Everything I Know about Marketing I learned from Google
Jun
22
2012

SIMply Search and Social

June 22, 2012 by Aaron Goldman

Last week, I pulled out all the analogies in the book (hey, there’s another one!) to describe search and social marketing at the SIM Partners SIMposium at the (too legit) Wit Hotel in Chicago.

Below is my presentation and below that is my (too legit) rap…


Jun
6
2012

Easy as 1, 2, 3 at I.R.C.E.

June 6, 2012 by Aaron Goldman

Yesterday, I presented at the Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition with Sachin Gadhvi, director of search and mobile marketing at TicketsNow. The topic we addressed was “How to Turn Dynamic Inventory, Seasonality, and Promotions into an SEM Advantage” and the answer was easy… via automation. Although, as we discussed, you still need a healthy dose of human strategy and intervention because the machine needs to be properly calibrated to your business needs and goals. Methinks the rap I threw down at the end of the session could’ve used some intervention as well, particularly by way of offering any other closing line than “yeah-yeah-ee.” See below for deck and video.


Dec
11
2011

Progress, not Perfection…

December 11, 2011 by Aaron Goldman

2 days ago, at the Search Insider Summit, I tackled the heady topic of the perfect search engine and, after 45 minutes on stage with Alan Osetek, Jason Lehmbeck, and Vural Cifci, we made a good deal of progress but could not reach consensus on what would make the perfect search engine. At the end of the day, it appears one man’s perfection is another man’s defecation.  Now we know what life is like for the engineers in Mountain View! Here’s the vid and, below that, the deck…


Nov
17
2011

Thank Goodness so Many Things Rhyme with Facebook…

November 17, 2011 by Aaron Goldman

Otherwise this Q&A would’ve gone D&O (down and out)…


Sep
24
2011

Rocking Out in Boulder

September 24, 2011 by Aaron Goldman

Yesterday, I made the trek to Boulder to speak at the inaugural PivotGuild event. The Boulder Digital Arts center was packed… and dark!

My presentation topic was Why Social Media Matters to Your Business but rather than tell people what they already know (It matters because everyone’s doing it!) I addressed that in 1 slide with a link to an AdAge column that features 50 Social Media Stats to Kickstart Your Slide Deck.

Then I got into my revised topic: MAKING Social Media Matter to Your Business. I used the 20 Googley Lessons in my book as a framework and shared successful examples (and some not so much) of social media initiatives that reflected each one. I only got thru the first 10 in my 40 minute talk. As usual, I strayed from the script and improvised. No rapping this time though. Boulder struck me as more of a rock town.

Here are the slides…

Many thanks to Alyson Miller and Don Greenfield at PivotGuild (pictured with me below) for organizing a great event and inviting me to present. Boulder’s got a great creative, digital, and entrepreneurial community and Pivot Guild is positioned nicely at the intersection.

Among the many interesting folks I met in Boulder was Russell McDougal who is a punny photographer and amazing acronymizer. He has a product called Isle of View (I Love You, get it?) that turns words into acronyms. He also has an iphone app that lets you put in your name (he has 4k total in his database) and get a custom output. He can also do them quickly on the spot. Here’s mine.

A.A.R.O.N. – Awakening Awareness Reveals Ongoing Nourishment
G.O.L.D.M.A.N. – Google Offers Life’s Directions – Manifest Answers Now

And here’s a custom card Russell whipped up for me…

Until next time, Boulder (and there will be a next time!) keep it real and keep it googley!

Update Sept. 26, 2011: Another one of the cool cats (check that, Kats) I met at this event was Brett Greene from Hip Chameleon. Here’s a quick video we ripped after my talk. Brett asked me to pick the one (just one!) great nugget from my book. I told him that’s like asking which of my children I love best! Finally I settled on one (nugget, that is, not kid!)…


Aug
18
2011

Getting Social at SES

August 18, 2011 by Aaron Goldman

Here’s the presentation I gave at SES San Francisco this week about automating Facebook ads. Sorry no rap video accompaniment. All footage of my rapping at the SearchBash and singing before my Theater Presentation (Oh Say Can You Tweet…)  has been sequestered. You can scroll down for some pics from the conference, though.

All good at the Kenshoo booth.

Poppin’ off at the DataPop happy hour.


Jul
26
2011

Bringing the Heat in Chi-town

July 26, 2011 by Aaron Goldman

Below is the presentation I gave today at the Online Marketing Sumit (OMS) in Chicago.

In it, I use my patent-pending “Heat-o-Meter” to describe the hotness of various companies, channels, and trends in digital marketing, including:

Companies: Facebook, Groupon, Apple, Google, LinkedIn,  Twitter, Microsoft, Yahoo

Channels: Social, Mobile, Local, Video, Search, Display

Trends: Automation, Integration, Attribution

The deck has 70 slides packed with stats and the last section has some Kenshoo case studies for context on how advertisers are capitalizing on these hot trends. So warm up your fingers are start clicking!

As is becoming habit, I rapped the Q&A portion but only had time for one topic. No video has surfaced (yet) so here’s an audio clip from Brent Payne aka the Bald SEO.


May
24
2011

SMOC Keynote and Rap: Social Media Advertising vs. Search Engine Marketing

May 24, 2011 by Aaron Goldman

Today I kicked off Day 2 of the Social Media Optimization Conference (SMOC) with a keynote presentation and, of course, a rap.

I had originally intended to introduce the acronym SAM (Social Advertising Marketing) but switched to SMA (Social Media Advertising) to keep in line with the theme of SMO (Social Media Optimization). While SAM certainly has a better ring to it, SMA seemed a better contextual fit.

Speaking of context, seeing as how SMOC was in San Francisco, I likened social media to marketing “without a net” and drew upon the Grateful Dead as my influence for the improvisational rap that followed my presentation.

Here are the slides I ripped through. Below that is a video of the last 5 minutes of the keynote and a 90 second social media rap. And after that is the rapping Q&A session in which I coined the new buzzword “dinterest” (digital interest) after not being able to think of anything that rhymed with interest. Could’ve used some “Help on the Way…”

Keynote and Rap:

Lyrics:

Check check, check check it out…
This one goes out to my peeps at SMOC.
I go by the name of Tha Lyrical G.
They also call me the PPC MC,
But today I’m just here socially.
You see.
I came to give these trends another look.
Social Media, ya call it Facebook.
I think their ad model’s gonna catch on,
And I’m gonna rock the mic til the breaka break of dawn.
Now don’t just sit there and be bitter.
You’ll make money someday too, Twitter.
And while y’alls tweetin’, use hashtag SMOC.
And if you’re online, won’t you please Like Me.

(Freestyle…)

Like Me. C’mon.
Like Me. C’mon.
You Like Me Now.
How Ya Like Me Now?
Ya Like Me.
Ya Really Like Me.

I can keep goin’,
I can keep flowin’.
But these rhymes, they just keep knowin’ that,
Social Media, you operate without a net.
What you’re gonna give is what you’re gonna get.
So, take some money, put it into ads.
Next thing ya know, it’s more than a fad.
Facebook’s makin’ that real cash money,
And I’m gonna take it out cuz it’s sweet as honey.
A shout out to all my peeps at Kenshoo,
They’re sittin’ over there and they’re wearin’ blue.
And I just came to do this one thing here,
So let me make it very very clear,
That I’ve got nothing else to say to thee,
But, yo, shout out… SMOC.

Update May 26:

Here are some action pics from Mediabistro. The last one is with Day 2 host Todd Tweedy, who served as a great hype man to get the 9am crowd into and even did a little beat boxing.

All flickr photos copyright mediabistro

May
6
2011

Personalization vs. Privacy and the Impact on Advertising

May 6, 2011 by Aaron Goldman

Here’s the video and slides from today’s presentation at the Search Insider Summit. Remind me not to chug 5 Hour Energy before getting on stage next time. Although I needed it to rip thru 35 slides in 15 minutes!


May
5
2011

Live Rap Battle: PPC MC vs. SEO Rapper

May 5, 2011 by Aaron Goldman

Check out the video below to see how it went down today. Chuck was crowned the winner but I think I held my own and am already working on getting a rematch!

As Rob Wilk from Yahoo put it, “If it’s any consolation, out of the 100 people in the room, you were the second best rapper.” (To which I replied, “And if it’s any consolation, Yahoo is  the second best search engine.”)

FYI, you can watch the 12 minutes leading up to the freestyle on the MediaPost Facebook page.

And make sure to peep the Round 3 video I debuted on stage before the live battle.


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