ROCKS DIGITAL  BLOG

Laura Darkstar

Opening Keynote Panel

Opening Keynote Panel With Rocks Digital
Image Credit – Kostsov

The Opening Keynote Panel was presented at the 2019 Rocks Digital Marketing Conference with moderator Giovanni Galluci and panelists Heather Nichols, Nicole Wight, and Cameron Gawley. Here are the takeaways from this session.

Our day began with a panel discussion regarding Facebook.

Giovanni noted that unless you are a well-connected influencer, FB is not the place to go for organic traffic. Giovanni asked each panelist a question that focused on their expertise first.

Nicole – What is the most shocking thing that surprised you this year at F8?
A: The Facebook layout is getting changed significantly for the first time.

Heather – You manage Mari Smith’s Facebook group; what is the number one problem/challenge for the group you manage?
A: There’s a buzz right now for video, so it’s not just the technical aspects – so how do you use video to reach the right people?

Cameron – What influences the media mix you deal with?
A: It depends on what you’re trying to achieve. What’s the objective? Every brand needs to be obsessed with the customer and the customer journey. You always need to start with people first. We look at all of the touchpoints and determine what is the best platform to reach the client’s objectives. The media mix changes based on the brand and the product.

There is a rumor that Facebook is going to get rid of the newsfeed, and what does FB become without it?
A: The shift is actually mostly in the layout. The newsfeed isn’t going to disappear, it’s just going to change placement for communities and stories. Driving brands into having Groups. We’ll see the shift, freak out – and then adjust.

Facebook is trying to help people connect with brands and people they care about – more group interactions are already showing in our newsfeeds. People are already posting more within groups and communities.

For an agency – What impact will this have? Is it becoming more difficult for brands to connect?
A:
The newsfeed is evolving and Facebook is rolling out new features. Voice will be a big player in the future of messaging. Stories and video are becoming more important. You have to just get more creative about your targeting. Facebook knows that FB in its current form is not the future. The newsfeed will evolve, and you just need to go where the people are – and we just have to keep up.

How do you, in a world where we have to get results fast, how do you build quickly? Because relationships take time to build.

Every brand should, at its heart, understand their audience and choose topics to rally around. Two-part approach: Builders and Drivers. Facebook is a pay-to-play world (as is Instagram). You’re very campaign-focused. If you want to move the needle for a brand, roll out your organic content (12–15 pieces of content needed). And you need to be using video, not static image ads.

We think that we are marketing the product or service, but we’re really solving problems – what else is happening in their lives? Tune into the customer journey. From an advertising standpoint, don’t judge who is on the other side of the click. Awareness, Engagement, Solution.

You need to start leveraging communities. Create something that they truly care about. If your brand doesn’t have a community, you need to start thinking about this: What does my brand have that people care about and want to discuss? Talk with your community about what their problems and struggles are. We want to connect people with the common interest in our product/service.

Tell us one tactical thing we can do when we get back to our office and implement in the next 30 days.

Start a community. Connect at the ground floor level, as a person. Find your top users and invite them to the community. Use paid ads to drive people to the group.

Pull out your phone, and go live! Video doesn’t have to be difficult. Remember to be authentic even if you are imperfect. Then look at your insights and adjust accordingly. Remember: it’s about the who, not the what.

When you start doing video, it’s going to be bad – but just take the leap, because you will never get good unless you just keep going. You don’t have to be great to start, you have to start to be great.

SEM Rush has a topic research tool. Find out what questions people are asking and answer them. People get stuck because they don’t know what to talk about, so utilize tools to figure out what to talk about. Talk to your customers – create a conversation. They want a better experience.

Tips from Giovanni:

  • YouTube – type in a keyword and Youtube will autocomplete.
  • Buzzsumo.com has a free version, and if you type in a keyword it will give you
  • Answerthepublic.com – will give you questions that people are asking
  • Tubebuddy.com – $30/mo.
  • Get your content transcribed. Scribi.com will transcribe.
  • Pay attention to your thumbnails – Tubebuddy will help.

The final question: Is the government going to break up Facebook? Unanimous panel opinion – NO!!

 

Laura Darkstar

Laura Darkstar, owner of Adminderella, is an Administrative Strategist, Blogger, Entrepreneur & Aspiring Novelist. She loves social media and small biz owners.

More Posts - Website

Download Our SEO Guide

Created in a joint partnership with Advice Local, this guide — What You Need to Know About SEO — provides an introduction to SEO concepts, strategies and best practices for optimizing a website. Complete the form below and get instant access.

    ROCKING DIGITAL SERVICES

    Web Design & Development

    Your website needs to be aesthetically pleasing and functional. We build websites for desktop and mobile that are both.

    LOCAL SEARCH & SEO

    Your website needs to attract search engines and consumers. We are experts in local search and SEO, and can make that happen.

    CONTENT CREATION & MARKETING

    Anybody can write words on a page, but can they write content that integrates SEO best practices and converts? We can.

    PPC & Paid Search

    PPC & Paid Search

    Need more customers? We create paid campaigns to reach your target audience and increase sales.

    Tracking & Optimization

    You need a solid foundation for success online, and our tracking & optimization services get it done.

    Graphic Design Services

    Graphic Design Services

    From logo design to your business card, brochures – and everything in-between for print & web – we can help!

    Here’s What Our Client's Have to Say

    Their Local Business Websites Rock

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital knows how to build local business websites that convert prospects to customers. Not only do I recommend them to work on my reputation management client’s websites, but they work on the Reputation Sensei brand, too.
    - Chris Snellgrove

    They Customize Their Solutions

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital customizes to meet their client’s needs. We needed our existing website optimized for search. We are now placing for more industry keywords and continue to improve. They consult with our in-house team on content optimization, manage our GMB listing & more.
    - Greta Valenti

    Highly Recommend

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital manages not only the Association of Directory Publishers website, but our Trusted Local Directory. From helping us get our event information on the website to producing guides, blogs and new content, they have what it takes.
    - Cindi Aldrich

    Rocks Digital Is the Best Choice

    ★★★★★
    As a long-term client, when it was time to change the primary focus of my real estate business, and my website, I knew Rocks Digital was the way to go. They took my existing website, gave it a complete new look, and still managed to keep my existing content.
    - David Dorum

    Brought My Ideas to Fruition

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital came highly recommended. Once I started working with them I knew why. They took my ideas for a beautiful website and brought them to the screen. From the design phase to content creation, each component was thoughtfully considered and addressed.
    - Clay Adams

    Conversions Are on the Rise

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital manages two of my websites. They produce our blogs, our service pages and manage our paid search campaigns. Conversions are up and new patients are coming in the door. I highly recommend their digital marketing services.
    - Dr. Thomas Chacko

    Agency Services Are Top Notch

    ★★★★★
    We shifted to Rocks Digital agency services earlier in the year. We are so glad we did. Our website sessions are up, page views are up, and bounce rate is down. Now we can easily see how many form fills we have had at any given time through their real-time reporting.
    - Kristin Schafer

    Their Local Business Websites Rock

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital knows how to build local business websites that convert prospects to customers. Not only do I recommend them to work on my reputation management client’s websites, but they work on the Reputation Sensei brand, too.
    - Chris Snellgrove

    They Customize Their Solutions

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital customizes to meet their client’s needs. We needed our existing website optimized for search. We are now placing for more industry keywords and continue to improve. They consult with our in-house team on content optimization, manage our GMB listing & more.
    - Greta Valenti

    Highly Recommend

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital manages not only the Association of Directory Publishers website, but our Trusted Local Directory. From helping us get our event information on the website to producing guides, blogs and new content, they have what it takes.
    - Cindi Aldrich
    Name
    Email
    Review Title
    Rating
    Review Content

    LATEST BLOG POSTS

    Local SEO company strategies.

    What Does a Local SEO Company Do?

    Local SEO is a digital marketing strategy focused on boosting a business’ local search visibility within a particular area. With the successful implementation of proven

    Hire a digital marketing agency.

    Why Hire a Digital Marketing Agency

    Staying ahead of search engine updates and marketing trends is a constant challenge, so it’s no surprise that businesses frequently turn to digital marketing agencies.

    LOCAL VISIBILITY REPORT

    Is your Google My Business listing helping or hurting you? Is bad data causing consumers and search engines to lose trust in your business? This is information you simply must know.

    To get these answers right now, just enter your business name below to run our FREE
    visibility report.


    Need a facelift
    for your website? More search traffic? Need to blog, but don’t have time?

    Our Digital Services Could Be For You
    Get a Free Local Visibility Report Now