Social Media Marketing World happens once a year in sunny San Diego. This was my third year attending and John’s sixth.
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Lessons from Social Media Marketing World 2018
Each year I look forward to loads of great info related to what’s happening in the world of social media, and in my opinion, the best part is getting to meet up with friends both old and new.
Besides the opening night party on the USS Midway, I was able to catch up and spend some quality time with friends over coffee before sessions started, in between sessions in the hallway (which caused me to miss a couple of things – whoops!), at lunch time, and after the day had wrapped at networking events and meet ups.
I also had the pleasure of attending a dinner hosted by the team over at Thinkific, the course creation platform we use for Podcasters’ Paradise (which is why we have an affiliate relationship with them).
With great company and delicious food, the night couldn’t have gone any better.
And one of my favorite and highlighted hangouts?
When I got to sit down with Richie, TFN and Jase from the Prouduct team to chat about details for our latest physical product: The Podcast Journal.
These guys are AH-mazing!
The theme from SMMW18
Each time I attend an event, I not only go into it with ONE goal in mind, but I also try and keep my ears open to find out what the recurring theme of the event is.
It’s interesting how there always seems to be one point I hear multiple times, and at SMMW18 it was without a doubt this:
It’s not about how many followers, subscribers, likes, or comments you have. It’s about the quality of those followers, subscribers, likes and comments.
Another interesting note that I picked up on during the event is how many people I chatted with and asked “So, have you been to any noteworthy sessions?” and received the reply:
“Eh, I haven’t really heard anything I didn’t already know.”
While this wasn’t true 100% across the board (I did chat with a few people who had specific, key takeaways from sessions they attended), this is why I find it most interesting…
Everyone may have commented they weren’t learning anything they didn’t already know, but it begged the question, how many are actually taking action on what they “already know”?
It’s likely very few of them.
My challenge to you
So I challenge you today, and every day moving forward, to not feel as though you need to learn more, consume more, or chase after the hidden secrets that will help your business explode.
Instead, focus on what you already know, and if you’re able to take a step back and create a clear picture of what it is you want to accomplish with your business – and in your life – I can guarantee you what you already know can help you make massive progress towards accomplishing your biggest goals.
Oftentimes, we already know the answers to our questions, but we rarely give ourselves the time or the credit to discover them.
My notes from SMMW18
Here are notes from some of the sessions I attended at Social Media Marketing World, along with some powerful quotes and takeaways!
Michael Stelzner’s keynote
Facebook will favor meaningful interactions, meaning:
- A person commenting or liking another person’s update (not on a page)
- A person reacting to a podcast from a publisher that a friend shared
Facebook will also favor longer comments on posts more than shorter ones.
Videos will get less watch time.
Pages “may” see reach and traffic decline (aka, they will)…
- Links to external pages (your site) on Facebook, will get less visibility
These updates (across Facebooks’ algorithms) apply to people, pages, groups and events.
67% surveyed say FB is their #1 social platform.
Of those 67%…
- 89% say they use it for exposure
- 81% say traffic generation
- 67% plan to increase organic activity
Obvious solution: up your FB ad game!
- FB ads will increase – in both numbers and in cost.
- More relevant and creative ads will win.
If you’re willing to face your fears and go places others won’t, there is another way besides feeling like ads are your only hope. A smaller, more relevant and engaged audience is more valuable than a larger, less engaged one.
This is not a mass audience play.
Being human at scale (like Michael Stelzner does with his show The Journey) – episodic storytelling will win.
- It establishes know, like and trust with your followers
- It shows you being vulnerable
For video, intent and repeat viewership matter. Those who have videos that people actually seek out and replay will mean better visibility (which is why the episodic content works so well; people want to continue watching and they will seek it out).
“…build video experiences that will help people connect with friends, family, and groups.” A direct quote from Mark Zuckerberg.
Noteworthy is Facebook Watch: a platform for all creators and publishers to find an audience, build a community of passionate fans, and earn money for their work. (A description straight from Daniel Danker, director for Facebook Watch).
- 77% of marketers say they will increase their use of video in the next 12 months. That’s HUGE!
Short-form video storytelling is taking over (think Insta-stories). Are you doing them?
Cliff Ravenscraft: How to Build a Responsible and Profitable Online Business Around Your Podcast
In his talk Cliff walked through 9 Steps to create a profitable business around your podcast.
Those 9 Steps are as follows:
- Determine your destination: start with the end in mind and commit to it.
- Identify where you already add value (your zone of genius); what do people ask you about all the time? Ask people what value they get from being around you.
- Determine your ideal customer; identify the people with money who have a problem you can and want to solve
- Learn about your ideal customer’s problem: what is the single greatest frustration you face when it comes to ______? Listen to the language they use and put that in your marketing
- Determine your products and services: this is based on what your audience has told you. Your podcast is NOT your product
- Create your value prop: I am … I help … do / understand… So that…
- Validate your business model: make it a goal to get your first paid customers NOW
- Content creation: podcast, mailing list, website
- Attract your ideal customer: not grow your audience. Guest podcast, consistent content, online communities, live events, serve others, shine spotlight on others, do something / be someone worth talking about
It’s not the size of your audience, it’s the quality of your audience.
Amy Porterfield: Getting Over Your Live Video Fear and Thriving on Camera
As always, Amy brought the heat!
Her talk was broken up into 3 parts where she shared 3 Truths, 3 Secrets, and 3 Strategies.
Here they are…
Truth 1: your why has to matter more to you than your insecurities
Truth 2: being more raw will set you free – Episode 179
Truth 3: you have to make it more about them and less about you
Secret 1: I eased into live video – started by going live inside her FB group to her customer who already know her / are her biggest fans
Secret 2: I’m rarely alone on video
Secret 3: I use IG stories as “cheater” videos (practice)
Strategy 1: go live at least once per week
Strategy 2: keep your equipment simple: when we mess up the only thing that matters is how we bounce back. Those moments of humanity are why people you and can related to you
Online video gear guide: Episode 168
Strategy 3: prepare, but don’t script
John’s Panel: How to Grow Your Podcast Audience and Fuel Your Business
John moderated a panel with some killer panelists, including Lewis Howes, Pat Flynn and Cathy Heller.
The panel was set up in a unique way, where each panelist (including John) shared their top tip for growing their podcast audience to fuel business growth. Then, each of the remaining three panelists would comment on how they’ve used that one tip to do the same.
Here’s how it played out…
John’s tip: interviewing successful entrepreneurs and asking them to share their interview once it goes live.
Be unique so your guest actually wants to share that interview; not “tell me your story…”
Pat’s take: interview are an opportunity to build relationships and those can absolutely fuel your business (tip: shoot a video making the ask for your guest to share – the personalization will make things happen).
Cathy’s take: Care about the other person.
Lewis’ take: the pre-interview chat is important to get your guest prepared. Stay curious and make things different.
Pat’s Tip: utilizing groups and forums on social media, specifically the admins; reach out and see if you can interview them or feature a tip from them in your podcast. You make them the hero in front of their audience, and that’s adding value, so they’ll be likely to share.
John’s take: Find FB communities and join as a member. 30 day challenge: every day go into the group for 5 minutes and ask for support, give support, ask a question, and answer a question. You will become a valuable member and the other group members will be curious as to what you’re up to.
Cathy’s take: create your own FB group for your audience – give them a platform and provide more support to your community. What’s a connection you can make with your guests (alumni of a certain college?… reach out to those colleges and let them know)
Lewis’ take: start your own group and do a challenge and contest (do it on insta and then invite them to your FB Group to participate and that will “feed” your group and give you something to talk about the first X number of days to gain engagement)
Lewis’ tip: Great content; consistent content; great distribution. Create great viral videos around the podcast content to drive traffic to your episodes – post that on social to drive traffic and let your guest share that video, too.
John’s take: Use repurpose.io and other tools to leverage other platforms where you can gain outside awareness for your podcast (outside of your podcast)
Pat’s take: Pick one way to repurpose your content and focus on just that
Because they were running short on time (I could have listened to these guys chat for another hour!), Cathy jumped straight into her top tip…
Cathy’s tip: be super authentic and think about the individual human being who is tuning in to your show versus “the masses” who are tuning in.
Key takeaways and quotes
Chris Brogan: “You must earn the right to sell and serve.”
Guy Kawasaki: Don’t be afraid to do things differently. What I do might not work for you, but it works for me.
I love this tip from Guy, and I don’t think it could ever be over-emphasized. We’re all looking for the “right answers” to our questions. We’re looking for THE answer that will solve our pain points and help us just break through to the top already!
It does’t work that way, and Guy’s reminder drives that home: every one of us can share exactly how we’ve done something, or how we run a certain part of our business, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to work the same exact way for you.
So just start!
Amy Porterfield: “Being more raw will set you free.”
Dan Miller: “Your podcast is not your business. Your podcast is a medium to help you grow your business.”
You can learn more about Social Media Marketing World and find out details for next year’s event once they’re published right here.
