Content & Commerce Summit 2017

It’s going on right now. The question to ask yourself is: Are you ready for it?

It’s a changing of the guard and it will play a major role in digital advertising…

This was the main focus of Ryan Deiss‘ opening keynote at Day 1 of Content & Commerce Summit 2017.

Read on to learn…

How to prepare for this changing of the guard and other words of wisdom from Ryan’s opening keynote
What’s working now in digital commerce and publishing
The highlights, insights, and strategies from Content & Commerce Summit 2017

You’re about to get the best of Content & Commerce Summit (besides being there, of course 😉 )!

Putting It All Together (Behind the Scenes of Content & Commerce Summit 2017)

It takes a lot of time.

We no sooner wrapped up last year’s Content & Commerce Summit then we started planning for 2017!

In the weeks leading up to the Summit, we packed up an 18-wheeler with everything we’d need, from couches to AV equipment.

And when it arrived in L.A. from Austin, Texas, we got to work putting tables together and prepping event bags for attendees and speakers…

…getting sponsor booths set up…

…ensuring everything was in its proper place and that the ballrooms were ready for our attendees and speakers…

…so it ultimately looks like this on opening day…

During setup, with the Emmy Awards going on next door, we kept our eyes peeled for our favorite TV stars (we’re big Game of Thrones fans at the office). Here’s our Justin Rondeau posing with the Emmy statue…

With the day before the Summit wrapping up, we threw a Welcome Reception for Content & Commerce Summit attendees. The mixer, presented by Quality Score, was complete with a taco bar and Connect Four!

I’m So Excited!

Attendees just can’t hide it. There’s an undeniable energy in the air, and that anticipation and excitement is contagious.

You can see it as people run into old friends and connect with new ones. As they go through registration and are handed their name badge and Content & Commerce Summit event bag. People are pumped!

We checked in with Content & Commerce Summit attendees before Ryan’s keynote. Here’s what they were looking forward to most…

Exclusive Interview with Ryan Deiss

Before DigtialMarketer’s Co-Founder and CEO, Ryan Deiss, delivered his opening keynote presentation, Christine Haas, DigitalMarketer’s Director of Communications, exclusively interviewed him backstage.

Watch the video below to get a look behind the curtain and to learn Ryan’s thoughts just before he kicks off Content & Commerce Summit and unpacks what’s working now in digital commerce and publishing:

The Challenge on the Horizon

When you expect changes in your business, you’re able to see challenges on the horizon.

And as the opening Content & Commerce Summit video reminded the audience, the challenge on the horizon is here. With Amazon buying Whole Foods and other big box stores, like Sears, on shaky ground, the digital landscape is changing… fast!

That’s why you’re here. So you can learn what changes and challenges are coming.

Watch the full opening video here:

Are You Ready for the Changing of the Guard?

This changing of the guard is creating a rare window of opportunity that we’re unlikely to see again in our lifetime.

That’s what Ryan told attendees during his opening keynote.

And this changing of the guard is being driven by Amazon.

While this change is terrifying, it’s going to be okay, Ryan assured the audience. You have a reason to exist.

What you learn during Ryan’s keynote and Content & Commerce Summit as a whole will help you deal with this change.

It’s important to remember that Amazon is not the enemy.

But they are the standard. Amazon is setting the bar that everyone must meet.

How can you compete and win in the “Age of Amazon”?

Love your customer. While that may sound like a load of fluff, stay with me here.

Make no mistake, Amazon is focusing on their customer. It’s part of their business model…

And they’re doing that by making it easy for the customer. Amazon wants to make it as easy as possible for the customer to buy and then to return to buy again.

But Ryan argued that making it “easy” for the customer isn’t customer-centric.

So, how do you love your customer more than Amazon?

Talk to your customer directly using content and commerce. Content and commerce is the tactic you will use to show your customers that you care about them more than Amazon does.

We’ve identified that there are three stages to this content and commerce journey.

Each stage builds upon the rest. Each stage deepens the relationship with your customer.

What are some other key takeaways from Ryan’s keynote? Well…

“In the future, the words ‘brand’ and ‘community’ will be interchangeable. And no one will be able to claim they have a brand unless they have a community to go with it.”

“If you can tell a person a story, you can capture their attention. If you can help them tell a new story about themselves, you’ll capture their hearts.”

Tell your customers where you stand, even if you think they may not like you for it. Like clothing store Chubbies does here…

There were so many great takeaways from Ryan’s keynote. We just had to share it with you! You can watch Ryan’s entire keynote here:

What else happened on Day 1 of #CCS2017? Let’s see…

Welcome to the Mobile Movement

There’s no denying the importance of email. But, when it comes to reaching your customers, email is also super crowded and competitive.

It doesn’t matter how good your subject line is when your message isn’t even being seen, Oli Billson told the audience. The Founder and CEO of Oliver Billson Marketing went on to say…

So, how do we open up channels of communication we’re going to need in a sales process to complete these bridges?

In his presentation, Proven “Dynamic Response” Mobile Marketing Campaigns to Accelerate Sales, Generate More Leads, and Increase Engagement, Oli told the audience to turn to the device in their pockets and purses.

Mobile devices offer marketers a huge opportunity to reach their customers and generate sales because people find text messages less intimidating.

To fully leverage the power of the mobile marketing to accelerate your sales process, there are three “recipes” you need to employ. They are…

As Oli went on to say…

Interview with Hint Water’s Founder & CEO, Kara Goldin

A very senior exec at one of the largest soda companies in the world told her that her idea wouldn’t work. She was told that they would be roadkill within months.

But that didn’t stop Kara Goldin, Founder and CEO of Hint Water®, who went on to launch the award-winning brand in 2005.

Flavored only with natural fruit, Hint® produces the leading flavored water with no sweeteners and nothing artificial. And the company is thriving.

Before taking the Content & Commerce Summit stage, Kara tweeted…

The feeling is mutual! 🙂

Kara sat down with Roland Frasier to give the insights and strategies that helped her launch Hint®.

“Sweetie, Americans love sweets. Your product will never be anything,” that was one take on Hint® when Kara began pitching it. But Kara didn’t hear any of the criticism.

She told the audience:

Because it boils down to finding if you’re doing something and seeing if you’re getting traction with your consumers and solving their problems.

Kara went on to say to figure out your fears and challenge them…

When building her flavored water brand and wellness company, she said the three most important relationships were with…

The Customer: It’s important to remember you’re not only selling stuff but also solving the problem for your consumers. Kara said it’s important to have a dialogue — really hear what customers are saying about how your brand impacts their lives. The dialogue with the customer and ability to actually hear from them gets deeper as you build the relationship.
Her team: Those at Hint® don’t just agree with the brand’s beliefs — they live them. At Hint®, they don’t have people running around drinking Red Bull. Their team is filled with people who really want to be healthier and not just from a weight or health perspective.
Her husband: He helped co-found Hint® by trusting Kara’s vision and process and has been a cheerleader since her lightbulb moment sparked.

3 Steps to Consistent Facebook Ad ROI

They know Facebook ads.

The Dominate Web Media duo, Keith Krance and Ralph Burns, took to the stage to share how to use Facebook video ads to pre-frame viewers for the sale, no matter your industry.

And it only takes a few steps.

In The 3-Step Formula to 10X Your Facebook Ad Spend with Consistent ROI, Keith and Ralph said Step 1 is to stop the scroll.

Stop the person from scrolling through their Facebook feed and pay attention to your message. To do this, at the very beginning of your Facebook video ad, do one or a combination of the following:

Use motion
Literally say, “Stop,” in your opening line
Include text overlay
Have creative content that’s unique

Step 2 is called EDIE (educate, demonstrate, inform, entertain). During your video, make sure you…

Educate your audience
Demonstrate something to your audience
Inform your audience
Entertain your audience

Include at least one EDIE tactic, or more if that makes sense, in each of your Facebook ad videos. This is a simple way to get your product message across in your video without sounding all “weird and salesy.”

“When you make content like this,” Dominate Web Media’s Founder, Keith, said about EDIE, “you’re getting to the heart of your customer. They think they are making a logical decision, but they are really justifying an emotional one.”

Step 3 is the call-to-action (CTA). Many marketers may wait till the end of their video to make their CTA. But if you want to compel people to make a purchase, consider including your CTA earlier.

Without being pitchy, include your CTA where it makes sense earlier in your video AND within the copy of your Facebook ad.

Ralph, Dominate Web Media’s Agency CEO, told the audience, “Even if they’ve only watched five minutes of a ten-minute video, give them an opportunity to buy. Make sure to include the CTA link in your post copy.”

How to Get Access to Millions of Ecommerce Testing at No Charge

DigitalMarketer’s Director of Marketing, Justin Rondeau reminded his audience that successful websites and online businesses need to do one thing and one thing only: Meet the visitor’s expectations.

What’s the easiest way to meet a visitor’s expectations? Take the most used trends by the world’s largest online retailers and apply them to your business!

In his 11 Conversion Lessons the World’s Largest Online Retailers Spent Millions to Learn, Justin shared his biggest takeaways from analyzing online retail giants.

For instance, users hate being forced to create an account at checkout. Making someone create an account to place their order is a surefire way to raise your cart abandonment.

Multi-million dollar ecommerce stores, in most cases, give shoppers the ability to check out as a guest or “Express Checkout.”

Here’s how REI.com is handling the account creation process:

Crate & Barrel knows it too…

In the words of Justin Rondeau, “Always include guest checkout. Seriously.”

Then, if you offer free shipping (or provide it after a purchase reaches a certain value), advertise that fact early and often — from your home page to the checkout page. Free shipping is still king for ecommerce stores.

And when it comes to payment options, which there are a ton of, providing every payment option out there is actually counter-productive.

If you sell internationally, you should be using geo-targeting to make sure you are showing payment options that are best for that region. To visitors who would be MOST LIKELY to use it.

For example, Dutch visitors use the payment option IDEAL more than US visitors. While a US visitor could use IDEAL, it is more likely that they won’t.

So, before you list every payment option under the sun, look at the regions you do business in most. Then evaluate whether you are meeting their preferred needs with your current options.

Are You Alienating Your Audience?

Many current consumer engagement strategies are intrusive — from ads on autoplay to ones that are impossible to close — many marketers are guilty of pushing their audience to the brink.

During his presentation, Craig Kapilow quoted a Kate Harrison article from Forbes:

“Today’s consumers don’t want brands aggressively pushing their way into social media feeds, wheter on Facebook, through promoted Pins or Tweets, or paid-for Snapchat stories.”

The Senior Director of Integrated Marketing at Rue La La said it’s time to adapt. The ad industry and modern consumer engagement tactics need to evolve.

After all, on many platforms, there’s not much standing between the consumer and an ad-free experience…

So, what do you do?

You have to engage with your consumers differently… or you risk alienating them.

In Content, Commerce, & Customer Acquisition: A New Path for Accelerating Subscription-Based Business, Craig offered these tips to improve your consumer engagement:

Leverage user-generated content (« especially on your website)
Video, video, and… more video
Be timely with your content
Have fun with your brand (« humor is a blessed thing)
Be relevant and personalize your content

How to Build Rapport with Your Audience

No matter your business or industry, we all have one thing in common (well, probably more than one, but definitely this one!)…

We all want to connect with people and brands who are actually interested in our product/service

To connect with these people and brands, we need to build rapport. But, like most things in life, building rapport takes time. And where do you even start?

Start by following these nine steps from Joe Polish, Founder and President of Genius Network®.

During The 9-Step Magic Rapport Formula that Connects Your Brand with the People and Companies that Matter, Joe told the audience to follow these nine steps to connect your brand with your market:

When you meet people, focus on how you can help them
Be willing to invest time, money, and energy on relationships
Be the person people will always answer the phone for
Be grateful and valuable
Treat people like you want to be treated
Be fun and memorable… not boring and uptight
Appreciate people… everyone wants to feel significant
Give value on the spot
Keep as close to “in person” as you can when dealing with people

1 = 3

Richard Lindner brought it during his presentation!

In Turning 1 Customer into 3: Strategies to Turn Happy Customers into Brand Evangelists and Promoters, the Co-Founder and President of DigitalMarketer spoke about how to leverage…

Email
Facebook Messenger
Social media
Your existing customer base

…to multiply your business.

What were some of his biggest takeaways?

For starters, keep in mind that you will instantly lose ten customers if you ask a disgruntled one to review you. However, if you ask one happy customer to review you, you’ll gain three!

No matter what you sell, there are a couple of points where any customer is most excited about what they just purchased or what’s about to happen.

So, make that as part of your strategy.

Encourage and enable a trigger with a series of positive rewards, slowly pushing them down the path of a customer to a promoter.

Finding Your Extra Gear

The final presentation of the night came from serial entrepreneur and endurance athlete Jesse Itzler.

He said we all have an extra gear, yet so many of us don’t know it. During his keynote, he spoke about finding his extra gear and how to tap into a reserve tank we all have, but so few of us know how to access.

He quickly had the audience enraptured.

Jesse talked about finding purpose…

“When you can find a thing you love that brings good to the world, that’s how you know what to do.”

He spoke about experience…

“Experience is over-rated. It takes too long.”
“For me, not having experience guaranteed that everything I did would have a different result because I was forced to do it differently!”

He told us to get over ourselves…

“The limitations we put on ourselves are self-imposed.”
“Once you get over the fear of being embarrassed, it’s the most liberating thing.”

He revealed how to push past our wall…

“When your brain says you’re done, you still have 40% left. The first time we experience pain, our body says, ‘stop.’ When we ignore the discomfort and tap into our reserve bank, that’s where the gold is.”

Finally, he closed by saying, “You didn’t come this far to only come this far.”

That’s all folks! Be sure to check back tomorrow for highlights and insights from Day 2 of Content & Commerce Summit 2017.

And if you’re a Content & Commerce Summit attendee, use your programs to track those aha moments and set goals to implement what you’ve learned. 🙂

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