I just finished today’s #ppcchat (every Tuesday at Noon EST, hosted by @matt_umbro). The streamcap is already live. We only had an hour though, so here’s five questions that we didn’t have time for that I’d like to share!
This week’s #ppcchat was all about Hero Conf, kind of a “behind the scenes” look at planning and what we have in store and how we’ve made things even better than last year! Four of the questions were ones that Matt asked me ahead of time, which is why they look formatted for Twitter and still contain the hashtag, and the last one was asked during the chat from one of the participants.
Why is the conference 3 days this year instead of 2?
I alluded to this earlier, speakers/topics are key reasons why folks attend! #ppcchat
So, increasing the days is part of doubling down on what they really value. #ppcchat
Two days of traditional conference (tracks) affords for more topics and more networking. We’ll have 4 keynotes instead of 1 also. #ppcchat
The last day is a 1on1 workshop. It’s half a day, not a full day like the other two. Separate focus and separate registration. #ppcchat
Also, a consistent piece of feedback from 2012 was it was a long day. We wanted to reduce that without missing important topics. #ppcchat
Talk about the planning that has gone into this year’s Hero Conf?
We started last year, right after April. 🙂 We had already selected Austin, we just needed a venue. Our event management firm… #ppcchat
…handled most of that. (I really can’t say enough about them – https://www.prodev.com/.) Speaker outreach started in the Fall. #ppcchat
We’re doing a ton to promote it, lots of email marketing, blog posts, and partnerships (like this one). Entertainment is a new… #ppcchat
…logistics this year, so that’s new on our plates. (More later.) Bigger sponsors too, so there’s more logistics to help them. #ppcchat
What should attendees expect from the 1 on 1 workshops?
Insights and custom help! To do that, they’ll get lots of 1on1 and personal attention. Hanapin folks and speakers will be… #ppcchat
…exploring and analyzing your account with you. You’ll get a laundry list of the various opportunities in your account, both… #ppcchat
…short-term and long-term. You also get hands on help tackling challenges you’ve experienced in a particular account. #ppcchat
The workshop is a great way to ensure you’re not missing any “gimmes” from account blindness. #ppcchat
For anyone who registers, the ROI on the workshop will be HUGE! Assuming you’re spending at least $10K per month,… #ppcchat
…spending 1% of your annual budget is good business sense. You’ll generate an annual and recurring ROI for 4 hours of work. #ppcchat
The workshop is a great chance to gain tactical experience from the strategies you’ll learn from the first two days. #ppcchat
Kayla wrote a fantastic summary on PPC Hero: https://www.www.ppchero.com/invest-1-of-your-annual-budget-and-increase-ppc-roi/ #ppcchat
What do you expect Hero Conf to be in 3 years?
We expect it to be the one conference PPC managers must attend every year. Maybe adding a vertical-specific event. #ppcchat
I think two days is about the max any attendee can handle, but I could see us increasing the # of tracks to create more… #ppcchat
…opportunities for content. More involvement from the social networks liked LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook since advertising… #ppcchat
…will grow substantially in that industry. Cooler, funner cities that aren’t traditional venues for SES/SMX. Maybe international. #ppcchat
I’d love for the # of attendees to continue to grow. There’s hundreds of thousands of advertisers; we’re getting a sliver at 200. #ppcchat
As long as we maintain the core of Hero Conf- PPC only, low attendee to speaker ratio, and affordable- sky’s the limit! #ppcchat
In general & across any industry, what have you found to be the biggest barrier in conducting an effective PPC strategy?
The biggest barriers to conducting an effective PPC strategy are probably communication and ‘out of your control’ factors. #ppcchat
Explaining what our Account Managers do to clients can be difficult dependent on the client’s understanding of PPC, making sure… #ppcchat
…all team members are on the same page, etc. are all crucial to a PPC strategy being implemented as planned. There are also… #ppcchat
…things you can’t directly control (algorithm changes, budget allocation from a client) that could occur in the middle of… #ppcchat
…your strategy. It’s crucial to be able to roll with these changes and maintain communication, even when your plan changes! #ppcchat
The $100 discount for Hero Conf ends this Friday (2/8) at Midnight. Register now to take guarantee your spot at the must-attend PPC conference of the year!
First time at “Hero Conf and not sure what to expect? @SamOwenPPC wrote a great summary of his experiences last year: https://www.www.ppchero.com/why-im-excited-to-go-back-to-hero-conf-in-2013/.
Still not sure why to attend? Three big reasons…
It’s 100% PPC. There’s no sitting through SEO presentations to get to the good stuff! It’s two days of PPC only. It’s three tracks of PPC only. It’s four keynotes of PPC only. Last year, the experience level of attendees was no less than a year and on average 3-5 years. It’s unreal how much PPC knowledge you’ll soak up!
Low speaker to attendee ratio. Our speakers are extremely approachable and open with their knowledge. We’re targeting a 4:1 ratio of speakers to attendees this year. It’s extraordinarily intimate to ensure that you’ll come away with lots of takeaways to generate a better ROI for your accounts. 1/3 are on the client-side (or in-house) and 1/5 are in e-commerce. Folks from Bing and Google will speaking, including the head of product development for Google AdWords!
It’s affordable. Austin is easily 20% cheaper than most cities where SES or SMX is hosted. It’s centrally located too so flights are easy to get in and out of. Before we started Hero Conf, we tried to send our folks to a conference in NYC. We couldn’t simply because the cost of hotel rooms would have doubled our bill! We have a block of hotel rooms- at reasonable rates- reserved for attendees. Get them while they last!
Register here, and if you’re already attending, please sign up for Twibbon to show your followers!
