July 8th welcomed inbound marketers from across the UK to Liverpool’s Rum Warehouse Conference Centre at Stanley Dock for the second annual IMUK conference hosted by Ph. Creative.
This was in fact the premier event for the Rum Warehouse in its new role as conference centre, a stunning venue affording views of the derelict yet nostalgically romantic redbrick tobacco factory opposite. The juxtaposing façades remind one of a marriage of old and new – apt as the conference focused on new innovations in a long-standing industry forever seeking new incarnations.
The programme included nine speakers from various industries, some well-known and others less so, but nevertheless eager to make an impression.
As a fledgling marketer, it served me well to find out what nuggets of wisdom the experts had formulated for those of us navigating this strange new world.
The scope of this post is to highlight the lessons I found most valuable in my current position as someone entering this sphere rather than to attempt to summarise the day as a whole since there would simply be too much to recount. I have also put my own slant on these points according to how the presentations spoke to me.
1. It’s okay to get it wrong
This message was delivered in different ways by other speakers during the event – but the first to mention this nugget of wisdom was Dom Burch (@domburch), Head of Social at Asda. He explained exactly how Asda arrived at their current social media situation from its genesis by taking time to listen, then focusing on engagement and finally being able to influence followers. Dom acknowledged that this had been a process of trial and error, of seeing what worked and what didn’t.
In my current social media efforts, I can see how waiting for everything to be perfect and ironed out before I begin the task of social media marketing is harmful. Starting is really the first and only step towards success even if tweaking is required; waiting and procrastination lead to nothing.
2. The first step is setting goals
Hubspot’s Kieran Flanagan (@searchbrat) emphasised how vital it is to set objectives using data,highlighting that issues can arise when marketers either set too many goals or set the wrong goals. In the first instance, it is essential to establish what you want to achieve within a social media campaign, and then to create a structured plan to achieve these targets and aid clarity.
3. Get started
Sometimes people have the knack of presenting an idea extrinsically that you already know intrinsically. John Watton‘s (@jwatton) presentation was invigorating as it really hit home. The most powerful suggestion he made was that we can act on a few simple goals as early as tomorrow. The challenges he set were:
a) Buy a piece of wearable technology – This needn’t be as snazzy a gadget as Google Glass, but it can be something as basic as a fitness wristband. This is a means of getting accustomed to the future of technology and gaining an insight into where marketing is going.
b) Write a blog – If we start writing a blog, we begin to think like content creators. A blog can be about anything at all, for example, John himself writes about songs he listens to on his iPod.
c) Share! – Share lots of other people’s content. When marketers share other people’s content, this provides a more varied and interesting social media page allowing for the greater distribution of industry knowledge and offers a diversity of relevant articles/videos/media that appeals to fans and followers.
d) Do the opposite of what your competitors do – Arguing the other side of the coin to Kieran from Hubspot, who supports doing what your competitors are doing, John believes that we should experiment and innovate in addition.
So my lesson gleaned from John is that we can start doing as well as analysing and theorising.
4. Create Experiences
Ph. Creative’s Dave Hazlehurst (@googledave) blew a lot of minds in the audience when he treated us to a 30 minute adrenaline-fuelled emotional roller coaster of a presentation defining the ultimate purpose of the 21st century marketer: to create experiences that tap into the emotions of our customers. This is because humans process feelings before thoughts and when people scan their newsfeed, they are looking for an experience that evokes an emotional response. Successful marketing campaigns are tailored to tell a story, create laughter or offer a solution to a problem.
5. Tell that story
Bryan Adams (@Bryan_Phc), also from Ph. Creative elaborated on the concept of telling a story, offering insight into the formula of Hollywood’s tales. The typical plot on the silver screen uses a subtle blend of time and tension to pull on our heartstrings and keep us hooked on the storyline. Each film we watch has a hero at the centre, something we need to keep in mind when creating something post-worthy. Marketers can confuse who this hero ought to be, substituting the potential customer for the company itself – like that annoying person at parties who likes to go on about their own successes and problems.
Of course, the biggest benefit of the day was the positive experience of having been in a room with hundreds of fellow marketers from all over the country bringing their creative energy to Liverpool and in turn being inspired and driven by meeting their counterparts in other industries.
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