Former Professional Musician Promises Entertaining Marketing Presentation

Scottsbluff business owner Don Osborn spent more than 30 years on stages as a professional musician and songwriter, and now instead of singing on stage, he’s sharing his expertise in marketing.

His upcoming presentation, “Marketing for People Who Hate Marketing,” at a breakout session of the April 15 MarkeTech Conference in Kearney promises to be entertaining, interactive and highly educational.

Osborn spent most of his musical career in Canada. Five years ago, he moved back to his hometown of Scottsbluff, where he owns DBO Digital Marketing. He works primarily as a marketing consultant for B2B companies.

“For anyone who feels overwhelmed by marketing, let alone creating a marketing department, this presentation is for you,” Osborn said. “We will look at the four steps you can take to build or update your marketing plan using both the latest digital tools and traditional methods.”

As a solo entrepreneur for most of his life, Osborn become his own professional marketing manager. His digital marketing training began about 12 years ago and now includes web design, SEO and social media advertising.

He has presented his “one-day marketing makeover workshop” at Western Nebraska Community College, along with workshops on social media, video creation and songwriting. He also has taught numerous business, marketing and public speaking classes at the Art Institute of Vancouver, B.C.

Osborn will share a big-picture view that makes marketing less overwhelming for business owners and marketers.

“They get caught up in the minutiae of the latest and greatest FB techniques,” Osborn said. “We get bombarded with all the little moving parts. Most people are just too busy running their businesses to worry about that, yet they know it’s important.”

His presentation will introduce systems to attendees making marketing more manageable.

“My presentation is designed to break down the whole process into bite-sized pieces and show them a process they can go through so they can organize what they need to do,” Osborn said. “It gives them a blueprint for how to tackle it.”

The hour-long presentation will be divided into four parts:

• Marketing Toolbox Inventory
• Inventory Upgrades
• 30,000-Foot Marketing Plan
• Implementation Plan

“They will walk away with a checklist that they can use to review their entire marketing toolbox so they can get a sense of what they have and don’t have and can prioritize,” Osborn said.

Don’s presentation will appeal to business owners, marketing managers and even those who are well versed in digital marketing.

“Each company is a little different,” Osborn said. “With this presentation, they can see what all the basic elements are and pick and choose the right tools for them.”

Early bird registration for the MarkeTech 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 three breakout sessions, the keynote speaker, 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.