An April Fools Round-Up, Events in Google Maps, & How LinkedIn Is Making Meeting Scheduling Easier...This Is THE LATEST!

This is goodbye.

I am leaving and no this isn't a late April Fools' joke.

Wednesday, I'll be gone... never gracing your inbox again...

Until April 15th.

See what I did there?

No, this isn't a forever goodbye, but I am going on my first vacation since 2017 (Liz and Stephanie will continue THE LATEST in my absence) so I'm feeling playful.

You know who else was feeling playful this week?

🤡  Here's How 8 Brands Made April Fools Out of Their Audiences Yesterday.

I love April Fools' Day, as a marketer. It gives brands an opportunity to get outrageously creative with a campaign and try something they may not normally, all in good fun. This year, many brands pulled out all the stops on their April Fools' Day campaigns. Our Director of Event Marketing, Jen Barrell, rounds up some of our favorites and shares how you can prepare for next year.

🗺️  Google Wants You to Use Maps to Discover New Places to Shop & Play.

Instead of just giving you driving directions, Google Maps wants to help you find more places to work and play. A recent update to the Android app allows locations to list public events and users to discover them directly on their mobile devices. Why should you care and how can your business use this to its advantage? IMPACT Account Executive Arielle Gnann explains.

🦉 12 Free Templates to Run Better Meetings [Sponsored By Owl Labs]

Meetings can be time-consuming and costly for your organization without proper preparation. That's why Owl Labs created professionally-designed, fully-customizable templates to help you plan and run meetings that are collaborative, productive, and efficient. Get them for free in PDF or Google Drive format here.

📅  These New LinkedIn Messenger Features Will Help You Schedule Meetings More Effectively. 

Making the jump from casual conversation to professional meeting is never easy. Luckily, LinkedIn took notice and is introducing a bunch of new features to its messenger to help you share your availability and even find a place to meet in person. IMPACT Design Supervisor Jessie-Lee Nichols dives into what the new tools look like and why they're invaluable for marketers and sales professionals. 

👀 ... When You're All Ears (& Eyes) 

• "Increase Sales by 15% With Customer Experience Ft. Todd Hockenberry of Top Line Results" (Inbound Success Ep. 84)
• "Online Community Management & Pillar Content Experimentation" (Content Lab)
• "How HubSpot's Database Works, Pipeline Permissions, & the End of Facebook Video for Business?" (Hubcast 219)
• Lessons You Learn When You Do The Thing (The IMPACT Show Ep. 73)
• "Personalized vs. Canned Video: What to Use & When During the Sales Process" (Film School for Marketers, Ep. 7)

🚨 Save Your Seat

• IMPACT Live Early Bird ticket pricing has been extended, but once midnight Wednesday rolls around, the price goes up for good. There’s no code needed to grab your tickets at the reduced rate. Easy, right? If you don’t want to miss out on two days full of actionable takeaways focused on playbooks, pro tips, and activities to bring you real digital sales and marketing results (and if you like to save money!), `get your tickets now.
• How to Find Blog Topics Your Audience REALLY Cares About (Webinar): There are five key questions all buyers want answers to -- regardless of what they’re shopping for. In this webinar hosted by SEMRush, IMPACT Content Marketing Specialist Kevin Phillips will show you how to solve the problems your customers have by addressing the topics and questions most relevant to them. This one-hour session on April 8 starts with a 20-minute long presentation by Kevin, followed by a panel discussion with Susan Moeller and Andy Crestodina. Sign up for the SEMRush webinar here.
• Who’s in Annapolis and Needs a HUG? (A HubSpot User Group, that is!) On April 10, the Annapolis HubSpot User Group will be getting together to learn all about mastering LinkedIn advertising from IMPACT’s paid media specialist, Jason Linde. Registration is free, and there will be complimentary snacks and drinks, so reserve your seat now. (The room actually does have limited space.)