Lorrie Thomas Ross, aka The Marketing Therapist®, speaks on the future of marketing at MSU’s conference addressing rising mass media consumption.

Santa Barbara, CA, May 02, 2012 -- Each year, Missouri State University hosts a Public Affairs Conference, and during this year’s conference, with the theme being the Culture of Connectivity, web marketing expert Lorrie Thomas Ross, Web Marketing Therapy’s founder and CEO, delivered one of five keynote speeches and participated in panel discussions during the four-day event. Considering the conference’s history of inviting participants with such a wide array of backgrounds to participate on panels that initially may appear to be outside of their area of expertise, Ross’ depth of knowledge and experience as a marketing strategist, author, speaker, educator, and mother made her an ideal candidate to address the conference as a whole on the topic of how marketing with an educational twist (aka markEDing®) is today’s most successful strategy, as well as to share her insights on panels that addressed the effects of technology and mass media on democracy and consumer choice.

“I’ve spoken at a number of conferences and participated on countless panels, but there was definitely something special about MSU’s Public Affairs Conference,” remarked Ross. “This year’s topic on the Culture of Connectivity was so relevant. Being a plenary presenter to share my perspective about marketing as well as being a panelist on topics outside of my area of expertise really gave attendees a thought-provoking perspective as we all approached topics from a totally unique angle.”

On the afternoon of Thursday, April 19, Ross presented her keynote address, “MarkEDing: Marketing’s New Connective Success Strategy,” to an attentive audience. In her presentation, Ross discussed what she has dubbed the concept of “markEDing,” which is marketing with heavy emphasis on educational content. She explained how people truly connect through informative and educational content, and how this content has impacted marketing, branding, social media, and a host of other mass media platforms.

“In this culture of connectivity, more effective marketing strategies have been forced to evolve,” said Ross. “A company’s image is no longer solely in the hands of the company or a big budget, as people (not just businesses) now have the ability to manipulate a business’ brand through mass media; however, the company can set the tone and fine-tune its image by paying attention to the virtual venues that host the educational and informative content, like Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, and others. MarkEDing isn’t just more effective, it’s more ethical.”

In her plenary talk, Ross addressed how businesses can manage and monitor the informational and educational content to maximize their brand and their online presence. A similar subject also arose in the panel titled “Yelp! My Soup Was Cold and I Need Everyone to Know,” in which panelists discussed how mass media has given customers the power to share their experiences immediately and without a filter, and how companies must now pay attention to and manage this information in order to maintain some semblance of control over their own reputation.

“Usually, I am pretty burned out after a week-long conference away from home,” said Ross. “But this conference has me buzzing with new ideas and opened communications with remarkable professionals I never would have met at an industry event!”

About Lorrie Thomas Ross, MA:
Lorrie Thomas, M.A. is a speaker, trainer, marketing strategist, and CEO of Web Marketing Therapy, a marketing agency and training company that diagnoses, prescribes, and guides healthy marketing solutions. Her expertise empowers organizations to create scalable web solutions that brand, build, and boost business. She teaches workshops for corporations and through UC Berkeley Extension. Ms. Thomas was on the founding team at ValueClick Media. She speaks nationally on a number of marketing-related topics and writes for several online publications. She authored The 36-Hour Course to Online Marketing for McGraw-Hill. http://www.tinyurl.com/onlinemarketingbook. Her lynda.com course Online Marketing Fundamentals is a top-viewed business course. She has been featured in the media as a web marketing expert by INC, Forbes, SUCCESS Magazine, the Associated Press, eCommerce Times, Entrepreneur, DM News, and Tech News World. www.lorriethomas.com

About Web Marketing Therapy:
Web Marketing Therapy is a full-service marketing agency that specializes in strategic advisory, training, and marketing management. Their success-backed approach to marketing includes diagnosing, prescribing, and guiding healthy marketing solutions. They serve passionate professionals who are ready to admit they need help, as that is the first step to recovery. http://www.webmarketingtherapy.com/.

Contact:
Darla Bea Smith
Web Marketing Therapy
Santa Barbara, CA
805-895-3400
darlabea@webmarketingtherapy.com
http://www.webmarketingtherapy.com