The DOYO Marketing Conference: Recap & Key Takeaways

te -- It is pronounced doo-yo as in “Do Youngstown.”

This feels important to mention because Josh and I were saying doi-oh, which exposed us as DOYO first-timers.

Which was okay, because we had to out ourselves as noobs on Twitter anyway during the introductory talk from Dennis.

👈

DOYO Marketing Conference Keynote: Allen Gannett

As far as keynote speakers go, Allen was the best. His talk was titled “Learning the Art of Science and Creativity,” and it perfectly set the tone for the day. He challenged the way that we traditionally think of and speak about creativity, using a perfect blend of humor and science to convey his message.

Not only was Allen engaging to listen to, but I walked away from the talk with three awesome takeaways to share with you:

• Anyone can be a creative genius, and anyone can have flashes of creative genius. No, really! While it has a little bit to do with IQ, the majority of the world’s population has potential to be a creative genius. This means that Kanye West, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, or anyone else you’re inclined to think of as a creative genius has no inherent advantage over you.

• Creativity is based on consumption. Allen pointed out that the most successful creative geniuses are those who spent the majority of their lives consuming the work of other people in their fields. That includes JK Rowling reading books nonstop during her childhood, and chefs with three Michelin stars who ate the food of others for years.

• You can foster creative “a-ha!” moments by clearing your mind. If you’re experiencing a creative block, waiting for genius to strike, it’s time to take a walk and clear your left brain so your right brain can take over.

Throughout the day we had the chance to enter to win Allen’s book, The Creative Curve, where he talks more in depth about all of the above points and others. We entered and did not win a copy, but I did order a copy on Amazon!

The Breakout Sessions

There were six total breakout sessions, with two tracks for each. This was great, because this meant that you could really choose what track you thought would be most valuable for you. Sessions included:

• Social Media Strategy with featured speaker Dhariana Lozano, Co-founder of Supremecy Marketing

• Getting Started with the HubSpot CRM with featured speaker Maggie Bomze, Customer Success Manager at HubSpot
  
  
• Find Your Voice and Grow Your Business Using LinkedIn Video with featured speaker Jeff Leo Herrmann, Founder & President of Madison Michigan & Market
  
  
• How to Develop and Influence Your Personal Brand with featured speaker Carmella Williams, Director of Diversity & Inclusion at Youngstown Business Incubator
  
  
• How to Be Genuine with Your Purpose Driven Marketing Efforts with featured speakers Dr. Mike Sevilla, Physician at Salem Family Practice and Fortunato Figliano, Executive Director at Centers for Hearing Care
  
  
• Digital Marketing Strategy with featured speaker Tyler Sickmeyer, CEO of Fidelitas Development
  
  
• Fuel Injected Brand Messaging with featured speaker Jeff Hedrich, Lead Brand Strategist at The Prodigal Company
  
  
• (Not Just) Digital Marketing with featured speaker Joe Jergenson, President of Robintek
  
  
• Secrets of Mobile Search Dominance with featured speaker Maryna Hradovich, VP of Strategic Growth and Development at SEMRush
  
  
• 5W's of Your Marketing Budget with featured speaker Devyn Bellamy, Contextual Marketing Evangelist & Cross Platform Cultural Communicator
  
  
• Planning Your Content Strategy in the New SEO Landscape with featured speaker Chris Prudente, A Principal Channel Consultant at HubSpot

Each speaker brought their own experience and expertise to their breakout session, so there were no bad choices when it came to selecting the tracks. After the sessions, a lot of the speakers made themselves available in the lobby for further questions -- a great way to get individualized tips and tricks on their topics.

We got the chance to talk with two of the speakers:

Jeff Leo Herrmann, from Madison, Michigan, and Market, gave some great tips about getting started with video marketing on LinkedIn for your business.

Devyn Bellamy, a marketing expert from Bolt on Technology, shared one of the easiest ways to control your marketing budget.

Doing Youngstown

The emphasis placed on the location of the conference goes beyond the name. One thing that made DOYO so awesomely unique was sessions and events being spread across venues all over Youngstown.

The heart of the conference took place at the DoYor Performing Arts Center. Registration, closing remarks, and half of the breakout sessions took place here, and as an out-of-area attendee, I couldn’t ask for a more beautiful venue.

The other half of the breakout sessions took place just across the street, at the Tyler Museum of History. Being able to explore and learn in both venues was amazing. But keep this layout in mind if you’re attending next year and thinking about wearing heels!

Exploring Youngstown went even further, with the Kickoff Party taking place at The Soap Gallery. This was a great place to get introduced to Youngstown while surrounded by beautiful art. The venue also lead to great networking conversations, since a lot of the attendees were local and eager to share Youngstown history.

Where To Find Us Next

Now that we’re unpacked from Youngstown, we’re getting geared up for Inbound 2018 -- which is less than a month away!

We’re excited to continue to enrich our digital marketing knowledge, and to see some familiar faces from DOYO in Boston next month. If you haven’t registered yet, it’s not too late!

If you're attending a trade show or conference soon too, don't miss out on our Ultimate Guide to Trade Show Marketing: