Dear ,
Last week was Social Media Marketing World 2019 (aka: SMMW19) in San Diego.
What makes SMMW19 a favorite, must-attend marketing conference?
SMMW takes place in San Diego, CA, where the
weather is wonderful most of the year.
More importantly, San Diego attracts attendees from the other side of the Atlantic and the Pacific, This mix adds an important dimension to the conference.
Mike Stelzner created Social Media Marketing World, and it’s parent media entity, Social Media Examiner (aka: SME,) focused on building a community of social media marketers.
Here's some of the SME back story: (BTW, Mike detailed the full journey in his book, Launch):
- Mike started the SME blog by reaching out to his social media focused colleagues. He asked them to write one blog post. Each blog post had to provide a detailed “How to” with related images to guide readers. key point: Each of the original contributors was already an
influencer.
- Cindy King, the original editor, implemented Mike's vision for becoming a “must read” media entity. Cindy established an east-to-implement, consistent, weekly editorial calendar. Behind the scenes, Cindy added a rigorous editorial
process. Since Cindy’s untimely passing, Lisa Jenkins continues to maintain SME’s high editorial standards.
As a conference, Mike and Phil make sure SMMw attendees have fun.
A few of their conference tricks include:
-
Extends fun to conference branding. In addition to integrating their brand into the event’s brand, SMMW taps into California’s beach culture, complete with surfboards
and beach balls.
-
Greets attendees with Conference Ambassadors. They help you get where you want to go and connect with people you want to meet.
-
Adds fun and games. You can count on the SMMW team to plan party fun and related activities.
-
Whips up the drama (literally). A group of speakers kicks off the event with a fun musical spoof.
-
Gets people to mix and exchange knowledge. At lunch, SMMW gets speakers to host discussions on specific topics.
With their focus on social media,
the SMMW team encourages non-stop social media sharing and curation.
-
In addition to SME's pre-conference Twitter Chat, the #SMMW19 hashtag is a non-stop fire hydrant of conversation.
-
Madalyn Sklar hosts her live #TwitterSmarter chat. Even better, attendees get swag! I participated and spotlighted the fact that I was in NYC.
-
Every attendee has their smartphone ready to grab a selfie or three – especially the visual content experts.
This year I attended SMMW19
virtually:
- Followed the #SMMW19 hashtag. Where relevant, I engaged, contributed and retweeted content. Here's my friend Viveka VonRosen-Martin spotlighting her SMMW session. (Hat tip: Sue Zimmerman for the sign!)
-
Curated content from past SMMWs. I used my existing photos to participate in SMMW19. I was thrilled with the love and feedback from my colleagues.
-
Read TopRank Marketing’s live blog posts. Hat tip to Ashley Zeckman for
taking over Lee Odden’s mantle as top live blogger.
-
Created relevant long form content. I updated my Social Media
Definition post.
But to be honest, while I connected with my friends and colleagues in real
time, social media was not a substitute for real life interactions at the conference or over a shared meal.
Here’s what I missed:
-
Face-to-face interactions and spending time with my colleagues and would be colleagues. Never forget that time and attention are the greatest gifts you can give anyone!
-
Jay Baer’s Speaker Party. If you’re on Jay’s list for any event, it’s a must-attend. Hat tip: Jay!
Before you tell me about your work pressure, family responsibilities, and/or financial restraints, you need to invest in attending conferences and live events to support your career over the long term.
Further, when you attend an event, be present in the moment and get out to meet people with whom you share interests. (If you don’t then why are you attending the
event???) Hat tip: Ian Cleary who spends his conference time connecting with influencers.
Regardless of your career level or experience, attend conferences and live events to the extent that your budget and/or pocketbook will allow. The real life experiences are priceless!
If you want some more San Diego conference goodness, Content TECH will be there
April 8-10. (BTW, this is an affiliate link. I won’t be attending.)
Heidi Cohen,
Actionable Marketing Guide
Happy Marketing,
Heidi
Social media continues to evolve at the speed of our fingers tapping on our smartphones. As a result, it’s difficult to keep up with the latest trends and understanding of this special collection of marketing media.
To help you, we asked the smartest social media professionals we know to define social media for you.
Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve got experience, these 24 women dish out hearty servings of marketing career help.
Note--If you have marketing career advice that you think is missing from the list, please email me by hitting respond to this email.
To keep your best content visible over the long term, use these top content distribution platforms.
Heidi Cohen Around the Internet
I was thrilled to be part of TopRank Marketing’s Top 50 Marketers in Social Media. Whether you’re focused on social media or not, read this article. TopRank updates this article format before the big marketing conferences. It’s easy-to-create content that gets highly shared.
Photos from SMMW2018, ©2018 Heidi Cohen
|
|
|
