Join me and Damian Ryan in Dublin on Thursday 05 November along with  a panel of award winning online marketing creatives to learn how creativity and innovation in your digital marketing campaigns can give your business a boost.

Understanding Digital: CREATIVE will take place at the National College of Ireland in the city centre from 4-7 pm, followed by a drinks reception and  an opportunity for informal networking.  We’re hosting the event in conjunction with the Institute of Creative Advertising and Design (ICAD) as part of Design Week 2009.

For just €50 (€10 for current ICAD members) you get to share the expertise and insight of four leading digital creative minds.

Places are limited, and at that price they’re going fast so register now to secure yours.

NB: This piece will be published in the Career Moves section of the Evening Echo on Monday 24 March 2008

We all know how important training is to a successful career. Lifelong learning has become a bit of a “buzzword”, but we shouldn’t let its overuse dilute its significance. Whether it’s learning to use a new software package, how to implement the latest Health and Safety regulations or how to better mange our time, training helps us to realise our potential, and the right training can really give us a leg-up the career ladder.

The trouble, of course, is that these days we never seem to have enough time for learning… because were all so busy doing. People are chasing their tails from nine-to-five trying to cram 12 hours worth of of work into an eight hour day. And they’re the lucky ones – for many eight-to-six is a more likely scenario. We don’t even have time for a proper lunch break, let alone to contemplate a couple of days out to attend a training course.

How refreshing it is, then, when someone comes along and manages to shoehorn a couple of days worth of learning into an intensive half-day session. Talk about maximising the use of your valuable time.

I’m sitting sipping coffee in the Conference Centre foyer at the Clarion Hotel in Cork, waiting in eager anticipation for Getting Results in Online Marketing to start.

There’s a positive vibe, and the course material (6MB or so of PDF files) has been provided on a 1GB USB memory stick. It’s a refreshing change to see that sort of added value — a 1GB stick is a genuinely useful little extra, whereas the 64MB or 128MB sticks that often accompany seminars and events just end up cluttering up drawers when you get home.

Well, the seminar is about to start… more later.

For more details check out Getting Results in Online Marketing on the Praxis Now web site.

Ireland’s only dedicated search engine marketing event, Search Marketing World, will be held at the Crowne Plaza, Northwood, Dublin, on 03 April 2008. Keynote speaker at Ireland’s only dedicated search event this year is Chris Sherman, Executive Editor of Search Engine Land, one of the world’s leading search engine experts. Joining Chris in Dublin is an impressive list of speakers that reads like a “who’s, who” of international and Irish digital marketing.

Increasingly businesses around the world are harnessing the power of the internet to reach out to consumers in new and exciting ways. Studies show that more advertising spend is being diverted online – and that search is the biggest online channel by far. Keeping abreast of the latest trends in search engine marketing is vital for marketing professionals, web masters, website designers and developers, business owners, media buyers and just about anyone else involved in marketing today.

Search Marketing World is hosted by leading Irish interactive marketing agency, Interactive Return, and offers a uniquely Irish perspective on the global phenomenon of search engine marketing. More details are available on the website at www.searchmarketingworld2008.com, or by telephone on 01 672 9022 (9am – 4pm Mon-Fri).

Technorati Tags: Search Engine Marketing,Search Marketing events,search marketing Ireland,Interactive Return,Chris Sherman

Review of "Internet Marketing for 21st Century Business" — a half-day training seminar by PraxisNow.

Did you know that, according to research, around 80% of all Internet users find the web sites they’re looking for using a search engine? And that in the month of August 2007, in North America alone, the three main search engines fielded a mind-boggling 6.7 billion search queries between them?

That’s more than one search for every living person on the planet.

When it comes to Internet search, the figures are simply staggering – and if you’re a marketer the case for tapping into this burgeoning pool of online prospects is an incredibly compelling one. Having your company web site “pop up” at the top of the search engine listings at precisely the time your potential customers are looking for your products or services is the nearest to marketing nirvana you’re ever likely to get.

There’s no doubt that making effective use of internet marketing techniques like search engine optimisation (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and e-mail marketing can revolutionise your business, but where do you start? For many website owners, traditional marketers and corporate managers the world of digital marketing is a mystery. It’s a world full of technical jargon and seemingly arcane techniques that have always been the preserve of a select few professionals… until now.

I’m going to be attending a half day Internet Marketing seminar in Cork, Ireland on 25 October called "Internet Marketing for the 21st century". Run by John and  Noel Coburn of Irish company PraxisNow, the seminar is aimed at owner managers and high-level marketing professionals who want to maximise sales from their online investment.

Sounds like just the ticket to kick start my research, and I have to say I’m looking forward to the event. I’ll be posting a review of proceedings here after the fact — so be sure to check back.