‘There are more phones in the world than toothbrushes’- the idea that people are more connected than hygienic is just one of the many insights from the a4uexpo conference in Amsterdam that I attended last week.
The event attracted 800 delegates globally for a 2-day programme of presentations and panels from leading industry experts from the affiliate and wider digital world. Sessions covered everything from ‘Everyone is Special’ – Personalisation in Conversion Tactics’ to ‘Multi-Channel PR Campaigns that Set the World on Fire!’.
Firstly, my top 5 key stats from the conference were:
1. In 2013, 91% of internet traffic will be video vs. 40% in 2012
2. ¼ of TVs sold in 2012 were Smart TVs
3. 28% of smartphone owners also own a tablet
4. 78% of people trust recommendations but only 14% trust ads
5. 94% people would rather go without sex than their mobile!
What really struck me about this conference was that it had the potential to be an intense, numbers-driven course on the best practices of performance marketing. To my surprise, there was much more of a focus on customer needs and the psychology behind the decision-making process – ultimately that behind the numbers are real people. I want to share 2 key themes that remind us that despite the current focus on technology and big data, it’s still all about the customer.
1) ‘Behind the numbers are real people’
Ivan Imhoff, founding partner of House of Kaizen gave conversion optimisation a fresh perspective by discussing the mind-set of consumers in decision-making. During his session on ‘CRO: It’s All Psychological’, he explained the significance of the advertiser website and how it represents a limited reservoir of user attention. He implored website creators to keep their sites simple, easy to navigate and more importantly speak in a universal language. The Samsung Galaxy S4 site was chosen as an example of inconsistent language:
Are the words ‘fun’ and ‘relationship’ really calls to action? What do we expect to find when we click on them? Imhoff suggested that potentially misleading language confuses customers and ultimately results in losing them. Websites should direct and guide users to the information that they seek – sounds simple enough but the Samsung example is evidence that education is still needed around this. We also can’t assume that consumers have the same level of knowledge about our products so there has to be information for both experts and novices.
Conclusion: Communication with the customer starts with the trigger that drives them there but if the site is badly constructed, customers will go elsewhere. PPC, display and affiliates all represent promises of the content that users will find on the site – Imhoff only asks that the promise isn’t broken when the customer lands on the site.
2) Communicate to the talker (not the consumer)
Bas van de Beid from Stateofsearch.com began by addressing the marketers in the room who ‘spit out content’ without a thought about why it’s there and where it’s going. He compared human behaviour to that of sheep; as much as we’d like to think that we’re all individuals, admittedly we tend to follow each other. This is ultimately why trends exist. Marketers were challenged to not just communicate with the whole flock through broad awareness campaigns, but to find the leading sheep and steer them where everyone will follow.
Brands have proven time and time again that advertisers can get more return from a key influencer than media formats or partnerships. Big ticket media is losing influence and product campaigns are becoming the last bastion for mainstream media.
Andy Barr from PR agency 10 Yetis rolled out the 2012 Cadbury’s case study where the brand offered exclusive content on Google+ where people were invited to hangouts with Olympic athletes such as Rebecca Adlington, a Cadbury brand ambassador. Use of a celebrity ambassador or key influencer can bring in a whole new audience to engage with the product.
Facebook has already understood how people work through their sponsored stories offering – we are more inclined to like what our friends like. However, word of mouth is responsible for 20-50% of purchases so our focus should be on instigating offline conversations.
Conclusion: Having a content strategy is key – focus on what consumers want and need, not what entertains you. Influence doesn’t mean popularity – it’s simply the ability to change another’s behaviour. Don’t be the brand that talks about itself – get other people to do it!
In Summary
After the last dog-eared business card had been exchanged and delegates departed for their respective countries, I reflected on how lucky I was to be invited to such a prestigious conference and to meet so many people from diverse businesses and markets within a beautiful setting. It also highlighted how the UK is very progressive and open compared to other countries which is why should take advantage of this and stand at the forefront of technology and innovation.
Recommended books to read:
Grouped by Paul Adams
The Business of Influence – Philips Sheldrake
The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell
Links to some of the talks:
Make Social your Primary Traffic Driver