A conversation with Aaron Kahlow–digital marketing barnstormer

By Heather Fishel

Earlier this summer, the Online Marketing Summit Whistlestop Tour swept through 18 cities and 15 states in just two months. With its unique focus–solely on education and knowledge sharing; no booths or sales pitches allowed–the tour has become a legitimate success story and is still growing, even in a shaky economy. Aaron Kahlow, the Online Marketing Summit’s founder and chairman, is primarily responsible for its success, and makes the latest online marketing techniques accessible, bringing it all straight to the frontlines in the marketers’ hometowns.

Online Strategies spoke with Kahlow about his time on the road this summer. The conversation ranged from important online marketing lessons to the humorous and unexpected moments that sprung up along the way.

Online Strategies: What was the original inspiration for conducting a multi-city tour?

Aaron Kahlow: It really came out of the frustration that I–and others–felt with other conferences and shows that were making the tradeshow, exhibits and sponsors the main attractions and the education kind of a sideshow. I thought there was a huge need for people to really learn what the best practices are versus just hearing a quick pitch from industry leaders. I saw at many other shows, including ones where I was speaking, that we could do a better job of this. So I approached a bunch of my friends in the industry and some of the big vendors and said, “If you guys can work your sphere of influence and give us your best content, I’ll put on the show.”

OS: When you’re conceptualizing session ideas and choosing speakers, does your strategy change at all when conducting a local event, as opposed to the main OMS event you hold in San Diego, which is more national in scope?

AK: The strategy changes quite a bit when you do a regional event. I work with regional associations and do my best to leverage regional speakers who understand the area. Also, the structure of a one-day event is far different than what you would use for a national, multi-day event. You need to pay close attention to pacing and topic coverage.

OS: Logistically, planning the tour has to be a nightmare–all of the headaches regarding space reservation, accommodations, food, AV set-up…how do you do it? Is it done in-house?

AK: I have a team, and I kind of keep an eye on things and make sure the preparation’s going well. I handle most of the speaker and content selection as well as the general look and feel of each show. We outsource logistics to a few partners and have some folks that do marketing for us. So we do have a lot of outsourcing along the way to make sure we adjust with the demand as opposed to trying to do it all in-house. We have a staff of five and probably three external partners that handle the rest of the logistics.

OS: As the economy has worsened, what changes have you noticed among attendees? Has attendance dropped? Have marketers’ concerns changed?

AK: Surprisingly, attendance was up by about 37 percent, even though we had to raise our prices slightly. I think the economy benefited us for a few reasons: First, there’s a much larger emphasis on expanding one’s knowledge base these days, with marketing departments asked to do more with less. And everybody knows how competitive the job market is–any chance one has to add insight and information to their repertoire helps. Second, we’ve introduced the Online Marketing Institute, which has certification programs and has helped drive the increase in attendance. Certification is a strong resume builder and a trusted verification of people’s skill sets. Finally, I think we’ve benefited because we bring the show to people’s backyards as opposed to asking them to get on a plane and stay in a hotel, which is a hard proposition for many budgets these days.

Despite the dreary economy, we were very impressed with the energy level of the attendees. People are so eager to learn. Everyone was fired up.

OS: Looking back at this year’s tour, what were some of the common issues or concerns you heard digital marketers express?

AK: Some of the main concerns people have are prioritizing budgets. How much of the overall marketing budget should go online? Or, within online marketing, do I devote more to search? My website? Should I go to integrated social media marketing? There’s an awful lot to do and a very finite budget number.

Also, the return on investment generated by social media is a very hot topic. How can I get ROI out of Twitter if I have someone spending five hours a day tweeting? People wonder if social media is really about ROI or is perhaps more of an ego play.

Finally, integration of marketing strategies is another issue of great interest. For example, how can you efficiently integrate your e-mail marketing with your social media, website and analytics systems?

OS: Let’s turn the question around: what were a few of the lessons you might have learned as a digital marketer from this tour?

AK: It was such a privilege to spend so much time around the true thought leaders in our industry–people like Rand Fishken, Eric Peterson, Kevin Lee and Catfish “>SEO guru Ray “Catfish” Comstock. I learned valuable lessons at each stop.

To be specific and general at the same time, one of the most important lessons I took away from the tour was to be sure to focus on online marketing’s foundational elements, and not to fall prey to chasing the latest “shiny object,” which can be tempting.

What are the foundational elements? Making sure you’re website is truly user-centric and fully search-engine optimized. Leveraging a cohesive e-mail campaign strategy rather than deploying a series of one-off e-mails.

These elements are foundational for a reason: they have the highest potential impact on ROI. Once you have the foundation in place, then you can begin to think about things like social media. Look at social media as a supportive element to your online efforts and your website, not as an element unto itself.

OS: Were there any surprises you encountered along the way?

AK: What was surprising was the reemergence of e-mail as a hot-button issue. There was a greater fervor than I’ve ever seen before regarding getting e-mail done right. People’s lists are getting hit hard; they’re saturated and return on investment on e-mail is getting weaker and weaker.

In fact, this was the approach from discipline to discipline. People want to “do things right.” It’s not, “How do I implement a search campaign,” but “How do I implement a search campaign without making mistakes or suffering the pains of the learning curve?”

There’s a burning desire for quality, for content to help people leapfrog that learning curve.

OS: I imagine that one city tends to blend into the next a bit, but that some cities really stand out. Which ones really stand out in your memory and why?

AK: (Laughs) If I answer that, then I will be a marked man in 17 other cities! New York and Texas will always stand out because they are areas with a dense population of online retailers and service providers–we always are able to get truly great content, and great brands come to talk to us. I have to say this, though–Seattle really stood out to me as a sophisticated market that is clamoring for educational content. Houston had a great showing for us despite being what one might think of as a secondary market, one that doesn’t immediately come to mind as a digital marketing hub. But it is really very sophisticated, as well.

OS: How did your experience this year change your mindset as a digital marketer or your plans for next year’s tour?

AK: Despite what I alluded to before about social media not being a fundamental aspect of online marketing, it is evolving at a breakneck pace. Look at search engine marketing. It took some companies five to 10 years to jump in and then refine their efforts. It’s just the typical maturation process. But the pace is much, much faster now. Last year we were just talking about what social media is, defining it and discussing ways to begin an initial experiment with it. This year we’re already talking about set practices and how to execute at a higher level. The pace of the maturation process is so much faster and is really fascinating to me. It’s really got me thinking, “Hey, it’s not about just conceptualizing any more; it’s really time to execute.” That was a huge takeaway for me–the different timelines from concept to advanced execution.

OS: What are your future plans for the tour and for your other initiatives?

AK: A couple things are top-of-mind. We have an OMS all-star webinar and webcast series that we’re launching in early September. We’re getting the best of the best speakers from around the country to be a part of this series. It’s also integrated into the Online Marketing Institute, and credits for the certification program will be available.

We will also launch a social media integration and execution program in late September. And of course, our annual national conference is coming down the road. It’s the second week in February. Those are the big things on our plate right now.

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OMS Charlotte Lunch and Learn had a nice turn out and a strong, opinonated panel that did not always agree… so there was some fun to be had.  The conversation began with Sara L, from Silverpop stating, “We just want the product that is best for the client to be the right choice” to which I retorted “BS, like every other marketer, you just want them to buy your product… come on!”  So, the open dialogue began.  Joe, CEO of Bronto, gave Sara some cover when he replied to the question of “what he’d cut out of his budget”, with “Well, Marketing Conferences!” of which he implied conferences like OMS (all in good humor).  We faced questions like how to market “Pine Needles” through social media (ONLY in the South!).

One of the most interesting challenges we faced down as a panel was that of separating personal from professional lives when using Social Networking tools like Facebook.  Simms Jenkins, author of The Truth about Email Marketing, started it off by stating that he has two profiles on Facebook. And that he really does not want his professional associates “seeing pictures of his daughter”.  Caitlin, from Sway, (and I) took exception in saying the power of Social Networking was in breaking that sterile barrier between professional colleagues and really getting to know each other as human, WHICH forges stronger bonds, better relationships and like any off line situation with clients, the stronger the relationship usually means the stronger the business opportunity.  I chimed in referencing the last article I wrote for ClickZ where I stated “Get Comfortable with yourself, then let others do the same” in sharing your life with all as we are all human beings and why would we not.

The “YouTwitFace” Conan O’Brien reference came up from Sara when she jokingly answered the favorite panel questions of “What’s next?” by saying YouTube, Twitter and Facebook are going to combine into one entity “YouTwitFace”!  That got a good laugh…  Debbie Q from Pedowitz Group also chimed in with leveraging Facebook and LinkedIn more than creating your own destination as small business since is so easy and cheap to do.  So, as you can see, Social Media really dominated the panel discussion and the local Charlotte crowd was engaged.

The OMS crew took off soon after to get home after a long week starting in Cleveland, pushing through Atlanta and finshing on Friday here in Charlotte… I stuck around for an extra night where got a chance to have some drinks at the Epicenter (and dinner) with old college buddy, his wife and Emily Fess from IMA.

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The sharing, the questions, the engagement was unmatched and with over 200 in attendance, Atlanta really showed its online prowess.  Even the Keynote panel went above and beyond with more questions than we could take and great insightful detailed answers from Kodak, Microsoft/Razorfish, Prominent Placement, Atl Interactive Marketing Association, and Silverpop participants.  The day wrapped up with dinner and drinks at the famous Twist restaurant.  Stories of how Ford was so challenged as a company that even three years ago it was evident to the then Director of Marketing that not one dealership was making money on new cars… so he promptly quit.

As per earlier formats, here are the top quotes and things heard at OMS ATL:

- “Differential Diagnosis” method to indentify unknowns like the show House, Bill Bruno, Stratigent

- Voice Campaign aligned with Email Campaigns gave 30% lift to companies like Portland Traile Blazers; Joel Book, Exacttarget

- Facebook is great way to see what big brands are doing in Social Media and how to do it right; Michale Weisfeld

- For Every dollar spent on Technology; need to spend additional dollar on people,”  Eric Peterson recited by Bill Bruno, Stratigent

- Actual insights in Analytics:
Conversions
Bounce Rate
Advanced Segmentation Analysis
Keyword ROI
Onsite Search
Exit Pages

“The High School” in Atlanta using social media well:
All teachers are Tweeting through out day
Facebook for recreational updates like pics from soccer games
LinkedIn for Community building with Parents
Vincent, Kodak

- Every Dollar spent on search $9 in return Stacy Williams, Prominent Placement

- Kodak’s aha moment when talked to customers about how use digital pics and found it was really a form of “Social Currency” so forced to look at Flickr and Facebook as well as economy telling Kodak, must be effiecient and internet was obvious choice

- Aha for Twitter was when travel clients looked at Omniture Anayltic reports and saw actual bookings coming in from Twitter referrals; Lindsay Blankenship, Razorfish

- Best Analytics does not compare to anecdote from sales team; Scott Voight, Silverpop

- “Stop and Repeat” process Kodak implements for getting info out starting with misquote from Board member about wanting to be in printing business when in middle of raising money from investors.

- PR is DEAD!  Scott Voight

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• To prove his point of the importance of Analytics to one’s own survival, Aaron Toledo of BusinessOnline told us that “43% of Star Trek Guest actors who wore a red shirt die on that episode.  But if Captain Kirk meets an attractive female alien life form, that goes up to 84%.”
• Extreme Makover using SMS Response and Papa Johns on email Social Forwarding tools increased response rates over 30% said Jeff Rohrs, Exacttarget
• “Don’t Listen to Your Customers” was the bold statement by Cathy Zapata, Metrics Marketing when talking about Usability and actually watching what they do, not listening to what they think they do or want.
• One is 6 times more likely to learn or retain information if you can tap into the Emotional Cognitive side of the brain (laughter, compassion…),  Judson Laipply, Inspirational Comedian
• Branding in the subject line of email drive 89% increase in “Share” activity; 58% increase in open rates and 93% increase in Click through rates.
• Susan Prater from Owens Corning told us how she keeps her “Slush Fund” for experimenting so she does not have to justify budget.
• “Doing Business with telcom industry for Mobile Marketing is like doing business with the Russian Mafia,” said Brian Deagan, CEO and Co-founder, Knotice.

And to top of the whole day, while Joe Cothrel gave his now OMS famous Social Networking presentation (see Denver blog post on notes to that), our location, Windows on the River, really hit home when a huge barge passed by and began honking the loudest fog horn you can imagine… one can only laugh when a presentation is interrupted by such randomness!

Strangely enough, we had Mexican…of all genres of food for Cleveland. The group stepped it up a notch by ordering pitchers of Margaritas and Sangria to complement the taqitos we had for appetizers…  It might have been Monday night, but if you looked at the OMS crew this night in Cleveland, you would have sworn it was Saturday!  Next stop Hot-lanta..

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Bold statements and statistics were being thrown out all over… so here are a few that I could gather to show that I’m not just hyping the OMS tour:

“60% of Marketers are starting to Segement Audiences “ when talking about how critical it is to segement and target and why IBM has seen such success with a focus on such;  Sandra Zorrati, IBM-Ricoh

“Organic Rankings are Irrevelant” from Catfish, Sr SEO at Business Online when talking about how to look at analytics to measure success not just placement.

“20% of email never makes it to the inbox” from Stephanie Miller in scaring us email marketers about the importance of deliverability.

My favorite session was that of Joe Cothrel, Lithium Technologies.  He taught us what it takes to be successful when building communities and how hard it is to really do this…  I wrote a few great “Ah-has” I had to share them with all of you:

Linksys saving $10M and deflecting 1.4M calls by setting up  a customer service social network

MyFico seeing a 41% increase in purchases from those engaged in their community

30-10-10 rule  that in 30 days only 10% of invites will come and only 10% of those will post.

5-10 rule of # of posts per day needed to see a community forum actually gain enough critical mass to grow.

Some other anecdotes from the day included:

Cindy Krum showing the first-ever mobile telephone in a picture of a 18th Century telephone booth being carried by a bunch of men.

Debbie Q, showing a picture of her Dad lifting a few hundred pounds and comparing that to the diffuculity of aligning sales and marketing.

Happy hour was the best location yet in our own outdoor tent with a selection of beer beyond 10 and a lot of fun folks sticking around to connect and share stories.  Dinner scheduled for 15 turned into 25 and like most OMS Dinners, the wine and laughs were flowing.   Good day, great education… and another city under the belt.

Next stop Cleveland…. And sure hope “Cleveand Rocks!”

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We started a new initiative of matching job seekers with job providers that got rave reviews and had some really strong research and case studies that provided for a depth of information hard to find in this day in age.  The top session and great representation of what was learned at OMS was Andy Sernovitz’s Word of Mouth Marketing.  Andy passed out candy, gave a button and educated the heck out of everyone in attendance… top three lessons I found useful were:

1) $1M a week of revenue generated at Dell by 5 mins a day of Tweeting;

2) 69-cent rating and review seeders getting Belkin in millions of dollars of bad press trouble;

3) 5 Steps to Successful Social Media: Ask; Easy; Email; Worthy of Sharing and Multiplier effect

So to complement the top lessons, I though it would be good to hear the top 3 “moments” at OMS…  here we go:

3) “Don’t Lie” was the quote from our Keynote panel, to the question of “What should we marketers NOT do in 2009?”

2) Happy hour conversation of a couple that drove all the way from Philly to see OMS because NY and Philly stops earlier conflicted with schedule.  To which, came the response, “This is the single best conference I’ve been too… I’d drive all the way to Canada for this!”

1)  Post-dinner drinks, where Debbie Q (Speaker at OMS) tells Candyce (OMS Queen), “Just throw it back, Candyce,” referring to her drink… upon which Candyce looks at DJ (the handsome young genetleman from Bronto)… and gives that look like “You mean, throw him back?”  Laughs all around..

One of our best days of education so far and highly entertaining dinner to boot made OMS Chicago a huge success for all involved.  Made a quick turnaround to Milwaukee for the next Lunch and Learn stop for lunch, panel and rush to airport to get home (or for me to Lake Minetonka) for some rest after a great start to our Midwest stop.

Next, Minneapolis… where diversity of governors is second only to that in my home state of California…

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After meeting with 1,000-plus marketers in eight cities over 27 days so far during the Online Marketing Summit (OMS) tour across the U.S., one question stands out: “What is the right way to use social media?”

Manufacturer Avid Technology of Tewksbury, Massachusetts, uses social media. Iconic airline Southwest Air uses it. So does the Department of Defense. Hundreds of the brand, technology, and agency panelists we talked to use it.

So, what’s the common denominator among diverse organizations that see value in social media? And more importantly, where are they seeing return?

The answer comes from trying to boil it down to a fundamental principle — not a tactic or idea. Social media gives brands a unique opportunity to add personality and a human element; they can reach out to customers in a way previously impossible.

Social media has brought the need to listen and work with customers. We must really treat each other for what we really are — people.

A lot has been written about the pros and cons of blurring our professional and personal worlds. No single answer fits all. It comes down to: “How important is it to you and your company to connect with your customers?”

Basically, do you really want to get to know your customers, help them, understand them, and learn from them. If the answer is “yes,” then blurring personal and professional is probably the best approach you can take. There are three main places to have such a powerful blur:

Blog Blur

In Austin, Texas, a panel at OMS was asked: “How do you get very stodgy conservative company and its management to blog? Can you really be both conservative and have a highly personalized blog?”

The answers varied, but one underlying principle emerged: Blogs were created as personal entries that may or may not tie back to a company brand. The most interesting and engaging blogs are written by real people — not the public relations department — with real opinions and real voices. So, a blog is a perfect place to blur one’s personal and professional worlds.

Consider allowing your company’s more outspoken thought leaders to have their own blog. You’ll get the best of two worlds: great brand awareness without risking the brand’s reputation. Stephanie Miller, VP, strategic services at Return Path, summed it up well when she said (and I paraphrase here): “I have my blog and my company picks the post they like and re-post on corporate blog so they have full power to pick and choose and use my posting to help their more corporate entity and I get to just be me and blog away.”

Paula Berg, public relations at Southwest Air, had numerous examples of how the company’s blog helped squelch bad stories, promote positive brand affinity, and test new ideas like how Southwest seats passengers. For consumer brands, I highly recommend looking at Southwest Airlines and see how it put this medium to its highest and best use.

My favorite example is how Southwest mocked two women who got a ton of media coverage by saying they were kicked off a flight for being “too pretty.” Southwest, on its blog and on Twitter, broke down the story to what the real truth was (these gals would not do as told when landing and made a commotion outside bathroom) and even spun it back to make them into laughing stock. So from sexist to satirist in a day.

Facebook

Probably the best example of how to blur worlds exists here. If you get on Facebook and send out corporate looking e-mail messages to your friends or don’t post any pictures, videos, or show any personality, you should just stick to country club and avoid Facebook.

This social site provides you with a chance to show everyone you’re a human being. This doesn’t mean you need to post a status update (e.g., don’t feed Twitter updates to Facebook) every time you feel the urge.

After talking to marketers in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and all over Texas, I’m convinced that there’s a digital divide involving human behavior: some people are willing to accept personal interactions and transparency for business and personal relationships — and others aren’t willing to do so. (This is in addition to the digital divide/education gap, which is very important issue.)

Some people accept that it’s OK to let others know you’re human and share the same concerns, fears, and passions as others. This acceptance has created the next generation of influencers. People will gravitate to people who blog and those who share their thoughts, pictures, and their personal lives on Facebook because others can relate and empathize with them.

One of the best translations of Facebook use (not advertising) is putting groups and fans of pages up to create what I’ll call “super-subscribers.” These are folks who are willing to get messages about your organization (but not blatant uninteresting promotions) on a high frequency basis. It’s like building a list for your e-newsletter but on a whole other level.

Here you can be interesting, engaging, creative, off-the-cuff, personal, and even test new ways to reach your audience. The Red Cross created a fan page and, with no promotion, had more than 200,000 fans in about a month. The Online Marketing Summit has connected with more than 1,500 people by simply posting the group page on its Web site.

More than just list building, you’re also able to build relationships at warp speed. You can connect in ways that you can’t on e-mail.

In e-mail, you can’t say, “Hey Aaron, that picture of Chicago looks great…was just there last week, maybe we can grab some coffee to discuss that partnership we touched on last year.” You can’t get to understand the person.

A great deal of business (probably hundreds of thousands of dollars) comes from connecting with other people on Facebook. If you doubt this (i.e. “I’m B2B, Facebook isn’t for me” type of sentiment), then connect with me there and I’ll be happy to show you the light. Or just do it if you want to connect, period.

Twitter

Stop the noise! If you’re going to Tweet, decide why. Are you a journalist who wants to share updates? Are you trying to keep your friends apprised of your every day activity or are you a marketer trying to connect with influencers who can help create buzz and to generate followers to add value to your overall efforts?

If it’s the latter, then you must add value by giving information or updates that others want. For Amazon, it’s discounts; for bloggers, it’s insight; for brand marketers, it’s interesting tidbits about the industry or product line.

Like Facebook, Twitter is a great list-building tool. And if willing to add a little personality and provide value, you can use the blur to really gain a following that can be translated back to more Web site visitors, blog readers, and eventually customers.

If you aren’t sure what you’re doing with Twitter, then don’t do it! Seeing how Comcast created the Comcast Cares Twitter customer services buzz, or how Southwest combats negative publicity, or how eBay users drive demand, and of course how Guy Kawasaki is creating huge lists and influence through his army of “Ghost Tweeters,” really solid business returns are to be had. Just remember the golden Twitter rule: “Tweet to others as you’d want to be tweeted!”

If you aren’t willing to take down the barriers and allow the blurring of personal and professional worlds, others will. And others will gain market share and people will trust them for their answers. So start getting comfortable with yourself so you can share with others!

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OMS was all that we expected and then some… with about 50 new attendees as walk ins the rooms were overflowing (almost 300) and energy high. Despite some challenges with food and # of plates at lunch, the day went well. A few new speakers like Bo and Robin to talk about Integrated and brand leadership strategies as well as some of the OMS favorites like Joel Book and Jeff Pedowitz we’re all up to the task to educate and motivate.

Top take aways from the day for me were:
1) Thought leadership marketing is what separates the good marketers from the average
2) Social Media is not a campaign or entity unto itself, it’s to support any/all of your other marketing elements or campaigns
3) Analytics will drive significant budget increase if utilized correctly

Most striking was the happy hour… at least 150 people stayed after to make the most of the networking opportunity and I don’t think I’ve ever seen any group socialize better than this. Handshakes and hugs seemed to be everflowing and I had to literally close down the bar (Houstonians can drink!) at 7.30 to get people moving on…

Dinner was a little shorter than most due to need to get on the road for Austin. A few beers, a pot pie and a ride with Stephanie Miller and Dennis Dayman were the short of it. I might add, Dennis nearly hitting a Bobcat and Stephanie sleeping through the thrilling end of the Cavs Magic game on ESPN Radio… go into Austin at Midnight and falling asleep was not an issue.

Awoke to the moring sun rising over downtown Austin. As we set up for the day, I realized that we are finally in Austin doing OMS after 3 years of talking about it. So, the day had a little extra vibe for me. Although attendance not as high as Houston, the audience was equally if not more engaged. Questions like “what career path should I take: An Online generalist or Specialist?” “Why is Southwest Airlines not working with the big aggregators on for rating and reviews?” and “Tell me some real stories about social media driving actual dollars!?”. The highlight of the day, was our combined AMA/OMS luncheon where we brought in Paula Berg from Soutwest to tell us the learnings she has gone through with SWA’s social media forrays. The honesty and realness of her presentation was refreshing as it was entertaining. Much like Dallas, stories of how SWA kicked 2 girls off the plane for being “too pretty” to how Twitter documented the crash of the USair flight and so many nice stories that proved the worth of Blogging, Tweeting and open authentic communication. For the end of day panel, we mixed it up and brought the local and national top vendors to debate the importance of Search, Blogging, Email and Lead Gen… to which we had one person representing each. the dialogue was about as fun as it get’s and for the first time on tour, the panelist earned a drink (even your truly… a shinerbok in case you we’re wondering). Quotes heard were “It’s like the difference of getting a friend request from Dick Cheney or Herb Kelleher (Chairman of Southwest)”; “your full of Shit!”; and my favorite “Hey, can I get a drink too”.

The night in Austin was shared with AIMA in a combo happy hour downtown Austin at Malverde where free mojiotos we’re flowing a little too freely. A few good laughs and entertainment from friends on the deck and we we’re on our way to dinner that was sponsored by Datran and Josh Bair at his restuarant “The Grove”… more wine, mussels, pizza, bruchetta, and more wine was the recipe for probably one the more entertaining dinners on tour that ended with half the table playing “I never” to which Candyce and Lauren somehow kept losing… I guess being in the college town of Austin brought out the college in all of us last night. Seeing grown adults playing this game is truly a sight!

Off to Chicago after the Memorial day weekend! Choo Choo….

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We had other great ideas and quotes as the day wore on….  Bill Leake from Apogee Search gave us a good one when saying “Lead Scoring is Phewy” as he told his story of being a former VP of Sales and Marketing and illuminating the point that they threw good leads away because of scoring.   I think our friends at Silverpop and Eloqua would have some thing different to say…   The big highlight of the day was Paula Berg from Southwest Airlines.  She gave the audience the straight talk about what Southwest was doing, what they learned from and admittedly that they don’t have it all 100% right and continue to learn as they go.  Stories that main stream media like the gal with mini-skirt that they asked to “straighten up a little” before she boarded the plain or the two young ladies who claimed they were discriminated against because they were too pretty.  We all had a good laugh at that.

As always the day ended with a lively Big Brands panel, where the conversation got a little lively…  the best was: “Don’t pay attention to  the pricks,” when referring to the consistently negative commenters/bloggers.  Last, but not least we had a good group for dinner where we ate at the Texan favorite “Tex-Mex” and celebrated Candyce’s 29th birthday.    She was serenaded by about 20 Mexican staff members and had a few margaritas to ring in #29.     Another great OMS and great start to our Texas swing.  Next Stop Houston!

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Hearing from folks like Mark Drapeau, working on Social Media projects with the Department of Defense, we know that even ‘big brother’ is working throught the ebb and flow of Twitter to communicate and shape public opinion. Personally, I could not help myself but ask on the Keynote panel as moderator… “What does the DOD Tweet? “At War!”; “Going to kick some Taliban butt today…” ? Publishers too, like Rob Birgfeld from SmartBrief allowed some insight into his own frustrations with Social Media and Twitter and admitting that some of his expecatations in using Twitter to spread the good word fell way short. Then you had Tom from Kodak. A new speaker to the OMS tour, he really blew the audience away. I heard more positive comments come from his session alone than almost all others combined. Tom unabashaedley shared some of Kodak’s secrets and keeping to our Twitter theme here, discusssed how Kodak created an employees guide on “How to Use Twitter”. Personally, I thought was genius because so many don’t get involved because they are intimidated by just all the new phraseology and this is a great way to break down that barrirer.

Rounding out the day were leading authors and educators like Kevin Lee, Rebecca Lieb, Joel Book, Paul Hyland, Enrique Gonzalez and many more who all seemed to imbibe the mantra of “We are just getting started here with Online Marketing and there is so much more exciting stuff to come”. The day ended like all OMS events with our OMS Happy Hour and of course now infamous community dinner. Highlighting the “after hours” mood was my brother Thad (CEO of BusinessOnline and OMS presenter) partnering with Brandon from Bronto, to sing a duet at dinner. Let’s just say that both should stick to Online Marketing! After many bottles of wine and few post-dinner cocktails, you could here such quotes (will leave off names to protect the not so innocent) of “I lost my virginity at the …” or “Congrats on your impending baby” or my favorite, in response to my lifting a bottle of red wine and gesturing towards one of our speakers at dinner asking “Cab?” and the response being, “No, No I’m taking the Metro…” Good time, great education… and stop 4 under our belt. 14 more … Choo Choo!

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