The average number of media outlets used for marketing efforts has increased 20% the last 3 years from 6 in 2013 to 7.2 in 2015. For the small to medium-sized business (SMB), this continuing fragmentation of the digital space is compounded by a lack of time and resources to learn about, understand and execute the latest marketing strategies.
In an effort to bring some clarity to this space, today, the Local Search Association’s (LSA) first Digital Boot Camp for business owners kicked-off in LA.  Teaming with GoDaddy, Bing, Yelp, Yahoo, Google, YP, Closely and others, this educational summit seeks to provide SMB attendees with practical digital marketing advice from a range of experts. In addition, attendees will have a chance to directly interact with these experts.
To kick off the event, Greg Sterling, VP of strategy and insights at LSA, provided some introductory comments, including a quick look at the local businesses in attendance. With over 100 attendees, the audience represented a large cross section of industries with a broad range of staff sizes and the majority of attendees are the sole employee for their businesses.
When it comes to the marketing budgets for the attendees, around half of the survey respondents said they had budgets of $10,000 or less.
The content planned will be practical and tactical in nature. Here are some of the upcoming sessions:
- Building a Successful Digital Marketing Strategy
- Common Online Marketing Mistakes – and How to Avoid Them
- Social Media for Time-Starved Entrepreneurs
- Mobile Search: What You Need to Know
- Managing Your Online Reputation
- Maximizing Your Email Marketing
- Facebook Ads: the Why and How
