WAKEFIELD, Mass., May 27, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SEMPO, (Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization), www.sempo.org, the global trade organization serving professionals in all aspects of search, today announced a series of "Point of View" (P.O.V) events to explore how emerging technologies and media platforms are changing the application and perception of what is "search."
"SEMPO's three major initiatives for the 2009-2010 timeframe are serving the search profession by more aggressive thought leadership, expanding our global reach and continuing our great success with SEMPO Institute, our online distance learning program," says Sara Holoubek, SEMPO president. "As the web becomes more social, so must search engine marketing."
To focus on the broadening definition of search, SEMPO has established an Emerging Technologies Committee, co-chaired by Noah Elkin, eMarketer senior analyst, and Rachel Pasqua, director, mobile strategy, iCrossing. The committee will host the first of SEMPO's P.O.V. series, the "Impact of Social Media on Search," in a webinar Thursday, May 28, at 12 PM EDT.
The webinar will introduce SEMPO's P.O.V. white paper on social media. "We want to help those in the search marketing profession gain more insights into how they can benefit from social media and how they can engage effectively with the growing number of online communities," says Elkin. "At the core of this is how to expand the practice of brand marketing to envelope these new social media opportunities and to embrace 'social media optimization.'
User generated content via YouTube, Twitter and article sharing sites such as Digg present brand marketers with an opportunity to greatly expand their reach, if they create messages and content that relate to the communities, Pasqua says. "In SEMPO's webinar and white paper we give solutions and strategies on how to create relevant content and how to monitor how your brand is being perceived in these communities."
SEMPO's Social Media P.O.V. white paper will be available online May 27 at www.sempo.org with commentary encouraged on SEMPO's Facebook group discussion board.
About the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO)
SEMPO is a global non-profit organization serving the search engine marketing industry and marketing professionals engaged in it. Its purpose is to provide a foundation for industry growth through building stronger relationships, fostering awareness, providing education, promoting the industry, generating research, and creating a better understanding of search and its role in marketing.
Representing thousands in over 30 countries, SEMPO has more than 850 members. It represents the common interests of companies and consultants worldwide and provides them with a voice in the marketplace. SEMPO's education and outreach initiatives are funded in part by Microsoft, Yahoo!, Google, Superpages.com, ABC Search, SMX and Search Engine Strategies. For more information, or to join the organization, please visit http://www.SEMPO.org.
The Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=2228