ZimmComm – New Media, LLC

Registration is now open for this year’s BlogWorld and New Media Expo. I attended last year and am hoping to do so again this year schedule permitting. If you really want to hone your new media and social networking skills then this is the place to do it. It would be cool to have other ag folks there!

Join us at the World’s Largest New Media event and learn about Content Creation, Distribution and Monetization strategies, step-by-step techniques and bleeding-edge tools from the most successful Bloggers, Podcasters, Social Media Pro’s, Internet TV and Radio Broadcasters, and Podcasters! From the premier educational sessions at the Social Media Business Summit and BlogWorld Conference, to the resource-rich New Media Expo, to Amazing Networking events…it’s One economical trip, One weekend, One Big Show you can’t afford to miss!

I’ve been following Darren Rowse, ProBlogger, for years. The new media expert from Australia has been very active here at BlogWorld and I caught up to him at one of the final panel discussions today. It’s great to have a chance to meet someone you’ve only communicated with online. Darren is pictured on the left here.

Darren says that a blog allows you to build a community around a niche topic and that if you are successful doing so you’ll find advertisers who want to be a part of it.

You can listen to my interview with Darren here: bwe-09-rowse.mp3

BlogWorld Expo Photo Album

The founder of the BlogWorld and New Media Expo is Rick Calvert. He says feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive. Attendance is way up too. He’s conservatively estimating about 2,200 at this point so the final count could be higher with walk-ins today. That says a lot in a troubled economy where many shows have seen a decline in participants. I think it’s just another sign of how robust the new media business is today.

He says the exhibit show has been packed and I can attest to that since I’ve had to wait at times to get an opportunity to speak with an exhibitor. He says next year’s dates are October 14-16 back here in Las Vegas.

Rick says that one of the beautiful things about new media is that it allows a company or an event to have a media outlet since most of us are in niche topical areas and it may not be big enough to even be mentioned on network television. He says new and social media “cuts out the middle man” and let’s you communicate directly which is how we naturally converse. It’s a tremendous benefit for small business.

You can listen to my interview with Rick here: bwe-09-calvert.mp3

BlogWorld Expo Photo Album

It is true that even geeks who live and breathe new media can have fun. The conclusion of day two of BlogWorld and New Media Expo was a party held at The Jet in The Mirage.

BlogWorld Expo Photo Album

If you’ve been podcasting for a long time or are just getting started, measurement has been a troubling issue. In a session on this topic, Leesa Barnes, Marketing Fit, helped clarify what you need to look at in terms of measurement. There are three main areas: numbers (subscribers, downloads, etc.), results (what action is your audience taking) and influence (is podcast building your brand and business). She says you can’t judge your podcast on numbers alone.

It’s relatively easy to measure downloads and subscribers with services like Libsyn or Blubrry. Results might require conducting a survey of your listeners to determine what they’re doing. For influence Leesa suggests looking at your social networking community with attention to things like Twitter follower growth. In our conversation we also discuss what sponsors or advertisers want to see to show their return on the investment they’ve made in your podcast.

You can listen to my interview with Leesa here: bwe-09-barnes.mp3

BlogWorld Expo Photo Album

The trade show kicked off this morning here at BlogWorld. I did a walk through video clip for you and for myself to decide which ones I want to go back and spend some time with.

Activity on the floor was great to get the show started.

BlogWorld Expo Photo Album

During the evenings here at BlogWorld we have parties. Last night it was at The Bank in Bellagio, sponsored by TechSet. The party was packed and I’m betting some folks were off to a slow start this morning.

While we were at Bellagio last night we watched their famous fountain shows. I got one on video with my phone that I thought I’d share with you.

BlogWorld Expo Photo Album

Day two of the BlogWorld and New Media Expo is underway. We’re listing to Richard Jalichandra, Technorati, give a preview of this year’s State of the Blogosphere. It will be published next week.

They surveyed bloggers this past year and he’s showing us some selected statistics. He started out by saying that the blogosphere is very healthy and contrary to media reports otherwise, bloggers are blogging even more than last year. Of the professional bloggers, 40 percent have worked in traditional media. He says, “Blogs are media.” I fully agree with that.

I’ll do my best to get an interview with him and update this post if I do.

Post Update: I caught Richard on his way out after his keynote address and you can listen to my interview with him here: bwe-09-jalichandra.mp3

BlogWorld Expo Photo Album

Chris Baggott, Compendium Blogware, provided the most clear reasons for why companies should be blogging that I’ve heard in a while. If you value how your business or brand shows up in search results then having a blog is the best way to improve your results. He quoted a study by HubSpot that showed that companies that have blogs have significantly higher traffic, link and indexing.

He says that not only do blogs increase your searchability but also your results because you’re making the searcher happier. He says to remember that social media is about people. It’s about human beings and blogs help articulate the humanity of the organization.

Chris is seen in the photo talking with some BlogWorld participants after his talk.

Listen to my interview with Chris here: bwe-09-baggot.mp3

BlogWorld Expo Photo Album

How do you measure ROI for a social media campaign? Boy that’s a loaded question. Are we talking “return on investment” or “return on influence?” Those are very different things.

I think most companies choose investment since they’ve got cash in the game. They want to know what they’re getting for their money. That goes for an ad buy on a blog all the way to creating their own social networks via tools like Twitter. I attended a session on this subject this morning and afterward spoke with one of the panelists, Jim Marks, Virtual Results.

Jim says the most important component is setting goals and expectations up front. What is it that you hope to achieve for example? Then he does place a lot of weight on traffic (to your blog, # followers, # friends, etc.) and conversion.

Listen to my interview with Jim here: bwe-09-roi.mp3

BlogWorld Expo Photo Album