Besides the free stuff, I already have some good take-aways, in terms of ideas and concepts from the Search Engine Strategies conference 2010, here in New York City.
The day started off with keynote speaker David Meerman Scott, social media pioneer and author of “The New Rules of Marketing and PR“. His presentation consisted of six rules, but out of those rules I found four trends that really spoke to me, so I thought I’d share those gems with you.
Video. Video is one thing that I am just now exploring, but according to this keynote, it is the next biggest thing for businesses. Simple videos on YouTube, on your Web site, or your blog, video is going to be shared more than regular content and a great way to attract new audiences. Key take away: Buy a Flip camera.
Who are you? The elevator pitch has changed because people don’t care about your product, they only care about themselves. “On the Web you are what you publish.” I thought this quote was great! It really shows that you need to talk to your audiences in a way that they understand you. Key take away: Explain you business to a child and see if they understand.
Share. Getting your customers to create content about you. It’s one thing to talk about yourself; it’s another when somebody else becomes your advocate. We do this for our clients and it is key in communication today. Copy should no longer come from PR news releases, if you want it read, it needs to be the correct people putting it out there. Key take away: Find those online influencers and build relationships with them so they’re eager to write about you or your client.
Lose control. This one is my favorite, allow yourself to lose control of your content. Although this was not one of his rules, I love this concept because it touches on fear, and fear of social media is what some companies still have. By producing free content and allowing it to be shared and downloaded on all online tools, the possibilities are endless. Key take away: Be like the Grateful Dead, don’t tell your fans they can’t film or take photos, encourage it!