What’s up everyone and happy Q2 to many of you! I’m Trisha Patel and I’m the Marketing Specialist on Team PG! A few weeks ago, as I hope many of you know from our Instagram coverage, the Protis Global marketing team attended Social Media Marketing World in San Diego, CA. (should i just say a mkt conference?) This was my first major marketing conference. BOY was it different than I expected in all the best ways.
From high level data analysis and algorithmic strategy to the psychology of persuasive language, there were more topics than I knew what to do with. It was about prioritization and, for me, balance. I wanted to attend a few sessions covering topics i was relatively comfortable with in order to strengthen and fine tune me pre existing foundation. The other 75% of the sessions that i attended were on topics and subjects i was less familiar with or about more in depth strategy and analytics.
The presentations were recorded and we were given access to the decks but for some reason everyday i would leave with pages and pages of notes. I don’t know why I took so many notes but I think I just felt like there were so many important nuggets of information that i didn’t want to jeopardize losing. (warning: extreme nerding will occur in the following statement) It was a cool feeling to be so excited about learning something that i actually wanted to protect the knowledge.
There were tons of takeaways from each session but i’ve narrowed it down to my 2 favorites.
First, Robert Rose, Content Marketing Strategist, Author and Speaker spoke about content planning. He was incredible at conveying how to ensure there is value in the stories that we, as marketers, tell. Rose broke down 4 imperatives that come together to build a robust narrative.
- We care about HUMANS so a human should be the focus of your story.
- The human has to have a GOAL. The goal may be conscious or unconscious.
- The story must have RESISTANCE. The resistance is not your competitor. The resistance is the circumstance that is holding the human back from doing what you want them to do.
- The story should have TRUTH. The story should be plausible in addressing what the audience should believe or care about.
Rose spoke about what we say. Then I learned about the importance of HOW you say what you want to say.
The second session that I would like to illuminate was by Mike Kim, marketing consultant, communications strategist, and copywriter. I hung onto every word Kim said as he dug into his presentation about “Magic Words.”
Kim explained that “when we influence language we influence thinking” and that all brands have 3 elements to their identities. 1. Verbal 2. Visual and 3. Value, All 3 identities must be aligned in order to have an aligned and cohesive marketing strategy. He continued that marketing is not about selling but about opening a relationship.
Needless to say my brain is filled to the brim with strategy, analysis, and critical focuses to concentrate on . I left feeling the best kind of overwhelmed and ultimately I left feeling grateful. I am grateful for the experience and the opportunity to get better acquainted with my industry, explore fundamentals and trends, and develop my skill set. I am also appreciative of my bosses who chose to invest in my development. We mean it when we say #PGriseasOne.
I mentioned before that I had approximately 84,937 takeaways from this week and these are only a mere two. If you would like to hear more about what i learned or want to chat about how a marketing conference can help you, let us know! Comment on any of our socials or reach out to me directly at [email protected]. I can’t wait to hear from you!
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