Social Media Marketing World. SMMW16 – The Takeaways.

Social Media Marketing World 2016 (SMMW16) was a week ago. It all happened so fast. I guess time flies when you’re having fun. But again the event had a big impact on me personally and professionally, so even tho it all happened quickly, everything is still so fresh in my mind.

So I got to attend the event because Social Media Examiner was kind enough to hire me as a volunteer. But its my first year so I didn’t know what to expect. Well Everything, I mean EVERYTHING was so far above and beyond my expectations.

Behind the Scenes From SMMW16

I knew that Networking, Discovery, Fun were part of the mission statement for the organizers. That aligned perfectly with I wanted to get out of SMMW16. And I have to admit, they delivered. Here are some behind the scenes photos I took at the event.

The event was amazing. I got to meet so many people. I networked with so many professionals from all around the world. Also, the event purposely didn’t have a green room for the speakers. So we got the socialize with these influencers and social media moguls. All these big names were friendly and approachable. They all stuck around after the sessions for questions and pictures.

The Takeaways from  SMMW16

I had so much fun, its actually hard for me to talk about it (I can’t wait for next year). So I want to keep this post brief. But here are a few things I learned at the conference:

1. Facebook Live. Its simple, Facebook live users are able to live stream videos, have people join the live stream. Be able to interact by liking and commenting. Then the video is saved permanently for viewing. The application is user friendly. And most importantly Facebook wants you to use the App, so they’re pushing it for you (for now). It can be intidimating to be on camera, but that’s the medium that gets the most engagement. Everyone was talking about it at the conference. I even wrote about it on my blog couple weeks ago. Click to see my blog post on the topic.
2. 360 Video. A 360 video is created with a camera system that simultaneously records all 360 degrees of a scene. Viewers can pan and rotate a 360 video’s perspective to watch it from different angles. I met people at the conference in the real estate business who already use it. Its very compatible with virtual reality sets. This technology is so new, its like a blank canvas. The future for it will be painted by the users.
3. Snapchat – This is old news by now, but still, this is the fastest growing platform to date. Although so many marketers are still reluctant to use it. I highly recommend you get on the Snapchat wagon as soon as possible. Click to see my blog post on the topic
4. Tell Your Story. This has been a common theme in every talk. I even wrote about this as well couple months ago. Park Howell had this amazing workshop specifically on the topic, titled The Business of Story. Everyone wants to know the man behind the camera. In our case, the man in front of the IPhone. So however, you do want to convey your story. Just make sure you share it with your fans. They can’t wait to hear it.
5. You want to be here next year. I learned some amazing things. I met some amazing people. I had an amazing time. But most importantly at the end I felt that this is not just a conference. This is a birth of a movement. Everyone at the event had that special power. Everyone had  a voice.  Everyone had a certain level of social media expertise and following. There is a magic when all these people are together under one roof. And that’s why you want to be here next year. Get your tickets for Social Media Marketing World 2017.

These seems to be main key takeaways from the conference but I didn’t get to attend all the sessions. Although I have access to all the session recordings. So there is still so much to learn.

Anyway I’m so grateful I got to attend SMMW16. There are so many people I would like to thank but here is the shortlist. I want to give a special thanks to Michale Stelzner, Phil Mershon, Jaci Feinstein, Jeramiah Billings, Jay Austin, Peg Fitzpatrick, Kimberly Reynolds, Joy Parkes, Shaun Ayala, Carlos Gil, Jillian Vorce, Vincent Orleck, Dima Gornovskyi, Lori Friedrich, Angelina Young Savage, Sonja Durik Harris, Rich Brooks, Sameer Singh Somal, Krzysztof Szymanski, Wahab SH, Paul Ramondo, Myles Vives, Zack King, Martina Andjelkovic, Gabriel Martinez Bojanini, Philippe Coudoux, Emily Alanzo, Joy Isaguirre De Gracia, Jody Milward and if you helped in anyway and I forgot to mention your name, you know who you are, thank you.  I want to thank all the volunteers and the event planners. All the speakers for being so kind and approachable. I have to email so many people and thank them personally.  All of you at the conference were so kind to me and I will be eternally grateful for that. I’m sure I’ll get to see some of you in the near future. For the rest of you, I can’t wait to see you all next year.