As soon as I heard about ionSearch – the search marketing and social media conference in Leeds – I wanted to go. The line up of speakers was fantastic and, as a copywriter, I knew the conference would present a valuable opportunity to learn more and make some new contacts. However, it is just over a year since I set up my own business as a freelance copywriter, and the ticket prices made the conference out of my league. When I saw that a there was competition to win a pair of free tickets, I entered immediately and when I heard I had won I was thrilled. I invited my associate to come with me and off we went. The conference was every bit as informative as I thought it would be and I was glad to realise I knew more than I thought I did! There was a lot of new information to take in though and, For those who didn’t make it, here are the most useful tips I picked up from each speaker:

• Lee Odden of TopRank Online Marketing: “Know your target audience: how they discover information, what they consume (eg video), how they consume it (eg tablet or mobile) and how they engage.”

• Tim Grice of Branded3: “Google wants fresh, relevant, unique and up-to-date content.”

• Andy Atkins-Krüger of Webcertain Group: “Two things drive traffic to apps – the amount of downloads and how much people use the app.”

• Danny Gray of Google: “The best way to use Google+ is to share valuable content and hold hangouts [video-chats].”

• Dave Snyder of Steelcast: “Learn what each social media platform has to offer and what content will work.” I hope they’re as helpful for you as they are for me! Thanks so much to Network Marketing for sponsoring the competition.

By Fiona Kyle, fiona@wordsbyfionakyle.co.uk, http://www.wordsbyfionakyle.co.uk