Art of Marketing Highlights

Because I had a marketing mastermind group meeting to go to first, I missed the start of The Art of Marketing. I wanted to meet Keith Ferrazzi and ask him to sign the book we’re both in: Success Secrets of the Social Media Marketing Superstars. But, I missed his presentation. One of my friends thought she spotted him so I went up and asked if he was Keith. “No, but that’s a really good book!” non-Keith said. If you were there, feel free to add a link to your review or share your thoughts in the comment section.

Seth Godin

When I first moved to Chicago, one of my friends often commented that I must be wearing “weirdo nip.” The strangest people in the room seemed attracted to me, for some odd reason. And, that was okay with me. Characters fascinate me. According to Seth Godin, it’s better to connect with weirdos than boring people.

Seth’s slides were entertaining, thought provoking and laugh inducing. Like every other speaker, he asked for crowd responses. Getting people to raise their hand keep them listening and engaged.

He challenged us to do something that feels a little nutty and culty. For example, LittleMissMatched.com is a company that sells three socks that don’t match for $10. Their revenues increased from $1 to $40 million.

A Few Key Points from Seth Godin’s Presentation

• Tribes bring people into alignment. Nike invented the $1 billion tribe of suburban athletes. [Note: Husband is running 84^th marathon this weekend. Buy victory surprise.]
• The wrong way to think about marketing: how am I going to buy some list or use social media?
• The right way to think about marketing: Where do I find people who are waiting for me to lead them?
• Tip: Boring people are not a good market. Freaks and wierdos are a better market.
• The jobs of the future are something we call art. This is how it works: Human beings make up an answer to a problem that touches people as art.
• If failure is not an option, then neither is success.
• Just because the tide is out, it doesn’t mean there is less water in the ocean.
• Don’t strive to be heard when you’re here. Work to be missed when you’re not.
• Your job is the best platform you’ve got to touch people and connect.
• We need You to lead Us.
• Doing things that don’t make sense is what art is about.

Seth says if you want to write a book, and you should, read The Domino Project  blog first.

Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary’s energy lights up the room. It’s like taking a dimmer switch up to high power, bringing in a bank of flood lights and then – what the heck –  let’s open the rooftop and let the sun shine it, too.

Because I’ve written about Gary before, [including these posts Gary V day in Chicago and Gary Vaynerchuk Affiliate Summit West keynote] and I’ve watched lots of Gary V videos, Gary’s message sounded familiar, yet new. It’s kind of like hearing your favorite band play their best set list with a few fresh riffs here and there.

Gary came off the stage to talk to the only guy in the room who didn’t have a cell phone. Do you know anyone who doesn’t have a cell phone?

Gary doesn’t use slides, but he doesn’t need them.

He says the Internet is the biggest culture shift we’ve ever lived through.

Gary talked about spending money on ads: “Why throw money at a platform people won’t ever consume? People aren’t looking at billboards, they’re not even looking at the f______ing road.”

He believes Twitter search is the most powerful marketing product out there. How often do you use it?

If content is King, context is God. Getting context right is critical.

If you want your customers to love you, you have to love them first.

Gary’s thank you department is his offense. His customer service department is his defense.

When a customer asked Gary about the ROI of social media, he asked “What is the ROI of your mother?” Think about that one for awhile . . .  where would you be without Mom?

A huge proponent of scaling by caring, Gary’s company often sends thank you gifts. How to decide what to send? Watch what they say on twitter. When Gary sent a signed Jay Cutler jersey to a Bears fan, the gift resulted in multiple referrals to wine buyers.

Check out Gary Vaynerchuk’s wine reviews on Pinterest.

Mitch Joel

Mitch talked about five[ish] concepts including the one screen concept: the only screen that matters is the one in front of your customers. We’re moving to world without a keyboard or a mouse. And, people are consolidating the number of screens they watch from three or four into one or two.

Another dramatic and powerful shift is in the way we pay with apps like Square. This company’s vision is “no more cash registers.”

Mitch said if you’re wondering where to start with marketing, begin thinking about your brand’s narrative. Use the platforms to tell your story.

Check out Mitch Joel’s blog, Six Pixels of Separation.

Randi Zuckerberg

The only woman speaker, Randi brought a sunny sense of energy. She is a new mom of an adorable son who is already extremely dashing in a suit with a bow tie. New moms are among the biggest users of Facebook.

Randi took us behind the scenes at Facebook where 4,000 people work. It sounds like such a fun place!

Facebook holds 24-hour hackathons to generate innovation and inspire creativity. For example, a giant QR code on Facebook’s roof now lets you scan the code with your smartphone from an airplane. Do you think other companies have roof QR codes?

Randi told us who not to be on Facebook: an obsessive food blogger, the crazy cat lady, every second live sports updates, bridezilla, or the person who uses Facebook as Google. All of these examples were hilarious and would be fun to spoof. Can you think of any others?

Randi Zuckerberg’s Social Media Trends

Randi ran through a list of trends she’s seeing in social media. Here are a few you may want to watch.

• The Sharing Economy for people who want to have a richer lifestyle.
• People as platforms and media brands. “Every single one of you is a media company that can reach thousands of people with everything you say.” This concept is amazing and horrifying to brands.
• People as curators, Check out Donna Zuckerberg on Pinterest
• Interest lists on Facebook. You can now create a list that people will follow.
• Gamification of Everything

An entrepreneur, Randi’s company is RtoZ Media.

The Customer Experience Side of the Art of Marketing

My SMC Chicago board member colleague, Jeannie Walters, wrote an excellent review of The Art of Marketing from the customer experience perspective on her blog at 360connext.com. “It’s going to be more work. The days of thinking “I’m done” after publishing an ad, white paper or even web site are over. You are just beginning. Stay involved.”

Were you at The Art of Marketing? What did I miss?

Disclosure: In exchange for offering a discount to wiredPRworks readers, The Art of Marketing is provided two complimentary event passes.