Lessons from the Ultra-Learned Socialites of NYC.
BlogAfter a week spent observing panels and keynotes at Social MediaWeek in New York City, I feel dumber than ever. In a good way. There is so much to learn, to measure, and to innovate in the social space. I am feeling pretty dumb, but I’m also feeling ultra-motivated to learn and keep crankin’ out hits.
Check out the graphic below. I put all of my notes into a handy dandy tool that graphically shows which words are used most often.
The results are not too shocking with “social” leading the pack, but it’s still interesting to see five days worth of notes crammed into one image. Kind of interesting that the word Facebook is significantly larger than “Google”, right? My favorite, though, is the big representation of the words “people” and “customers.” That is what it is all about, right?
I didn’t come away from a week in the Big Apple with just a nifty Wordle to show you. My Evernote files on Social Media Week may break my account from how heavy and detailed they are, so it’s going to take some time to sift through to share the best insights with you. In the meantime, here are a few of my favorite topics that I witnessed:
- All kinds of social media metrics are being overshadowed by one word: engagement. How to measure it, how to promote it, how to manage it. Social Media Week was, from where I was sitting, all about engagement between users and brands.
- Creating content is the only authentic way to deliver tremendous value to consumers online. The question is: how to deliver value that is relevant to these consumers that is also tailored specifically to them? Talk about a lot of time and money…
- Pinterest is seriously taking over the world. I couldn’t keep track of how many times it was mentioned throughout the week. The number one benefit to brands is the sheer amount of traffic that Pinterest is driving to websites so far.
- The world is still made up of more tellers than doers. I heard a lot of theory and niceties during the panels, but there were few who ventured into specific tips and best practices for the audience to apply. Specific tips are always welcome.
- Advertising online is changing a great deal. Now that technologies allow for more targeted ads (in almost a creepy, Big Brother kind of way), brands are starting to include snippets from user reviews to their ads. The results have been phenomenal. As I like to say, people trust people. Apparently, even in ads.
After en early morning, two flights, and a workout, it’s time to cut it short. I’ll be back with different notes later on in the week. Any topics you want to hear more about?
