All posts tagged online marketing

  • April 25, 2010

    Exitoso Primer Online Marketing Colombia Meetup

    Colombia Online Marketing MeetupPor parte mía y de Gabriel, queremos agradecerlos a todos los asistentes del primer Online Marketing Colombia Meetup este jueves!  Tuvimos gran asistencia con 20 de nosotros allí.  Fue excelente conocer a todos y hablar sobre como podemos acelerar adopción de las herramientas digitales en Colombia.  Fuera de disfrutar enormemente la energía del grupo, fue un placer conocer a profesionales de tan alto calibre.

    Desde el comienzo de la reunión, el ambiente estuvo relajado y conducente a una conversación abierta y productiva.  Sentí que todos realmente disfrutamos el grupo con la conversación balanceada entre temas serios y momentos humorosos de risa espontánea. Claro esta, todos tenemos opiniones fuertes (como debe ser) y no siempre estaremos de acuerdo, pero fue un gran comienzo.

    Aunque me escogencia de sitio no fue el mejor (ruidoso), pudimos disfrutar el tiempo y discutir una variedad de tópicos.  Hablamos de unos puntos específicos con respecto a áreas para mejora en el mercado Colombiano.  Pudimos compartir una variedad de experiencias donde existen brechas que hay que llenar.  Adicionalmente, identificar una diferencia entre la dinámica de mercado con empresas mas grandes (quienes trabajan mucho con agencias) y con empresas medianas y pequeñas cada uno con sus retos respectivos.

    En términos de soluciones, las propuestas se centraban alrededor de dos componentes: 1) Las necesidades de los potenciales clientes (Ej. Conocimiento de mercadeo digital y su impacto, confianza en sus proveedores, etc.)  y 2) Las necesidades de los proveedores (Ej. Entrenamiento, certificaciones, etc.).  Estos retos son solucionables y estuvimos de acuerdo que debemos juntarnos para buscar soluciones conjuntas para multiplicar las oportunidades en el mercado.

    Fue importante el poder combinar el espacio para intercambiar libremente ideas con por lo menos una iniciativa concreta (Social Media Week) para poder comenzar a ejecutar conjuntamente. También, fue emocionante obtener el feedback de varios sobre Social Media Week y, en particular, el interés intenso por parte del grupo y el hecho que ya algunos han estado hablando con potenciales patrocinadores.  Estuvimos generalmente de acuerdo sobre la necesidad de tener mas eventos para evangelizar los beneficios de mercadeo digital y la mayoria estuvieron muy interesados en formar parte de dicha iniciativa (ya sea Social Media Week u otro).

    Finalmente, estuvimos de acuerdo que debemos realizar este evento de una manera continua. La percepción del grupo es que, en vez de ser un institución, nuestro grupo esta conformado por profesionales dedicados a la calidad y el intercambio abierto de ideas.  Esa clase de de energía e interés es algo que debemos aprovechar y canalizar en iniciativas bien pensadas que avanzaran al mercado en adiciona a disfrutar el proceso.  :)

    1 Comment / Español, General /

  • April 25, 2010

    First Online Marketing Colombia Meetup a Success

    Colombia Online Marketing MeetupOn behalf of myself and Gabriel, thanks to everyone who attended the first Online Marketing Colombia Meetup on Thursday!  We had a great turnout with 20 of us in attendance.  It was great meeting everyone and discussing how we can accelerate adoption of online media tools in Colombia.  Aside from thoroughly enjoying the vibrancy of the group, I was greatly impressed by the caliber of knowledgeable professionals and the excellent suggestions.

    From the outset, the environment was loose and conducive to a productive conversation as well as truly enjoyable time. I felt that we all genuinely enjoyed each other’s company as the conversation had a mixture of serious discussion as well as humorous moments with spontaneous laughter.  Obviously, this is also an opinionated group (as it should be) and everyone won’t always be in agreement, but it was a great start.

    Even though my choice of venue left a lot to be desired (quite noisy), we had a great time and were able to discuss a variety of topics.  There are a number of specifics with respect to areas for improvement in the Colombian market.  We were able to share a number of experiences where a gap needs to be filled in order to accelerate market adoption.  There were quite a few anecdotes that informed the group of experiences in different segments of the market.  Also, we identified a definite difference between the dynamics with larger companies (many of which engage with agencies) and the dynamics with small and medium businesses each with there unique challenges.

    In terms of solutions, these revolve around two key components: 1) Needs on the part of potential customers (e.g., understanding of online marketing and the business benefits, confidence in local suppliers, etc.) and 2) Needs on the part of service providers (e.g., training, networking, certifications, etc.).  These challenges are solvable and we were in agreement that it behooves us to get together and develop solutions conjointly so that the market will grow in a healthy direction and create a multitude of opportunities for our customers as well as our companies.

    It was important that we were able to combine the free flow of ideas and experiences with a concrete initiative (Social Media Week) so that we can start executing on needs we see in the market.  It was exciting to get feedback on the Social Media Week initiative and find the intense interest from the group and the fact that some members have already been talking to potential sponsors.  There was general agreement on the need for more of these types of events in order to evangelize online marketing to the market and most were extremely interested in being a part of such an initiative (whether it be SMW or another).

    Finally, we agreed that we need to make this get-together an ongoing event.  The perception among the group was that, instead of an institutional body, we were uniting committed professionals dedicated to quality, execution and an open exchange of ideas. That kind of energy and interest is something we need to take advantage of and channel into well thought out solutions that will advance the market and allow us to have a good time in the process. :)

    1 Comment / English, General /

  • April 22, 2010

    Online Marketing Colombia Innaugural Meetup

    Bogota MeetupToday is a great day. An idea that popped into the heads of myself and Gabriel Amorocho a couple of months back is gathering steam and tonight is our first Meetup for an impressive group of online marketing professionals. During the past months, we’ve had some excellent discussions inside the Linkedin Group that Gabriel created and now has almost 200 members. One of the discussions was about what needs to be done in order to accelerate adoption of online marketing tools among Colombian organizations.

    Among the suggestions related to market education or evangelization is the need for more events or activities where potential customers can learn and appreciate real life success stories.  This was an excellent validation of an idea I’ve had for quite some time and that I’ve been discussing with the founder of Social Media Week in New York.  The potential for an event like this is huge (attendees, sponsors and industry players)!

    That particular event is a perfect fit for Bogota (and really a number of cities in Colombia).  Aside from the excellent content, the format is extremely open and collaborative.  For instance, many of the conferences (speeches) can be held at venues which can be used in return for “in kind” sponsorships.  This provides a new and more connected experience for the attendee while maintaining costs in check.

    The momentum that’s been building during just the last month is quite exciting.  Aside from how things have been coming together with the impressive group of online marketers and the event, I’ll soon have some exciting news to report on my role within the Colombian online marketing market.  There are some impressive and great people hear and I’m, first of all, grateful to have met them and, secondly, looking forward to working more closely with them.

    We’re still ironing out some details, but I’m confident that Social Media Week will be held in Bogota (and hopefully in other Colombian cities through streaming) in September.  Tonight, at the Meetup, we’ll be talking with a core group of industry members and sharing with them some general news about the impressive lineup of speakers and potential sponsors that are on deck for this event.

    In keeping with the theme of the online media and the event (it’s social), I’m sure we’ll get excellent feedback there and through the Linkedin group channel.  If we work together as an industry we can accelerate adoption of these tools (e.g., social media, etc.), which will have a domino effect on digital innovation, productivity, competitiveness, profitability and, ultimately, development of the country (in economic, social and quality of living terms) in general.

    Well, time to run to one more meeting and then it’s off the the Meetup.  I’ll post some pictures and a video tomorrow with more news.

    No Comments / English, Internet Marketing /