July 25, 2017

The Conversation Continues: Top Conference Takeaways (Part One)

As the dust settles and our conference delegates return to their offices filled with new ideas and inspiration, we take a look back at some of the key takeaways from our Summer Digital Marketing Conference, and pull out the juicy details that marketers can draw on to enhance their own business strategies.

Using Word Of Mouth And Trust Marketing To Build Brand Engagement

The last five years have seen a decline in trust in marketers, and a rise in the amount of brand messages customers are bombarded with. Due to this, referral schemes are becoming increasingly important for marketers when reviewing their marketing channels through the lens of trust and relevance. MentionMe is a company that specialises in this referral marketing – in this presentation MentionMe’s CEO Andy Cockburn explains how you can make referral work in your business. He talks through the power of recommendations to build trust in a business, using examples like Uber and Airbnb, who have realised the importance of this by incorporating referral elements into their own brands. Referrals not only attract a high volume of customers, but they bring in high quality customers too (people spend up to 25 per cent more on their first order when they have been referred by a friend). Watch the full presentation and discover more about how you can achieve referral success.

How To Compete And Win In Today’s Complex Marketing Landscape

Ian Kerrigan, Strategic Partner of Blackbook London explains the agency’s framework for marketing brands in an increasingly complex digital landscape. The infinite platforms on which brands can spend their budgets mean “building a brand and maintaining a reputation is becoming increasingly complicated by the day”. How can brands turn these changes into opportunity?  Maintaining a balance between pushing your products is essential, as well as giving customers the support and information to make the decision for themselves, he explains. The Blackbook framework allows brands to take part in experience planning – which is an ideal method of mapping how customer experience changes over time and the different trigger points for a consumer. Kerrigan reveals the importance of marketing to the customer journey and tailoring your messaging to the moment.

What Email Marketers Need To Know About A.I.

Parry Malm talks us through the myths surrounding AI, and how the tool can be used to find solutions to real life problems today. Phrasee specialises in using AI to process natural language for better language understanding, and to generate language to create better email subject lines. How can AI be used to solve common problems in email marketing? By measuring the success of emojis, syntax, and the rhythm of a sentence, Phrasee understands how higher engagement through email marketing can be achieved. Malm explores the importance of focusing on your problem first and foremost:  “before you jump into adopting AI technology, understand carefully the problem you want to solve – if AI is an appropriate solution, invest and beat everyone else to the punch.”

How To Be Amazon (And Beat Google At Search)

“Searchers generate more revenue than non-searchers”, says Stephen Kenwright of Branded3. It is therefore essential for any business to get on top of its site search, in order to make it easier for customers to find its content on its own site, rather than via Google. Kenwright discusses how Amazon is doing this so well it is leaving Google behind, and talks us through how to audit site search and successfully weed out any problems. The effect of “content friction” is also explained – “the less friction we give our users, the better the conversion rates”. It is essential for all businesses to strive to answer every possible question about a product or service, and to understand what customers are hoping to find on a site, and if they succeeded in finding it. Learn more about Amazon’s approach to site search, and what lessons can be learned from them.

Digital Metamorphosis: The Art Of Aligning People, Process & Product

“You need to take the digital out of digital transformation. Digital transformation is the business of transforming people to survive the digital age”. Tess Mattisson, European Director of Choice Hotels, talks us through the digital transformation of choice hotels and the key elements of this process. Mattisson provides interesting insights into the main questions a business facing digital transformation must ask itself: Why is digital transformation important? What do you want to achieve? How are you going to achieve it? And who will perform the move to digital? Hear her advice about why businesses should strive to “be” digital, rather than simply “do” digital.

Programmatic Through The Eyes Of A Traditional Publisher

“There should be a more direct relationship between the people who have the money and the people who have the content”. Jonathan McCauley-Oliver, Digital Revenue Manager at National Rail, argues that the dialogue between marketers and publishers needs to be stronger, in order to uphold responsibility and accountability and tackle problems like ad fraud. He talks through the different elements of programmatic, the ideal number of partners, and the importance of knowing exactly where your ads are running.

Click here to read part two of the Figaro Digital Marketing Conference Roundup. 

All of the presentation videos can be found here.

In the meantime, why not check out our events calendar for details of more fantastic thought-leadership events to help your business get to the next level.

Continue the conversation on Twitter at @Figaro_Digital.