Once upon a time, there was no place a passionate search marketing geek could go on a monthly basis to talk CRO, rich snippets, rankings, Screaming Frogs and drink link juice (or beer). But the Minnesota Search Engine Marketing Association made such wild dreams a reality in January of 2012 and now a little over a year later we’ve grown to over 100 members strong. We’re not done yet.
Why is MnSearch Growing?
I’ll offer up my take in 3 quick reasons that MnSearch has moved from a handful of founding board members to over 100 paid members strong in just 13 months. Then I’ll turn it over to our members who were asked why they are a member at our March event and they tweeted their answers using #MnSearch100 as a hashtag.
1. The people. Our initial members have shown up to events, brought friends and co-workers, tweeted and “liked” and been an awesome core to start this organization with. Minnesota and the Twin Cities has a talented and passionate group of search marketing professionals and online marketers.
2. The events. As an events director for MnSearch I might be biased, but we have amazing knowledge share at our events. We’ve brought in national search marketing thought leaders like Taylor Pratt, John Dougherty, Arnie Kuenn and Marty Weintraub to present on many aspects of search and online marketing. Our Search Snippet events feature great local talent as 3 local presenters dive into different search topics like Retargeting or Local Search (our next event!). Our events give everyone a lot of insight, strategy and tactics to chew on. Takeaways are in the dozens every time out, see a few of the past slide decks.
3. A solid board. I’m fortunate to work along side a great group of board members that has put in the hustle and planning to help guide this amazing organization to where it’s at now and it’s next steps.
Member Approved
Here are a few of the tweets our members shared with us on why MnSearch has grown and why it’s valuable to them.
I continue to attend #mnsearch100 cuz there are lots of people here way smarter than me…Beer is pretty cool too
— Jason Kenyon (@Kenyon880) March 27, 2013
As the first paying member of #mnsearch, seeing #mnsearch100 brings a tear to my eye, a beer to my mouth and knowledge to my brain. Cheers! — Jeff Sauer (@jeffsauer) March 27, 2013
#mnsearch100 I socialize at #MNSearch to surf the shifting seas of search solutions — Ben Wallace (@BenWallace) March 28, 2013
#mnsearch100 great programs -especially “the snippets” with short search points from local marketers
— Vanessa Bright (@Vanessa_Bright) March 28, 2013
100 Member Achievement with the #mnsearch crew. The craving for knowledge is strong with these folks. Awesome! #AlwaysGrowing #mnsearch100
— nate knox (@nateknox) March 27, 2013
Said it. Meant it. #whatsthepassword “@wtongen: #MNSearch is the speakeasy of 2013,” — Tami McBrady (@too_much_boredm) March 28, 2013
Pretty sure I’ve gotten ROI on my #mnsearch100 membership from attending this one event. #Awesomesauce
— Heather Koffler (@heather262143) March 28, 2013
Get 100 search geeks in a room with beer and beautiful things happen! Here’s to 100 more! #MnSearch #MnSearch100 @mnsearch
— Jordon Meyer (@jordonmeyer) March 27, 2013
Thank You!
I want to wrap up this post with a huge thank you to the members of MnSearch and the visitors to our events. As I outlined in reason #1, you are the heart and soul of our group and it’s been great getting to know so many smart and great people in the Twin Cities who are interested in search. I look forward to further member growth, thanks to everyone’s efforts and support!