The Download from Explore & Engage, Part One

I was fortunate to attend Social IRL’s Explore & Engage event with Brian Solis and Jason Falls earlier this week.  There was so much information shared that it was literally hard to keep up and for that reason, I’m splitting this blog into two parts.

So, let’s start with Brian Solis, principal at Altimeter Group and author of Engage. I’ve read his earlier book “Putting the Public Back in Public Relations,” read his PR 2.0 blog and followed him on Twitter for the past several years. In some ways, I felt like I already knew him but it was cool to meet him in person. Plus, I received a copy of his newest book. “Engage,” and I can’t wait to read it.

Anyway, the title of Brian’s presentation was “Engage or Die” and he promised to make our heads explode by the end of the day.  He focused a lot on the purpose of social media and how we must approach it as an integral strategy rather than a daily tactic.

In his words, he distinguished between the social strategist who designs business experiences and the social marketer who executes social media. Hint: it is the social media strategist who moves up the ladder!

 

Here are some key takeaways/sound bites:

• Social media must be an enabler for something

• Business models are vanishing because of consumer behavior

• Fast and easy is the beginning of the end of social media 1.0; you must have resonance – something that people find interesting and worth sharing

• Context, not content, is king

• You don't need to just market to influencers. You need to become one.

• There is a great un-follow, un-like movement coming as consumers get frustrated with brands that don’t build relationships.

• The future of business is defined through shared experiences.

 

• K.I.S.S. -- Keep It Significant and Shareable.

• Attention is new currency of marketing

Overall, the message was clear -- know your audience, be strategic, share interesting content and engage people.  It sounds simple, yet so many people are not approaching social media in this way and are therefore missing the mark.

 

If you missed this event, you can read some of the other highlights by searching the #socialirl hashtag.  Next week, I’ll post Part Two, where I’ll focus on Jason Falls’ presentation and the great social media tools and tips he shared with us.