I just came back from a Newport Interactive Marketers event  at Newport Vineyards sponsored by Suzanne McDonald of Designated Editor with the keynote speaker Ted Ives discussing his suggested methods to "Strategize Your Content for Maximum SEO and Social ROI". It is fair to say a good time was had by all.

It's good to know I'm not crazy when it comes to my online marketing. Better yet, it's good to know we're all just a little clueless about the best practice for promotion and marketing online and thereabouts. There is comfort in numbers. 

Here is what I picked up regarding content creation:

• Making content that matches what my clients are looking for is a lot better than giving them what I want. That makes sense
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a very long term process. This is something I have been experiencing on a first-hand basis. There is no "magic bullet" to becoming easier to find. 
• The best practices for SEO are always changing. This is like having a really hot girlfriend or boyfriend who keeps giving you the runaround. Google is this significant other.
• The book "Positioning" is a classic and I need to read it. So, I just got it for my Kindle. 
• Facebook is doing some pretty interesting stuff with the algorithms but it isn't the same thing as SEO. You're reaching out to a demographic, not searchers. I did not know that!
• It is better to have a total system in place than do what is called "stovepipe thinking". That makes sense and is what I try to do with my clients. Looking at the big picture is important. 
• SEO = Content + Architecture + Linking. 

Most importantly, it was good to find out that 

No One Is An Expert In All This Stuff!!!

We all know a little or a lot of some specific things. My strength lies in the visual content creation department. That's because I got tired of just taking pictures and watching them put on crappy websites and the like. It seems that people don't always know what to do with the content they are contracting me to create. That makes sense and is only human. So, I've been working with people to help maximize the content (visual and written) for their websites. It's fun.

Networking is not something that comes easily to me but I'll be back to the NIM events. They are well run and informative. Photography is no longer just a matter of taking pictures, I need to learn how to help my clients use the pictures to increase the value of the work we both do.