As expected, the team from Digital Summit put together a great lineup for Atlanta Marketers on October 23, 2018 at Cobb Energy Center. We covered “Everything: Content & Social” with speakers from GoDaddy, Westin Grand Cayman, Futurus, and marketing leaders from across the country.

Top 5 Learnings from Digital Summit Fall 2018 Content + Social

1. Facebook is the #1 most effective ad platform for B2C Marketers.

Heather Dopson, GoDaddy, said it best with stats. Social Media is driving product discovery with 78% of people finding new products on Facebook and 59% on Instagram. 55% of people bought the product online after social media discovery. The first objection that I get every time I bring up Facebook Ads is, “Not everybody is on Facebook.” That statement means to me that we need to advertise on more than one platform, instead of not advertising at all.

2. A small ad budget with VIDEO can create astronomical ROI.

Marc Babin, Grand Cayman Westin, with his $500/month Facebook Ad budget, created $40K in booked room revenue with his GoPro and drone vlog. Marc achieved 17X more impressions and 3X more link clicks with the same budget by creating video ads instead of photo ads. He shot and edited all of the videos himself with a GoPro and a drone.

3. AUTHENTIC Influence is Key to Establishing Trust. Trust = Sales.

One keyword of the day was AUTHENTIC.

Marc Babin, Grand Cayman Westin, said, “Be Real, Not Perfect.“

Jordan Steen, Cereal Entrepreneur, emphasized the importance of testimonials in ad campaigns.

Kate Richling, MediaMonks, cited that 72% of businesses are more likely to buy from thought leaders recognized as experts.

Brian Fanzo, iSocialFanz, gave us the holy grail of why AirBnb and Uber are so successful. Online reviews. Real reviews. Who’d ever thought that we’d be getting into a stranger’s car only to stay at a stranger’s house 20 years ago?

Nicola Smith, Rebel and Reason, brought the point home, citing $6.85 in earned media value for every $1 spent with social influencers.

4. Focus on Engagement to drive meaningful conversations

Embrace the Facebook Algorithm, don’t fight it, or try to game it. Heather Dopson, GoDaddy, got down to business when she provided her insights into the Facebook Algorithm.

That means we as marketers need to: Focus on Engagement to drive meaningful conversations. Specifically we need to drive Shares, Comments, and Likes (in that order, as Shares and Comments are the most powerful), and stay away from creating Engagement Bait.

What is Engagement Bait you ask? Engagement Bait comes in various forms from asking users to leave a comment (that you don’t read or use), Withholding Information – OMG, you won’t believe what she found behind that door, or Sensationalized Language – Holy Smokes! You won’t believe what I did today!

Engagement Bait drives: Hiding the Post, Hide all Posts, Mark as Spam or Unliking a page. One “Hide the Post” click from one user removes 100 positive feedbacks. Engagement Bait could get your Facebook Ad denied, no matter your advertising budget!

Facebook has even gone as far and as transparent in by publishing an article on their website here.

5. Voice Assistants, AR, & VR are the next horizon for Marketers

Brian Fanzo, iSocialFanz simply stated, “…the Field of Dreams mantra is over,” meaning that you can’t build it, and expect people to come to you. For example, some marketers/businesses would refuse to create an Instagram page thinking that it would forcecustomers to go to their website. That is a myth, and far from reality. Today’s digitally connected consumer will look on their favorite platform, and if you’re not there, they draw the conclusion that you don’t care.

If you are not where your audience is, they think you don’t care.

Nicola Smith, Rebel and Reason, cited emerging technologies including Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Voice UI as the next horizon for marketers. After all, we need to be where our audience is. Nicola provided compelling stats including 13% of all households in the US owned a smart speaker in 2017, and that number is predicted to rise to 55% by 2022.

Annie Eaton, CEO Futurus, presented how marketers can leverage AR & VR for their brands.

I hope you enjoyed this recap of Digital Summit Atlanta Fall 2018 Everything: Content + Social. I’ve also recorded a short video recap below.