Dear ,

Autumn officially crept into New York in the wee hours
this morning.

Despite the fall sprinkling of pumpkin spiced coffee options filling chain shops: 
the weather defied the calendar. 

The sun may have fallen directly above the equator but, further north, its warming rays felt like summer. 

So my husband and I took advantage of the glorious weather to head out. 

Without leaving town, we had a bonus beach weekend on Brighton Beach in Brooklyn. 

Since fall started to blow into town these last fleeting weekends of warm sunshine feel even more special. 

Across the water, I could see where I attended the #LinkedinGlobal meetup in NJ last Thursday. Billed as the largest LinkedIn Meetup, the event consisted of panel discussions, podcasting and face-to-face networking. 

While first impressions matter to make an initial connection, developing a relationship requires on-going interactions and work. 

At LinkedinGlobal, I got the opportunity to spend time talking with a diverse mix of LinkedIn influencers and peers. And, more importantly, we had fun. Big tip of my hat to: Brian Wallace, Michaela Alexis, Kate Skavish of Wave.Video, Christine Gritmon (who I finally met IRL!) and Chantel Soumis!
 

Why?
Because she leaned into her last name. Judi wore a set of fox ears and carried a plush fox.

Actionable Marketing Tip:

• Push yourself to get out of your comfort zone. Don’t limit yourself to the events you attend every year. Check local meetings related to your main business focus. This increases the chance of meeting people with different points of view and sets of connections broadening your network. 
   

 

As we head into prime fall marketing event season, power up your networking efforts! 

Go beyond filling your calendar with conferences, events and meetings, update your online bio. Include your website, social media profiles and email signature pages. 

In today’s digital first world, you online bio is your business card especially when 75% of customers have already checked you out online before they contact you. 

In my opinion, branding is underrated, especially by small businesses and individuals. The easiest and cheapest way to create memorability is consistency. Branding applies to every interaction you have. It’s the image you present and the way you engage with people whether it’s in real life or digitally. 

The most important element of personal branding: An authentic human voice, expressed in the first person! (And that dates back to Cluetrain Manifesto in 1998!)

LinkedinGlobal understood the need to look your best. They invited Laibel Schwartz and his team to create share-worthy headshots for a never-ending line of attendees.

What do you think of my headshot?

BTW—I strongly recommend getting Laibel to photograph attendees at your next event.
 

As a major conference and/or event in your category this week’s Advertising Week New York spotlights the top marketing topics and speakers.  

At first glance, spread across 28 categories and 24 venues you can easily get overwhelmed by the options. 

But this choice overload underscores the key challenge your marketing faces regardless of business focus or size:

• Content saturation 

More importantly it’s a key element of Seismic Marketing Shift because it influences whether your marketing message gets seen or heard in the context of these 3 content needs:

• Information I want or need (includes personal finance and health)
• Entertain me (includes movies, television, music, gaming and more)
• Help me do what I want to do, go or buy (often translates to “near me” search)

My analysis of the Advertising Week offering reveals these 3 trends:

• Technology (most notably AI) and related data must power your marketing strategy to remain competitive. Beyond obvious tech-based topics like AI, Martech and Data, a variety DTC options provide insights into today’s updated direct marketing approach across business types and models. 
• Top social media players have pivoted to become competitive media options. So they must showcase their promotional options. This underscores that the massive market disruption where these players (including  Facebook, Twitter, Snap, TikTok, Quora and others) must make the case and compete for your promotional budget. 
• Rebuild eroded customer trust. Across verticals, marketers are tasked with rebuilding tarnished customer trust. 

Want to meet me IRL this week? 

Find out what’s really happening with social media at Talkwalker’s Data and Drinks on Tuesday, September 24th. Trust Insights’s Christopher Penn will discuss Social Media 2020. Get your copy of Penn’s full analysis of this social media data. (Note: Registeration is required!)

MarketingProfs B2B Forum, October 16 – 18 in Washington D.C.
Save $100 when you register with my code: B2BFriend19. (This is not an affiliate link.)

If you’re running an event that you would like me to speak at, please let me know. (Just hit reply to reach me.)

Shout out to new readers: Suhas, Julie, Paul, Riza, Jim, Mark, Veronica, Joao, Pedro, Eniko, Kamil, Nancy, Bridget, Lisa, Hari, Brian, Rob, Candace and Debbie. Welcome and thank you for joining our community.

Happy Marketing,
Heidi

PS: Do you have a friend or colleague who would benefit from reading the Actionable Marketing Guide newsletter? If so would you please forward this email to them?
   

FEATURED ARTICLE: Co-Marketing Partnerships

Before you attend Advertising Week and other marketing conferences, read this article. It’ll help you to reassess your marketing options beyond advertising when your budget just won’t stretch any further. 

  

FEATURED ARTICLE: Branded Storytelling

In today’s content saturated world, you MUST tell stories!

Why?

Because stories make your brand memorable. It’s even more important in a voice-first world where people need a plot line to put your words in context!

So select your best stories from these 30+ options.

 

FEATURED ARTICLE: Sustainable Content

To keep your road tested content visible and viable over time, transform it into sustainable content. Here’s your How To Guide on Sustainable Content. (BTW—It’s based on the UN’s 4 Pillars of Sustainability.) 

  
  

Heidi Cohen Around The Internet

Following this year’s amazing Content Marketing World in Cleveland, the following content smarties have given me a shout out in their conference content. And to show my appreciation, I’m including these articles so that you can become a better marketer too! 

• Big tip of my hat to George Stenitzer of Crystal Clear Communications for his must-read summary of the Content Marketing World highlights appropriately called: 4 Looming Questions

• 50 Top Content Marketing Influencers Speaking At Content Marketing World by Lane Ellis of Top Rank Marketing. 

• 125 Top Content Marketers For 2019 by Social Animal. 

 Click here to get this and previous AMG newsletters on the Web.

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The fine print:

• Unless noted otherwise, all photos are ©2019 by Heidi Cohen
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