Internet Marketing Association Expands its Influence with New Chapter

Internet marketing is a powerful thing. The Internet Marketing Association, therefore, could be a particularly influential voice in this changing landscape, and it's already drawing supporters. It's recently started a whole new chapter, with the California-based group starting a mid-Atlantic chapter geared toward Eastern Seaboard marketers.

The new chapter has a new leader as well: JMRConnect's Mostafa Razzak, who noted that the mid-Atlantic has plenty of great marketing chapters ranging from Baltimore to Washington D.C. Membership in the new chapter is free, and the first event will take place in Fells Point, part of Baltimore, at the Abbey Burger Bistro March 24. Razzak also noted that surviving in today's market requires adopting methods to a field in which “the lines between advertising, marketing and public relations” were inherently blurred.

The organization doesn't just offer connections with other marketers, but also education and skills training, and opportunities for businesses to join in marketing opportunities by providing webinars, whitepapers, and by other means. There's even a certification program, the IMA Certified Internet Marketer (CIM) program that offers sufficient basis to be a qualified Internet marketer.

It's not surprising that the Internet Marketing Association would look to the East Coast for marketing professionals. Not only is Washington D.C a major hub of marketing efforts—what is lobbying, after all, but a kind of marketing businesses engage in to change the minds of Congress?—but there are plenty of other hubs throughout. Perhaps the biggest marketing vector on the planet is located not too far from the Abbey Burger Bistro: Madison Avenue. About three hours drive—assuming traffic cooperates—downtown Manhattan and its host of businesses is less than 200 miles away from Fells Point. Building a centralized operation that encompasses all of these firms and provides an opportunity to meet, network, and share ideas could be a deeply enriching and bottom-line-valuable experience.

With so much marketing focus turning to the Internet, that's leaving a lot of necessary changes behind it. A unified front in marketing could help make those changes easier, and allow more firms to take advantage of the new technology and the new perceptions. No one wants to be left behind on this rush, and so, membership in the Internet Marketing Association's new chapter could mean the difference between failure and success in a changing landscape.