Before COVID-19 confined us to our houses, our team had the pleasure of attending one major conference. When you combine the top thought leaders for social media marketing with San Diego, California, you get the magic that is Social Media Marketing World! Hosted by Social Media Examiner, SMMW allows attendees to learn actionable tips from more than 100 of the world’s top pros. They specialize in Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, social media marketing, content marketing, video marketing, and customer advocacy.
Each session served as an informative workshop where the speakers touched on information impacting the world of social media. They covered everything from how to best maximize engagement and how to harvest the right leads for your business. SMMW is a must-attend conference for any savvy marketer. With new apps, technology, and user trends, it can be overwhelming to keep up with the latest developments. SMMW helps marketers stay ahead of the curve in the world of social media. They should also know what modern methods should be implemented in marketing efforts.
Now more than ever, modern marketers need to reevaluate their social media marketing strategy in order to survive. In hindsight, SMMW20 couldn’t have come at a better time. There were three main points that profoundly shaped the theme of the entire conference. Grab your notepad and pen, you’re gonna wanna take notes on our Social Media Marketing World 2020 Recap!
“Marketing will be dead in a decade, but creating customer experience will be the future.” – Duncan Wardle
This session about creating unforgettable experiences for your customers. Duncan Wardle, former Head of Innovation and Creativity at Disney, forecasted that traditional marketing will be dead. Instead, creating a customer experience will be the way to captivate your audience. This is particularly fascinating as we’ve seen the mass success of influencer marketing and experiential marketing over the last few years.
Duncan showed an example of creating experiences for consumers with a video where his team set up a white wall in a shopping mall. When people passed by, they would see their shadows projected next to them. What was the twist? Their shadow was a classic Disney character! As the unsuspecting person would stroll by, their shadow would shapeshift into Goofy, or Mickey, or Cinderella. When the person finally noticed, their reaction was priceless – laughing, dancing, and taking photos of the unusual brand stunt. This interesting approach to captivate a customer is a unique way to get marketers to get creative with their strategic approach.
“Don’t post just for the SAKE of posting on social media. Make sure your content stands out. Post with PURPOSE.” – Jenn Herman
Instagram strategist, Jenn Herman, dove headfirst into the world of Instagram marketing. She explained each element of a successful Instagram account for business owners and brands. She broke down the 4 algorithms on the app itself – Explore Feed, Hashtags, Stories, and The Feed. It’s critical to understand how each of these components works on Instagram, how each algorithm operates, and how to ensure exposure in order to be successful with users on Instagram.
The common thread along all algorithms was the quality of what you post and how you post it. She gave a few tips for marketers to keep in their pockets, the most vital being to use caution when it comes to excessive posting. Herman only posts about once a month, but makes sure that when she does post, the content is informative and that she interacts with her audience for maximum exposure. If a business owner or brand posts content that neither intrigues or educates users, they can kiss their Instagram goals goodbye. For optimal Instagram platform success, it is imperative to post and interact with purpose.
“If you are unclear with who you are or what you stand for, your audience will make a story for you. You need to intentionally tell the story that YOU want people to walk away with.” – Park Howell
Business Story Strategist, Park Howell, delivered an exciting session where conference attendees walked out with a well-crafted elevator pitch. The exercise started with the room introducing themselves and explaining what they do in 3 minutes. The majority of the class bumbled through a self-created script, filled with vague buzzwords. Most participants took longer than 3 minutes. Park stopped the room and explained how this introduction was incorrect. “If you want to benefit from networking in an effective manner, you have less than 5 minutes to capture attention, set up the context, and showcase how you provide solutions.” Park then had us try again, but this time we used the ABT Narrative template. “Set the context AND Raise the stakes BUT State the problem THEREFORE provide the solution.” This looks something like this:
“My name is Tara Miremadi, I’m the Digital Brand Manager for Margaux Agency and I work specifically in brand development for businesses. But most business owners don’t have the time or resources to implement their digital marketing strategies. Therefore Margaux specializes in marketing solutions through content development to make sure our clients hit their marketing goals.”
By using this method, we captivate our listeners by providing a problem/solution dynamic. Not only did everyone complete their introduction under 3 minutes the second time around, but they were also able to eloquently and effectively share their PURPOSE in their line of work. The key element is that by providing a solution in your framework, the listener pays closer attention because they trust you. Once you have them actively listening, you are then able to illustrate the story you want your audience to walk away with.
The Bottom Line
At the end of the day, nothing beats being able to go somewhere with the pure intention of learning, especially about such a robust subject as social media marketing. As professional marketers, we need to prioritize knowledge sharing in order to keep our work relevant for ourselves, our clients, and our consumers. Trends will come and go, but industry information that serves as a guiding light towards success is priceless. After learning all of these valuable tips we’ve shared in our Social Media Marketing World 2020 Recap, we’re already looking forward to SMMW 21 next year!
For more information about Social Media Marketing World 2020, click here. If you need help elevating your social media marketing strategy, visit us here to see how Margaux Agency can help!
