Educating My Way to Success (On the Bay! @OMSummit #OMS12)

Having a drive to continue learning  is so important for staying at the forefront of technology! By now you guys all probably know how important continued education is to me. I’m constantly educating myself and even make a point to learn something new every day! I learn by teaching others in classrooms, online classes, hosting seminars and webinars.

To ensure the knowledge I teach to businesses and students on marketing, technology and social media is up to date, I take the initiative to keep myself educated. This is crucial with the ever changing landscape of marketing in a digital world so I’m excited to once again be a part of the Online Marketing Summit (OMS) coming up in just a few days Feb 6-9, 2012 at the Hilton San Diego Bay front! I have received dozens on inquiries on “Are you going to be speaking?”. While I’m normally a speaker at conferences I attend, I’ll be at OMS as an attendee, eager to learn from others.  It doesn’t getting any better than learning more about the topics I’m most passionate about on the gorgeous bay! 

*EVENT HIGHLIGHTS*

• Online Marketing Summit is the premier educational event for digital marketing, focused primarily on educating marketers across all digital marketing disciplines and emerging best practices including social media, mobile, search engine media, eCommerce and website optimization.
• OMS hosts a keynote line-up of thought leaders. I’m personally looking forward to hearing Mari Smith speak for the first time! Mari and I are social media buddies, but I haven’t had an opportunity to learn from her insights yet so I was excited to learn that she is giving a keynote!

• A first time Expo, featuring over 50 companies, showcasing the leading online marketing tools and solutions
• 1:1 Labs: Unique to the event program are expert labs, which offer a one-on-one consultation with experts in social media tools, web analytics, search, usability, email and more.
• New conference tracks: With 40% more content this year, OMS is featuring six tracks.  Two new tracks include: Mobile Marketing and Content Marketing for Social Engagement

Remember promo code: MM25 for 25% off any conference pass!

Educating My Way to Success (I’m a Professor at National University!)

I absolutely love teaching and speaking about my passion, Marketing!  More specifically, digital marketing and social media. Each time I teach and share my knowledge, I learn more and more about the topics I’m teaching, I become a more effective public speaker and a better leader. In fact I have mastered the art of learning something new every day which truly inspires me to continue doing what I do.

I previously created and taught a Marketing Communications course at Platt College. I’m currently still a sub there when needed. Now I’ve been graced with another opportunity to teach my passion at National University! I was hired as a Course Developer in November, then hired on board as an Adjunct Professor. Yep, Professor Tao has a nice ring to it.

I’m currently creating a course on interactive strategies that will teach students everything they need to know about creating an interactive campaign. The students will choose a real client/organization to work with! From understanding goal setting and market research for their client to targeting the right audience and learning how to effectively communicate and engage their client’s customers  through social networks and other marketing mediums. I’ll also be giving examples from real live clients I work with.

My class starts in January! This is a part time gig so I’m still open for business full time here at Marketing Melodie. I’m accepting new consulting clients, booking speaking gigs and other opportunities.  I’m so grateful for this new venture and I’m really looking forward to finishing up with the course development, then teaching at National University.

“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear!” (Well looks like students are ready because Professor Tao is here!)

How To Pick the Brain of a Marketing Professional

I’m honored that many smart and successful people reach out to me on a regular basis to “Pick My Brain” on topics relating to Marketing and Social Media. There’s so much information out there that sometimes it’s hard to prioritize and understand the best ways to take advantage of all the digital tools. Just like you would go talk to a Doctor to seek medical advice, a Lawyer to seek advice about legal issues and an Accountant to seek advice about taxes, there’s definitely a need and desire for people to reach a Marketing Professional to seek advice about marketing their business.

I did a search for “Pick Brain” in my email inbox and immediately found many emails with this exact request for me.

“Currently, I’m trying to wrap my head around this social media thing as well. I’d loved to pick your brain sometime in the near future. I don’t know if I can meet your hourly rate but I can pay for lunch/starbucks when I’m in town.”

“I was wondering if you would be free for lunch sometime next week? I’d love to buy you lunch and pick your brains on all things Social Media/Blogging/Etc.”

“I hope to keep in touch — I’d love to pick your brain over a coffee some time on all kinds of topics!”

“I was wondering if we could meet professional for coffee or something to talk a little about social media? I’ll come to you, I’d just like to pick your brain a bit.”

“Our Meetup is just disastrous and I’m going to start re-vamping it from top to bottom.  If you have time check it out and see what you think, I’d love to pick your brain about it”

As a Marketing Consultant, my business thrives on teaching others my expertise. This is what my clients pay me for: To educate them on marketing strategies and give advice on optimizing their presence on social networks. This is also why it’s important for me to emphasize the value in what I do and let people know that when someone asks to “Pick my Brain” they’re really asking for a valuable service that will help them grow their business in significant ways.

Before I continue I’d like to emphasize that I do offer a significant amount of resources and share my knowledge at no cost. This is what I use Social Media for. I frequently give tips on my Facebook Page, write Blog Posts with valuable insight such as 16 Things To Write about in your Business Blog and 10 Ways to Land Your Next Job Through Social Media and a variety of resources on my Twitter stream. Anything beyond what I’m already offering is customized and takes a lot more time and effort for me to ensure I’m providing specific content to help grow your business.

Now to continue more with the “Pick Your Brain” term, here’s what you guys said when I asked what it means to you:

It’s clear that picking my brain is valuable for your business. Because I’m aware of this, I’ve created an opportunity that business owners can take advantage of to”Pick My Brain” with my Small Business Solutions . It’s simple. I’m offering cost efficient solutions to provide effective actionable content that you can execute immediately.

Pick My Brain: One hour consulting call. You have the opportunity to get all your questions answered related to your business, marketing, branding, website, social media, etc. You will receive feedback that includes tactical strategies and actionable content you can implement immediately after the call. You will receive a follow up email within 24 hours of our call with a list of resources related to topics discussed on our call. Investment: $395

Online Evaluation: One hour consulting call. You have the opportunity to go through all of your online engagement tools from your website, blog, videos and social networking sites.  I will provide you with insight on how to improve and enhance your current resources. This may include tips on how brand yourself more consistently online, how to create compelling digital messages and how to have your online tools successfully working for you. You will receive a follow up email within 24 hours of our call with a list of resources related to topics discussed on our call.  Investment: $395

*COMBO DEAL- Purchase both the Pick My Brain and Online Evaluation options for $695.

Project Plan for Small Businesses (Available only to small businesses who have completed the Online Evaluation service)- After completing the Online Evaluation, Marketing Melodie will create a project plan for small businesses who choose to continue work to improve their marketing strategy. The project plan will be customized to meet your needs and goals.

So here you have it;  an easy and valuable way for you to Pick the Brain of a Marketing Professional! If you’re interested in setting up a Pick My Brain or Online Evaluation, or both please don’t hesitate to reach out to me and we’ll get started immediately.

Educating My Way To Success 2: WeekendU

Tonight I administer the final exam for my marketing class at Platt College.  I can’t say enough how grateful I am to have attracted this opportunity into my life. Teaching this course has provided me with such a strong foundation for being an educator and enhanced my professional knowledge and skills in many areas as described in my previous post about Social Media Education. This is the first final exam I’ve ever administered, but the word “final” definitely doesn’t describe my continued ventures in education.  Last April 2009, I had the privilege of attending  WeekendU’s Internet Power course.

Weekend University is an innovative educational institution focused on practical in-person and online digital skills education. Their courses deliver practical knowledge from experienced practitioners, providing students with real world skills they can use the next day in their professional and personal lives. Read more

Educating My Way to Success (Platt College San Diego)

I’ve emphasized in many previous posts the importance of education especially in the online world as it’s such a rapidly changing space. It’s important to understand what works and what’s no longer relevant in order to stay ahead of evolving technology, be an early adopter and really understand the landscape of the social media revolution. Read more

DMA09 – An Inside Scoop from a San Diegan

I’ll be attending the DMA conference for the 2nd year in a row Oct. 17th-22nd. Last year I was introduced to the event in Las Vegas. I didn’t have a chance  for much pre planning to create a marketing strategy around my attendance last year but I got a good idea on what to expect and how to create opportunities this year. I’m happy to be living in DMA09′s host city aka: America’s Finest City, San Diego!  The San Diego Convention Center located on the beautiful San Diego bayfront is a prime location for large conferences, especially during this time of year. While we’re still enjoying the beautiful sunshine many places are already snowing!? Read more

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