Representatives from Google Inc. and eBay, two of the world’s leaders in digital media marketing, will address the importance of enhancing the user’s online experience at the Digital Media Marketing Conference sponsored by UCR Extension and hosted by the American Marketing Association – Inland Empire on Jan. 30.

Find out the importance of user-centered design from Prakash Chandran, lead designer of enterprise products for Google Inc. His sister, Sashee Chandran, marketing ambassador for eBay, will discuss how and why the world’s leading online marketplace is shifting to a branded user experience and how other businesses can do the same.

Daniel Teklai, president of the local AMA chapter and director of marketing for Premier Service Bank, said digital marketing is no longer an optional component of any business’s marketing strategy, especially with the explosive growth of social media.

“Unfortunately a lot of people doing marketing don’t have a complete grasp of how fast things are changing and how and where people are consuming media,” Teklai said. “Essentially, every business owner needs to understand and utilize some form of digital marketing.”

The conference will run from noon to 5 p.m. at the UCR Extension Center, 1200 University Ave., Riverside. A reception will follow from 5 to 7 p.m. The conference is open to the public but there will be special rates for members.

Other speakers include: Kelly Donovan from Donovan Communications, who will talk about leveraging LinkedIn to build a business’s brand and to increase profits; John McCarthy of iHerb.com will discuss the new rules of Search Engine Optimization (SEO); Russ Cornelius from Brand Savants and Ron Burgess of Redfusion Media will share online and offline resources for integrating a company’s brand.

The 75-year-old AMA is an international organization of marketing professionals with about 30,000 members and 75 chapters in North America alone. The Inland Empire chapter meets monthly at the Victoria Club in Riverside and sponsors a conference annually.

“The AMA helps people advance their careers in marketing through education,” Teklai said. “That’s why it made sense for us to partner with UCR Extension, which also helps people advance in their careers by gaining knowledge in a wide range of fields.”

To register or find out more go to www.ama-ie.com