May is Member Appreciation Month for SEMpdx and our newest Member of the Month is Michael Rasko. Michael is the Marketing Manager of Jordan Ramis PC, a Portland-based law firm that offers a comprehensive package of legal services in Dirt Law, Business Law, Local Government Law, and Litigation and Dispute Resolution. In order to get to know him better, we asked him all the important questions and are sharing them with you.
About Michael Rasko
Area(s) of Expertise
“Analytics, PPC, SEO”
What do you like most about Digital Marketing and why?
“The analytics. I was never a math guy when I was in school, but now that I’m older I’m really drawn to the quantitative aspect of this work. It’s just far more tangible than sales spin. And it is absolutely fascinating what you can learn about people by their actions online.”
What advice do you have for a college student who is interested in your area(s) of expertise?
“Get a Lynda.com account or some other education subscription. You can now get Lynda for free through the Multnomah County Library, so there really are no more excuses not to be self-taught. You’re gonna get caught in an experience gap coming out of college where no one will trust you to do things that you haven’t done before. Being able to understand the tasks of digital marketing and talk about them intelligently–even if you’ve never done the actual work on behalf of a company–will help you to close that gap. Additionally, this business changes so fast. What will be required of marketers once most homes have an Alexa or Google Home? You can’t just rely on what you learned in college to be able to answer that question. You gotta keep up and keep learning.”
SEMpdx
Why are you a member of SEMpdx?
“To get discounts and meet others in the industry. It makes financial sense for the discount to Engage Conference alone, and everything after that is just bonus.”
Who has been your favorite SEMpdx monthly event speaker and why?
“Dennis Yu. That guy is next level. I liked his technique of abandoning slides and just walking people through what he does. It’s risky because it’s far more likely that something you intended to demonstrate will have an error in it, but I think it works better in teaching.”
Have you been to Engage (formerly SearchFest) and how many have you attended?
“I went to the most recent one. I plan to go every year. I just haven’t in past years because I’m a relatively new member and only became aware of it through joining this organization.”
If you could hear anyone speak at an event, who would it be and why?
“Work-related: The leader of the team that authored the latest Google algorithm so I could get a first-hand account of the changes and why they are happening instead of having to rely on the guess-work of bloggers.
“Not work-related: Lin-Manuel Miranda. I’m just a big fan of his work.”
Randomness
If you weren’t doing what you’re doing now (marketer, developer, etc), what would you do?
“I used to work in video editing. I would probably still be doing that if I didn’t make the career change.”
Favorite Beverage and why?
“Coca-cola. I don’t drink it often because it’s loaded with sugar, but there really is no flavor more refreshing.”
To Bacon or Not to Bacon?
“YES!”
Anything else you want the SEMpdx community to know about you?
“In addition to working as the head of marketing for Jordan Ramis PC, I’m also on the board of Friends of the Multnomah County Library and I just can’t resist giving them a plug. Also, people are welcome to hit me up on Linkedin if they have questions or would like to chat about something.”
Thanks, Michael!
Make sure to find Michael at our next event and congratulate him on his status of Member of the Month!
Jessica is Director of Membership for SEMpdx. She enjoys managing SEM campaigns for MKG Marketing Inc, making her son laugh, and loves books, nature, and Yorkies.