Last week I wrote a recap that covered the first half of an excellent group of speakers at SEJSummit 2016 in beautiful Santa Monica.
There was so much information shared at SEJSummit that I had to break up my coverage of the event into two parts, and today I will finish up with part two of my recap highlighting the great presentations I attended.
Let's get started!
@admanjaybee of Google @sejournal #SEJSummit pic.twitter.com/LJHdHYZ4el
— Gene Skazovski (@Gene_SEOMachine) April 13, 2016
3 Key Takeaways:
John began his presentation by emphasizing the importance of focusing on the human users we serve.
"Everything we do in this room should focus on the user." @admanjaybee from @google #SEJSummit
— SearchEngineJournal® (@sejournal) April 13, 2016
John explained that user experience is extremely important, and that the rise in ad blockers is a direct result of poor user experience. John compared this poor UX to being in Time Square, where ads are prominent. Because of this, as blocking has increased over 200% since 2013.
John advised to forget about ad blocking and instead focus on making great ads. But he did present some potential pitfalls worth avoiding (with some help from Sterling Archer).
How to get an #ad blocked? @admanjaybee has the answers @ #SEJSummit. #SEO #DigitalMarketing pic.twitter.com/cTQ7N30K3H
— Bruce Clay, Inc. (@BruceClayInc) April 13, 2016
John also noted that 98% of ad blocking occurs on desktop, meaning there is still more opportunities for users to start blocking ads on mobile as well.
3 Key Takeaways:
Melissa's presentation was focused on the idea that advertising and selling is really about making genuine connections with real people. She encouraged marketers to create an ownable identity for your brand, and then make your approach relatable.
Be real, be genuine. Be adventurous with your messaging. @melissapalazzoh #SEJSummit
— Circle Click (@circleclick) April 13, 2016
Melissa showed a number of great videos during her presentation that all drove home a central point - stirring people's emotions is the best way to connect with them on a human level.
Humanize your brand by tapping into the passions, emotions of your target audience #SEJSummit 😅😍😱 @melissapalazzoh pic.twitter.com/4ttTqvqHSJ
— Jenise Henrikson (@ItsDUHnise) April 13, 2016
One thing Melissa said that really stuck with me was a philosophy for how you should approach your marketing and target audience.
"It's not about consumers, it's not about clients; it's about people. - Melissa Palazzo