The head of Facebook in Ireland will be providing businesses with an insight into how they can use the social-networking platform to connect with new customers at the forthcoming Irish Internet Association (IIA) National Congress.
Long (pictured), who was previously director of online sales and operations at Google, will also outline how businesses can maximise their return on investment in online.
The focus of this year’s conference is ‘Better Business Online in a Tough Economy: Money, Marketing, Monitoring & Mobile’.
The event, which will be sponsored by Realex Payments, will take place on 21 and 22 May 2009 in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dublin.
Colm Lyon, managing director of Realex Payments, will address how to leverage e-commerce and e-payments in order to do better, profitable business online.
Trey Harvin, the CEO of dotMobi will speak about the role mobile plays in leveraging the revenue potential of the web.
Ronan Harris, the online sales and operations director at Google in Dublin, will examine the role analytics and conversion tracking play in getting far better results online.
“These three speakers are a great fit to our chosen theme,” the chief executive of the IIA Fergal O’Byrne said. “They can speak from a wealth of knowledge and experience about their specific sectors.
“Their products and services level the playing field for business users, allowing them to extend their reach beyond Irish shores and monitor and develop their online business,” O’Byrne added.
A key industry event, the Congress will also include an afternoon of breakout sessions coordinated by the IIA’s Working Groups. These groups focus on web development, social media, online marketing, legal issues, user experience and physical infrastructure.
Delegates will also have the option of attending one-to-one web strategy clinics on specific topics. These clinics proved very popular last year.
This year, the IIA Annual Net Visionary Awards take place on the evening of 21 May, allowing delegates to mix a productive day of business with a celebratory evening of pleasure.
The newest feature of this two day event is Meetball, a demonstration and networking breakfast on 22 May, allowing those who cannot make it on 21 May to meet some of the IIA members and find out more about their products and services.
By John Kennedy
Pictured: the head of Facebook in Ireland
