Boston has had a whirlwind of marketing conferences lately. [Sorry to make a wind reference so close to Hurricane Sandy wreaking havoc on the east coast. We hope all the readers are OK!]
Here are some of the best insights that have been shared.
1. Make people laugh - Daniel Sullivan, the CEO for Crowdly, at the FutureM conference: When it comes to social media, he said, "Humor is the most widely shared content."
2. Get leads online - Butch Stearns, the Chief Content Officer at The Pulse Network, at the Inbound Marketing Summit: 70 percent of your consumer purchasing decisions are made before you know that consumer exists.
3. Privatize social network messages - Meredith Flynn-Ripley, CEO of MediaFriends Inc., at the future FutureM conference: She believed that we really spend most of our time networking on social media with five people. She said, "61 percent of people would share more online if they had control over who could view [their posts, pictures, etc]." She added that the dilemma becomes how to create a one-on-one relationship at scale.
4. Use online personalization - A team from Agency Oasis, at the Future M conference: When it comes to the next big thing with Web sites, more than half of retailers see that personalizing the content is going to be the most important aspect of the interactive experience. Web sites can personalize based on two approaches: explicit and implicit. Explicit personalization is when the Web site visitor shares information, like filling out a contact form. Implicit personalization is not as obvious. It can occur based on what people click on, what other site or ad sends them to the site and much more. It is not as intrusive and can allow a website to develop marketing triggers that customize the website experience.
5. Believe in social influence - Nicco Mele from the Harvard Kennedy School at the Inbound Marketing Summit: There is proof that Facebook impacted the likelihood to vote. In past elections, when people saw their
friends vote, they did too.
6. Add an advocacy process - Dion Hinchcliffe, the chief strategy officer of Dachis Group, at the FutureM conference: For an enterprise to create a social ecosystem, it needs to be unified with its customers, business partners and workers. "Social engagements create advocates. Advocates create outcomes," said Hinchcliffe. He suggested listening to what is being said online, filtering it and then analyzing it. For more engagement, he suggested getting the entire company involved and systemize the approach.
7. Integrate online marketing - Mike Proulx, senior vice president and the director of social media at Hill Holliday at the Inbound Marketing Summit: People switch media 27 times per hour, shared Proulx. That means they might be watching TV, going to their cell phone and bouncing to their computer, sometimes all at the same time. "Smartphones are the number one distractive media when watching TV," said Proulx. Marketers need to think about pulling all the media together to be the most successful.
8. Think creatively around the customer - Marty St. George, the senior vice president of marketing and commercial strategy for JetBlue Airways, at the Inbound Marketing Summit: "We want ideas that leverage and enhance the way customers use multiple channels simultaneously and sequentially," said George. "Know what you stand for, and where your idea doesn't fit, move on. Ideas must be consumer centric."
9. Build a personal brand - Dorie Clark, CEO of Clark Strategic Communications, at the Inbound Marketing Summit: She suggested building personal credibility by affiliating yourself with other brands, becoming a wingman of a great thinker, winning awards and helping causes. Clark also suggested strategic laddering. "Leverage yourself getting published on other sites. If you have written your own blogs, reach out to others in your industry," she said. Also, make friends with the media. She advised, "Make a list of the reporters. Their staff has been chopped. If you can make friends, retweet [their content] and compliment them. Then you can reach out to them and say, 'By the way, if you ever need someone to talk on x, y, z topic...'"
10. Don't forget the younger generation - John and Joid Robinson, both senior vice presidents at Digitas at the FutureM conference: The millennials are becoming another group of consumers - the on-demand generation. "The tweens are influencing buying today to a tune of $1.2 trillion per year. Kids will stay with a brand and live with them for their entire lives," said the Robinsons. If you want your organization to be in business for many years, know who will keep you in business in the coming decades.
Mike Byrnes is a national speaker and owner of Byrnes Consulting, LLC. His firm provides consulting services to help advisors become even more successful. Need help with business planning, marketing strategy, business development, client service and management effectiveness? Read more at ByrnesConsulting.com and follow @ByrnesConsultin.