PPC Chat Streamcap – Attending PPC Conferences

This week Matt Umbro (@Matt_Umbro) came up with yet another great question set titled “Attending PPC Conferences.” The following is the transcribed Streamcap from the live chat:

Q1: From an agency perspective, do you believe conferences are worth the cost? Why or why not?

• 100% yes! Good networking, ideas, improvements, potential new biz. Pays for itself. – Melissa Mackey (@Mel66)
• I believe so, helps to stimulate new ideas and keeps PPC analysts/managers on the bleeding edge plus great networking. – Nicole Mintiens (@Tregesy)
• Yes! Networking and bouncing ideas off of others is invaluable. Geeking out breeds new strategy! – Heather Cooan (@HeatherCooan)
• Yes. But…If you attend and don’t talk to people than you’re missing out of 75% of the whole conference! – Mark Jensen (@Just_Markus)
• Yes, @SEERInteractive sends lots of us to conferences as they’re good networking, speaking and learning opportunities. – Harris Neifield (@HarrisNeifield)
• Depends on if they actually listen or spend half the sessions checking work email! – Elizabeth Marsten (@ebkendo)
• Conferences are worth the investment, but there is a limit to how many and how far (lodging, travel, costs, etc). – John W. Ellis (@JohnWEllis)
• Totally! I came away with sooo many great ideas that have made impacts on my accounts after last year’s. – Amanda West-Bookwltr (@Amanda_WestBook)
• It depends on who you send and what the agency agenda is. You can treat it like a vacation or a classroom. Actionables = value. – Robert Boyd (@robboyd_jr)
• Depends on content level (value) & cost/#of days (registration, foor, travel, hotel). Multi-day that you fly into have dif. value than local 1 day confs that you drive to. Quality of content is a big factor. – James Svoboda (@Realicity)
• Depends on your agenda. Education or finding leads. Both have been fruitful for us. – John Lee (@John_A_Lee)

Q2: What are some ways networking has helped you better hone your PPC skills and/or helped your career movement?

• Had a beer with @Realicity and@glasner at #heroconf - the conversation we had changed some of my thinking. – Matt Umbro (@Matt_Umbro)
  • I agree with Matt. The conversations and presentations help form and define how I vie wsome PPC tactics.
• I love to hear about others strategies and to pick brains on things I struggle with in my accounts. – Heather Cooan
• My last 2 jobs came as a result of conference networking. It’s invaluable. – Melissa Mackey
• Creates a massive community to bounce ideas off & help when issues arise. Clients get 200 experts, not just me! – Aaron Levy (@bigalittlea)
• PPCchat Breakfast at Pubcon lead to some really interesting ideas. – Mark Jensen
• Networking has led to many great conversations -understanding how others approach clients, account mgmt, agency mgmt – all good. – John Lee
• Networking got me my first job after college. I had a SEO college internship. A guy I worked for thought I’d be great at PPC too. – Harris Neifield
• Not sure if this counts as networking but we couldn’t get a @BingAdsdedicated rep until I met a bunch in a booth at SMx. – Neil Sorenson (@iNeils)
• Networking with peers can help cool some of the internet marketing hubris that tends to creep up in too much isolation. – Mark Jensen
• To some extent, my career path has been based on who I know in the industry. So, yes, important. – John Lee
• Conferences & networking (not mutually exclusive) are the reason I have the job I have today. On skill and relationship levels. – Michelle Morgan (@michellemsem)
• Talking to people with clients similar to my trouble accounts is great. Bouncing ideas off each other can lead to solutions! – Amanda West-Bookwltr
• There are folks I will ask specific questions and I field questions from folks I’ve networked with. Sharing knowledge is a win. – Robert Boyd
• It’s funny – I hated going to conferences until I got into PPC. Passion for the field makes a diff in networking. – Melissa Mackey
  • Agreed!! One of my favorite parts of networking & conferences is getting to indulge in what I love w/ colleagues. – Cassie Allinger (@CassieAllinger)
• Being able to “nerd out” in PPC really helps clear out some of the cobwebs in the head. – Elizabeth Marsten
• Great to just talk to people who know what I actually do for a living and can share things. Like a live version of PPCChat. – Mark Kennedy (@markkennedysem)
• Conferences, Tweetups or even Alumni/Special Interests can make a difference in your ST or LT career options. - Brian Gaspar (@BGaspar)
• Conference networking leading to following ppc pros is really how i learned most of what I know. – Kiko Correa (@obiwankikobi)
• It makes you realize how big and small this biz is. I definitely tune in more to tweeps I’ve met IRL. – Lisa Sanner (@LisaSanner)

Q3: If you aren’t speaking, how do you prepare for conferences?

• Fully charged laptop/ipad/phone. – Neil Sorenson
• I research speakers and topics to make sure I get the most out of each session. – Amanda West-Bookwltr
• 1. Look find the session content I want. 2. Fill in blanks by going to sessions with speakers I want to see. 3. Pack business cards. – Michelle Morgan
• I do a little Twitter stalking to find people I want to chat with and seek them out. – Heather Cooan
• If there are certain issues you are facing, you can make it a goal to try and seek help or solution at the conference. – Mark Kennedy
• Clear your plate, let clients know you’ll be out of commission not working (unless fires) & learning for THEIR benefit. – Lisa Sanner
• I make a Twitter list of speakers & people I know are attending so that I can engage w/ them online before in person. – Cassie Allinger
• Know who’s going to be there and prioritize. You can’t see/talk to everyone, so set a list of must do’s. – Aaron Levy
• Scope out the sessions, the speakers, and check for any FB groups or extra networking opportunities. – Kiko Correa
• Charge the laptop & ipad for endless tweeting. And as Michelle said, pack the business cards.
• The last conference I attended, the first thing I did was ask PPCChat who else was going. – Robert Boyd
• Hit up #ppcchat to see who’s going and make plans to meet up. Always nice to put a personality to the twitter handle. – Michelle Morgan

Q4: We all know that #heroconf is awesome, but what other conferences offer great PPC sessions?

• I have been to a few at SES and always seen some great content. – Justin Freid (@Justin_Freid)
• A couple years ago I would have said PubCon. But this year there were only 1 or 2 sessions I would have been interested in. – Michelle Morgan
• I’d like to know what 1 conf people would rec of I can afford only 1?
  • HeroConf no question. – Michelle Morgan
• My first ever was SES NY quite a few years ago. I like that one. And I like @bgtheory seminars as well. – Mark Kennedy
• SMX Advanced has great advanced PPC sessions; I usually find a few good ones at SES also. – Melissa Mackey
• Seems that SES, SMX and Pubcon have strong PPC tracks. Still seem to take lower priority to SEO & Mobile topics. – John Lee
• What makes #heroconf great is that it’s all PPC. Will there be other conferences that are the same way? – Brian Gaspar
• Disclosure: I am speaking at SES Chicago next month. – Melissa Mackey
• SMX Advanced usually has a PPC track. Some have been really great while others not so great. Good 2nd option to HeroConf. – James Svoboda
• Depends on priorities. Networking/learning, def#heroconf, but for lead gen/business ops, prob SMX. – Aaron Levy
•  I base it entirely off who’s speaking. You know it’ll be good if you can find @bgtheory @JoeKerschbaum @Mel66 @JoannaLord. – Elizabeth Marsten
• Maybe I’m a cynic, but IMHO the networking is often more informative than the sessions. – John Lee
  • I agree. – Matt Umbro
  • We often view & value things through our own past experiences & this shapes our opinion of current and future things. – James Svoboda
• I’m looking for a good conference for Display (DSPs, DMPs, testing, segments, etc.) If anyone has suggestions, please let me know. – Lisa Sanner
• Many times I choose sessions based on the speaker more so than the content. Learned some great things that way. – Michelle Morgan

Q5: Aside from networking, do you believe there is enough justification of cost for a senior PPC specialist to attend conferences?

• Most “seniors” that I know are to the point where if they are attending, they should be speaking. – John Lee
• As an in-houser I absolutely think the costs are justified. Take 1 good idea away, implement it, save my company money. Win! – Neil Sorenson
• Assuming that the majority of value comes from networking, rather than the presentations, then yes! – Cassie Allinger
• It is tough to justify, if you are senior, you should be speaking or bringing back new clients. – Justin Freid
• Depends if that person is likely to generate meaningful new business leads from the conference. – Harris Neifield
• So, you have to balance the cost w/ overall value (are a few nuggets of info worth it? or should they do more?). – John Lee
• You can’t exclude networking from that question. Then it becomes an un-answerable question, but I will go with “yes." – John Ellis
• I think if someone thinks they are too “senior” to attend, they should DEFINITELY attend. No one knows it all! – Paul Kragthorpe (@PaulKragthorpe)
• If that Sr is speaking based on experience. Entry Level & Jr’s it’s a good place to learn more & connect with others. – Brian Gaspar
• More learning value for junior overall no doubt. And truthfully, most of the content will be online not long after. But even a senior should go once or twice just for the networking value and they can share advanced ideas. – Mark Kennedy
• If you want to keep that senior person, yes. Otherwise they’ll go work somewhere else that will send them. – Elizabeth Marsten
• There is value in Srs going. They should be going to diff tracks than their specialty. Think attribution, channels, integration. – Lisa Sanner
• Nice thing about PPC is that it has changed so much lately that any Senior postion will gain some new insights. – James Svoboda

Q6: If you could see only one speaker present, who would it be? Why?

• Brad Geddes – James Svoboda
• Matt Umbro – Brian Gaspar
• My money is typically on@bgtheory. But @ebkendo and@JoeKerschbaum get kudos for HIGH entertainment to info % points. – John Lee
• @bgtheory…he always talks in a different language and I get good ideas in the translation. – Heather Cooan
• Specific: @bgtheory. But I’d also attend almost any @JoannaLordsession, regardless of topic. – Michelle Morgan
• @MerryMorud is also a fav. Always try and catch her. – Elizabeth Marsten
• The whole@aimclear team are dynamite speakers. – John Lee
• Personally, I think@JoeKerschbaum makes the prettiest presentations & I like seeing@JoannaLord & @ebkendo + any new ideas. – Brad Geddes (@bgtheory)

Q7: What, if anything, are you expected to bring back to your company and present after a conference?

• Reciepts. – James Svoboda
• Actionable ideas. Anything that can improve performance for clients and our own initiatives. – Robert Brady (@robert_brady)
• Action items and strategies to implement on accounts. – Michelle Morgan
• New strategies, efficiency measures, success stories, and fixes for our points of struggle. – Heather Cooan
• Knowledge and or new business leads. show that they got something for your trip. – Harris Neifield
• New Beta offerings and how it can directly impact performance for your client(s). – Brian Gaspar
• Actionable learning (what can we apply to accounts today), biz cards of new contacts / leads, feedback on conference quality. – John Lee
• Blog post and preso ideas. – Heather Cooan
  • Exactly. How to continue the conversation. – John Lee
• We share & walk through decks of the best presentations we attended in our weekly Lunch and Learns. Receipts too. – Lisa Sanner

Resources

• Google AdWords Editor (version as of today’s PPCChat 9.8.1)
• Microsoft adCenter Desktop
• http://www.google.com/ads/answers/
• PPCChat Member List (Twitter)
• adCenter Feature Suggestion
• Bing Keyword Research Tool
• Hero Conf
• SES Conference
• SMX Advanced

More PPC Chats

Don’t forget to stay tuned for the next #PPCchat on Tuesday at 12 noon Eastern, 9 am Pacific and 5pm in the UK. Same Chat time, same Chat channel.

Participants

Check out the PPC Chat Twitter list to see and connect with all current and prior participants.

Collected by the Streamcap Man

This is a guest post by Paul Kragthorpe; WebRanking SEM Manager in Minneapolis, Minnesota, #PPCChat Streamcap Grabber, SEO Blog Author. Connect with me @PaulKragthorpe, and Google Plus.
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Tags: conferences, Pay-Per-Click (PPC), ppcchat

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012 at 10:01 am by Paul Kragthorpe and is filed under Pay-Per-Click (PPC), PPC Chat. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.