This week I was able to attend a brand new Internet Marketing Conference called Search Exchange here in Charlotte, North Carolina. I was almost certain I was not going to be able to make it due to a recent change in employment and a long time planned vacation. The stars aligned and my new employer EDreamz was great enough to send me. Typically these events are not in my agenda. My attitude is pretty negative due to many worthless conferences in the past. In this case I happen to know the organizers through local events/meet ups. These guys are top notch so I knew it was going to be something great.

I was out of town I majority of day one and half of day two. Managed to arrive just before Joanna Lord took the stage and quickly(she talks fast!) fed us full of information about Social Media Tools. It was an action packed presentation at the ‘right’ pace(fast talkers=no time wasted.) Next up Jason Keath showed us some cool unicorns and a neat looking bull. He also shared some really valuable information on having a real revenue plan for social media. Then a unique character named Neal Rodriquez dropped one of the best presentations I’ve seen in my entire conference career. He explained viral traffic, digg, crack heads, teabagging, and flying on private plane then flying Jet Blue. Yes.. All of those subjects plus a ton more of craziness. Really enjoyed listening everything he had to say. The last presentation I was able to hear this day was Chris Winfield who shared information on ROI in Social Media Marketing. The whole group headed to Wild Wings Cafe where we shared some great wings and fun stories. As the night dawned on us we moved to Whiskey River where the bar was open and people were really getting started. Sadly I had work in the AM so I cut the night short before things really got out of hand!

Day 3 I was unable to make it in the AM due to some client work. I slipped in just as Dan London was explaining in-house struggles and hilariousness. I could really connect to this as I have worked in a small business where no one else had any internet marketing(or marketing in general) skills. Kate Morris gave a grand overview on PPC which I really enjoyed. All the information was very simple and probably familiar to most, but it was a great reminder of the obvious. Really got me thinking and rethinking some of my accounts. I’ve already implemented changes based on her presentation. Benjamin Rudolph gave us an overview of how to use Analytics to Optimize Landing Pages. This is something I have tons of experience in, but just like in Kate’s PPC overview I was able to spark new ideas which I plan to implement soon. The last presentation I was able to catch was Rhea Drysdale on Online Reputiation Management. I took away boatloads of truly useful information from her. ORM is something I have very little experience in. I thought I understood it/had the basics down, but her presentation really opened my eyes to what it really is.

I wish I could have made it every day for all the presentations, but the ones I attended made it worth every dime spent. I give huge props to Robert Enriquez, Keith Schilling, and Roy Morejon for putting on something amazing.

Looking forward to the next Search Exchange already!