Four SxSW Events Made for Marketers

One week countdown to SxSW. Are you ready? Here at Mattr we’re still plugging away, searching for the best and brightest influencer content and thoughts to share with you to help make your South By experience as good as it can be!

Last week we blogged about some of our findings, not yet in the form of who the influencers are – that’s coming closer to the show – but rather, some sources of inspirational marketing content written by a few of the influencers we’ve identified, in the hopes of getting you in the mood for what’s to come.

Now we have more interesting tidbits to share with you as you prepare to descend upon Austin next week – more specifically, some must-attend events – and all hosted or recommended by some of our marketing influencers.

There are a ton of events to choose from during SXSW, not to mention loads of fun stuff to do around Austin. It’s a lot to consider, especially as you think about packing them all into the five short days that encompass SxSWi. We encourage you to do your research and find your own personal fit when it comes to choosing events – but might we suggest adding a note to your schedule to consider the four below?

CrowdTap People-Powered Party

– Hosted by CrowdTap, with official media partner, AdWeek, this event happens on March 15 at V Nightclub. What makes this event so awesome and exciting for marketers looking for some inspiration at SxSW, is the fact it’s the first ever people-powered party. Attendees will power the lighting, music, decor and more! How cool is that?! There will also be a concert with ‘MTV Artists to Watch’ MisterWives, The White Panda and DJ Hesta Prynn and Chargaux. Convinced you need to take part? Get your free tickets here.

Ignite SXSW

– Presented by Ignite and SXSW, Ignite SxSW is a series of 5-minute presentations about geeky subjects delivered in a format of 20 slides (15 seconds per slide, auto advancing). Sit back and watch as presenters either kick ass or fall behind — but all of them will inform the audience on all sorts of cool topics! Big plus — this event is open to non-badge holders. Get your free ticket for the March 14th event here. It’s sure to be fast, furious and full of fun, quirky knowledge.

SXSW Accelerator Startup Competition

– Presented by Oracle, the seventh year of this competition will happen on March 14 and 15. Come cheer on eager startups from near and far as they present their innovations and ideas to a panel of judges to discover what the next big thing in online technology is for 2015. Who knows, it could be a marketer’s dream tech and you’ll be one of the first to hear about it! This competition is always a good time – and it supports the startup community. That’s a win-win in our book.

SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards

– Previously called the Interactive Awards, the renamed SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards presented by PwC will honor the latest and best advancements in digital technology, from platforms, to software, to apps and devices. Just think, where would we marketers be without amazing advancements in these areas?! The ceremony will take place on March 17, so come out and support those companies and folks who will be honored!

That’s it– four events to squeeze into your presumably already packed SxSW schedule. The Mattr team will surely be attending these events too, so if you see some Mattr badges in the crowd, be sure to stop us and say hello!

Social Data for Successful Mobile Marketing

(Originally posted in Adotas)

Do you remember the days of browsing a bookstore or library for your next read? You’d head to your favorite section and get lost for hours before settling on a book. Now, personalized tools such as Amazon’s recommendation system have reduced this search to a few seconds. Both consumers and marketers can admire Amazon’s ability to instantly lead a customer to the perfect book based on his or her preferences. Although the algorithms that power these systems are amazing, the magic is in how personalized recommendations make consumers feel. Amazon makes a transaction with a machine feel personal. When consumers feel like someone — or something, in this case — knows and cares about their interests, they will become loyal customers who keep coming back for that personal touch. Amazon is paving the way for a more user-driven brand experience, and with brands such as Netflix following suit, marketers can no longer rely on deceptive qualitative data alone to make campaign decisions.

Marketers need to get data on their customers, and the best way to do this is through the platforms they’re constantly using: mobile devices.

Meet Consumers Where They Are

Mobile usage now accounts for 60 percent of consumers’ digital time, according to a 2014 comScore report. And app usage accounts for most mobile engagement, taking up seven out of every eight minutes of media consumption on mobile devices. With the explosion of mobile usage, marketers can now reach consumers wherever they are and deliver the Amazon-like personalized recommendations that they expect. But many marketers who are flocking to mobile are making the mistake of bombarding consumers with irrelevant messages. This information overload makes capturing — and keeping — customer attention a constant challenge.

To compete on Amazon’s level of personalization, marketers must be able to track their customers’ behavior on mobile. By tapping into this rich trove of psychographic data, marketers can rise above the noise and get the right information to the right customer at the right time.

Leverage Social Analytics for Campaigns

You’re familiar with the customer persona method of defining your target audience. You can also create mobile profiles to craft highly personalized campaigns. The easiest way to do this is through social analytics tools. Consumers are less guarded on social platforms than they are in formal surveys or focus groups. By harnessing social data, you can see your audience in real time — while at the grocery store, in the living room, or on an outdoor adventure — and collect important psychographic data.

By analyzing this data, you’re much more likely to get an accurate and unbiased picture of your audience’s interests, values, personality traits, and purchase intentions. If you combine this with quantitative data, you can craft a mobile campaign that will reach the exact people who will love your product or service. Choose the metrics that are most important to your mobile campaign, such as the number of social followers or video downloads. Continue researching and tweaking the campaign until it heads in the right direction. Psychographic analysis is still a work in progress, especially on the social front, but brands that jump in now will end up on top.

It’s a new age for marketers. Consumers are smart enough to know when they’re the targets of marketing efforts, and they don’t always like it. Take the time to get to know them personally and offer a precise solution at the right moment. You’ll earn the enduring trust of the people who matter most to your business.