From quick information-packed insights on the next generation of innovation to learning new ways to handle old problems, our web seminars are a resource to our customers to stay on top of the curve. Each hour-long energy training session is free, so sign up for as many as you like. Every program is presented by one of our experts, proven technical professionals who can teach. Click on the seminar you are interested in attending and fill out the short form. You will be confirmed into the session instantly. We will follow up your registration with an email detailing how to log onto the seminar within 48 hours of the seminar start date.
Current Web Seminars:
- Optimizing YouTube for SEO - June 19
- Social Media for Small Businesses - June 21
- How to Find Time for Social Media - June 26
- Driving Mobile Search Success - July 10
- Events as Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy - July 16 (Originally June 6)
- How Do I Interpret Audience Demographics? - July 18
- How to Apply an Agile Marketing Roadmap - July 24
- Agile Marketing: What's All the Fuss About? - July 30
- Google Plus for Business - July 31
- Being Found Online: Everything You Know About SEO is Wrong - August 7
- How Do I Use Google Plus? - August 14
- The Top 10 Ways to Deal with Nasty & Difficult People - August 22
June 19, 2013 at Noon EST
While many companies are still focusing SEO efforts on their websites because of all of the recent search engine changes, there is one area that remains relatively untapped and not directly affected by the changing algorithms - YouTube. With the recent changes in the Google algorithms, search engine results display all kinds of content, including videos, images, maps and more.
However, just having a YouTube channel today isn't enough. As a marketer, you have to do more than just produce videos or be in charge of content production. You need to be able to use the latest in SEO techniques in order to come up higher not only inside the YouTube searches, but also the search engine results pages. It's imperative that your videos gain the maximum exposure possible when being searched for by users.
In this web seminar, you will learn YouTube SEO optimization techniques that the pro's use as well as in video techniques to rank higher within the YouTube searches themselves.
Social Media for Small Businesses
June 21, 2013 at Noon EST
You constantly hear how important a strong online presence is to any type of business, including small, localized businesses. But these smaller businesses have neither the budget nor manpower of larger companies such as Starbucks and Wal-Mart. Nevertheless, with a little research and proper preparation, any small business can garner successful online engagement.
This web seminar will cover the six most popular social media channels, providing tips on how a small business can use each channel effectively. From Facebook to Wordpress, subtle nuances exist between platforms, and participants will learn how to tailor content to each online location.
Also Covered:
- How to pick which type of social media outlets are best for your small business
- Examples of small business that are effectively utilizing social media
- How to analyze your social media efforts and adapt your strategy
This web seminar is for small business marketers that feel as if they should be doing more online, but aren't sure where to start.
Presenter:
Joseph Havey is the Director of Social Media for the Triangle-based Shelten Media, LLC, a start-up company specializing in social media marketing. He is a member of N.C. State's PRSSA chapter, and writes for the school newspaper, Technician. In his free time, he trains for triathlons.
How to Find Time for Social Media
June 26, 2013 at Noon EST
It's a common complaint: there is simply too much to do on social media. From content development to effective analytics, social media marketing can quickly feel as if it's getting out of hand. Nevertheless, great social media marketing can be boiled down into four key steps: content creation, promotion, relationship-building, and analysis.
This web seminar will cover each area and provide participants with tips on how to save time throughout each process.
Questions this web seminar will answer:
- I have 15 minutes a day I can spend on social media. How do I best use that time?
- How often should I run analytics on my social media?
- How do I juggle multiple platforms?
- Are there any apps or programs that can help me manage my social media accounts?
- I heard I'm supposed to tweet two to four times a day and post to Facebook several times a week. Where do I come up with all that content?
Social media management, when done well, can be challenging. But it doesn't have to be incredibly time-consuming. With the multitude of apps and programs on the Internet today, finding time for social media management is easier than ever.
Presenter:
Joseph Havey is the Director of Social Media for the Triangle-based Shelten Media, LLC, a start-up company specializing in social media marketing. He is a member of N.C. State's PRSSA chapter, and writes for the school newspaper, Technician. In his free time, he trains for triathlons.
July 10, 2013 at Noon EST
The increasing popularity of mobile search requires your website to be compliant across multiple platforms, including smartphones and tablets, if you expect to succeed. This web seminar will review why mobile is a 'can't miss' factor when taking search engine marketing into account. It will also introduce you to a strategy that will ease the pain of complying with several platforms, and increase your traffic numbers.
Presenter:
As founder of RSO Consulting, Rob Sanders brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the world of online marketing. Rob provides creative and technical solutions to his clients that represent many verticals, including healthcare, e-commerce, technology, law, and finance.
Rob is Google AdWords and Analytics certified and has over 15 years of experience in pay per click (PPC) management, search engine optimization (SEO) and web analytics consulting. Rob received an MBA from the University of San Francisco and is the author of the book 42 Rules for Applying Google Analytics.
Events as Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy
July 16, 2013 at Noon EST (Originally June 6)
According to FierceCMO more than 40% of small businesses use events as a marketing tool. 71% percent of those small businesses say events are integral to their organizational success. For B2B marketers workshops, seminars and lectures are the most popular event tools. Education or training events, conferences and networking events also show up high on the list.
Events are important for several reason including education and training, generating sales/revenue and attracting new customers. But events are hard. They take a lot of work, returns are difficult to track, and in most cases, require subject matter expertise and/or sales representatives to be successful.
In this web seminar, we will take a look at how to successfully incorporate an event strategy into your content marketing mix. We will discuss best practices around content development for events as well as promotional marketing.
Presenter:
David Mantica, President – ASPE, Inc.
How Do I Interpret Audience Demographics?
July 18, 2013 at Noon EST
Analytics is one of the most important steps in the social media marketing process. While measuring engagement is the most common function of analytics, audience demographics shouldn't be ignored. The online behaviors of a 40-year-old mom are different than those of a 15-year-old boy, and your marketing strategy should be tailored to your audience. How visual should you get? How many links should you post, and to what type of content should you link?
In this web seminar you will learn:
- The different social media demographics and the behaviors of each kind.
- The most common methods for marketing to each type of demographic.
- Tips for determining your own online demographics.
If you're a marketer that needs help determining how to adapt your online strategy to your consumer base, this web seminar is for you.
Presenter:
Joseph Havey is the Director of Social Media for the Triangle-based Shelten Media, LLC, a start-up company specializing in social media marketing. He is a member of N.C. State's PRSSA chapter, and writes for the school newspaper, Technician. In his free time, he trains for triathlons.
How to Apply an Agile Marketing Roadmap
July 24, 2013 at Noon EST
The use of a roadmap in traditional Agile software development is well established, but Agile Marketing is still the new kid on the block. In Agile Marketing, it's important to get things done fast and efficiently, but you can't overlook quality. A roadmap allows you to keep the big picture in mind in order to visualize what lies ahead to reach your goals. During this web seminar we will discuss:
- What an Agile Marketing roadmap looks like
- Who's in charge of the roadmap
- How to get the most out of Agile Marketing roadmaps
Presenter:
John Mardlin is an Agile marketer based in Victoria, British Columbia. He has managed marketing teams serving the education sector. His difficulty in finding a tool to serve the needs of collaborating with clients on Agile projects has led him to partner in the building of his startup, PMRobot. He is also the co-founder and co-director of TEDxVictoria. His analytical approach to marketing is informed by his math and engineering education at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada.
Agile Marketing: What's All the Fuss About?
July 30, 2013 at Noon EST
Marketers today are challenged by many things – the speed of change, adoption of new technologies, new communications channels, globalization, and limited resources. Despite these challenges, traditional marketing planning has not changed in more than 50 years.
This seminar will explore why conventional methods of managing marketing no longer work, and why agile methods, inspired by Agile software development, can help marketing teams get more done and adapt quickly to change. Finally, we'll take a look at why analysts like Gartner Group and Forrester are saying that Agile Marketing is the future of marketing.
Presenter:
Keith Finger, Consultant – TransformCMO
July 31, 2013 at Noon EST
It's no secret that Google Plus is something of an enigma for businesses. Its development and tools for business marketing seem to lag behind other social networks, and it's tough to justfy spending time on yet another social media project. On the other hand, several independent studies show it to be the fastest growing social network ever, and some of its free tools (such as Hangouts and Communities) have been shown to have significant impact for businesses seeking out new prospects. And with every passing month Google Plus is more intimately tied into the world's largest online marketing opportunity: Google.
In this seminar you will learn why Google Plus is not only a market force not to be ignored, but why early adopters will gain an advantage their competition will find hard to match in the coming years. Seminar instructor Mark Traphagen has been intensely studying what Google is up to with Google Plus since joining it on its third day of existence. He has uncovered hidden but powerful secrets of influence-building and brand-expansion that occur when Google Plus is used properly.
You will discover why it is a mistake to think of Google Plus as "just another Facebook or Twitter," why Google Plus is actually a portal into reaching prospects you would never find elsewhere, and in particular, the profound effect Google Plus can have on Google search in areas where people are searching for what your business offers. Many of the strategies you'll hear in this seminar have been exclusively developed and proven by instructor Mark Traphagen; you'll hear them nowhere else!
Presenter:
Mark Traphagen is director of digital outreach for Virante Inc. Mark helps businesses build strategies to increase brand influence and attract natural links and social signals. He is widely recognized as one of the foremost experts on Google+ and Google Authorship. On the network since its third day, he has amassed over 50,000 followers and has built the largest and most active Google Authorship communities on the web.
Mark has spoken at major conferences such as SMX, ConvergeSouth and SearchExchange, as well as at numerous local SEO meetings, has conducted webinars for SocialFresh and Bulldog PR, and is a regular columnist on the Windmill Networking Blog. He is also working on the first comprehensive book covering Google Authorship and Author Rank.
When not helping Virante clients improve their online presence, Mark participates in competitive storytelling, plays with a Dixieland street band, and (surprise) spends more time on the web.
Being Found Online: Everything You Know About SEO is Wrong
August 7, 2013 at Noon EST
No segment of online marketing has changed in the last 12 months as much as SEO. Google updates its core ranking algorithm more than 500 times per year, which already seems impossible to keep up. Then Google Decided to "nudge" you to start using Google Plus. You didn't need to be on another social network, so you decided to skip it. You decided to believe it was a ghost town and the real place to make money was on Facebook.
In the meantime, Google continues to be the first stop for almost all people looking to buy something. If you're still focused on ezine links, buying so-so content from text brokers and automating engagement, you will soon be on the trash heap of history. There is only one path left open to you if you want to succeed online. That path is the only one Google still recognizes as valid.
Presenter:
Phil Buckley has worn many different hats during his career. Starting as a self-taught web technologist in the '90s, Phil learned every aspect of working on the web from HTML to networking. However, his passion and professional development led him to search engine optimization, social media and digital strategy. His knowledge of SEO is nothing short of a super power. As he says, he is able to "make the über-geek jabber understandable to mere mortals and to explain marketing speak in binary code."
August 14, 2013 at Noon EST
Google Plus (or G+) recently became the second largest social network in the U.S., and yet it still seems as if no one is using it. Or are they? In reality, many online functions revolve around G+, including Google Reviews and YouTube. Should you go now and update your G+ profile, ensuring you add content each day? Not necessarily, but there are steps you can take to maximize the benefits G+ will offer you.
In this web seminar, you'll learn:
- Why the social network is so large and what that means for you as a marketer.
- What G+ offers that other social media platforms do not.
- How a business can utilize the network's advantages.
- What type of content is best suited for G+.
- Programs and apps that will help you manage your G+ presence.
Attend this web seminar and find out what Google can do for your online marketing efforts.
Presenter:
Joseph Havey is the Director of Social Media for the Triangle-based Shelten Media, LLC, a start-up company specializing in social media marketing. He is a member of N.C. State's PRSSA chapter, and writes for the school newspaper, Technician. In his free time, he trains for triathlons.
The Top 10 Ways to Deal with Nasty & Difficult People
August 22, 2013 at Noon EST
Ask 10 people to define a nasty and difficult person and you will get 10 different definitions. There are many types of difficult people. Do you get frustrated and don't know what to do with whiners, braggarts, negativity, passive aggressive behavior, or people who are on emotional roller coasters? If you answered yes, then this web seminar is for you.
Everyone encounters difficult and nasty people, but it's how you deal with them that makes the difference. Ignoring these problem behaviors will only make things worse. In this web seminar, discover the top 10 ways to deal with nasty and difficult people and how you can bring out the best in people.
Presenter:
Kelley Bruns
