I've Scaled the Digital Summit (Day 2)

Day 2
After I left the first day of the Digital Summit 2011, I was feeling uber-inspired and ready for more! I promptly arrived around 7:30am for a free breakfast and a chance to further network and market myself. I could tell early on that while this day would be a long day filled with lectures and grand amount of information, I was mentally and physically prepared. Notebook and iPad in hand, I walked into the first series of the day, Search Marketing.

Search Marketing
This first great panel discussed the current state of search marketing, how to best embrace universal search, and how the time for mobile is now. They were awesome speakers and gave a wealth of information that I am anxious to put to good use. A main theme I noted was they each mention the importance of making a mobile site, and how it needs to be ultimately searchable. The popularity of mobile computing is staggering, and the percentage of mobile clicks has increased 230% in the past year! Another interesting tidbit I got was that 3 times more smartphones are being activated every minute than babies being born. Unreal.

Advanced SEO
Now, while I'm no professional SEO strategist, or even fully comprehend all that goes into website SEO, I decided to go to this seminar pretty much just for kicks and to learn more about an unfamiliar subject. basically what I got from it is how much of a science SEO really is, and how underinvested it is. Again the mobile issue came up, and how more people prefer using mobile sites than apps (which is weird IMO). Most of this information was way over my head, I'll admit, however it did open my eyes to other things I should probably start looking into to better manage PSI's site.

Social Media Trends
Next, I journeyed over to Social Media Trends, a topic I was looking forward to hearing about. One main thing I got from these speakers was how social budget spending is on the rise, which is good! It is expected to triple in spending over the next 5 years, also good! Mobile popped up again, stating that a lot of the "deal" sites are driving commerce. As mentioned in day 1, "like" buttons are becoming the new links; 10,000 websites are adding the "like" functionality to their sites daily.

After this session came lunch, with the keynote lunch panel discussing the Future of Media. From what I gathered, each person had a differing opinion on where media was headed, and it got a bit intense and admittedly uncomfortable. Enriching experience nonetheless.

Usability & Design

Test. Test. And test once more.

The second to last session I attended was something more up my alley. What I got from these speakers was simplicity is key. Design for needs, not for more features. Cleaner is better. The proverbial "less is more" rings true. The usability discussion was nice to hear, because it opened my mind up to new ideas to better our website. Usability testing is watching people interact with your website so you can make it easier to use was the main message, and I can't wait to implement it!







Leveraging Social Media

There is no spoon...or milk; are poptarts ok?

The last and final session of Digital Summit 2011 was how to best leverage social media. This was a great panel and a fine way to end the whole conference. What I got from them was how important customer intimacy is; you're building relationships, people, not a mere contacts list. Short term traffic gains are fools' gold, it's all about the marathon, not the sprint. Also a great reference was how the customer is the Oracle (The Matrix), and they have the answers. Creating a personal experience is also a key factor.

On the Whole...
This was a WONDERFUL conference and I suggest any social media marketer or digital strategist to attend next year. I have a notebook and iPad filled to the brim with notes and contacts. The past 2 days Printed Specialties' Twitter page has even added roughly 30 followers! I got a lot out of this conference and I greatly look forward to going again next year!

Be well,