By SEAN BARRON

Correspondent

YOUNGSTOWN — Corinthian Dieter works for a company that sells a slew of ambulance and medical supplies — everything from inflatable portable shelters for those affected by hurricanes and other natural disasters, to needles.

When asked her reasons for attending a two-day business conference here, she got right to the point.

“Every year, I gain some knowledge and continue to learn marketing, because the industry is constantly changing,” explained Dieter, of Hermitage, Pa., who works in the marketing department for Niles-based Penn Care Inc.

Among the products the 32-year-old company sells are software packages for emergency medical technicians, tourniquets, blankets, wound dressings, disinfectants and bleeding-control kits, which are used largely after mass shootings, Dieter noted.

She was among an estimated 300 business leaders, social-media experts, students and others who registered for the two-day DOYO Live digital-marketing and interactive-design conference, which began as a series of four deep-dive workshops Thursday at Stambaugh Auditorium.

The event continues today with topics such as using data to grow a business, building one’s brand and business, translating business goals into digital-marketing results and finding the best marketing options and strategies to expand businesses.

DOYO, sponsored by iSynergy, a platform for information management and process automation, is offering a variety of speakers, networking opportunities, break-out sessions and workshops aimed at developing and cultivating sound marketing strategies and practices. Thursday’s market-oriented workshops examined topics such as content-marketing as well as fundamental and advanced social-media strategies.

Dieter, who’s worked for the ambulance-supply company nearly five years, said she’s attended the DoYo conference since its inception in 2016 and continues to build upon her knowledge of marketing trends and changes. Also pivotal for her are gleaning strategies she can implement to strengthen her business, which has about 40 employees, Dieter continued.

Dennis Schiraldi, the conference’s founder, said he’s spoken at many similar events across the country, including at a market-oriented gathering in Rochester, Minn., from which the seeds to start such a conference in Youngstown sprouted. The Mahoning Valley was ripe for the gathering “because I thought that our area is in big need for what’s going on in other cities,” he explained.

Further reinforcing the idea for Schiraldi, who returned to the area about six years ago, was having spoken about four years ago at a local TEDx event, he recalled.

He also realized that about 300,000 people with valuable marketing skills lived within a 60-mile radius of Youngstown. That acted as another impetus to seek attendees and speakers for the DOYO conferences, Schiraldi said.

The inaugural DOYO event’s keynote speaker was Joe Pulizzi, an entrepreneur, podcaster, founder of multiple start-up businesses and author of several books on content-marketing strategies. Pulizzi also is the keynote presenter today.

Content marketing revolves largely around creating and sharing blogs, videos, social-media posts and other online material to generate interest in a particular brand’s products or services without overtly promoting the brand.

The conference’s prime focuses also are to help local businesses grow and foster healthful partnerships with one another, as well as allow attendees to establish connections, Schiraldi noted. In addition, the event is a culmination of much experience he’s gained by doing business across the country in many arenas, he continued.

“We have so many talented people locally who have spoken at major business and tech conferences,” Schiraldi said, adding, “I think we’re in a very pivotal time in Youngstown, with the amount of revitalization going on.”