(This is the final post of a 3-part series — you may want to read from the bottom up )

Last but not least, HubSpot’s Rick Burnes flew all the way from Boston to talk with us about Inbound Marketing.  This to me was a perfect finish to a perfect day.  As a marketing leader for a company that provides cutting-edge inbound marketing software, Rick talked about how social media can allow people/businesses to build profiles for themselves in order to “pull in” customers.  Traditional outbound marketing will always be part of a company’s plan of attack, but it continues to make up a smaller percentage of most business’ overall marketing strategy.  Inbound marketing essentially speaks of a company’s ability to get found and convert leads.  Not only is it considerably cheaper, but it demonstrates how driving traffic over time from Google (and blogging, etc.) is highly advantageous to a company’s bottom line.  Rick used the following graph to explain:

Another key element of Rick’s presentation was a “how to” for increasing your organic rankings.  It starts with picking your keyword battles, and understanding that there are two (2) sides of optimization:  On-Page (which you can control) and Off-Page (things you can’t control… ie. links into your web site).  How do we get links?  Through tracking, researching, and analytics. Blogging, in particular, means more inbound links (about 97% more!).  It increases your Twitter reach and ranks you higher in Google.  And Off-Page optimization actually outweighs On-Page (apx. 75%-25%).  Rick talked about how “content is key,” as it attracts more of the right people.  With this in mind, it’s important to remember that blogs drive traffic — and help to maximize SEO.  It’s a numbers game, and you’re simply increasing your odds.  Just know who your customers are… and what you will write about.

In terms of publishing content, you must experiment to find out what mediums/vehicles are working best.  Is it your blog? Your podcasts? Videos? Photos? SlideShare Presentations?  The key thing here is, don’t talk about your product.  Share info that YOU learn… info that will attract your target audience.  Get creative.  Convert emails into blog posts.  Package your thoughts in a meaningful way and offer real insight!

Rick reviewed four (4) “engagement steps” that are critical in social media best practices: 1. Listen  2. Listen more  3. Build relationships (answer questions, build trust)  4. Share your content (add to the conversation, pull people back into your own funnel!).  It’s all about conversation and distribution.

The (positively) lethal combination of social media, SEO, and blogging offers tremendous leverage for small and medium-sized businesses.  Learn more about what RARELY gets shared (ie. product info, free trials) and what FREQUENTLY gets shared (ie. new data, funny videos).  Finally, how do you measure what is working for you and what you should be investing in?  By assessing your SEO and tracking your funnel for each channel… PPC, SEO, blog, social media, etc.

Rick provided a great list of resources that you should investigate, in order to educate… and then associate:

Twitter search, google.com/blogsearch, technorati.com, existing blogs, industry Twitterers, twitter.grader.com, Facebook discussions, Yahoo! Answers, LinkedIn Q&A and Discussions.

Picking up where I left off… I was thoroughly impressed with the speakers at SocialBBC.  I honestly found myself 100% engrossed in each presentation… there was never a dull moment.  Here are some highlights:

1.  Gangway Advertising’s, Cynthia Smoot.  What an informative presentation on the importance of Personal Branding!  She began with five (5) key steps to improving visibility, and checking one’s own reputation and credibility on the web.  1. Google Yourself  2. Claim Your Name  3. Create Public Profiles on Social Sites  4. Build a Website/Blog  5. Populate Your Social Sites with Fresh Content (she emphasizes that this is a lifestyle one must adopt!).  In addition, I learned what a GREAT tool www.posterous.com can be for putting just about anything online via email.  They’ve made it oh so simple.

Cynthia offered some thought-provoking comments on social media, explaining that “the people are now the media” and we must learn to “leverage social media to markets.”  We are all “micro-journalists” and it is now simpler than ever to voice our opinions, and through proper execution, attract a loyal audience.

2.  The Marketing Zen Group’s President, and author, Shama Kabani.  She presented some invaluable information focusing on how to establish your expertise and offer value on the web.  It’s all about nurturing a community of fans and followers; experimenting with different content and mediums to find out what types of “delivery” will make the most sense.  This is the most effective use of social media.  Shama says “we are all story tellers at heart.”

When marketing a service or product, Shama listed three (3) things that are crucial for success:  1. Quality and usefulness of the product  2. An excellent web site (with a blog as an added bonus–as long as the content is constantly updated!)  3. A thorough understanding of your company’s BOD [Brand Outcome Differentiator].

Shama also shared some ideas about the ways in which social media can truly benefit an individual or company.  They included, blogging about the usefulness of LinkedIn for recruiters/job seekers, utilizing a Facebook fan page that focuses on going after your company’s demographic; joint venturing–and getting exposure to one another’s audiences, using Twitter as a “global human search engine”; using LinkedIn for gathering recommendations, joining various groups & sharing information on LinkedIn Answers, and utilizing online video (YouTube, etc.) for creating content and ease of distribution.  Learn more from Shama at http://shama.tv/.

3.  Huddle Production’s, Chris Yates.  Everyone should have a chance to meet Chris.  His enthusiasm and charismatic personality are infectious.  And, he let me hold the EMMY he had won for his Gameday Rivals production, “In Search of the Ultimate Tailgater” [see below photo].  Chris started off his presentation with a great quote: “Google is a monster.  Feed that monster.”

As a guy who specializes in video for creating social media solutions for clients, Chris understands the importance of “live” marketing on the web.  He urges his audience to “speak from the heart, and talk about what you know best.” He reiterated the fact that YouTube is the 2nd most search site, next to Google.  Needless to say, businesses can benefit from this!  After learning that people share video 2.5 times more than the written word, this makes sense.  Chris emphasizes that “a product is what a consumer is telling people it is.”  With ease of distribution to large audiences (at low cost), and the fact that video helps search engine optimization, business owners need to seriously consider utilizing this medium as a key marketing tool.

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I have one more speaker I would like to talk about before moving on to the next topic, so hopefully I will get to this tomorrow.

I don’t even know where to start.  Last Thursday was easily one of the most “informative” days of my life.  Some seriously eye-opening presentations by some of the most interesting (and young!) entrepreneurs and social media enthusiasts I’ve learned about in the last few months.

Dallas’ Aloft Hotel hosted a full day Social Business Boot Camp event.  Organized by Urban Interact’s Bev Garvin, this was easily the best $99 I have ever spent — AND it included lunch, two great books on the power of proper web marketing, networking, and two free happy hour drink tickets. Even more importantly, every ticket sold was donated to a great cause, as the event benefited the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

The event was emceed by Ori Bengal, the oober-creative mind behind CouchSurfing Ori.  I had the pleasure of meeting and hanging with Ori during and after the happy hour.  Definitely one of the most interesting people I’ve ever spoken with.  He’s an incredibly social and cerebral individual.  He loves to tell stories and offer advice to others who are interested in harnessing the power of social media for visibility, helping others, and of course, monetary gains.  He exudes confidence and charisma, and is well-versed in a MYRIAD of subjects.  In my opinion, he’s the epitome of a 21st century Renaissance man.  And he’s living a life that so many of us would LOVE to live.  He’s a role model for me in particular, as my passions lie in writing, photography, music & video, comedy, traveling, meeting interesting people, learning, sharing, and daily variety in general.  Definitely check Ori out at www.couchsurfingori.com.  If you’re interested in learning more about the concept of CouchSurfing (and how it’s run as a non-profit organization), go to www.couchsurfing.org.

In my next post, I will be talking about some of the great speakers at Social Business Boot Camp; what I learned and what I feel is important to share!