The Raleigh Convention Center was filled with Founders, Marketers, SEO specialists, content creators, and PR strategists gathered for the Digital Summit Series. Featured speakers brought us the latest on what\u2019s working in digital strategy, busted common myths and uncovered new trends in search, social and content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are some of our top takeaways from the Summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keynote speaker Ann Handley of Marketing Profs<\/a> entertained a packed room with a keynote saturated with references to Stranger Things<\/em> (the Netflix show) and one of the most hated words in the English language*. The key of the keynote? Every company needs a recognizable and relatable brand voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your style guide is a starting point, says Handley. Yet every marketer needs to evolve their style to meet changing audiences and markets. Readers should have an \u201cit\u2019s me\u201d moment \u2014 one that speaks to what they\u2019re experiencing and feeling now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So how can you develop your brand voice so readers know it\u2019s you \u2014 even if they can\u2019t see your logo?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s our quick breakdown of the steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re still struggling to stand out, be encouraged. The author of Everybody Writes: Your New and Improved Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content<\/em> says each of us is capable of developing a memorable, relatable voice (Get the new edition for the full framework and more).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the end, your success depends on getting close to your customers, which is something we at tawk.to are honored to help businesses do every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Juntae DeLane, Founder and Chief Strategist for Digital DeLane<\/a>, outlined ways to future-proof our brands for post-pandemic marketing, the Metaverse, and Web 3.0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The pandemic of 2020 sparked trends consumers expect to see over the long term:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marketers will need strategies for reaching customers during new \u201cdaytiming\u201d patterns and filling emerging gaps in the buyer\u2019s journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Metaverse offers opportunities for increased revenue and product placement in e-commerce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, instead of driving across town to your local Walmart, you can now put on a headset and boom! You\u2019re in a virtual mall. There, your avatar can handle products, read labels, and fill a cart for checkout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And thanks to cryptocurrencies, a customer can now buy a new Rolex and also purchase an authentic NFT version for their avatar. The takeaway? If you want to be future-proof, DeLane says, \u201cget comfortable with crypto now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Web 1.0 gave us online text and images. Web 2.0 was community-focused, bringing us Facebook, Instagram, Uber, and Airbnb. Web 3.0 turns the community inside out by eliminating central authority. Instead, the winners will use technology driven by blockchain to \u201cshowcase beliefs around transparency.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jim Tobin of Ignite Social Media<\/a> walked attendees through fifteen social media lessons that took him fifteen years to learn \u2014 including several that countered common assumptions and recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are five that stood out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFan and follower counts are increasingly irrelevant\u201d and \u201cnumbers are not enough,\u201d says Tobin. Meta is moving away from follower counts. TikTok doesn\u2019t care who you follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOrganic content is not dead. It\u2019s only mostly dead.\u201d <\/strong>Emphasize quality over quantity. <\/strong>Posting fewer, higher-quality posts leads to better performance in the long run. Tobin\u2019s advice? \u201cDo less but do better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYour Ad\/Studio\/Menu\/Catalog Content Will Underperform.\u201d A social shot on your iPhone performs better than something that looks like an ad. \u201cIt needs to look like a friend made it,\u201d says Tobin, \u201cand your friend is not an ad director.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBeing first only rarely pays dividends.\u201d Instead of being first to the platform, find out what works for you. Tobin recalled Jaiku, Plurk, and Clubhouse. All now defunct, their first influencers may have seen temporary gains but without the sticking power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, \u201cthere are no social media experts.\u201d Social media includes photography, writing, data analytics, videography, graphic design, strategy and more. Which do you do well? Where are the gaps? Everyone has a different answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s also no such thing as a team of one.<\/strong> If you need to fill gaps in your business, consider hiring one or more of our tawk.to Digital Marketing Virtual Assistants<\/a> to put your strategies into practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIt\u2019s time to future-proof your brand<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Post-pandemic marketing<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The Metaverse<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Web 3.0<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Organic content is only mostly dead<\/h2>\n\n\n\n