Entertaining and Informative Marketing Speaker

Michelle LeBlanc, marketing strategist and founder, and Kate Nilsen, social media advertising director at Blue Sky Marketing, are often invited to share their knowledge as panelists or speakers. The list below represents some recent topics. If you have a specific need for a speaker, online training, or a keynote or speaker, please contact Michelle LeBlanc directly via email at michelle@blueskymkt.com or by calling 713.818.0070.

Upcoming Speaking Engagements

Past Speaking Topics and Engagements

Privacy Wars. How Major Changes to the Digital Landscape Affect Your Advertising & Results

October 8, 2021 | AAF New Orleans | October Luncheon 

Privacy Wars. Cookie-geddon. The Social Dilemma. The internet is changing faster than ever these days as big corporations pivot in big ways that make it difficult for "the little guys" to keep up. How do you continue to track the ROI of your advertising and marketing when the internet changes literally every moment? How do you show a client's value in the oncoming age of "privacy"? In this presentation, Blue Sky Marketing's Michelle LeBlanc will triage the things that matter most for you to tackle 2022.

How To Set Up, Manage and Analyze PPC Online Marketing Campaigns

March 30, 2019 | Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business

Guest Lecture in Chris Ferris' Digital Marketing Class about all the steps to take to prepare for, set up, manage and analize Search and Display campaigns.

Next Gen Optimization for Voice Search

March 20, 2019 | H/IMA 

There’s no denying that “voice search” is the next big thing, yet most marketers admit that they don’t have a plan in place for this seismic shift. Are you one of them? Michelle LeBlanc, founder of Blue Sky Marketing, will present practical and insightful content to help you optimize your plan for this next digital marketing evolution.

Takeaways from this event include:

• How to transition from keyword-focused thinking to natural language search by creating conversational content that answers questions
• How to optimize content to gain featured snippets and placement in “Position Zero”
• How to ensure your site is optimized for mobile
• How to utilize customer data, queries, and searcher intent to create content that will rank for voice search

AAF-Lubbock | November Speaker Series

November 28, 2018 | Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts

With so many new social networks springing up these days, it can often be hard to know where to spend your time for the greatest return on investment. At AAF-Lubbock's November Speaker Series, Michelle will share:

1) Which social networks make sense for connecting with your target customer.
2) How to use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and YouTube for free marketing opportunities.
3) What are the best practices on these networks that you can implement now.
4) When to use advertising to expand your message and reach new audiences.

SharpHeels Small Business Summit

May 17, 2018 | The Sam Houston Hotel

SharpHeels Small Business Summit is an intimate and engaging event designed to educate women with a passion for owning their own business. Michelle will join 20+ local small business owners and entrepreneurs sharing their journey of starting and growing their businesses.

Panelists will discuss topics such as: The Basics of Starting a Business, Financing Your Business & Marketing & Customer Acquisition. Then roll-up your sleeves for two in-depth workshops on: Minimizing Risk for Your Business & Social Media, Marketing & Growth

Digital Marketing Workshop: What You Really Need to Know

October 31, 2017 | Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce

In this half-day workshop, the Blue Sky Marketing team will discuss strategy and planning, social media campaign development, and campaign analytics and optimizations. You'll leave this workshop with a handful of digital marketing strategies that not only work but are easy to implement. Get ready for a lively and educational morning.

Social Power Hour

Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce

August 16, 2017 | Sugar Land, Texas

In today’s world, it is more difficult than ever to get your message across to your ideal client at the ideal time. Michelle LeBlanc and two other experts will provide insight on where to start with social media, how to execute an effective social media campaign and current trends they are communicating to their clients.

Some of the questions that will be covered:

• How does social media fit into my wider marketing strategy?
• How will social media impact my SEO efforts? 
• What are some of the social media dos and don’ts?

Leveraging Social Media: Do You Have to Pay to Play?

Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce

October 5, 2016 | Sugar Land, Texas

With so many new social networks springing up these days, it can often be hard to know where to spend your time for the greatest return on investment. Join Kate Nilsen in this session and learn: 

• Which social networks make sense for connecting with your target customer.
• How to use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest & YouTube for free marketing opportunities.
• What are the best practices on these networks that you can implement now.
• When to use advertising to expand your message and reach new audiences.

Mentoring Young Talent

MARKETINGEdge 2016 

September 29, 2016 | Houston, Texas

Growing a company is hard. Building a strong team that exudes your culture and values is even harder. As the creative workforce skews younger and younger and attrition rates rise, developing your next generation of leaders is critical. We will discuss tips, tools, and best practices for mentoring young talent and providing them with a platform to grow within your organization

LinkedIn: Best Practices

AMA Tulsa Chapter

January 21, 2016 | Tulsa, Oklahoma

If you want to grow your business network then join us in this session where you will walk away knowing how to use LinkedIn’s targeting capabilities based on market, geography, industry, company and other characteristics. Following a 45-minute presentation, you will know how to effectively update and enhance your LinkedIn profile for maximum results. You will also hear about LinkedIn’s free and paid features, profile management, making and maximizing connections, and group identification and participation.

YouTube: Driving Awareness, Traffic and Conversions

searchHOU

January 27, 2016 | Houston, Texas

Join Michelle LeBlanc as she discusses how Blue Sky Marketing is successfully using YouTube advertising to drive awareness, traffic, and conversions. Unlike CPC or CPM pricing, with YouTube ads – officially known as TrueView ads – you only pay when a viewer watches your video. The CPA is much lower than traditional search or even social media advertising when properly optimized. According to YouTube, product review videos are up 40 percent in views since last year. With over 4 billion views every single day, YouTube is quickly becoming a larger revenue stream. In fact, Google claims that advertisers who ran a YouTube video campaign saw an average increase of 20% more traffic to their site. Sign up for the event now.

Key Takeaways:

• Creating engaging ad content
• Re-engage video viewers with remarketing
• Drive engagement with free companion banners
• Discuss and discover the wealth of targeting options available

SEO or SEM? That's the Wrong Question

Breaking Destructive Habits in Online Marketing

AMA San Antonio Chapter

November 18, 2015 | San Antonio, Texas

The pressure to adopt shiny new online methods can force interactive marketers to forego strategic thinking in favor of a potential quick fix. The sheer number of tools available can convolute the industry, it becomes easy to copy others who've seen success with certain tactics while failing to ask the critical question, "What will this actually do for my brand?” The line between good and bad marketing practices can be very thin. If you're not effectively measuring your efforts, what you think is benefiting your brand may actually be having an insidious effect.

Online + Digital Marketing: What's Important Every Day

Houston International Special Event Society (ISES)

Red Oak Ballroom in City Centre

Marketing options and opportunities have expanded at warp speed, with the rise of social media and proliferation of devices, platforms, and applications. But what is most relevant for us as we try to attract clients? This content-packed program is a must for professionals interested in online and digital marketing tools that can be leveraged for growth and retention. This program will distill down to the most relevant, easy-to-follow tactics you can deploy right now. Best of all, we’ll focus on low-cost and easy to implement options:

• Small website adjustments, big impact.
• Five insider email marketing tactics.
• Mobile marketing – what to consider?
• Social media: which platform offers the most impact? 
• Online reputation management best practices.
• Coming Soon: Self Service Ads on Instagram and Pinterest - Show your event style! 09/02/15

Marketing Communications

How to Effectively Communicate Across Multiple Media 

Austin Chamber of Commerce

With new forms of communications making a splash everyday, it's easy to get wrapped up in the "latest and greatest" tool and lose sight of what is most important. In this session, Michelle LeBlanc, Founder of Blue Sky Marketing, will illustrate how to tackle effective communication across various platforms while keeping you on track and in-line with business goals. Be prepared to take notes as you, learn to prioritize, delegate, audit and test bringing your business beyond expectations. LeBlanc will walk you through following: Prioritizing, Planning, Auditing and Testing, as well as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn best practices. 08/20/15

Tame Your Inbox

How to Effectively Use & Manage Email in the Workplace

Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce

In this session, Michelle LeBlanc, Founder of Blue Sky Marketing, will provide practical tips for small to mid-sized businesses to tame their email inbox. When we use it appropriately, email is an incredibly useful communication tool. But, many of us feel overwhelmed by the amount of mail that we receive and need to respond to. Come ready to take notes on your list of easy-to-take next steps. We'll explore strategies for doing this, so that you can get on with the real work at hand. LeBlanc will cover the following: Checking Email Effectively, Organizing Email, Good Team Habits for Email, Clever Ways to Use BCC. 03/14

Online + Digital Marketing: What's Important Every Day

Independent Insurance Agents of Houston November Luncheon

Insurance marketing options and opportunities have expanded at warp speed, with the rise of social media and proliferation of devices, platforms, and applications. But what is most relevant for agents? This content-packed program is a must for professionals interested in online and digital  marketing tools that can be leveraged for premium growth and retention. This program will distill it down to the most relevant, easy-to-follow tactics you can deploy right now. Best of all, we’ll focus on low-cost and free options:

• Small website adjustments, big impact.
• Five insider email marketing tactics.
• Mobile marketing – should insurance agents care?
• Social media: which platform offers the most impact for agents? 
• Online reputation management best practices. 11/5/14

Breaking Destructive Habits in Online Marketing

HiMA Interactive Strategies Conference

Using Online Marketing Tools to Grow your Business

Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce

Join AMA Houston and the Fort Bend Chamber to learn practical tips for small- to mid-sized businesses to help improve their online marketing. The session will cover website enhancements, email and mobile marketing, social media and online reputation management with a focus on low-cost and free options. This will be a practical tutorial for online tools — not a strategic overview. You are welcome to bring your specific online marketing questions and stay after to have them answered one-on-one. 09/09/14

Online Marketing for Nonprofits and Cultural Arts Entities

Midtown Management District's Marketing Committee

University of Houston, Small Business Development Center

Online marketing is continually evolving. In this session learn best practices for nonprofits and cultural entities. Participants will acquire skills in social media strategies, email marketing, Google Analytics, applying for Google Grants and much more. This FREE class is open to Midtown residents and entities based in Midtown. You are welcome to bring your marketing issues and online log-ins for one-on-one discussions after the event.  08/20/14 

Branding for Small Business & Perfecting Your Message in a Multi-screen World

CTAT Conference

These two back-to-back sessions helped Texas educators learn to further teach their students on today's best practices in marketing. The classes focused on branding strategies for business and successful messaging across today's multiple digital platforms. 07/16/14

This session helped restaurateurs incorporate social media and online marketing tactics into their marketing plans, as well as introducing them to online reputation management. 11/4/13

LinkedIn: Best Practices & Profile Editing Clinic

UH Small Business Development Center

If you want to grow your business network then join us in this hands-on session where you will walk away knowing how to use LinkedIn’s targeting capabilities based on market, geography, industry, company and other characteristics. Following a 45-minute presentation, you will be able to update and enhance your LinkedIn profile at one of our state of the art work stations!  You will also hear about LinkedIn’s free and paid features, profile management, making and maximizing connections, and group identification and participation. 10/30/13

Women in Digital Media Networking Event

Perfecting Your Message in a Multi-screen World

HiMA Interactive Strategies Conference

The advent of web analytics gave us data, but only if you LEARN to use that data effectively does it help grow your online presence and your website’s user experience. This presentation explored how to effectively deliver your marketing message to your target audience regardless of the platform they choose, how to frame your message to match consumer decision-making process, and the art of online communication. 10/02/13

The Savvy Marketer: Achieving More with Tech Tools

AMA Houston B2B Marketing SIG

SEO or SEM? That's the Wrong Question

AMA Houston Interactive Marketing SIG

What's the best approach to SEO and SEM? At this seminar attendees learnt more about SEO and SEM and how to implement effective strategies for striking the balance between them. 9/20/13

SEO Revisited

Associated Builders & Contractors of Greater Houston

SEO remains important an important part of online marketing.  Attend this session to learn what you need to know to optimize your company's site for search engines.  This lunch and learn will cover the basics of SEO and what you need to know to get started. We will cover discussions on strategy, keyphrase selection and having realistic expectations, touch on some technical aspects, the importance of content and social aspects and gave a few take-away actionable items and includes some general do’s and don’ts. 9/10/13

Leveraging LinkedIn to Build Your Business Network

Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce

In this professional development session, participants gained: clear direction on setting up personal and company pages, understanding of LinkedIn's FREE and PAID features and valuable information on LinkedIn's targeting capabilities to lock down audiences by title, geography, industry, company or other characteristics. 6/19/13

The Governor's Small Business Forum 

Business Without Borders Marketing in Today's World

Galveston County Small Business Development Council

The Conference explored the many ways small business owners can grow their business. Blue Sky Marketing hosted three workshops focused on marketing tactics that businesses large and small can implement to grow their presence online. 05/30/13

LinkedIn for Marketers: What Every B2B Marketer Should Be Doing on LinkedIn

Society of Marketing Professional Services - Houston

With over 161 million members, LinkedIn is the world's largest professional and social network. And it’s also a premier place for innovative marketers to connect with their target customers. In this presentation, Michelle provided clear direction on personal and your company’s Profile pages, the inside scoop on LinkedIn advertising best practices, a clear understanding of LinkedIn’s FREE and PAID features, and valuable insight into LinkedIn's targeting capabilities. 04/04/2013

Incorporating Online Video: What Are You Waiting For?

American Marketing Association - Houston / Business to Business Special Interest Group

This event focused on integrating online video into the marketing mix to generate deeper relationships, improve lead conversion, and provide better engagement opportunities. Michelle's presentation focused on tactical implementation online. 02/22/2013

Building Your Presence On LinkedIn ... For You & For Your Company

American Marketing Association - Houston Chapter

A SEO oriented insight for AMA - Houston Chapter members on best practices for LinkedIn new personal profile and company pages. Followed by a fun, facilitated speed networking session. 01/24/2013

Where Are My Views? Tips & Tricks for Online Video Marketing

CultureMap Connect

An engaging breakfast session for marketers, publicists and business professionals about the ins and outs of video marketing, covering best practices and focusing on practical daily execution. CultureMap Connect is a monthly breakfast series exploring digital solutions for marketers, publicists and business professionals in the CultureMap Community in Houston. 12/6/2012

Digital Marketing Key Indicator Trends & Benchmarks

Houston Interactive Marketing Association 

A rapid-fire keynote followed by hands-on and interactive discussion of specific marketing issues faced by participants. The keynote is viewable on the Blue Sky Marketing YouTube channel. 12/4/2012

Restaurant Marketing

Greater Houston Restaurant Association Education Summit

The first GHRA Education Summit featured a marketing panel to help restaurateurs effectively plan their marketing strategies. This presentation focused heavily on incorporating social media and online marketing tactics, as well as detailed discussions about online reputation management. 11/12/2012

Optimize Your Brand's Facebook Presence

CultureMap Connect

Practical session for marketers and business professionals about maximizing results through Facebook ads, Facebook search engine, and utilizing Facebook Fan pages. 7/25/2012

Branding for Small Business

University of Houston - Small Business Development Center

A 2-hour learning session for small business entrepreneurs to learn about branding. Case studies and focused tips helped the participants understand new ways to maximize their business goals. 6/30/2012