The Five Biggest Moments from Hero Conf 2013

After all the planning and anticipation, it’s hard to believe that Hero Conf 2013 is actually over.

But now that we’ve had some time to relax (and recover), we thought it would be a good idea to take a step back and reflect on all of the awesomeness.

As it turns out, getting more than 200 of the world’s best PPC minds in the same room together can have some pretty impressive results! Here are our top five moments, with a few real, live tweets from attendees that we think capture the moment:

1. Bing and Google Announce Product Upgrades

Obviously, Bing and Google are enormous names in the PPC industry. That’s why it was so exciting to see them announcing brand new products and features at Hero Conf. Bing revealed some extremely impressive Excel integrations, and announced that product ads are on their way to the Bing Ads network later this year. And Google announced that they would be entirely revamping their keyword research tools this year, calling the new iteration “Keyword Planner.”

We know these announcements got the audience riled up, because we were on the edge of our seat right alongside them!

2. Rory Scovel and Erin Ivey Bring Down the House

A conference can’t be all work and no play, and there was plenty of both this year in Austin.

On Monday night, local singer-songwriter Erin Ivey brought her unique brand of soulful folk tunes to the cocktail reception.

The outdoor courtyard, the music in the air and the delectable finger foods were cited as highlights of the conference.

Tuesday night saw typical conference networking unfold into a night of raucous laughter.

Red-hot comedian Rory Scovel unleashed a hilarious set that had the Hero Conf audience laughing from beginning to end.

All in all, the both nights of entertainment were fantastic this year. We think everyone had their own brand of fun, and we wish Rory the best of luck with his pilot on TBS!

3. Expert-Level Sessions Blow Our Minds

Keynotes are motivating, inspirational and empowering. But nothing takes the place of session after session of specialized, actionable advice from the experts.

But don’t take our word for it. Whether it was about display ads or Excel tips, the phrase “mind blowing” was a common theme for Hero Conf 2013:

4. The Heroes Are Ready for Their Closeup!

Nothing seemed to cause a reaction quite like the #heropose photo sessions. The capes and cutouts really brought our theme of “Be The Hero” to life!

Here are a few of our favorite poses:

5. Workshop Sessions Deliver The Goods (Again!)

The third day workshops might be the best kept secret of Hero Conf. Just like last year, Workshop attendees got to sit down and have a one-on-one optimization session with a PPC expert from Hanapin Marketing or another industry leader. And just like last year, the workshoppers came away beaming about the unprecedented, personalized and actionable advice they were able to take back to the office and start implementing.

The one-on-one workshops are one of our favorite parts of Hero Conf, and we’re always happy to hear that the feeling is mutual:

Of course, there were hundreds of other fantastic moments and mind-blowing revelations at Hero Conf–far too many to list them all in one place.

But our friends at Tagboard tried their best, compiling all Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Google+ dispatches from every attendee into the same place. View them at the official Hero Conf Tagboard page!

All in all, it was a fantastic conference, and we can’t thank everyone who came out, whether it was to speak, to exhibit, or to attend.

You truly are the heroes, and you made Hero Conf the success that it was.

We hope to see you all there next year, and even more of you who couldn’t make it this year!