Key Takeaways from the Digital and Social Media Marketing Summit in Denver

While at the Digital and Social Media Marketing Summit in Denver, an overarching message became clear as the last speaker finished her presentation. With a range of topics from influencer marketing to artificial intelligence, each one presented an alternative way to effectively reach target audiences through personalization.  

Three key takeaways from the summit are summarized below: 

Branding & “You-Centric” Marketing

To start off the conference, brand strategist Melanie Spring said, “your brand is what everyone else is saying about you, not what you’re saying about yourself.” While brand strategy plays an important role in marketing, it’s ultimately the customers’ perception that will define who you are as a brand. That’s why it has become more important than ever to meet your customer where they are, not where you want them to be.

One way to do this is by creating personal and valuable interactions in what business owner, Shahla Hebets deems “You-Centric” marketing. Examples shared throughout the day included: 

• Sharing business impact on topics customers care about such as environmental issues; or
• Creating personalized interactions such as quizzes that match customers with a product or service that meets their needs.

Chatbots & Artificial Intelligence

With the increased prominence of artificial intelligence (AI), businesses need to be proactive in utilizing this developing technology. AI has the ability to increase organic leads, automate processes and provide better customer service. Two speakers shared how businesses can easily use AI through chatbots. 

On Facebook in particular, chatbots can broadcast content to a targeted audience and connect with them on a platform where they spend a significant amount of time. Chatbots can be customized depending on goals. For example, a decision tree can be created to automate answers to frequently asked questions about a hotel, destination or event. Chatbots can also promote content for a product or service to drive traffic or increase sales. 

Data & Personalization

While collecting personal data can oftentimes have negative connotations, it can be beneficial in building trust with customers. Data can humanize an experience in channels such as email, web or even applications. By personalizing these interactions using information such as customer interests or account information, businesses can present a variety of useful and relevant content – whether that be interest-based itineraries or specials, or outstanding service payments – with the potential to increase engagement or goal completion. Lastly, be aware of customer expectations and don’t disregard those expectations when using this type of data.