There’s nothing more inspiring than connecting one-on-one with your peers and learning from some of the most innovative thinkers in this biz. As content marketers, we have access to a lot of great conferences that allow us to do just that.
Call us biased, but one of Content4Demand’s favorite shows of the year is the B2B Content2Conversion Conference, which will be held Feb. 15-17, 2016, in Scottsdale, AZ. The event is hosted by our sister publication, Demand Gen Report, which has provided the B2B industry with an assortment of valuable research, trend reports and thought leadership.
We can’t wait to escape from the cold winter weather to connect with our friends and esteemed colleagues. Although we’ll be busy manning our booth in the sponsor area, I personally am excited to sit in on some sessions and get some creative fuel to ignite my ideas for 2016.
Here are the five sessions I definitely won’t miss while at #C2C16:
- The New Rules and Realities of Sales and Marketing (David Meerman Scott, best-selling author and speaker): David Meerman Scott’s best-selling work, The New Rules of Marketing & PR, was my bible as a PR and journalism student at William Paterson University. He has continued to write — and rewrite — the rules of business engagement and is discussing the new realities of sales and marketing at #C2C16. He’ll be giving the opening keynote and will return to the stage during the Content Strategy track to discuss newsjacking and real-time content. If you want a crash course on some of the latest trends and marketing imperatives, these sessions are for you!
- Advocacy: Your New Source of Impactful and Authentic Content (Laura Ramos, VP, Principal Analyst, Forrester Research): Buyers have access to an influx of content online. So much, in fact, that it can easily inundate them and start to look like white noise. To stand out, B2B marketers need to create authentic content that truly resonates with buyers. Laura Ramos of Forrester Research will share how marketers can use customer advocacy to create this content and formulate more impactful campaigns.
- Balancing Brand Equity with Marketing Innovation (Jeremy Skule, CMO, NASDAQ): It’s easy to get caught up in the latest sexy marketing trend. But content falls flat if it doesn’t serve a strategic purpose. On the other end of the spectrum, it’s also easy to stick to what you know and what you’re comfortable with. This can leave your buyers bored and uninspired. During this session, Jeremy Skule will delve into how NASDAQ walks the fine line between marketing innovation and sticking to its brand heritage — a challenge all marketers can relate to.
- SEO for Content Marketers (Lee Odden, CEO, TopRank Online Marketing): We’ve said it time and time again: Content and SEO are a marketing power couple. Marketing thought leader and influencer Lee Odden will dive deeper into this topic during #C2C16, touching on the importance of mobile optimization and recent changes to search engine algorithms that content marketers need to know.
- Data-Driven Marketing: Transform B2B Data for a 360-Degree Customer View (Theresa Kushner, VP, Enterprise Information Management, VMWare): We are living in a data-driven world. If you want to turn your internal data into valuable marketing insights, this session featuring Theresa Kushner of VMWare is for you! I can’t wait to hear some real-world examples, especially regarding whether VMWare faced any challenges while transitioning to be more data-driven. I’m sure a lot of marketers will be able to learn from the company’s experience.
These sessions merely scratch the surface of all the great content lined up for the 2016 Content2Conversion Conference. Have you reserved your ticket to the show? If you haven’t, there’s still time!
I hope to see you in Marketing Utopia!
