Social Media Marketing World 2024: Takeaways for LinkedIn, AI & Community (As a Volunteer)
2024 marked my fourth time attending Social Media Marketing World (SMMW) in person. Here is a quick recap of what I learned. My focus here is LinkedIn and AI marketing. I’ll add articles for Instagram and other platforms as I get through more training I couldn’t watch in person.
My takeaways are not just academic. There are social and relational lessons too, all of which pertain to social media and marketing in general. Scroll by subject heading to read the takeaways that interest you most.
The technical, tactical marketing takeaways for social media marketing.
For B2B marketers, LinkedIn is a critical part of our strategy. That said, here are some nuggets.
- Text-based posts tend to get the most engagement, even over video posts. The reason? They invite conversation and interaction. Videos, not as much. (Though that’s not to say stop doing LinkedIn video.)
- Limit yourself to one post per day. When you exceed that, the LinkedIn algorithm pits your posts against each other for reach. (Surprising fact: even sharing someone else’s post with your own thoughts counts as a post!)
- Contributing your expertise to AI-based collaborative articles is a solid strategy to get extra eyeballs on your profile, thought leadership capital and even search engine boosts!
- Contributing helpful, thoughtful comments on others’ posts is even better for analytics and visibility than creating original posts! Shoot for three comments daily, five days per week.
- LinkedIn newsletters are a fantastic opportunity. They are sent to your subscribers’ email inboxes, and new followers and connections are automatically invited to subscribe.
- Most of these insights were provided via a session with Richard Bliss of Bliss Point Consulting.
AI (Artificial Intelligence)
Ah, yes, the always-hot topic of artificial intelligence. Several sessions at SMMW24 focused on that. The top nuggets:
- There are zillions of AI tools available for a mind-bending variety of tasks. It’s impossible to keep up on all the latest. Your best bet is to focus on AI tools that will help what you do regularly.
- You can create a deepfake of yourself with AI!
- Text-to-video. Write a prompt to generate a video! AdoriLabs.com, Canva, etc
- Text-to-speech – create AI voices in any language: ElevenLabs
- Here are just a few use cases for AI, per Paul Roetzer of Marketing AI Institute.
- You can put Google Analytics data into AI to generate insights on your web user activity! (That’s something I still need to try.)
- Treat ChatGPT like a human; talk to it extensively for better results. Similarly,
- Don’t expect “lazy prompts” into ChatGPT to generate impressive results. Train it. H/T Andy Crestodina of Orbit Media.
- I’ll update this section with more insights. More notes to review and sessions to watch.
The Community Aspect of Social Media Marketing – Taught and Applied
Multiple sessions over the years have driven home the importance of building a digital community as social media marketers. Whether you are an in-house marketer for a company, or doing it freelance for multiple companies (as I do), the objective remains to connect to your audience personally.
Bring them into the journey.
Share their pain points with them.
Show them the solution you offer.
Invite them to participate so their problems disappear.
But do it in a way that makes them feel seen and valued.
That is the looming task of the social media marketer.
Interestingly, while SMMW recruits the best talent to teach us that, it also demonstrates it to us. We, as social media marketers, are the conference’s customers. So they tell us what to do, and show us how to do it with the experience they provide.
They welcome us into a friendly atmosphere. We are greeted and offered assistance at every turn.
The keynotes are bookended with live music, interaction and entertainment. The regular sessions are hosted by welcoming, high-energy MCs, ushering to the stage the top minds in digital marketing sharing what they’ve learned.
“It’s a living object lesson for marketers. You are immersed in learning, but in an environment that makes you feel welcome and understood. Seen and valued. It creates in person the very atmosphere that you want to bottle up to recreate online for your customers.”
– Summer Sorensen
Friendship and Community Formed at Social Media Marketing World
A common theme repeated in the pre-conference Facebook group is, to get the most out of the conference, take as many chances to network as you can. The opportunities are ample; you just have to try.
The first year I attended, I was in “insecure introvert” mode and talked to almost no one. I learned a ton, but it was a lonely experience.
The next year, I made a group of friends through a meetup who shared an interest in craft beer. We palled around together, and it made it so much more enjoyable!
In 2023 and 2024, I volunteered. This took it to a whole new level. Being a part of the team that puts on this unforgettable experience meant:
- Having a job to do and, therefore, a purpose
- A team to work with that were bound to become friendly acquaintances if not full-on friends
- Seeing behind the curtain of what makes this conference so different from others
- Being a part of delivering that outstanding experience for attendees
- Most importantly, feeling like a part of the community like I never had before!
Conclusion
I’ll admit, it feels off to talk about personal relationships and development in a conference recap post. Shouldn’t it be all academic?
If I’m taking to heart anything I’ve learned, the answer is “No.” Or, “It doesn’t need to be.”
Attending Social Media Marketing World is almost certainly going to fill your head with more knowledge than there is room for. Pro tip: go back through your notes systematically and build in time to watch and rewatch sessions.
If you do it the way they intend, you’ll also walk away with your heart filled with hope and new friendships.
For those tasked with doing social media marketing, you owe it to yourself to attend next year.
If you’re looking for someone to help you manage your social media, I’d be happy to chat. Feel free to reach out!
