This is the first post in an ongoing series giving you a glimpse of AMA Chicago events you might have missed. If you couldn’t make it to Connex in January 2025, read on for a snapshot of this in-person event at Catalyst Ranch.
Connex is a great way to stay connected with Chicagoland’s marketing community. This beloved networking event happens every other month, starting each January, and brings together colleagues, friends, entrepreneurs and creative professionals from the best companies in the Midwest. At each event, you’ll rotate in groups for short, expert-led peer to peer discussions around hot marketing topics, which change for every event, giving you new topics and new tools to add to your skillset each time. You’ll also meet other marketing pros in a joy-filled round of speed networking.
Round 1: Social Media ROI
Scott Emalfarb, founder and CEO at Fresh Content Society, provided a framework for defining and reporting marketing ROI.
Organic vs. paid social media
Each channel has its own purpose. The strategic purpose of organic social media is to build community, which includes building awareness, loyalty and engagement. These are brand goals, and they require you to find a niche in which to make meaningful connections with followers. Growing followers, engagements and impressions are each essential to expanding the reach of your brand.
The strategic purpose of paid social media is to make money. Because you’re spending money on it, marketers have to prove ROI to justify the ad spend. The KPIs of paid social media vary depending on the campaign but they might include direct sales, cost-per-lead, cost-per-click (CPC), conversion rate or other metrics tied to revenue goals.
Know your internal audiences
Different people in your organization are accountable for different things, so marketers should tailor messaging and reporting to each audience. Owners, CFOs and those with budget responsibility want to know about money, so report to them about metrics like return on ad spend (ROAS) and cost-per-lead. Marketing teams will want to know about awareness so share KPIs such as followers, impressions, engagement rate and response rate. Make sure to track trends—especially how fast those measurements are growing!
Round 2: Take an Entrepreneurial Approach to Your Career
Rodney Young, CEO of Thrive NPO, shared three key steps to thinking about your career the way entrepreneurs think about starting a new business:
First, get the right mindset
This means seeing the value that you offer and selling your skillset intentionally, this means putting yourself in the driver’s seat for your career, always taking the initiative to get the next gig that will advance your career. You’ll need to train yourself to see opportunities, whether you’re an employee or a contractor…because nothing lasts forever!
Second, take inventory of your skills and impact
Make a list of what you have to offer and be sure to quantify the impact you’ve had on the organizations where you’ve worked and where you’re working. Tip: Gather the data now, while you’re at your current job, because you probably won’t remember it after you leave. Taking this step gives you the confidence that you did the job and did it well.
Third, freelance and volunteer
Side hustles, whether contracted or voluntary, give you opportunities to test your skills in new and different environments, and to develop new skills along the way. They also help you learn what you like and learn what you do best.
Plan to attend the next Connex in Chicago to keep yourself on the cutting edge of marketing by connecting with other professionals in the largest chapter of the American Marketing Association.
