Beyond The Tactics: Integrated Marketing Strategy For New Product Launch, Joe Duffin, Spry Digital
10:40 – 11:30 am
○          Is Your Brand Ready For AI, IoT And The Sonic Revolution?, Gabe Tartaglia, Pandora
1:00 – 1:50 pm
○          The Power of Full Funnel Content on LinkedIn, Rachel Rickles, LinkedIn
2:00 – 2:50 pm
○          Harnessing Our Humanity: Shifting Perceptions With Employee Storytelling, Kim Clark, GoDaddy
○          Making Effective Data Visualization Is A Key Marketing Skill, Kaiser Fung, Principal Analytics Prep
3:10 – 4:00 pm
○          Next Level Native With BuzzFeed, Phil Cara, Buzzfeed
○          AI Can Drive What We Buy: How Social Media is Changing Content and Commerce, Obele Brown – West, Weber Shandwick
 
 
Role: Non-profit Employee
How does working for a non-profit organization differ from working for a for-profit company? Despite utilizing similar tools, marketing professionals build different strategies, target different audiences and employ tactics specific for the non-profit sector. Here is the list of MDMC18 sessions that we recommend to those employed by non-profits.
Day 1, March 27th
9:40 – 10:30 am
○          Social Media for Non-Profits Panel
○          Digital Content Creation – Art or Science?, Finola Austin, Refinery29
○          Massive Instagram Growth for Small Businesses, Stefani Pollack, Build Digital Marketing, and Scott Thomas, Grillin’ Fools, Inc.
10:40 – 11:30 am
○          Poetry Is The One Simple Hack To Increase Creativity, Shawn Pfunder, GoDaddy
○          Data Driven Video – Your Unfair Advantage: Bringing Data to the Entire Marketing Funnel, Tony Yi, Videology Group
○          Mobile and Video Media Revolution, Kevin Murphy, DistroScale, Inc.
1:00 – 1:50 pm
○          12 Principles Of Viral Content, Ryan McCready, Venngage
○          Live Podcasting Panel

2:00 – 2:50 pm
○          Livestreaming Panel
○          Facebook Family Feud, Clayton Clark, Big Rush Marketing
3:10 – 4:00 pm
○          Social Media Crisis Management Panel
○          Digital Storytelling: How Brands Can Better Understand Their Consumer Through Underground Blogs, Cami Thomas, FTCTV
 
Day 2, March 28th
9:40 – 10:30 am
○          Why is Fewer and Bigger . . . Better on Facebook?, John Patten, Facebook, and Stephanie Harwin, Nestlé Purina
10:40 – 11:30 am
○          $4.6 Million, 24 Hours: Using Facebook Live to Raise Millions in Louisville, Chris Strub, I Am Here, LLC, and Cara Baribeau, Community Foundation of Louisville
○          Social Video: 5 Mistakes You’re Probably Making, Jeremy Corray, Coolfire Studios
○          Facebook Advertising Panel
1:00 – 1:50 pm
○          Why You Need To Optimize Your Video Content For Mobile, Elizabeth Giorgi, Mighteor
○          Branding While Broke, Keisha Mabry
○          Search Snippets: How To Create Content That Targets Spot No. 0 in Google, Jared Reed, Pan Galactic Digital, LLC
2:00 – 2:50 pm
○          Effective Advertising: The Keys To A Great Creative, Elizabeth King, Nielsen
○          Harnessing Our Humanity: Shifting Perceptions With Employee Storytelling, Kim Clark, GoDaddy
3:10 – 4:00 pm
○          #Ad Isn’t Enough: Laws Affecting Influencer And Social Media Marketing, Mark Sableman, Thompson Coburn LLP
○          Making Digital More Human, Eliot Frick, Bigwidesky
○          Next Level Native With BuzzFeed, Phil Cara, Buzzfeed
 
Role: SEO/SEM Managers
MDMC18 offers a number of sessions for those working with SEO and SEM. Here is the list.
Day 1, March 27th
9:40 – 10:30 am
○          Digital Content Creation – Art or Science?, Finola Austin, Refinery29
10:40 – 11:30 am
○          Mobile and Video Media Revolution, Kevin Murphy, DistroScale, Inc.
1:00 – 1:50 pm
○          How To Befriend Google & Win!, Chris Brewer, Online Marketing Giant and OMG Commerce
2:00 – 2:50 pm
○          Turning Big Data to Shopper Experiences, Shaun Brown, Momentum Worldwide, and Steve Mackinnon, IBM Global Business Services
 
Day 2, March 28th
9:40 – 10:30 am
○          Data Driven Conversion Optimization, Sara Kear, Adept Marketing
○          Marketing Trends: Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Craig Rutkowske, SAS
○          The Future Of Mobile, Stephanie Cox, Lumavate

10:40 – 11:30 am
○          How To Win At And With SEO, Dave Rohrer, NorthSide Metrics
○          Is Your Brand Ready For AI, IoT And The Sonic Revolution?, Gabe Tartaglia, Pandora
1:00 – 1:50 pm
○          Search Snippets: How To Create Content That Targets Spot No. 0 in Google, Jared Reed, Pan Galactic Digital, LLC
○          Content Development Panel
2:00 – 2:50 pm
○          Mapping Your Digital Footprint, Juntae Delane, Digital Branding Institute
3:10 -4:00 pm
○          Improving Your SEM Campaign to Reach Your Goals Panel
 
Role: Entry Level Professionals
For those conference attendees who are making their first steps in digital and social media marketing MDMC18 recommends attending the sessions listed below.
Day 1, March 27th
9:40 – 10:30 am
○          Crisis at the Speed of Social, Cully Eisenberg, FleishmanHillard
○          Digital Content Creation – Art or Science?, Finola Austin, Refinery29
10:40 – 11:30 am
○          Poetry Is The One Simple Hack To Increase Creativity, Shawn Pfunder, GoDaddy
○          Mobile and Video Media Revolution, Kevin Murphy, DistroScale, Inc.
1:00 – 1:50 pm
○          12 Principles Of Viral Content, Ryan McCready, Venngage
○          Live Podcasting Panel
○          The Price of Privacy, Ayana Miller, Privilgd
2:00 – 2:50 pm
○          What They Say vs What We Hear: Translating Business For Creatives, Douglas Davis, New York City College of Technology
○          2018 Hiring And Compensation Trends, Elizabeth Ledbetter, The Creative Group
○          How to Create Digital Videos that Drive Real Results, Tyler Kelley, SLAM!
3:10 – 4:00 pm
○          Social Media Crisis Management Panel
 
Day 2. March 28th
9:40 – 10:30 am
○          Marketing Trends: Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Craig Rutkowske, SAS
○          Why is Fewer and Bigger . . . Better on Facebook?, John Patten, Facebook, and Stephanie Harwin, Nestlé Purina
10:40 – 11:30 am
○          Social Video: 5 Mistakes You’re Probably Making, Jeremy Corray, Coolfire Studios
○          The Blogger’s Mindset – Find Topics, Write Faster, And Reach More People, Mike Alton, The Social Media Hat
○          Facebook Advertising Panel
1:00 – 1:50 pm
○          Branding While Broke, Keisha Mabry
○          Search Snippets: How To Create Content That Targets Spot No. 0 in Google, Jared Reed, Pan Galactic Digital, LLC
○          Content Development Panel
2:00 – 2:50 pm
○          Making Effective Data Visualization Is A Key Marketing Skill, Kaiser Fung, Principal Analytics Prep
○          Personal Branding Panel-Creating And Applying A Successful Personal Brand
3:10 – 4:00 pm
○          Making Digital More Human, Eliot Frick, Bigwidesky
○          Next Level Native With BuzzFeed, Phil Cara, Buzzfeed
Check the full conference schedule here.

 

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Turn Marketing Data Into A Business Advantage With Matt Hertig At #MDMC18


Matt Hertig is the CEO, CTO and co-founder of Alight Analytics – an analytics consultancy which works with such brands as the Memphis Grizzlies, AMC Theatres, Helzberg Diamonds and many others. When working with its clients, Alight Analytics utilizes the technology solution, called ChannelMix®, which is the world’s first data management platform designed for marketing.
During their session at MDMC18 called “The Challenge of Becoming a Data-Driven Company”, Matt and his co-presenter Sean Cotton, are going to share the tips on how to turn marketing data into a real-world business advantage, and generate real ROI from marketing analytics.
In the pre-conference Q&A session below, Mark provides his insights on digital marketing.

Q1. What do you think is the next game changer in digital marketing, such as a new, modern tactic, tool, or aspect of marketing? How will it evolve in the coming years?
M.H.: Right now, for too many marketers, digital strategy is like a puzzle without a box because there are so many channels and sources of data. Marketers have all these different pieces but no overarching view of how they all fit together. 

In the future, there’s going to be less of that fragmentation — as an industry, we’re going to solve the data problem. So instead of being forced to piece all these data sources together on your own, you’ll be able to start with a holistic picture of what happened. 
Q2. According to you, what are the top three mistakes committed by organizations today in leveraging digital marketing?
M.H.: One of the most common problems is using the wrong metrics to make decisions. It’s easy to get distracted by big numbers like impressions or pageviews. But are those really illustrating what’s happening with your marketing? You need to pay attention to the measures that will inform what you should do next. 

Another big problem is when marketers look at their marketing results channel by channel, in silos. We need to view analytics holistically — how do different channels amplify or interact with each other? 

And finally, too many marketers aren’t using analytics to drive their plans. When it comes time to allocate their media spend, they hand out 20 percent to digital, 20 percent to TV, 20 percent to search, and so on. It’s like Mom handing out cookies — everybody gets a fair share. 

But what we should do is leverage our marketing analytics to spend budget where it’s going to generate the best returns. Maybe search drives the bulk of your conversions. In that case, maybe it should get 50 or 70 percent of your spend. 
Q3. Which are your three favorite digital marketing tools?
M.H.: My team would kill me if I didn’t mention ChannelMix, our data aggregation solution for marketing. We can automatically collect, clean and organize all your marketing data, no matter the source, and put it into an analysis-ready format.

Once you’ve got that perfected data, it’s so much easier to analyze and visualize that with best-in-class tools. At Alight, we use Tableau and Google Data Studios. They’re comprehensive, customizable solutions that can do whatever you or your clients need. There are other viz tools out there that promise to be “easier,” but inevitably, we’ve seen people get stuck because those tools are so limited.
Q4. If you were looking to hire a digital marketer, what are the top 3-5 skills you would be looking for in a candidate?
M.H.: If you’re hiring an analyst or anyone who’s going to be directly involved with marketing analytics, there are three things you should look for: 

– a core knowledge of how data works 
– a contextual understanding of how different channels impact and influence each other
– the ability to tell a holistic performance story 

Because if you have all those things — that core knowledge and context — I can teach you all the technical skills you need. It’s a lot harder to teach the intellectual skills. 
Q5. What’s the industry buzzword that annoys you the most these days and why?
M.H.: “Dashboard,” at least when people treat dashboards like they’re a crystal ball that will magically tell them what to do. 

In reality, the dashboards used by most marketers aren’t tracking metrics that will enable them to make good business decisions. These visualizations are usually very pretty-looking, but they don’t contain the kinds of decision metrics that marketers need.  

We prefer the term “performance stories” when we’re talking about marketing analytics. That’s because the different pieces of your data ecosystem affect and influence each other. “I did X, which caused Y, and that resulted in Z.” When you achieve that comprehensive view, you’re going to understand your results with greater insight.

 

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Combine Direct Mail & Data To Convert More Sales With Danni Eickenhorst At #MDMC18

Danni Eickenhorst is a CMO at ReachDynamics – a St. Louis ad tech startup, where she utilizes advanced remarketing technologies to convert leads and sales. Danni is also a former UMSL Digital Adjunct Professor, and she still teaches marketing methods to achieve business goals for both – businesses and non-profits.

In her session at MDMC18 called “Data + Direct Mail: The Renaissance of a Traditional Marketing Tool”, Danni will talk about the tools and methods to combine direct mail and data in order to convert more sales and generate leads.
In the Q&A session below, Danni shares her insights on digital marketing.
Q1. What are some big mistakes a business could make when it comes to digital marketing?
D.E.: The biggest marketing mistake I so often see businesses make is putting a lower priority on retention marketing and reputation/referral marketing. In my mind, this should be a top priority in every marketing strategy because it’s easier to sell repeat services and products to someone with whom you already have a strong relationship. One important aspect many marketers don’t pursue is to seek out reviews from those happy customers as well. Some businesses choose to ignore this side of their strategy because of a misguided sense that they need to be humble and asking for a pat on the back seems too self-serving, but in my mind, there is nothing more valuable than these reviews and referrals. They are certainly self-serving, but the benefits far outweigh a momentary moment of discomfort in making that ask.
Q2. Share your favorite digital marketing case study. What did you like most it?
D.E.: In my work with ReachDynamics, I had the pleasure of recently writing one that demonstrates the power of utilizing cutting-edge technologies like email remarketing and direct mail remarketing to convert sales and leads. In this particular case study, one brand realized a 200% increase in lead conversions – and the best part is that their approach is easily replicable by other brands.
Q3. Which are your three favorite digital marketing tools?
D.E.: As someone who does a lot of coaching with small businesses, start-ups, and non-profits, I tend to gravitate toward marketing tools that make marketing possible for everyone. With that in mind, three of my favorites are:

• Canva – A beautiful, versatile, FREE graphic design tool that just about anyone can use. 

• SEMRush – An extremely powerful SEO keyword monitoring and research tool, SEMRush keeps adding capabilities that make it more valuable in my day-to-day work. Just when I thought they couldn’t be more amazing, they added content research tools and gap analysis tools that help you realize what content you’re missing when compared with your competitors. I’ve used SEMRush daily for about 3 years, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

  • ReachDynamics – I’ve been working with the team behind this tool for a little over a year, and I’ve implemented them for some of my clients as well. This tool allows companies to identify the website visitors who have left their site without converting, then to follow up with them via email and direct mail – even when they haven’t provided contact information.

  • BONUS – Almighty.Press – This is a newer tool in my arsenal. It allows markets to identify, curate and distribute trending content, before it’s trending. This allows me to cut through the clutter and identify quality content that will perform well.

Q4. If you were looking to hire a digital marketer, what are the top 3-5 skills you would be looking for in a candidate?
D.E.:

  1. PROBLEM SOLVER: I’m famous for telling people to “Google it!” when we’re identifying problems and looking for solutions, but seriously, having someone on your team who can identify a problem and at least do some cursory research to present some solutions to you? That’s a MAJOR asset in my mind.
  2. WIDE BREADTH OF CAPABILITIES: This one always gets me in trouble when hiring – but because marketing is such a varied and flexible practice, an employee that can create quality content, a graphic to go with it, add it to the website on their own, promote it, optimize it, and then track their own analytics is an INVALUABLE ROCK STAR to me. 
  3. LIFETIME LEARNER: I seek out employees that are always learning the newest and latest on their own – from active attendance at conferences, to daily listening to marketing podcasts and reading blogs. A person that keeps their ear to the ground for what’s next will prove a constant value.
  4. EYE ON THE PRIZE: When hiring digital marketers, my primary concern is that they approach marketing with business goals in mind. Let’s not make noise for the sake of making noise. Let’s strategically craft a message and a campaign that provides our clients and companies with a return on their investment.

Q5. Who are three people you respect when it comes to digital marketing?
D.E.:

  • Chris Reimer (@ChrisReimer) – Not only is he an all-around GOOD guy, but he’s also someone you can look to as a consistent presence on social media. While the rest of us go through periods of burnout, this guy keeps tweeting and snapchatting and Instagramming – and he does it well. 

    • Caitie Metz (@Caitie_Metz) and Victoria Emanuela (@victoria.emanuela) – Caitie is an artist, an activist and an all-around inspirational human being. Victoria is a counselor and meditation teacher. Together, they’ve found ways to utilize Instagram to start some really important stories, and to push forward a message of embodied empowerment, body positivity and emotional healing. They do this through a shared account and project @OnBeinginYourBody. While note solely digital marketing, they provide me with marketing inspiration. They’ve done an incredible job of building a following and a successful project – all through some brilliant uses of Instagram.

    • Mike Spakowski (@MSpako) and the entire team at Atomicdust would have to be on this list. I’ve had a professional crush on their work much of my marketing career. As a professional marketer, I keep an eye on what agencies I respect are doing. Mike and Atomicdust have been on my radar for years, and as I’ve watched their insights and their work, it’s been clear to me that they are solidly bringing their A-Game to every project and a mind for strategy as well. When they write a blog, I read it, and I’m always looking forward to what they do next.

Q6. What’s the industry buzzword that annoys you the most these days and why?
D.E.:  Activation! Because I didn’t come up in the agency world, there are plenty of acronyms and buzzwords that seem superfluous and unnecessary in my mind. I always prefer to speak plainly and to work plainly – focusing on the work at hand and the business goals. 

At the end of the day, the “targets” you’re looking to “activate” are PEOPLE and I want to always be mindful of that. Every PERSON has many reasons why they’ll buy a product or engage with a product and many reasons why they may not.