Traffic & Conversion Summit 2014 kicked off with a bang yesterday in sunny San Diego.
Ryan Deiss led off with a killer keynote presentation where he revealed three shifts in digital marketing to exploit in 2013.
Big Shift #1 – Advertising is going native
Decreased ROI on display advertising (banner ads, sidebar ads, etc) requires marketers to go native with their advertising.
Native advertising follows the form and function of the user experience in which it is placed. In other words it looks like content and smells like content but it’s actually an ad.
Here are 3 Types of native ads to be aware of,
– In Feed/Social – Sponsored posts in Facebook, Sponsored Tweets, in-stream YouTube ads)
– Recommended Content – Content Recommendation Engines like Taboola and OutBrain.
– Paid Inclusion – This is the “advertorial” model that were all familiar with. Be careful with this one. Audiences don’t like to be tricked.
Big Shift #2 – Experiential and Long Tail eCommerce
Is Amazon going to crush and consolidate all of digital commerce? Is your eCommerce store in danger of being steamrolled by Amazon? It depends.
Amazon has become the humongous big box retailer of the web. Because of that, they’ve left plenty of room for experiential and long tail eCommerce players.
What if someone came for an experience and then bought something from you?
Shopping is recreation. You need to create an eCommerce experience that is at least one of the following,
- Fun
- Unique
- Experiential
- Custom
But if you’re just selling commodities on price, look out. Amazon has you in their cross-hairs.
Big Shift #3 – Consumption Mentality and the Commoditization of Everything
The Digital Marketer method is about acquiring customers and increasing the value of those customers.
“The winners in business will be the companies who manage to lower the barrier to customer acquisition without reducing brand equity or lifetime customer value.”
~ Ryan Deiss
This statement from Ryan forecasted the core lesson we would all eventually learn during the first day at T&C 2014.
The first half of first day at T&C 2014 laid the groundwork for the rest of the event. Roland Frasier, Richard Lindner and Perry Belcher detailed the system we apply to every business we start, acquire or consult — Customer Value Optimization.
Learn more about Customer Value Optimization in this article from Ryan Deiss.
T&C Bits
The sessions at T&C 2014 were lively and filled with insider information and entertaining wit. Your typical speaker at T&C will not only blow your mind with rock-solid, actionable marketing tips but will also leave you rolling in the aisles laughing.
- “For every group of people that buy something from you, there is another 20% that want to upgrade to the next step.” ~Roland Frasier
- “If you aren’t broadcasting to your email list at least once a week, you obviously hate money.” ~ Richard Lindner
- “I fail 3 out of 4 times. Fail fast and fail cheap.” ~Kevin Harrington
- “When you’re rich, you’re always good looking!” ~Perry Belcher
- “The 3 magic words are so you can.” When explaining deliverables state them this way: You’ll get XYZ so you can PDQ. ~ Frank Kern
- “I’m Dr. Frank Kern, Head Cosmetologist for the Avon Corporation.” ~ Frank Kern
- “There are no traffic problems, only offer problems.” ~Ryan Deiss
- “YouTube is the Wild West for online advertising.” ~ Jake Larsen
- “40 Super Bowls happen on YouTube every day.” ~ Jake Larsen
- “Today is the hardest time in history to get someone to part with their money —— the first time. It’s the easiest time in history to get someone to part with their money the second, third, fourth, fifth time.” ~ Perry Belcher
- “Stop making sales presentations to prospects. It will only end in frustration. Instead, make low risk Tripwire” offers.” ~ Perry Belcher
- The Tripwire doesn’t have to related to the product you’re selling, but it does have to be related to the market you’re serving. ~ Perry Belcher
