POSTED BY Suzi Craig

Oct 12, 2009

Inbound Marketing Summit 2009: A Microcosm of Today

Disclaimer: This article has tons of opinion and is not a play-by-play of the Inbound Marketing Summit 2009, Boston. A great recap and list of other blogs and info on the conference can be found on Bob Cargill’s A New Marketing Commentator blog. If you are on Twitter, be sure to follow the hash tag page: #ims09.

When signing up for the Inbound Marketing Summit in Boston (held this week), I was pumped. I was ready to rock ‘n roll.

I have been digging my heels pretty heavy into the social media scene for a year now – not long really – but long enough to know that I need to take it to the next level. I am a speaker at regional conferences and events and am called on by clients and CT businesses to help understand how to digest and then spit out all things social media but, frankly, every time I get up in front of a crowd I think, “What do I really know about how your business can benefit from social media?”

Sure, I know how to do all sorts of things online – host and promote successful events, get the word out about Fathom, start conversations that get other people thinking (fingers crossed) – but I am ready for more. More. I WANT MORE. I’m done hearing that it’s all about “conversation” and “connection” and “community.” All of those things are important but they are usually talked about separately from your organization. I am seeing a very real need to help clients transition their organization first. Yes, learn about community building and the tools that help you build it but, meanwhile, understand that you will need to reorganize and rejigger how you do things.

So what does that look like? It’s art, not science. This is why it’s difficult for most people to wrap their heads around what is now called social media. It looks different for everyone. During the conference I had the idea of asking some of the cool kids one question. I asked them all the same question. I got 12 completely different answers. That’s not science, that’s art. To check out the responses, go to: 1 Question 1 Minute

At IMS 2009, I attended as someone who is ready to transform, just like the companies I work with. I walked in feeling psyched, like a college student in their third year – suddenly serious about school because I want to be. And I left with:

• Elation
• Frustration
• Determination

Sitting at the conference, I realized that #IMS09 (as it is tagged in Twitter) is a mini replica of what the world is experiencing. Some of us are elated with the opportunities presented to us in this age of community and conversation. Others are frustrated because it feels like 867 legged octopus that you can’t tame. And still others are determined to figure it all out before the next guy does.

Elation:

I met some really incredible people. Chris Brogan is all that and a bag of chips, and I’m not saying that to kiss his ass. He is passionate and articulate. He is the rock star because he knows how to get us out of our own heads. He talks about making your own rules and how we are all responsible now for becoming someone or some company that can be trusted. If you spend too much time worrying about whether or not you should use Facebook or Twitter, you’re missing big opportunity. Those tools are what our own Brent Robertson calls the “infantile instruments” of what we have to work with today.

Go back to your organization and start talking about what you want the organization to be. Then just do it. Things are bad out there. Take charge of your organization and start doing the heavy lifting – talk to your customers, find out what they want from you and then determine how to interact with them.  What’s your alternative? Place one ad in one publication and cross your fingers because that’s all you can afford? Spend that money on you. This is one thing that I know I’m right about: take that marketing budget you have (or had) and turn it into an investment of time. Your time. Your team’s time. Figure out what needs to change within the company to become an organization that fights for your right to not just exist, but to be great.

Frustration:

I experienced two levels of frustration:

1) With myself. You know that 867 legged octopus I mentioned earlier? That’s me. I always though I was the scuba diver trying to swim around the uncontrollable monster. Now, it turns out that I am the monster. I have the power, I just haven’t been wielding it to the best of my ability.

2) With the conference. 50% of the content was spot on, phenomenal and light years ahead of the other 50%. If I heard one more time that “social media” is about “engagement, conversation and relationships” I thought I would hurl my iPhone right into the crowd. I GET IT. Can we talk about the state of organizations please? Because organizations – B2B, B2C, nonprofit, trying to make profit, whatever – are in a state of complete madness. And we all remember the definition of madness: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Some of the best content from this conference came from the people I talked to (Justin Levy, CC Chapman, Jason Falls, Mike Lewis, Rachel Levy, Joselin Mane, Jaimey from Osh Kosh, Jennifer Zeszut, Paula Berg, Cellular Chloe, Patti Fousek and all the guys and gals I met at the TweetUp) and from the commentary on the Twitter feed.

Determination:

I am determined to start more conversations that lead to people taking charge. I was one of those wallflowers who was waiting for someone else to tell me how to proceed. Sometimes I still do that (blame it on my quiet New England upbringing). But I am determined to get others into the liberating place where I am now: forging ahead with my own rules because my destiny belongs to me.
I would really like to know how we can take the conversation to the next level. It’s not about social media anymore. We need to operate as if we are living The Day After for real. Clean up the carnage and start building anew. Forget about the old rules because they don’t exist. We are the ones making the rules. And, that goes for me too.

Posted by: Suzi Craig
Email the author: suzi@fathom.net