Special Thank You to Our 2014 Local Social Speakers

Loren Baker, a pioneer in the search marketing industry, is the founder of Search Engine Journal, an AdAge Top 10 blog he created in 2003 to cover search marketing news and tactics. Over the last decade, he has consulted with Fortune 500 companies, universities, financial institutions and startups. He has successfully assisted them with the development of their strategic online marketing campaigns. Loren has been featured on CNN, NPR, BusinessWeek, ZDNet, PRWeek, TechCrunch, Mashable and AdAge and is a regular speaker at SMX, Pubcon and other conference series.

Loren received his B.A. in mass communications and marketing from Towson University. He aspires to disrupt the world of Internet marketing by empowering agencies and in-house marketers with the tools, staffing, training, and deliverables needed to achieve impeccable results.

Mark Barrera designed and coded his first website in 1995 while growing up in Corsicana, TX. After seeing how search engines drive traffic, he shifted focus to SEO. Mark has since developed search marketing campaigns for companies in many industries (mortgage, pharmaceuticals, retail, service, technology, software, non-profit and many others). He started his own company Barrera Search Marketing which was acquired by BuzzShift in the summer of 2013.

Mark currently serves as the President of the Social Media Club of Dallas, and is past President and Chairman of the Dallas/Fort Worth Search Engine Marketing Association, where he was a board member for four years. Mark graduated from the University of North Texas with a degree in Entrepreneurship.

Bernadette Coleman is the CEO of Advice Interactive Group an award winning Inc 500 digital agency. She has been actively involved in SEO and Internet marketing since 2001. Bernadette is passionate about all things digital including content, search, social and local. Her knowledge and experience have made her a leader in the industry and her passion for innovation and growth has led her company to become one of the leading online marketing and technology firms.

As the company founder and CEO, her responsibilities include working with our team leaders to develop and manage the overall growth strategy of the company, developing marketing strategies for our clients, and uncovering business opportunities for all. Bernadette writes for multiple blogs and actively shares on Twitter, Google+, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Digital marketing and communications consultant, Andra Dunn, has long held a passion for utilizing technology to drive marketing and communications efforts. In the ever-changing world of digital marketing, Andra has spent the past fifteen years refining her industry knowledge and applying her expertise in helping small businesses and non-profits tell their stories and effectively engage their audiences. With her comprehensive understanding of what works best for reaching the intended market, Andra is committed to making sure her clients have a thorough understanding of the process. She is equally instrumental in working alongside each client so that they acquire the knowledge to independently manage their electronic and social media platforms.

Andra serves as the Executive Vice President of Technology for the DFW American Marketing Association.

Lissa Duty, VP of Community Management at Advice Interactive Group is a speaker, social media coach, trainer and author of 25 Tips to Twitter Success: Learn How To Market Yourself, Brand and Business Online and co-author of Your LinkedIn Professional Network: How to Connect, Optimize, and Implement for Success. She plunged into social media headfirst in 2009 and hasn’t looked back. She uses her energy and marketing talents to assist her clients in growing their business and network via social networking websites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Currently Lissa is Assistant Organizer for the DFW Social Media Marketing Group, Assistant Director for Biz Link Business Development, and Organizer for one of the largest social media conferences – Rocks Digital (formerly DFW Rocks Social Media Day). She keeps a full schedule and is not only known locally as a social media authority, but globally.

Todd Ebert From Fortune 100 enterprises to technology startups, Todd Ebert has spent twenty years with his sleeves rolled up leading marketing teams that drive business growth. Lately, as CMO of ReachLocal [NASDAQ: RLOC], he’s marketing software and services at the intersection of search, social, local and mobile marketing. Todd believes that marketing is the biggest key to success in today’s hyper-competitive markets, and that companies who don’t understand that fact will ultimately fail. When he is not working he is a Snapple drinking, chili pepper growing, craft beer loving, volleyball coaching, Longhorn cheering husband and father.

Rob Garner works with businesses and brands to develop paid, earned, and owned strategies that drive visibility, engagement, and results. He is the author of “Search and Social: The Definitive Guide to Real-Time Content Marketing,” released in November, 2012. Some of the brands he has worked with include Marriott, USAA, Dollar/Thrifty, Fisher-Price, Sovereign Bank, Ally Bank, Mastercard, & Visa, among many others.

In Spring 2012, Rob was featured on the cover of Search Marketing Standard magazine, and has been a regular Media Post columnist for 7 years. He is regularly-quoted in many major business & industry publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Mashable, Search Marketing Standard, Dow Jones, Reuters, Adweek, Ad Age, Direct Marketing News, Smart Business Magazine, eMarketer, Forrester, Search Engine Watch, Clickz, CNNMoney, & The Dallas Morning News.

Greg Gifford is the Director of Search and Social at AutoRevo, a software company that provides websites and online marketing to used car dealers all over the country. His responsibilities include the development and execution of all client SEO and social media efforts, as well as managing AutoRevo’s corporate SEO and social media presence. He’s got over 15 years of online marketing and web design experience, and his expertise in local SEO has helped hundreds of auto dealers thrive while the industry has struggled during the recession.

Greg also spends his time doing freelance website design and SEO for local businesses. He graduated from Southern Methodist University with a BA in Cinema and Communications, and has an obscure movie quote for just about any situation. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the DFWSEM, an organization dedicated to promoting search engine marketing through best practices.

Mike Grehan is CMO & Managing Director of digital marketing agency, Acronym. Perched on the 65th floor of the Empire State Building in New York City, he is responsible for directing thought leadership programs and cross platform marketing initiatives, as well as developing new, innovative content marketing campaigns. Formerly, Mike was publisher of Search Engine Watch and ClickZ and Producer of the SES international conference series. He is the current Chairman of global trade association SEMPO, having been elected to the board of directors in 2010 and serving two years as President.

He is recognized as a leading search marketing expert and came online in 1995. He is author of numerous books and white papers on the subject of search marketing and is currently in the process of writing his new book “From Search To Social: Marketing To The Connected Consumer” to be published by Wiley in 2014.

Larry Kim is the founder of WordStream, a PPC management software and services company with thousands of customers worldwide. His free tools have been used by over a million marketers. Larry was the #1 columnist for Search Engine Land in 2013, and is the world’s most influential PPC Marketer according to PPC Hero, AimClear, 3Q Digital, etc. He’s also a top contributor to Inc Magazine, Small Biz Trends, Search Engine Journal, Marketing Profs, and dozens of other publications, and a speaker at industry conferences including INBOUND, SMX, ClickZ, MNSearch, SEMPDX, SearchExchange, PubCon, etc. Larry is known for originating unusual theories and strategies concerning Quality Score in AdWords, as well as other internet marketing topics, usually backed by research.

As the director of content for Copyblogger Media, Jerod Morris manages the day-to-day operations of Copyblogger.com, one of the world’s most influential marketing publications. He also hosts The Lede, Copyblogger’s weekly podcast about content marketing, copywriting, conversion optimization and much more.

Jerod was a featured presenter at Authority Intensive 2014 and speaks regularly about strategy and leadership as it relates to the creation and distribution of content on the open web. He has appeared on ESPN’s Outside the Lines and his work has been featured or mentioned in publications ranging from Deadspin to The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

John J. Nosal founded NosalCentral LLC in 2009. As an Internet Geek, he recognized the need of small to medium sized businesses in Website Design, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Internet Marketing. John provides Website Design, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Internet Marketing and Consulting Services for clients spanning all industries; including healthcare, legal, manufacturing, financial and non-profit. John is also the co-author of Your LinkedIn Professional Network: How to Connect, Optimize, and Implement for Success.

He is active in the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) community. As co-organizer of the Dallas Interactive Marketing & Internet SEO/SEM Meetup, John has the opportunity to develop relationships and learn from others. He influences the SEO practices used by others today.

Pamela Parker is Executive Features Editor at Search Engine Land and Marketing Land. She’s a well-respected authority on digital marketing, having reported and written on the subject since 1998. She’s a former managing editor of ClickZ, and worked on the business side helping independent publishers monetize their sites at Federated Media Publishing.