While physical meetings and conferences experienced a hit in 2009, I believe that more marketers will return to physical events in 2010. "conference hall" by shinemy via Flickr. Exhibiting and sponsoring at trade shows is an important component of the marketing mix.  While Here are five tips to optimize your trade show presence: Media Alert. Consider issuing a media alert (a smaller version of a press release) one to two weeks before the conference. Announce News. Consider announcing significant news at the conference to drive buzz about your company. Media Outreach. MORE >>

Previously, I highlighted how I used social media. After reading recent posts by Dave Fleet and Social Media Explorer regarding the social media marketing ecosystem and measurement respectively, I wanted to expand upon my thoughts about how to take social marketing to the next level. One challenge for many marketers isn’t how to get started, rather it’s how to delegate your time to make the most out of your social marketing. This series of posts will look at putting a social marketing strategy together. Here are six questions to ask yourself before starting: Are your executives supporting you? MORE >>

You’ve decided that you want to engage in social media. You have the resources, you have executive support, and you have a larger marketing strategy. Time to open the Twitter account, create the Facebook Page and post YouTube videos, right? Wrong. Social media is about engaging your audience. The next step in your social media strategy is knowing what story to tell to draw your audience in. Here are some &# personas&#  to help tell your story: Johnny Carson: Humor is a great way to draw people in, engage them in a laugh and leave them with a wanting with more. MORE >>

Outside of some close friends, one of the little known secrets about me is that I used to salsa dance. Not only did I enjoy dancing, I also competed in group and couples competitions. Like all enthusiasts, I subscribed to all the salsa lists to learn about upcoming events, lessons with outside instructors and more. Since I broke my ankle preparing for a competition (um, long story =), I’ve discontinued following the salsa activities and unsubscribed from all the lists. At least I thought I did. Three Things to Consider Before Hitting Send on Facebook. Conclusions. And much much more. MORE >>

I was speaking to a friend the other day and we both joked about “Crazy Marketers.” After being in-house for four years now, I now understand why marketers may seem crazy to agencies. Here is a quick 5 step quiz to determine if you’re a crazy marketer or work with one: Scatterbrained: Your attention is split among 100 different projects, all equally important in terms of priority. If yes, give yourself 5 points. Constantly Changing Decisions:  You make a decision but change it days, if not hours later. If yes, give yourself 5 points. If yes, give yourself 5 points. How did you score? MORE >>