On September 23rd, we hosted our second Outreach Marketing Virtual Summit here at GroupHigh. We had over 30 presentations and over 2,000 people tuned in to soak up new trends, strategies and tactics in the world of outreach marketing.
@grouphigh @KristenWords Thank you so much for a great day! Super useful and learnt lots 🙂 #outreachmarketing #youguysareawesome
— Jennie Stamp (@JennieStamp) September 23, 2014
If you missed and that bums you out, all presentations are available on demand here.
#outreachmarketing The best summit I ever attended. Enjoying every bit. Thank you @grouphigh @KristenWords — Aya Jibreal (@AJibreal) September 23, 2014
I’ve developed my own marketing strategy by identifying common themes in strategies used by marketers that I admire. Of course I did that with all of our awesome presentations and I want to share what I observed as common themes and trends talked about at the summit. They are trends for a reason and hopefully these talks will help you take your outreach marketing strategy to the next level. (View talks here)
Authenticity is the new black.
Whether it’s through honesty (even when you screwed up) or through a human vibe, consumers trust and long for brands they can relate to. Strategies thrown around at the summit range from not being afraid to give your customers a social voice—the bad and the good all contribute to a brand’s human image—to being passionate in your relationship with consumers.
Get caught up with these talks on authenticity from the summit:
Barry Feldman: Kiss my Glass: How to Create Passionate Relationships between Your Buyers and Brand
Jay Baer: Let There Be Sight: How to Fix Your Marketing Blind Spot
Chris Keevill: The Truth Will Set Us Free: It’s Time to Start Trusting Customers on Social
Consumers want friends.
Consumers want to be able to interact with the brands they love or are checking out socially. They want conversations in the comments section of blog posts, to be tweeted back to and to recognized for their advocacy. A good friend provides their friends with information and advice they need—not an agenda. Build your brand in to a best friend vestibule!
Heard this a few times today: It’s not about what *you* want, as a marketer. It’s about what your *customers* want/need. #outreachmarketing
— Kea Meyers Duggan (@A_Golden_Girl) September 23, 2014
Get caught up on friendship with these talks from the summit:
David Pride: Care, Connect, Convert
Gini Dietrich: Advanced Blogging through Influencers
Tracey Parsons: Becoming the Brand Manager of You
Virtual conferences are amazing.
I loved everything about the virtual conference setting. It was easier for people to attend because they could hop in and out as they pleased.
Really liked the way @grouphigh planned the sessions in the #outreachmarketing Virtual Summit today. I just jumped in whenever. #hollah — Catie Bell (@caetee) September 23, 2014
It was free—no travel expenses or cost to attend—but presentations were just as good as in person! You can tune in from ANYWHERE while wearing ANYTHING!
Enjoying GroupHigh’s #outreachmarketing virtual summit! pic.twitter.com/P8E8GKCS8x
— Noah Selzler (@NoatherOptions) September 23, 2014
.@grouphigh‘s #OutreachMarketing Virtual Summit selfie @mcc! pic.twitter.com/ckkPC37K1p — Rachel David (@RachDavid) September 23, 2014
Dog is standing near front door…has to pee..it’ll have to wait Precious, I’m at a conference. #outreachmarketing
— David Pride (@DavidaPride) September 23, 2014
Presentations are available for a whole year, I’ve never been to an in person conference with that element!
Vconference not only offers an awesome platform to host but they have staff that helped with the technical components of putting together a conference. The networking and conversations that occurred all day on Twitter were just as good as the presentations. I made new friends!
Put together your own conference with this talk:
Stephen Wynkoop: How to Incorporate Virtual Events in to Your Digital Strategy
Visually driven is not optional.
Attention spans are getting shorter and long blocks of texts coming at readers is terrifying. There are so many creative ways to break up scary text blocks with custom images and blog posts that are easy to digest through concise headings and sub headings. I learned some great ways to create custom images—because stock photos are flat—without using Photoshop!
Ramp up your visually driven strategy with these talks:
Julia Campbell: How to Create Eye Catching Graphics without Photoshop
Danny Ashton: How to Build a Viral Idea Machine
Advocates are where it’s at.
Through happy consumers and lovers of your brand the best marketing and brand conversations are taking place. Marketers are focusing more than ever on not only harnessing these voices and giving them a place to be heard. Private Facebook groups and advocate marketing platforms are exponentially growing.
Love on your advocates after these talks:
Melanie Cohn: Influencer and Advocate Strategies for Instagram
Jess Ryan: Leveraging Brand Passion to Create a Social Media Brand Ambassador Program for Whole Foods
Robert Clarke: How Influencers Can Help Your Crown Your Content King
Data isn’t boring.
Your brand’s data can educate your consumers on industry trends and share valuable insight. The key is to present it in a way that people can use and understand. Infographics and podcasts are a fantastic medium in which to introduce your data to the world!
Thanks @dechay! Great advice on how to combine my outer salesman with my inner geek. #outreachmarketing
— EESI Lighting (@EESILighting) September 23, 2014
Make a plan to present your data with these talks:
Dechay Watts: How to Uncover the Personality in Your Data
Phil Davis: Personalize Your Email Campaigns With Predictive Analytics
Silos are being knocked down.
And it’s about time too. As someone who lives and breathes outreach marketing, I know how hard it can be to integrate sales and marketing. Let alone track and execute tactics in one place so that data and strategy don’t exist in a million applications, emails and in person conversations. Sales and marketing here at GroupHigh are integrated and full of communication which has helped our marketing efforts a ton!
Learn how to knock down your brand’s silos with these talks:
Leigh George: Why Content Marketing is Your Only Chance to Reach Consumers Today
Trent Dyrsmid: How to Leverage Podcasts to Open Cold Doors
Other Voices on Summit Wrap Up:
.@grouphigh #outreachmarketing takeaways: 1. Set goals 2. Know your audience 3. Reach out to advocates/influencers 4. Use images — Sarah Chollar (@sarahchollar) September 23, 2014 India White at InNetwork wrote this awesome wrap up.
Why have an ambassador program? @jessryanco #outreachmarketing pic.twitter.com/h6MjZ0HnT1 — Jennifer Phillips (@jenphillips88) September 23, 2014
This! Thank you @FeldmanCreative! #outreachmarketing pic.twitter.com/5zqmKSZ1CD
— Kea Meyers Duggan (@A_Golden_Girl) September 23, 2014
Some of my favourites from today’s #outreachmarketing summit include @tparsons @dechay @ginidietrich @ChasingDavies @RebekahRadice — Kelsey Vere (@kelseyannvere) September 23, 2014
Get caught up on presentations by checking out the summit on demand and reach out to me with any questions!
IndiaAM says:
Love it! ‘Authenticity is the new Black’ – so true. I really enjoyed the summit and look forward to the next one. Well done Kristen and GroupHigh!
ginidietrich says:
I know this was a labor of love for you and you didn’t sleep the week before, but it was really well done. I heard nothing but great things about the event, how it was run, and the caliber of content. Congrats!!
ginidietrich says:
P.S. Love seeing kelseyannvere’s tweet right there!
Kelsey Vere says:
Thanks for the inclusion of my tweet! 140 characters are not enough to include ALL of my favourites from the summit. Loved the free spirit of being able to pop in and out when you have a chance and the wide range of topics and large selection of resources. There was no shortage of opportunities to learn! I look forward to the next event and maybe one day being able to participate as a presenter!