Chatbots as a Content Distribution Tool  

Fun fact: There are now more daily active users on messaging apps than on social media. Fellow social media marketers, don’t let this stat scare you. Instead, allow it to direct your attention to a whole new realm of content distribution possibility… Messenger marketing.

During his talk, Larry Kim, CEO of MobileMonkey explained that there are now 1.3 billion daily active users on Facebook Messenger alone, which is part of the reason Messenger chat blasts can receive 60-80 percent open rates (making them 60 times more effective than your standard email blast).

The ability to send a push notification directly to your subscribers’ phones is what really changes up the traditional email or social media experience. Messenger chat blasts catch people where they’re already highly engaged, and allow you to offer up a more playful interaction. Not only can you send people directly to your content through one click, you’re also able to set up questions that will help you segment your chat subscribers to create even more personalized experiences for them.

Taking Social Video to the Next Level

Does each social platform really differ when it comes to social media videos? In Animoto co-founder Jason Hsiao’s session, he shared why the answer to that is a definitive yes.

Through experimentation, the Animoto team conducted a lot of research ($30,000 worth 💸) about how people engage differently with video on each social channel. For example, Facebook videos are typically watched on the go, without sound, and are focused on quick updates, while YouTube videos should be designed for an engaged audience that’s searching for specific information.

Jason also shared some killer insights on what types of video work best for each stage of the funnel. (You know it’s a good slide when the entire room pulls out their phone for a photo.) You’ll see that thought leadership, ideas, and influencer videos make great top-of-funnel content, while product demos and case studies will perform better when put in front of your prospects and customers.

What It Really Takes to Make Your Marketing Go Viral

The most important takeaway from Lucidchart CMO Nathan Rawlins’ session was this: “Your business can be boring, but your marketing can’t.” Whether you’re trying to get your content picked up on Reddit, or you’re just trying to get the views that matter, this quote rings true for all of us. Especially in the B2B world, we can fall victim to the idea that “boring” products only warrant “boring” marketing.

Nathan explained that in order to create truly attention-grabbing content, you have to be able to stretch what you consider to be on-brand. As the CMO of a flowchart software company, I trusted what he had to say about this.

During his talk, he shared examples of how Lucidchart moved from creating flowcharts like this “Hey Jude” example to their What is a Pupper? What is a Doggo? video to find a balance between something that was both fun and meme-worthy, while still educating people on what their company does.

As B2B marketers, we need to constantly challenge ourselves to create content that is out-of-the-box enough to delight our audiences, while still staying true to our brands.