Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Stranger in a Strange Land


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I'm at the AMA's M-planet Conference in Orlando, FL, sitting of to the side of the show room floor (see picture). As I sit here recording this uttercast, I'm amazed by what a stranger I've become in this world of marketing. And that's not necessarily a good thing, especially when I am a marketer myself and I'm supposed to understand the mindset of other marketers better than anyone else at my company.

The three points I made in today's recording are:

  1. I shouldn't be surprised that this is somewhat of a traditional conference because that's what most of my marketing brethren/sistren are expecting (and that's not a dig on anyone).
  2. This is a good reminder as to why I need to get outside the fishbowl. It's fun to talk to my social friends and it's why I chose to have dinner with Greg Verdino of Crayon last night but at the end of the day, it's the marketers here I need to connect with.
  3. My job is to help the folks here understand how social media/marketing and online communities can be a game changer. That's not to diminish other marketing channels like e-mail, SEO/SEM, online advertising, etc. but to let folks know that there is a game changer out there that will give them more than a .05% incremental return on their investment.
On that note, I'm off to network, watch some panels (with a little live blogging/tweeting where appropriate) and then some evangelizing during my speaking slot at 2:00 PM.

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2 comments:

  1. Aaron:

    Nice post. I often have that reaction now when I first arrive, but I get used to it again pretty quickly. Don't forget, you breathe social media marketing whereas others do not. So, although the "social" approach is important, the message of having the right blend of social/traditional strategy will likely be much more well received. Have fun.

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  2. Thanks Mark. Truer words could not be spoken.

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