This March I attended my first Digital Summit in Seattle. The Digital Summit was like nothing I’ve experienced before. Hundreds of like-minded individuals, inspired and eager to learn more about all things digital, marketing, and everything in between.
Day one flew by, I was in and out of workshops learning more about marketing analytics, how Snapchat can attract customers, how to create engaging content and surprisingly, there was even a seminar for “how to stop freaking out when work gets hard.” And yes, I was there.
The opening Keynote from Day 1 was Ann Handley with MarketingProfs. Ann spoke about “Good Content vs. Good Enough Content: A Fight for Sore Eyes.” A big takeaway from her seminar is that the biggest mistake marketers have in today’s time is playing it too safe. She also stressed the importance of teaching the customer through marketing and advertising. There is great value in a smarter customer.
This made me think about industries like finance or health care. It is important that these industries educate their customers by sharing the latest financial trends, how to build credit, or how to care for your physical and mental health. By educating the customer, you give out valuable information and gain the interest and trust of the customer, who will likely come back for more.
The Keynote of Day 2 (perhaps my favorite part of the Digital Summit) was Apple Co-founder Steve Wozniak. He discussed robots taking over the world, the portrayal of Steve Jobs in film, the most important steps for up-and-coming startups and his time on Dancing with the Stars. Everything he spoke on was fascinating (especially the robots,) but the big takeaway was his advice for new startups (or any business.) Steve said the most important characteristics for a company was to invest in their people and invest in the right people. He recommended hiring early on:
- Business person (to keep finances)
- Marketing person (to attack marketing and advertising objectives)
- Engineers (because they are used to working on computer problems and finding solutions)
Steve Wozniak on stage during Keynote showing a photo of himself next to his Wax Figure at Madame Tussauds.
Another seminar I found beneficial was from Hassan Ali, from The Onion about “How to Get Real and Cut the BS in Your Millennial Marketing.” Hassan made a strong point when he said “people dislike advertising, but they love brands.” People want to see beyond traditional marketing, advertising needs to tell a story and create engagement. Through that, consumers will make a more authentic connection to your brand and go out of their way to seek your brand (often through social media channels.) In summary here were some valuable takeaways:
- Be authentic – cut the BS
- Embrace the available platforms
- Think outside of traditional advertising and tell a story
Hassan Ali from The Onion during presentation “How to Get Real and Cut the BS in Your Millennial Marketing.”
The Digital Summit was an enjoyable event and I am grateful I had the opportunity to attend. I met inspiring people, heard great speakers and gained valuable information that I can take back to the office for our clients. I highly recommend attending a Digital Summit, no matter what industry you are in.
If you have any additional tips for how you have engaged your audience or prospects, I would love to hear from you!