Thanksgiving is fast approaching, SES Chicago just ended with a bang, and we’re ready for one more good conference before Turkey Day lulls us into holiday mode. You guessed it, we’re at SMX Social this week, and we couldn’t be more excited to return to Las Vegas to reunite with old friends and catch up on all things social marketing.
For those of you who haven’t attended SMX Social before, it’s the “social” conference of the Search Marketing Expo brand of conferences. Back in 2007, there was much debate about whether social media marketing should be categorized as a part of the search marketing industry. Today, however, more and more folks are coming to the realization that social media marketing and social PPC are an integral part of the search process. YEAH! We have been preaching this for quite some time now, and we’re looking forward to sharing our own views and strategies for attaining high value links and PR from social PPC this week as well as hearing what all of you have to say.
SMX Social speakers are an especially elite group of online marketers. Heavy hitters like Mat Siltala, Jennifer Lopez, Mark Traphagen and more will be imparting their breadth of knowledge with us tomorrow, and we are amped to soak it all in (and take the stage, too!). SMX Social generally draws a smaller crowd than SMX search conferences, making sessions more intimate and presenting attendees with the opportunity to mingle more closely with the speakers. For the social media marketing newbie and advanced pro alike, SMX Social presents attendees with the opportunity to not only garner the latest social best practices, but to also pick the brains of some of the smartest people in the business. As a non-speaker myself, I have to say this is a very exciting opportunity.
So, What’s All the Fuss About?
As Google algorithm updates continue to punish over-optimized sites and dated linkbuilding methods, social media and social PPC have become a tried and true safe haven for marketers looking to boost their page in the SERPs. This is why speakers at conferences like SMX Social are truly the wave of the future.
We learned from Matt Cutts himself that over time, social engagements will help you gain more authority and influence Google SERPs. In the eyes of Google, the more retweets and +1s you receive signifies that you are a user others listen to AKA an authority, and therefore you should be ranking well. That, my friends, is why social media and social PPC are tactics that cannot be ignored if you want to stay in the online marketing game for the long term, and why the speakers at this conference have so much to offer.
What Happens in Vegas…
During the AIMCLEAR workshop yesterday, AIMCLEAR Founder and Evangelist Marty Weintraub and Social Advertising Director Merry Morud drove home tactical strategies for connecting social media to SEO and PPC efforts, mastering social content distribution in both paid and earned channels, how to measure success, and so much more. If you weren’t able to attend, don’t fret. We’ll be at Booth #110 all day on Wednesday and Thursday with a free charging station (Hooray!) while we interview and mingle with the crowd. Plus, we’ll be giving out a few goodies.
Once the conference kicks off on Wednesday, AIMCLEAR will kick it into high gear and take the stage a few times throughout the next two days. Here’s an overview of where you can catch us:
Day 1 – Wednesday, November 20, 2013
12 – 1:30 PM: Attend Dominate Social Audience Targeting & Customer Acquisition: It Only Works Every Time with Marty Weintraub to learn why content marketers absolutely MUST use social PPC distribution techniques. In this session, 
attendees will walk away with understanding how to:
- Deliver targeted and measurable social psychographic traffic to content that yields conversions
- Earn authentic social signals from high authority users
- Accrue links from websites with good domain authority
- Protect sites from search engine algorithm updates
- Amplify content using PR distribution methods to bloggers, journalists and others in the media
In this whirlwind online marketing world, marketers must pay to play, and Marty will walk attendees through how social PPC can truly drive positive search results.
1:30 – 2:45 PM: Merry Morud is set to take the mic alongside a panel of speakers to discuss Facebook Ads: Best Practices On The Maturing Platform. If you’ve been wondering what the heck has been going on with the Facebook news feed, you’re in 
luck! With constantly-changing features including additional filtering controls and a cleaner interface, the Facebook news feed is morphing into a valuable asset for users but marketers need to make sure their content is still prominently featured. Sit in on this session to get a grasp on how to leverage Facebook’s display ad and retargeting opportunities to make sure your content gets the attention it deserves.
3:15 – 4:30: In case you can’t get enough of Merry at 1:30, catch her in Facebook Sponsored Posts: Success Tips For Paying To Promote Your Content. Facebook continues to roll out new ad products while downsizing its current inventory of offerings, making it difficult for users to keep track of what’s available. To top it off, the way organic content is displayed regularly changes, demanding that marketers use paid tactics. Attend this session to get ahead of your competition and learn what is working today.
Day 2 – Thursday, November 21, 2013
2:30 – 3:30 PM: Online Advertising Director Manny Rivas will share best practices for making your videos grow legs during 
Long-Form Video: YouTube. Attend this session and learn how to utilize YouTube to socially promote your videos while staying true to your brand.
We’re pumped to be a sponsor of SMX Social this year, and we can’t wait to kick things off bright and early this morning. In addition to the AIMCLEAR crew speaking this year, you have a good chance of running into Molly Ryan, Mike Marshall and Megan Rivas, who will all be spending time in the booth, attending sessions, live-tweeting, and of course, blogging the show! With that, we hope to see you at the show. Be sure to follow along as we share coverage from SMX Social!
