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Oct 07

meshmarketing: One Month to Go

By mesh conference meshmarketing

We’re now officially a month before meshmarketing on Nov. 7 at the Toronto Reference Library.

With our programming locked down, it has been great to see an enthusiastic response from attendees and sponsors. And while I’m biased, it’s shaping up to be the best meshmarketing since we started in 2010.

Perhaps the biggest reason why meshmarketing feels so right this year is the focus on digital marketing tactical execution.

Our speakers are focused on delivering insight to help digital marketers do their jobs better or different – whether it’s the best approach to content marketing or social media, the tools to drive productivity and results, real-world insight into how a large brand (Yellow Pages Group) embraced digital, or a tasty case study about how Oreo successfully leveraged social media.

If you’re a brand or organization that wants to get into digital marketing, needs to be better at digital marketing, or looking for new digital marketing ideas, meshmarketing offers incredible ROI at $199 (until Oct. 30.).

For us, success is having an attendee leave meshmarketing with a long list of to-do’s: tools to check out, blog posts to read, ideas to share and tactics to implement, as well as number of new business connections.

Sure, there are other digital marketing conferences but we think digital marketing is the best option for anyone looking to hear from people in the digital marketing trenches who will help you learn, get inspired and, in time, implement.

Until Oct. 30, tickets for meshmarketing are $199, while tickets for full-time students are $49. To learn more about what’s happening, check out the “magazine” below that provides information about the speakers (including books they have written), the schedule, campaigns and videos.

Sep 30

Love0

meshmarketing Q&A: Randy Frisch

By mesh conference meshmarketing

Within Toronto’s startup community, Uberflip has established itself as one of the leading content marketing players.

Randy Frisch, Uberflip’s chief operating officer, will bring his insight to meshmarketing as a panelist on the digital tools panel with David Singh and Karen Schulman Dupuis. (Note: Pre-registration tickets are $199 until Oct. 30).

We did a mini-Q&A with Randy to get his thoughts on where content marketing is going and how brands can effectively leverage content.

What do you see as some of the more interesting trends within content marketing? What should brands be focused on?

Video and image-based content is definitely one of the biggest trends in content marketing right now. Audiences find these content formats extremely engaging and it’s easier to digest visual content quickly. For visual content to be most effective, it should also be mobile friendly. This leads to another trend in content marketing right now, which is making content mobile-friendly and responsive.

Brands should focus on understanding which social channels their audience spends time on and deliver visual content across these social channels. Marketers should also ensure they have a mobile strategy in place to capitalize on the massive trend toward mobile content consumption.

What the keys to success when it comes to doing content marketing well?

One of the most important components of a successful content marketing strategy is to know your audience – who are they, what do they like/dislike, which social channels do they spend their time on…once content marketers understand exactly who they’re speaking to, they can create targeted and effective content that resonates with these people.

Savvy content marketers are also constantly measuring the effectiveness of their content strategy. They’re aware of key content marketing metrics and are optimizing their content based on how it’s performing against their pre-defined goals.

Successful content marketers are also good at creating effective long-term strategies – they plan ahead and have a roadmap for their content creation, but they’re also flexible in reacting to industry news and trends.

Any tips on how brands can sustain their content marketing activity, and how they can drive distribution?

We’re seeing a massive rise in content clutter these days and marketers need to find ways to break through the noise and capture their audience’s attention. Savvy content marketers find ways to make all their content discoverable without creating extra work for themselves by going through the IT department – and to be frank, this is exactly the problem that Uberflip’s latest product, Hubs, solves.

Brands can also sustain their content marketing activity by monitoring what their audience is interested in. They’re talking to customers and getting their feedback; they’re monitoring social media networks and listening to the pain points and conversations being expressed online. They’re then always refining their content marketing such that it caters to their audience’s wants and desires.

Any new or favourite digital tools these days?

Canva is a new tool that’s definitely on my radar. It’s basically an online software that allows non-designers to create and collaborate on design. Especially with content marketing trending towards visual content, the ability to create great design is an important asset to have. I’ll be sure to check out Canva when it comes out of beta.

Sep 25

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meshmarketing Q&A: David Singh

By mesh conference meshmarketing

The idea for a digital toolbox panel at meshmarketing came from David Singh, VP strategy and operations with Kira Talent. Over coffee, he talked about the different digital marketing tools he was using.

I did a quick Q&A with David about his thoughts about content marketing, social media and connecting with digital audiences.

What do you see as some of the more interesting trends within content marketing social media? What should brands be focused on?

I don’t think it’s necessarily new, but I’m always struck by content that is beautifully packaged and designed. Well thought out info-graphics are great ways to show a great story and support your visual brand. I’m also loving how companies are using short video more and more. It’s easier to produce more than ever and all of our devices are ready to help is digest it voraciously.

Where do most companies fall short when it comes to social media and content marketing?

Failing to connect with / listen to their audience. If you were speaking at an event, you would quickly see that everyone has their back to you and earphones in. With digital content, it’s more important than ever to build truly personal relationships online. In the early stages, this can’t and doesn’t really need to scale. I believe authenticity will scale far faster than volumes of content.

What do you see as the biggest marketing challenge for a startup given the limited people and resources?

Mixed messages. I think back to my day as a consultant advising senior executives. If we were lucky we had 30-minutes to pitch them weeks of analysis. We had to synthesize our message to be crystal clear and compelling. In the advisory case, we had an established relationship and dedicated time. As a start-up, you are disrupting a space so any dilution of your message will only weaken your results and waste the precious resource of your and your targets time.

Any new or favourite digital tools these days?

Mouseflow – this is a quick and cheap tool that allows you to track everyone’s interaction on your site by hover time, clicks, and visitor flow. You can analyze by co-horts, batches, and specific pages. A very insightful tool if you have low volume traffic.

Woopra – this allows you to see visitor actions/behaviours over time in real-time. You can tag specific users (if you know who they are) and you can see their longitudinal relationship with your site. It’s like Hubspot lite.

Yesware – a fantastic Google plugin that allows you to track open rates and send personalize mass email.

To access the Websites mentioned by David, as well as meshmarketing pages, click on the tile below. Tickets for meshmarketing are $199 until Oct. 30.