Award-Winning Influencer To Share Social Media, Video and Email Marketing Tips

MarkeTech attendees are invited to get a jump-start on their learning opportunities with a pre-conference workshop on social media marketing.

Kimberly Beer, a lifelong entrepreneur and marketing guru, will present “Social Media Marketing and the Trends with the ‘Big 4’ (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and  YouTube)” on Wednesday, April 14, the night before MarkeTech.

The pre-conference session will focus on current popular social media trends and how business owners and marketers can use those channels to reach their specific business goals.

“For most business owners, social media seems so simple — until they get into it,” Beer said. “The rapidly changing, ever evolving state of the platforms can be confusing and frustrating. What worked yesterday no longer works today.”

Beer said social media marketing can cause business owners a lot of anxiety and stress because there is conflicting information about what, how and when to post.

“The best medicine for social media marketing anxiety is a combination of knowledge and planning,” Beer said. “The walk-away goal for attendees of this seminar is understanding if and how each major social channel impacts their specific business; what the current trends are for those channels; and how they can capitalize (or disregard) those channels and trends in their social media plan.”

The pre-conference session is for anyone who is interested in social media marketing and its impact on small or large businesses. She will provide takeaway tips for making social media marketing easier and more impactful.

Beer, who lives on a ranch in west-central Missouri, has taught thousands of students about social media, email marketing, website development, business/marketing strategy and entrepreneurial development in the past 10 years.

She is passionate about speaking, teaching and entrepreneurship. In fact, she was named an international influencer by the International Association of Women in 2018 for her work empowering female entrepreneurs.

“I was born an entrepreneur,” Beer said. “While other kids wanted to play house, I preferred to play business — right down to making a product and selling it.”

She started a photography business before she graduated from high school and still works as a professional photographer as part of her business today. One of her first businesses was print shop, which eventually transitioned into helping small businesses make marketing decisions.

“Marketing was a natural attraction for me,” Beer said. “I enjoy communication and creating messages that move and inspire others. I’m also one of those uncommon individuals who thinks that sales is fun.”

She started Midnight Productions, Inc., in 1996, as a graphic design business. As the internet started to evolve, so did her business.

“I absolutely love technology and was a very early adopter of website development, video, email marketing and social media,” she said. “I recognized a true need for more education targeted to business owners about how to use these powerful new platforms.”

She started teaching classes to local business owners through the email marketing platform Constant Contact and then branched out from there.

Today, her business is a blend of education, consulting and service. She teaches classes on marketing including social media, visual imagery, storytelling, entrepreneurial development and sustainability opportunities. She also offers consulting packages and has a team that can produce marketing collateral including print, video, social and website development.

The pre-conference session is free for GROW members and $25 for non-members and takes place from 6-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14. To register click https://grownebraska.memberzone.com/eventregistration/register/5605

Beer will also present two workshops at the main MarkeTech event on Wednesday, April 15.

Her first breakout titled “Video Power Marketing” will focus on why video is important in small business marketing and how to start making videos. 

“Video has been designated as the number one most important social media and marketing medium by a multitude of studies,” Beer said. “Most social platforms today find that video posts out-perform text and visual posts. In addition, video social channels such as YouTube are reporting continued growth not only in the number of overall users, but also in daily users and the number of hours of video viewed.”

Attendees will learn how to navigate the four stages of producing a digital marketing video: Creation, Editing/Production, Staging and Distribution. Beer will also discuss equipment for getting started and growing video production and tips for how to get video found and seen online.

She describes her presentation as both a “why you need videos” and “how to make videos” session.

In her second breakout session at MarkeTech, Beer will speak about “Email Marketing the Better Way.”

“Email marketing is still the hands-down BEST way to get revenue into your business and build loyalty with your customers,” Beer said. “But you must understand how to use this powerful tool if you are to get all the advantage out of it.”

Email marketing, like all digital marketing, has evolved and Beer’s workshop will examine the right way to build and communicate with customers and how to use email marketing to nurture leads into prospects; prospects into sales; and sales into becoming loyal, long-term customers and, ultimately, brand ambassadors who bring business referrals and repeat sales. 

Early bird registration for the conference ends on March 20. The price is $99 for a half day and $199 for the entire day for non-GROW members and $59 for GROW Nebraska members. The registration fee includes breakfast and lunch and full conference registration, including two breakout sessions, the keynote speaker, chances to network, conference swag and the VIP After Party at McCue’s Nebraska Taproom in Kearney. To register, visit marketechconference.com/registration

GROW Nebraska® Foundation is a statewide non-profit training and marketing organization. Serving over 400 Nebraska small businesses, the organization provides marketing opportunities, education, and training to launch and connect Nebraska businesses to the global marketplace. GROW Nebraska’s educational programs receive federal and state funding, along with generous support from foundations and individual donors.