We've stressed in our outreach for the Business Information & Media Summit (BIMS), Nov. 11-13 at the Margaritaville Hollywood Beach (Fla.) Resort that this edition of BIMS would resemble the SIPA Marketing conferences of yore, but with even more opportunities for learning and networking than those events had. (See full schedule here.)
To support that concept, here are quotes from some of our SIPA BIMS speakers offering marketing takeaways to fellow members.
Use video in your marketing.
"We are seeing video usage rise, especially as we test new formats," said Money-Media managing director Dan Fink. "Originally, we published video clips of industry conferences, but over the years we have added formal interviews, man-on-the-street interviews, explainer videos, data visualizations and more. The last two formats have proven to be extremely popular."
The Session: Increasing Engagement and Revenue From Your Subscribers
Leverage your content, eliminate silos.
"Editorial should be telling sales, "Here's what we're hearing—a big trend in xyz," said Brian Cuthbert, group vice president, Diversified Communications. "Then sales can be consultative. Similarly, editorial can tell marketing that they are hearing about Blockchain and artificial intelligence, and marketing can be more on point in their messaging and determine the best social angles. Marketing should also see value in running new copy past editorial and sales. I haven't found a way to do [all this] when everyone lives in a silo."
The Session: Case Study: How IOFM Revamped its Membership and Certification Business
Commit to staff and content.
"Almost all of our money goes back into people," said Sean Griffey, CEO of Industry Dive. "We have continued to invest in the digital experience here and we see that elevating the brand and raising the company as a whole. As our content continues to evolve, we continue to roll out new things for the audience. We've got an interactive map tracker in our smart city publication that tracks the roll out of smart scooters and bikes across different cities and the laws that pertain to it. Those are the types of things that the editorial team can do that make us more valuable. That almost always pays off."
The Keynote: 'A Boring Business Warren Buffett Would Love': How Industry Dive is Doubling Revenue by Focusing on Culture and Content
Emphasize and enable collaboration.
"I love brainstorming sessions," said Elizabeth Petersen of Simplify Compliance. "But I've learned that how people brainstorm varies. Personally, I prefer free-form, organic discussions. But there are people who are more likely to engage in conversations when a meeting has a detailed agenda that is circulated ahead of time. During our 'think tanks,' we also look to ensure diverse participation by assigning agenda items to different employees."
The Session: First 100 Days: How to Keep Your New Customers Happy, Engaged and Renewed
Think family for the Hispanic market.
"How do you speak to Hispanic consumers?" asked Dan Grech, founder and lead instructor of BizHack Academy for digital marketing training in Miami. "They are extremely family-oriented. It's deep seated in the culture. When you market to or communicate with a Latino audience, you should always remember that. You'll find many homes that are multi-generational. Of course, it's not exclusive to that community. Whatever the audience, you need to get to know them, learn what their needs are in ways that are meaningful."
The Session: Digital Marketing Roundtable - Accelerate Your Business
Experiment and accept small failures.
"A focus on perfectionism does not foster innovation, said Anita Zielina, director of news innovation and leadership at CUNY's Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. "The interesting thing is that success is only possible if you experiment more. And experimentation is doing different things until you find something that works. If we move to a more iterative process in product development—where failure is accepted in every tiny step along the way, to adjust from it—we can be more successful."
The Keynote: Can a Product Culture Save the Information Industry?
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Nevena Jovanovic.
Ronn Levine began his career as a reporter for The Washington Post and has won numerous writing and publications awards since. Most recently, he spent 12 years at the Newspaper Association of America covering a variety of topics before joining SIPA in 2009 and SIIA in 2013 as editorial director…