Blogging — Lauren MacEwen

The New Face of Email Marketing

11/01/2012 by Joseph Baker

In a recent article on the Business 2 Community blog, a contributing writer posited that a consumer was like a gorilla and you, a business owner, have a banana you need to give to the consumer as quickly as possible. Whether or not you agree with that statement, something about it does ring true: the faster you get products and services to customers, the faster your company profits. But how do you get your products and services out there? The answer to that question is well-known: advertising. However, in today’s world the advertising sector is changing. It’s no longer solely about TV commercials, billboards or magazine prints. You need more than that if your brand and products are going to stick in a consumer’s mind. Often, that extra factor comes in the form of email marketing.

Effective marketing, no matter the form, has always centered on the consumer and how the product or service affects their life. In order to have effective marketing, a marketer must be able to show how the world is connected and how their products or services can truly make a difference. Those principles still apply to email marketing, but there are other considerations to keep in mind. Here are some effective ways to use email marketing in today’s world.

1. Stories and testimonies

Who doesn’t enjoy a great story and personal triumph or someone overpowering a great fear or accomplishing a goal? Stories connect us as people and there is power in that. Reach out to the people that use your products and services. Find someone with an amazing story and ask if he or she would like to share it with the rest of your customers. By doing this, you’re allowing others to see what you are doing to help the world.

2. Engage

Don’t just write an email and then hit send. Think about the consumer that will read the email and how they will respond to it. As with other online marketing campaigns, be sure to wrap up your email with a call to action. What do you want this email to accomplish? What do you want your customers to do after reading it? Make it easy for a consumer to find their way to your company’s product page or to a landing page, alleviating the need for them to navigate several screens before finding the one they want. Encourage your audience to interact with you, whether they are responding to a survey, visiting your website or talking to customer service. Email is a way to establish relationships.

3. Format for mobile

In today’s world, almost everyone is constantly on the go, which means that people often check email from a mobile device. One of the biggest mistakes a company can make when sending out an email is not to format it for mobile devices. Doing so means keeping the layout simple, using a single-column format and limiting the amount of actions it takes to resize. Keep these things in mind as you are designing, writing and sending out email.

4. Use videos

Videos are a proven method for communicating with consumers. Like stories and testimonies, videos are way to show consumers how your products and services connect people all over the world. However, you shouldn’t merely embed the video in the email. By doing this, you aren’t directing customers to your website. Instead, simply insert a photo or screenshot from the video that redirects to your landing page when the reader clicks on it. The less customers have to do in order to reach your website and view your products, the better.

Email marketing is all about effective communication. Don’t bombard your readers with a lot of email; readers will send that message to a trash folder without being opened or unsubscribe from your communiques. Instead, make focused and targeted videos that readers will enjoy. Relate to the consumer and show how your products and/or services are vital to them. Don’t just provide empty copy about a product. Show your audience how that product can improve their lives.

Filed Under: Blogging, Strategy & Business Tagged With: blog, Blogging, branding, business, business development, facebook, facebook features

Tweak and Repeat

10/25/2012 by Joseph Baker

Any business can apply multi-channel marketing, but cross-channel marketing is the ideal way to increase revenue and customer loyalty, especially when marketers apply the Pareto principle. Cross-channel marketing is more challenging than multi-channel marketing. Instead of focusing on disseminating a message via multiple channels, cross-channel marketing is customer focused. Companies must expend significant resources to capture adequate information about users and track their needs across all channels. Applying the Pareto principle cuts down the time needed to discover client needs while maximizing ROI.

The Pareto principle

Although originally not related to marketing, the Pareto principle stems from work by an Italian economist named Vilfredo Pareto, who discovered 80 percent of the land in Italy was owned by 20 percent of the population. Surveys he conducted confirmed other countries had a similar ratio. The economist even discovered 80 percent of his garden peas came from 20 percent of his pea pods.

Pareto did not actually come up with the principle, however. A business management consultant named Joseph M. Juran discovered 80 percent of quality control issues stemmed from the top 20 percent of problems. He named the principle after Pareto. Over time, people have expanded the principle to explain other business matters, such as:

80 percent of complaints stem from 20 percent of customers
80 percent of profits come from 20 percent of time spent
80 percent of sales are by 20 percent of sales staff
80 percent of sales are made from 20 percent of products

Perhaps the most relevant discovery for cross-channel marketing is knowing 20 percent of the customers are responsible for 80 percent of the profits. Knowing this, cross-channel marketers should focus their efforts on identifying and tracking those 20 percent.

The efficiency of the Pareto principle

Cross-channel marketing requires companies to track users across all channels, meaning each customer must have their own profile and sales staff must be able to match content to the customer. Taking the time to track all of a company’s customers is a waste of time and resources, according to the Pareto principle.

Only 20 percent of the customers possess exceptional brand loyalty. These one out of five customers are really the only people worth tracking because they produce most of the profits. Tracking the top 20 percent is a more realistic goal than tracking everyone as well. Once the top 20 percent is identified, sales staff can not only concentrate on marketing to them but they can also see who those people influence socially and push to expand their ideal customer base.

The Pareto principle and staffing

For the most effective cross-channel marketing, a company should identify their best salespeople and then expand. Cross-channel marketing relies on well-trained sales staff, especially in a call center. For example, a customer sees a product on TV or in a magazine he likes. He goes online to view the product on the company website, perhaps even scanning a QR code with his smartphone, before calling the company to ask questions. All of the data about what the customer wants is available. When he calls in, a salesperson has the chance to study the data and anticipate the customer’s needs, increasing the potential of a sale and the chance the customer will become part of the core 20 percent.

Companies can use sales figures to find the most effective employees, but they should also look for people who display leadership qualities, are self starters and who influence others. These people will attract more high-quality workers, ensuring the sales staff comprises only the best employees. The remaining 80 percent should be retrained, reassigned or possibly let go.

Companies can even use the Pareto principle when recruiting workers by looking for the natural leaders at other companies. Often times, recent college graduates who have not yet had the chance to prove themselves with sales numbers or a customer service history can become part of the top 20 percent. They are highly educated and motivated to prove themselves.

Bridging the gap between marketing within channels and creating integrated customers takes significant effort. Narrowing down the targeted group with the Pareto principle simply makes sense. After brainstorming the best ways to accomplish this goal, companies can even use the principle to narrow down ideas as the top 20 percent are most likely to result in 80 percent of the results.

Filed Under: Guest Bloggers, Strategy & Business, Success Tagged With: blog, Blogging, business, business development, facebook, facebook features, google, google plus, marketing, online social networking

War of the Words: How to be a WOW Blogger

10/15/2012 by Guest Blogger

When radio was young, Orson Welles held the world in frightened captivity when he narrated an adaptation of H.G. Wells’ fictional tale, The War of the Worlds. Since the first hour of the radio program was structured as a series of news reports, many tuning in to the broadcast heard frantic, panicked descriptions of an alien attack on our planet, and, trusting what they heard coming through the box, believed it to be true.

But that was 1938. Surely, that could never happen today, right? Well, probably not to that degree. But the power of words, once they are transmitted, is still undeniable.

Nowadays, with technologies that have gone beyond the one-way messaging of radio and TV, such as texting and Internet communications like emailing, social media, chat rooms, forums, and blogging, we are sending and receiving information to such a degree that our ideas can make an instantaneous impact. At the same time, however, our choice of words is more important than ever, and our message needs to stand out among the seemingly endless stream of sound bites we are bombarded with each day.

The most impactful leaders of our generation utilize the latest avenues of mass communication and social media to impart their ideas and share their knowledge. But what a leader says, and how she says it, is critical to her success. Words are indeed powerful, but their strength is intrinsically linked to the way they are communicated.

Blogging is an ideal format for a WOW leader to convey her message to a broad spectrum of followers. As a leadership journal of sorts, a blog provides a venue through which ideas can be shared, opinions can be voiced, problems can be discussed, and solutions can be offered.

So, how do you make your business blog a success? How do you turn your WOW ideas into a WOW leadership blog?

1. Keep it short. Whatever you say, say it fast. You are competing for the attention of busy, information-overloaded professionals. (Admittedly, keeping my blogs short, succinct, and to the point, is one of my greatest challenges.)

2. Make it relevant. Know your target audience. With a leadership blog, keep your topics related to the challenges faced by those in the business arena. Don’t stray off topic with irrelevant posts and offhanded observations.

3. Find your voice. Be confident in your own opinions, and then use your voice in a consistent and truthful manner. Remember that your words do have power, and can be helpful, thought-provoking, and inspirational to the right group of individuals. Through an open, honest exchange of thoughts, you can lead as well as learn, reinforcing your own leadership abilities and honing the skills that make you successful.

4. Stay positive. Although there may be times when your topic refers to negative subject matter, don’t always be the bearer of bad news. Keep your tone positive in nature with a solutions-based approach to realistic problems.

5. Think big. Unless Donald Trump is writing a blog, readership is anything but guaranteed. Once you start blogging, your following will likely be relatively small. But a great leader keeps her goals focused on continuous growth and steady progress. She is always thinking big, aiming towards expanding her viewer profile and reaching more potential leaders.

Blogging can be an invaluable tool for up-and-coming or established leaders. A blogger’s message may not have the effect that Orson Welles’ broadcast had on the public nearly 75 years ago, but through the latest technologies, the power of words can be just as impactful.

Sheri Staak has served in many Vice Presidential roles at both large privately held and publicly traded global companies. She’s a corporate powerhouse and has been the recipient of numerous sales awards and recognitions. In addition to her key position in a highly aggressive, extremely competitive industry, Sheri is a regular contributor to a travel newsletter, lending her expertise by writing articles that provide tips and advice for business travelers. She also shares her wisdom and business perspectives with regular postings at her leadership-focused blog, The Staak Report.

Filed Under: Contributors, Featured, Social Media Tagged With: blog, blog goes, Blogging, business blog, cinema of the united states, internet culture, leadership, leadership blog, make your blog, orson welles, Politics, social information processing, technology, war of the words, word, wow blog, your blog, your business blog

Creating More Engagement

06/28/2012 by Joseph Baker

Social media offers businesses unrivaled opportunities for direct customer connection. A new poll from the Allstate Corporation found that, while Americans are skeptic about the information found on social media, they believe that interacting via social media makes them more informed as consumers. They also feel it gives then the edge of influence compared with consumers that do not use social media. This engagement carries over in a variety of ways: The Allstate Corporation poll found that social media users are more likely to perform some type of volunteer work and are more likely to seek out opinions before making larger purchases. Sixty-four percent of consumers expressed a desire to see companies using social media for customer service purposes, and 59 percent revealed that they found a company more accessible if it had a social presence.

Each social media outlet has its own strengths. For spreading the word about sales, giveaways and sweepstakes, Facebook works very well since it supports image hosting so well. For connecting with individual users and seeming responsive to customer concerns, Twitter allows for a quick but meaningful interaction. And for leveraging business connections, LinkedIn is best. Additional benefits of growing social media use may include reaching more consumers with less money than you might spend on a traditional ad campaign, benefiting from being seen as accessible and modern by consumers, and leveraging social media presence to other parts of the workforce, such as human resources.

As customers go mobile, social media outlets place increasing importance on mobile connection. Recently LinkedIn developed an iPad app that runs via mobile web. And Facebook keeps taking about developing a mobile phone and recently bought the popular web and mobile photo sharing Instagram. They’ve even developed an app for feature phones, showing that all mobile platforms are primed for social experiences.

By mobilizing your web presence, you increase the chance of converting mobile users to social fans. There are many ways to develop a mobile website; creating a stylesheet that controls screen size and strips your web content of large images can help users navigate your website on the go and doesn’t require an expensive developer. If you want to invest time and money, you can customize an app interface. Having a mobile website also helps users who click on a link in Facebook or Twitter and get directed to your website. If it’s not mobile, chances are high that they won’t stay to read the content.

To keep mobile sites lean–and therefore faster to load–place video, image and other media on the social networks and link to them from the website. Dual promoting keeps your website quick to access, something vital to mobile users, and archives your material.

Of course, to make the most of this social presence, you’ll need to have someone monitoring your social presence on a regular basis, to connect with customers and identify problems, such as unhappy customers, before they get out of hand. As users increase the frequency and the ways of social communication, this social point person must keep up with the volume so you maintain the appearance of approachability.

Given the changing context of social media, which is increasingly going mobile due to high smartphone and tablet use, businesses need to constantly adapt to stay on top of the game. Look out for new platforms that arise, such as Pinterest, and become an early adopter to maintain social prominence with existing customers and attract new fans.

Filed Under: Blogging, Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Social Media, Strategy & Business, Success Tagged With: blog, Blogging, business development, marketing, online social networking, search engine optimization

Small Business Going Mobile

06/21/2012 by Joseph Baker

You probably have a website for your business. It’s a great, low-cost way to market your products and services. You’ve probably also considered the need for a mobile application, too. Look around; it seems like everyone is getting a smartphone. Should you jump in and build an app for your small business? Do you need a mobile presence? Mobile applications can be developed for very little money and users can download them in under a minute so the answer to both questions seems to be affirmative. But what can these little software applications really do for you? Well, that depends.

Why You Should Bother

According to Pew Research, about 35 percent of American adults owned a smartphone as of July 2011. That figure is certainly growing. It represents an opportunity for small-business owners to use technology to their advantage. Gartner Research reports that mobile applications are expected to earn providers $58 billion by 2014. That’s a pretty staggering figure, right? Can you make interacting with your customers a little easier, more convenient or even playful? Consider it if:

Your business offers a service that could be ordered or used by customers on the go.
New customers might be enticed to buy from your business when they interact with your mobile application.
Your customers currently interact with you and each other using social media technology such as wikis, blogs and forums.
You’re willing to try creating a mobile application and dedicate some staff and budget to the effort.
You can envision new ways to make money for your business using a mobile application. For example, if you offer a global product or service, you might be able to find new customers in Asia, where mobile application use has been rapidly adopted.

Getting Started
To get started, check out websites such as Infinite Monkeys or BudgetAppDev. You can create a basic business application with display advertisements with the Infinite Monkeys drag and drop interface for free. It’s easy (and fun) to create your application. Video help provides guidance along the way. By specifying some basic information and uploading a background graphic, you can create an application that reinforces your brand and helps you connect. You get to choose which features and functions you want added, including photo sharing, blog feeds and videos. You can download your custom QR code and put it on your brochures, signs and marketing collateral. Users will be linked your application or the HTML5 version in the event that your customer doesn’t have an Android or iPhone. You can also view usage statistics.

If You Need Inspiration
Check out the BudgetAppDev portfolio for some excellent examples to trigger your creative flair. People love to use their mobile phone to pass the time. Can you develop a dynamite quiz related to your small business that people will play while waiting in an airport or train station? Want to package up training and support tips, tools and resources for your company that your customers can access from any location? How about a restaurant guide for the area surrounding your business as a benefit to visitors?

If any of these ideas appeal to you, you’ve already taken the first step in designing and developing a mobile application to support your small business. Now, take your idea and consult with your customers to find out what they might need.

Filed Under: Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Social Media, Strategy & Business, Technology Tagged With: analytics, audience, blog, Blogging, business development, marketing, mobile marketing, online social networking, ROI

Video Blog when I look like THIS??

12/02/2011 by Lauren MacEwen

To video blog or not to video blog?

That is a big question a lot of bloggers face. But sometimes your face might be the issue on why you are staying behind the camera and in front of the keyboard. In this vlog I discuss, and demonstrate, why our own appearance might be influencing our choice in blog format.

Filed Under: Blogging, Vlog Tagged With: appearance, Blogging, blogs, physical appearance, technology, video blog, video blogging, Vlog, world wide web

Blogging is Doing

10/27/2011 by Joseph Baker

Search engines are used by billions of people every day, helping them find products to buy, stores to buy them from, information on anything imaginable or the directions to their grandmother’s house. Because search engines are such a huge part of consumers’ lives, they have become a huge part of how companies do business. Users are often unaware of the existence of businesses because they don’t show up on the first page of search results, creating the need for business to employ search engine optimization (SEO) in order to gain a wider audience and generate profitable conversions.

Having an official blog is an effective method of gaining rank in various search engines, particularly since Google’s Panda update was rolled out, favoring pages with high quality content over weak, shallow pages. As part of both a social media marketing campaign and a service being provided to customers, a well-maintained, attractive blog featuring informative, useful content can provide tremendous support for a business.

By emphasizing valuable content and displaying the knowledge of the company’s employees in their field, a corporate blog can build relationships with customers while gaining the positive attention of Google and Bing. Integrating the blog into social networking initiatives and making it part of a cohesive brand will increase the likelihood of being ranked highly in search results and of increasing customer retention and brand awareness.

Content is King

Google’s Panda update made it clear that the search engine values quality content over anything else, particularly the overuse of keywords. While websites could formerly get away with having long pages of machine-generated, mostly incoherent text that included repetitive uses of the same keywords, the method for gaining ground in the post-Panda world revolves around well-written pieces that match the context of the site. By writing content with customers and potential customers in mind, businesses can satisfy both their intended audience and search engine bots.

Show What You Know

In addition to providing well-written, pertinent information on their blogs, companies should provide useful information for consumers. Blogs should not be used to advertise a company’s products (though a short post announcing a new product is okay) but should instead educate customers on frequently misunderstood aspects of their business or field. For example, a heating and air conditioning repair company could feature blog posts concerning tips for homeowners to keep their HVAC systems running efficiently or posts describing the various heating and cooling options available to homeowners, along with their strengths and weaknesses. By providing valuable information to consumers, businesses have an easier time maintaining brand awareness with potential customers and being seen as leaders in their field.

Get the Word Out

Every blog post should be accompanied by social buttons that will allow readers to share the post with their friends and colleagues on the most popular social networks, such as Twitter, Google+ and Facebook. Integrating the company blog with other social platforms can increase the visibility of each post–and the blog as a whole–to both consumers and search engines. By keeping the user experience integrated and as seamless as possible among the various social platforms and the company’s website, users will be able to recognize the company and its brand more readily and search engines will notice the uniformity and rank the site more highly.

Filed Under: Blogging, Guest Bloggers, SM3 Tagged With: blog, Blogging, blogs, branding, business development, facebok marketing, facebook, facebook features

5 Rules You Should Break When Blogging for Business

10/14/2011 by Guest Blogger

Blog with stars shooting off the word Blog A common question entrepreneurs ask is, “Should I blog?” If you have a business, it’s worth your while to do so. Why? Consider this: “Companies that blog generate 55 percent more visitor traffic.” So say the authors of From Prospect to Evangelist – Optimizing Relationships with Social Media, a free e-book by HubSpot (a company that creates software and gives out marketing information for businesses). Producing great content, drawing attention through relevant keywords and attracting a community of followers through important topics are all ways to generate traffic. And this traffic can then be diverted to your website and your business.

You may be just starting out, or a veteran blogger, but if you’re overwhelmed and confused by all the “shoulds” out there, here are 5 rules you should be breaking when it comes to blogging for your business:

1. Blog only what you know. They say the same thing about writing. But there’s a big flaw in this. You’re not just limiting what you can write, but your potential for learning as well. Sure, write about what you know, but also leave space for topics you are not familiar with. Do the research and you will eventually increase your expertise in other areas of your professional life. You don’t need years of experience in a subject to write about it. You need passion, good research skills and interest in the topic.

2. Pretend everything is okay. It’s all too tempting to create a perfect persona online. But perfection can create boredom in blogging and an inauthentic representation of your work. Say, for example, you made a mistake in a blog post. You may have quoted the wrong person, added the wrong link, misspelled a word. If your readers and potential customers are commenting about it and you don’t acknowledge your mistake, that’s an elephant in the virtual room. It puts distance between you and your future customers. To be successful in business you need to create trust. Be honest and show them you’re not perfect. Present yourself as human and you will establish better relationships with your prospects and customers.

3. All your posts must be planned. It’s great to have a row of posts lined up when you go on vacation or in case you get sick. Consistency is key to getting an established set of readers to your blog. But to be successful you don’t always have to have your posts planned. Say you’ve got a great new product you want to share with your customers or a marketing strategy you’ve just learned. Spontaneous posts keep your readers on their toes. They’ll never know when something new or exciting may show up on your blog and they will keep coming back for more.

4. Your posts should not be too short, nor too long. I think breaking up your blog with short and long posts makes for an interesting read. There is no specific word count that will make your blog more popular than others. It is the content, not the length that will draw readers. Remember that the next time you want to post a 300-word post and feel the need to double it before it’s published. For more information, read Problogger’s take on post length.

5. To have a successful blog, you must continuously plug your business. We all know you’re blogging to grow your business. But writing your latest press release or touting your product in every post will scare away your readers and potential customers faster than the plague. The most important thing you can do when blogging for your business is to create a community of readers. This means welcoming and answering comments, visiting other blogs, commenting on their posts, creating an email signature with your website and putting your blog on your business card. You want to do everything to garner potential readers to your site and create interesting, engaging posts to keep them there.

These are just a handful of rule-breaking tips. Do you have your own? Share them in the comments below.

Brandi-Ann Uyemura is a professional freelance writer. Not only does she write for other people, but she writes for herself as well. She maintains two blogs. One is for writers and taking your writing to the next level. The other is a blog that is designed to inspire. Her background in English and Psychology give Brandi a great voice, inspiring others to write, and giving insight into the world of writers.

Read her self-titled blog: Brandi Ann Uyemura: Guide from a conscious writer

Read: The Inspiring Bee

Follow her on Twitter @2inspired

Filed Under: Blogging, Guest Bloggers, SM3 Tagged With: blog, bloggers, Blogging, blogging for business, brandi ann uyemura, business, corporate blog, freelance writers, successful business, writers

iCloud OS: Good for Business?

10/13/2011 by Joseph Baker

Apple has finally released their new operating system, iOS5, complete with the highly anticipated iCloud. Drawing on principles of cloud computing, iCloud gives you access to all of your information but doesn’t rely on any one machine, whether it be a computer or dedicated server, to store or access information.

With documents, information, calendar dates, contacts and automatic backups now stored in the cloud, how we can we expect to see businesses utilize and thrive with these new resources? Or, can we expect a change at all?

Paperless? Or Close To It?

Whether to cut down on cost or become more eco-friendly, many businesses have been taking steps towards becoming paperless for a while. Though it’s difficult to completely leave paper behind, iCloud eliminates much of the need for paper.

With documents stored in the cloud, there’s no need to print. And, as you continue to re-draft your business model, there’s no need to print updates or make changes in every document. Any changes you make in sixth draft will be applied all across the cloud. All of your iOS devices will be kept up-to-date with changes.

Faster Pace?

With many apps designed for iCloud and mobile use, the loading time will be significantly less. Not only will your apps and documents load faster, but the ability to work on the go and around the clock could mean people will do so. While we once had to stop working for the thirty minutes we rode the subway, or drove to a meeting or the hour we spent eating lunch, we could soon work straight through all that down time.

Sharing in the cloud means instant access to information, which means faster responses, which adds up to more business at the end of the day.

Will We Ever Have An Excuse Not to Work?

iCloud allows you to access any document in the cloud from any iCloud enabled device. It boils down to you needing to find a new excuse for “I’m out of the office” or “I don’t have my computer.” With iCloud, your office, computer and information follow you wherever you go. As long as you have an iCloud-enabled device, you have access to your material. Start searching for new cop-outs.

Never Lose Documents Again?

iCloud automatically backs up all of the priceless information on your iGadget. Your music, TV shows, applications, books, photos, app data, organization, messages and ringtones will be backed up daily. When disaster strikes, your business plan or entertainment items won’t be casualties.

Could Staying Connected Be Any Easier?

Your calendars, appointments and contacts will be with you all times now thanks to iCloud. If you wish you could remember Jeff’s email address, now you won’t have to. If you saved it on your computer, it’s now on your phone too. The iOS5 notification center will remind you of any date set in your calendar, any alarms set on your phone or upcoming deadlines.

More fun at Work?

Lastly, with the ease of sharing photos, videos, sites and documents could we maybe all have a little fun too? If you stumbled across a great comic during work, why not share it? Businesses can certainly change with iCloud, so why not for the better?

Filed Under: Blogging, Facebook, Success, Technology Tagged With: blog, Blogging, facebook, facebook features, marketing, online social networking, social media

Wordcamp Albuquerque

09/21/2011 by Lauren MacEwen

Wordcamp is the conference that focuses on everything WordPress. For the first time the conference came to Albuquerque. Attendance was good, about 200 people. Some people had strong backgrounds in WordPress, blogging and web business and others were beginners trying to learn how to get started. The conference had three tracks, a DIY which was more of a beginners track, the Business which was an intermediate track, and the Advanced which was obviously the advanced track. The three levels did a good job at accommodating the various levels of users.

Though I was not a speaker, I was a sponsor of the event. Of course I was an active participant, as I am sure you could guess. Next year I will put in a speaker proposal. I had many people tell me they wished there had been a social media panel at the show.

My favorite seminars from the show were the SEO panel. There was a good discussion about SEO and blogs. The CMS design seminar by Evo Web. Ray did an excellent job going into some depth on CMS customization that I really appreciated. Lastly the Video on a Budget seminar. There was some great information about lighting and editing for video blogs.

The day finished up with a nice get together of food and drink, where people could mingle and chat. I met some great people and hopefully developed some local connections. If you are interested in learning more about WordPress, I recommend attending one of these conferences.

Filed Under: SM3 Tagged With: albuquerque, albuquerque conferences, Blogging, conferences, new mexico, wordpress