Lauren Ackerman, Digital Strategist
…And other thoughts on the Digital Summit
Kansas City’s inaugural Digital Summit was a few weeks ago, and it was a great experience and an eye-opener. There’s just no substitute for an intensive day and a half conference to get the updates for the ever-evolving digital landscape. I jotted down some thoughts while I was there.
- Marketing automation (our titular robot overlord) is a given – or it should be. You’re going to fall behind the competition if you don’t get on board. Ways to do this:
- Beginner: Automated email programs triggered by specific behavior (like a subscription or purchase)
- Intermediate: Tracking leads behavior across multiple channels and delivering tailored content
- Advanced: Creating specific content for every step in the customer journey and delivering it to the right person, at the right time
- Speaker photos are on average 700 years younger than the actual speakers. Obviously I exaggerate. And there are exceptions. (Hi, Lois & Brent!) Hey, I get it. My social media profile photo is me on my best day with unnaturally good skin, hair and lighting. Cheers to flattering ourselves as much at conferences as much as most people do on Tinder.
- Branding and digital are intertwining more successfully now. Marketers have historically struggled to find ways to infuse brand story without getting in the way of the transaction that the online shopper is trying to complete. But now, between content marketing, social storytelling, AI, etc., brands are figuring out when to infuse brand elements and when to expound on a brand story.
- Influencer marketing is exploding. Marketers are en masse figuring out ways to work in this fast-growing channel, finding ways to structure campaigns, negotiate rates and measure results. Brands that are jumping on board are seeing profits. BUT we don’t know how long this is going to last. It’s the shiny new thing, it works like a charm, but it’s possible that as this market gets more saturated, and the FTC forces influencers to label paid advertisements, it’s going to lose some impact. The fact is, it’s working like gangbusters today, and you should do it. Yesterday.
- Speaking of channels, the world that consumers live in is channel agnostic. We should be hyper-aware of this and create the campaign language, look and feel, and message FIRST, then design and adapt for each individual channel.
- Natural language is the way to go with SEO. Google’s algorithms get smarter every day, and stuffing a keyword 57 times into a landing page is no longer the best way. Which means that there is no substitute for generating valuable content regularly and promoting it through social channels and backlinking strategies.
- Sometimes you can tell someone’s a sought-after speaker just by their haircut.
- Cussing is like, no big f*cking deal, man. I heard at least five to seven F-bombs from speakers. And I liked it. Some of my favorite words are cuss words. It’s just…I’m not used to it from conference speakers. I’m probably uncool for noticing.
Need help weaving marketing automation or influencer marketing into your digital strategy? I can help! Shoot me an email at laurena@jschmid.com. And I hope to see you at the Kansas City Digital Summit next year!
Tags: digital strategy, Digital Summit Kansas City, influencer marketing, Lauren Ackerman, marketing automation, SEO