Public Speaking & Workshops.
Need an engaging speaker who can teach your audience new strategies and skills in marketing and business?
Look No Further
An experienced speaker and trainer, I’ve spoken at conferences, events and functions all over the country. I bring insights and a fresh perspective to the topics of digital marketing and entrepreneurship, delivering educational and motivational talks that will move your audience to action. So whether it be a keynote on the main stage of a conference or a virtual roundtable over video, I’ll make sure everyone walks away having actually learned something new and meaningful – all while feeling entertained.
Events I’ve Spoken At
I’ve been invited to speak at events, conferences and workshops for these recognised organisations.
Topics Of Expertise
While I’m open to creating something custom for you, below are some of the topics I talk about most frequently.
Digital 101: Everything you need to know to get your marketing strategy firing
The world of digital marketing is constantly shifting. Every day there’s a new tool, a new platform, a new channel, a new strategy – it’s impossible to keep up with it all. In fact, it’s exhausting. But the truth is, the fundamentals haven’t changed. Most companies aren’t even doing the basics right, and that’s where the most money is made. This talk isn’t about discussing the cutting edge, but rather talking about the non-negotiables that most companies are getting horribly wrong, and leaving enormous amounts of money on the table as a result.
This detailed, highly actionable talk is designed for business owners, senior executives and marketers who want to get up-to-speed with the most important strategies in digital marketing today.
- What is SEO and why is it so important?
- How has SEO changed over the years, and what does it look like going forward?
- What is SEM and why is it so important?
- How has SEM changed over the years, and what does it look like going forward?
- What is paid social and why is it so important?
- How does paid social differ from SEM? Why do I need both?
- What is UX and Conversion Optimisation (CRO) and why is it so important?
- Where and how does email marketing fit into my marketing mix?
- The power and importance of Google Analytics
- How should I be approaching budgeting?
- How do I find the right agencies to help me? What are red flags to look out for?
How Customer Obsession Drives Business Growth
In its most distilled form, data is the voice of your customers. Yet it’s the most underrepresented voice in the rooms where decisions are made. Despite being the heartbeat of modern marketing, data is rarely used when trying to solve common dilemmas such as how to improve customer experience, optimise a website’s performance, or build an effective and integrated digital strategy. This talk will demonstrate how to bring the voice of marketing into the c-suite and put the customer at the centre of the decision-making process.
This talk is designed for business owners, senior executives and marketers wanting to learn how to truly understand their customer’s behaviour online and how to leverage that data to engage customers and profit their brand.
- Learn the tools and techniques to collect critical data about how your customers behave on your website.
- Learn how to analyse your data and discover powerful insights to turn more website visitors into customers.
- Learn how to reduce the risk of a website redesign / replatform project by using customer data to inform decision making.
- Learn how to leverage customer insights to optimise all of your digital channels and drive performance.
Debunking the Myths of Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurs and business owners are all addicted to the same drug: the exhilaration of building something and seeing it grow. But at what cost? Social media and society places enormous pressure on founders to succeed – and succeed big. It has become a contest of who’s got the most hustle, leading to “success” being measured by all of the wrong metrics. This talk is an open, honest and vulnerable discussion about the brutality of running a company and debunking unhelpful and dangerous myths.
This talk is designed for entrepreneurs, business owners, start-up founders or anybody thinking about starting a business.
- “The Founder Attitude”: the most important characteristics for a founder
- Debunking the stereotypes around “hustle” and working insane hours
- Prioritising your time and your health (mental, physical and emotional wellbeing)
- How to deal with the weight of expectations – from your family, your friends, your team, and yourself
- How to deal with loss, how to find and apply the lessons
- Optimist vs pessimist vs realist – what’s actually best for business?
- The importance of vulnerability and of asking for help
“Michael recently spoke at my event and was absolutely fantastic. He was honest, vulnerable and really made an effort to speak to the concerns of the audience. I have hosted many speakers over the past four years and am happy to say Michael was one of the best! Really couldn’t recommend him more.”
Helena Baker
Founder, ESNInternational
My Bio
Michael is a born strategist with over 15 years of experience working with senior leadership teams, executives and entrepreneurs drive revenue for their companies.
An award-winning marketer, in 2014 Michael founded what became one of Australia’s premier independent digital agencies, Yoghurt Digital. By the time he exited in mid-2022, Yoghurt had a team of 35 across Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and had worked with household names like ANZ Bank, H&R Block, P&O Cruises, Converse, the NRL and many more.
Since then, Michael has launched a growth advisory. His focus specialty is building effective marketing strategies in parallel with strong operational capabilities to deliver not just growth – but scale.
In his spare time, Michael is a Non-Executive Director at both Marriott Support Services and Family Life, a guest lecturer at Macquarie University and UNSW, and a trainer at Australia’s peak marketing body, the Australian Marketing Institute.
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