Vancouver-based social media dashboard HootSuite has grown to almost 2 million users on a bootstrap budget. Along the way, the company played small roles in world affairs from Egypt revolution to US State of the Union and was named in the Top 5 most influential brands at SXSW.

Hear from serial entrepreneur CEO Ryan Holmes speak on how social media has caused impact in the world and how these tools are critical for communications from check-ins to emergencies.

Plus Ryan will share practical business lessons about how HootSuite scaled quickly by staying lean, iterating rapidly, outreaching internationally and marketing strategically.

Fusion 2011 is happening May6th so make sure to get your tickets before they run out.

More information:  IIMA Fusion Conference

Some of the industry’s best and brightest minds are once again coming together for an International Internet Marketing Association event. IIMA has delivered some of the most engaging and educational internet marketing conferences Vancouver has seen. At the Internet Marketing Conference in September, we brought some of the world’s greatest internet related experts in order to provide you with professional panels and in-depth workshops surrounding social media, digital strategy, and SEO.

With this said, we are proud to present the first annual Fusion Conference happening on May 6th. This event will explain how technology and communications are fusing together. In order to keep up with the increasing pace of technology and communications, we have gathered professionals who are leading the way in Mobile, Search, and Social.

Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz, Ryan Holmes of Hootsuite, Chris Breikss of 6S Marketing and Stephen Spencer of Covario (Netconcepts) are but a few of our confirmed speakers. We’re excited to have these speakers share a wealth of knowledge on how the digital landscape is moving and how to stay on top. These trends are changing at an impeccable rate, so you won’t want to miss out on this great opportunity.

Register now at the Fusion 2011 Registration Page!

Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook for to further connect with us.

In addition to our IIMA Fusion Conference, we are also holding the “IIMA Meetup: Networking / John Hossack on Google Analytics 5” on April 20th. Find out more about the benefits of becoming an IIMA member, and connect with a wide range of professionals within.

The IIMA board will be blogging weekly about our speakers, as well as other exciting industry related news. We’re aiming to keep you on top of all the latest internet marketing trends and best practices. Check back soon for more!

**update: here are the tweets!

(kinda awkward but start at the bottom)

#IIMA @onlinestrategy wrapping up. Great Job!

#IIMA Do a video sitemap!

#IIMA correction TubeMogul > http://www.tubemogul.com/

#IIMA use 2mobile(?) to distribute video via all distribution websites such as youtube, vimeo, blip etc.

#IIMA Wine break! Really the food at IIMA Events is awesome. Babybel, wine…

#IIMA Youtube & SEO: 425 million uniques a month. Develop videos based on the themes you are targeting.

#IIMA In Twitter Bio make sure you have your keywords and within some twitter updates.

#IIMA BING social is starting to recommend users on Twitter for your search item so you can follow them.

#IIMA Some evidence shows RT are a factor in Google results. (they give you juice)

#IIMA @onlinestrategy says FB has lots of restrictions so this will not happen.

#IIMA great question! Will iframes turn FB into Myspace-animated-gif-style?

#IIMA you are going to use – don don da… i-frames… What kinda hack developers are working at FB?

#IIMA as of 2011 you will no longer be able to use: FBML – unless you have it up by then it will be grandfathered in.

#IIMA but not like this “Vancouver Canucks Tickets for Canucks Tickets Fan with highlights from Vancouver Canucks Ticket holders.”

#IIMA make sure you add your keywords to your about section of your FB page and make sure your default tab has keyword rich content.

#IIMA each page that someone likes will become a facebook page via open graph: http://tiny.cc/lyw0j

#IIMA BING will soon be showing Facebook statuses soon.

#iima 2.7% of all search’s where in Facebook.

#IIMA use trending topics to try and rank well for long tail keywords.

#IIMA Blog posts are also good for long-tail keywords. Extra traffic!

#IIMA @onlinestrategy – says sub-domain or sub-folder does not matter for SEO. Hmmm…

#IIMA question: advice on how to integrate blog into website

#IIMA Google loves blogs. Capitalize on keyword research to integrate these words.

#IIMA How to integrate SEO with Social. Throwback to Keyword research.

#IIMA Twitter gets 600 million queries a day. Remember that when you want to interact with those looking for your product.

#iima Average user spends 7hrs on FB a month – think how important that can be to your brand.

#IIMA March 2010 Facebook is the most visited site since March 2010 – Google

#IIMA 2mm sites use the “like” button. There is more to life then google. (WAHH!) Traffic to social networks can not be ignored.

#IIMA Mention of Facebook changes announced today: data from likes & profile will start appearing on BING.

#IIMA quick intro of @onlinestrategy – 12 years in the business. Mention of topics we will be covering, Twitter, Facebook, PPC, Youtube.

#IIMA event underway… Crossroads Between Social Media and SEO — no mention of Britney Spears yet!

Anil Batra is the VP of Search and Analytics at POP (http://pop.us), a leading digital marketing agency. Prior to joining POP, he was the Chief Analytics Officer and Director at Ascentium (ZeroDash1).

He has worked with several fortune 500 companies including Microsoft, ESPN, Dow Jones, Starbucks, TMobile and holds a B. Tech in Electronics from India, MS Engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a MBA from the University of Washington, Seattle. Anil is also the author of a  Web Analytics and Behavioral Targeting blog (http://webanalysis.blogspot.com)

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Matthew Apprendi, Director, Audience Solutions, Collective

Matt has been with Collective since 2007, where he is responsible for developing innovative products to support effective audience targeting strategies for advertisers, agencies and publishers. Before focusing on audience targeting, Matt supported a wide range of business development initiatives with Collective’s publisher and rich media partners.

Matt discovered his passion for media as a Combat Correspondent for the U.S. Marine Corps where he served in the Public Affairs Office, managing internal and external marketing and communication programs delivered via print, video and online.

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Adam Killam, Principal, Adam Killam Internet Marketing

Originally from Halifax and now living in Vancouver, Adam is an Internet Marketing Specialist, who helps companies generate traffic, leads, and sales via the web. He does so using tactics such as search engine optimization, email marketing, pay-per-click advertising, social media marketing, and other cost effective ways of generating leads and customers online.

What separates Adam from the pack? Two things more than any other:

1) His understanding of the human and technical sides of sales and marketing and

2) His understanding of client’s need to generate results and work with someone they can trust and rely on. When not improving his skills in the online marketing arena, Adam can be found at his local Crossfit gym, on the slopes, or spending time with his fiancé.

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Peter Hrabinsky, VP of Marketing, Antarctica Digital Marketing Inc.

Peter specializes in marketing social media, marketing automation, and marketing solutions focused on converting engagement into customer acquisition. Peter previously worked in Vancouver for the largest independent software vendor in Japan as their Director of Product Marketing and Business Development.

 His passion continues to be identifying and bringing to market exciting new technologies that increase ROI and streamline business processes. Peter has extensive international experience in the IT industry working in product marketing, strategic marketing, managing strategic alliances, business development, consulting, and communications.

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Crawford Kilian, Retired college teacher and writer; he also walks dogs.

Crawford was born in New York City and grew up in Los Angeles and Mexico City. He returned to NYC for college (Columbia ’62), did two years in the US Army at Fort Ord, and worked as apprentice tech writer in Berkeley.

He has lived in Vancouver, Canada since 1967 with his wife Alice. Crawford has published 21 books and hundreds of articles; current projects include a couple of novels and articles for online journals. His book Writing for the Web is now in its fourth edition.

To learn more about what Crawford will be talking about at IMC Vancouver 2010 check out his blog post.

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Ernest Barbaric, Digital Marketing Consultant and Speaker

Ernest blends consulting, coaching and instruction to ensure his clients competently engage in digital and social media marketing.

Ernest is a veteran of delivering presentations and workshops on topics such as social media and strategic digital marketing. He was a featured at Executing Social Media, Making Sense of Social Media, CHQR 770, Quattro University, University of Calgary and Mount Royal University as well as at a past IMC.

To learn more about what Ernest will be talking about at IMC Vancouver 2010 check out his blog post.

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William Azaroff, Director of Web Engagement & Banking, VanCity

William Azaroff heads up the Web Engagement & Banking Team at Vancity, Canada’s largest credit union, which means that he gets to work with all the terrific people who bring online banking to Vancity’s members, an intranet to their employees, and ChangeEverything.ca to the community.

He is a recovered filmmaker, with a decade of experience driving strategic web projects in Seattle, Los Angeles and Vancouver. He is honoured to have been named GonzoBanker of the Month and included on American Banker’s Bank Technology News list of the top 10 people of 2009.

You can follow him at azaroff.com or on Twitter @wazaroff.

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