PR, SEO, ROI: A Discussion on Marketing with Young Entrepreneurs

Left to right: Prof. Jim Wolfe, 
David Andrukonis
 and Prof. Mahesh Joshi

I had the pleasure of being a part of the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA) at George Mason University on February 19th.   The day started with a keynote from David Andrukonis, Co-Founder of Alumni Fidelity, who has harnessed the best practices of political fundraising and translated them into a social fundraising tool for educational institutions. The counsel from David that resonated with me, was one of his big lessons learned: investing in solid Website design is critical. 


David's Web discussion was a good segue into the marketing panel discussion. Jim Wolfe,  Entrepreneur in Residence and Assistant Professor of Management at GMU's School of Management, moderated the discussion and I was joined on the panel by Kim Guarino of Evolve Marketing, Bob Gaudian of MediaForce PR and Lisa Martin of LeapFrog.   

Left to right: Prof. Jim Wolfe, 
Kim Guarino, Bob Guadian, 
Lisa Throckmorton and Lisa Martin
Photo credit (both photos): Evan Cantwell

We had a lively, interactive session with the Mason students and used our hour to discuss and debate the merits of various marketing strategies and tactical options for any business trying to get off the ground.  The discussion touched on a range of topics from building an online presence, to SEO and how to focus marketing efforts to see the most ROI. Overall it was a great discussion and further affirmation that the various practices under the marketing umbrella have really fused over the past few years. A big thank you to Jim Wolfe for including me in what was, start to finish, a very impressive event.

- Lisa Throckmorton