Internet Summit 2014 – Key Takeaways

Last week Commit attended Internet Summit, a Digital Marketing strategies and education oriented Conference in Raleigh, NC. Internet Summit is the largest digital strategies and best practices forum in the Southeast, created to educate and promote forward thinking and thought leadership on Digital Marketing topics.

With speakers from Apple, Yahoo! Tech, Twitter, Google and more, there was so much to learn from the Content Marketing, Social Media, Analytics and Emerging Technologies world.

Here’s a look at some of the key takeaways from the Internet Summit 2014 :

“57% of the buying process is already done before you speak to your buyer. Buyers are learning on their own and delaying their contact with suppliers until late in the purchase.” – Jodi Wearn, Silverpop

“71% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase based on social media referrals.” – McGavock Edwards, IMRE

“Email is dead. Why? Killed by spam. Replaced by social media. Not relevant for younger audiences. Ineffective for retailers. Not ideal for team communication.” – Michael Barber, COHN

“Only 2% of cold calls result in an appointment, 3% of emails result in a click. Your new sales rep is Google and your website!” – Jeff Perkins, PGi

Social Game Plan (Jodi Wearn, Silverpop):

1. Pick your top 2 social networks and FOCUS
2. Assign resources to monitor and promote
3. Leverage hashtags wherever possible
4. Actively blog

Five ways to create more profitable content (Chris Moody, Oracle):

1. Brainstorm with staff
2. Interview your colleagues
3. Have a Blogathon
4. Stop trying to hit home runs
5. Turn your email into content

“Think mobile FIRST! 80% of people delete an email if it doesn’t look good on their mobile device!” – Jodi Wearn, Silverpop

“The average consumer unlocks their phone 110 times a day” – Robin Wheeler, Twitter

“What motivates you to do your best? Being personally excited and motivated internally.” – Steve Wozniak, Apple co-founder

“The “Internet of Things” is where technology is going. Every item in your home will be connected to the Internet. Your printer will be able to order its own paper. Your car will drive itself. Autonomous everything.” – David Pogue, Yahoo

Commit had a great time at the conference and learned a great deal about digital marketing and social media from the experts. We came back feeling inspired from these fascinating presentations and we are now looking forward to start implementing all this new knowledge and strategies we acquired!