New Media Expo 2014

Branding is more than your logo. It’s the entire idea and image that people have of something or another person. It’s what determines what people expect from you, and ultimately dictates how they interact with you.

It’s incredibly important to know what your brand is and how to build it online, make it stronger and maintain it. Are the three words you use to describe yourself (or your organization) the same words others would use?

This interactive workshop will help you figure out how to be consistent, cohesive and conscious online so you can build a brand that is instantly recognizable. You will feel more confident about establishing yourself as a voice to be reckoned with in the digital space.

This workshop will be useful for: anyone or blogger looking to establish or strengthen their voice and brand online.

You'll Walk Away From This Session Knowing:

• How to find out what your online reputation or brand currently is
• How to find and strengthen your voice to start building a respected brand online
• How to build your visual identity (and how color matters) on Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere

Not every blogger takes photos or creates video. Not every blogger does contests, crafts an SEO strategy, trades links or writes e-books. But every blogger writes. And if you think writing is just the text for metadata or to fill the space between photos, you're wasting one of your most powerful tools for engaging readers and keeping them: Your voice. A video can engage, but only for a moment. A photo can describe, but it can't make an observation. We'll cover easy ways to make writing a stronger part of your blog, regardless of topic or platform. We'll talk about basic tips, as well as look at specific examples (good and bad), and work with content by attendees submitted for feedback.

You'll Walk Away From This Session Knowing:

• How to make sure every post has a message you want readers to take away — and how to ensure that message is clear
• How to determine when to write more — or more importantly, when to write less, but with more punch
• How to move past the "It's all about me" approach common in
• Seven effective tips for editing your own writing
• How to find the balance among your ideas, first-person narrative and basic reporting, for everything from long essays to photo captions.

Text alone was great for web 1.0, but in an era where readers expect visual media, photography has never been more important for publishers on the internet.  You’ll want great photos for your website or blog, but they also play an important role on social media outlets such as Facebook, Instagram, Google+, and Pinterest.

Led by two experienced photographers who also work with internet business, this workshop will cover the essentials of photography for the web.  We’ll look at how to create a correctly-exposed and well-composed photograph with your camera (DSLR, compact, or smartphone), and then we’ll chat about how to organize those photos on your computer, how to perform basic editing, and how to optimize your photos for your website or blog.

You'll Walk Away From This Session Knowing:

• How to take better photos for your website that lead to more engagement with your readers
• Tips for reliable photo editing and management
• The fundamentals of photo SEO and website performance