19 February 2020
MC walking across stage at Digital Marketers Australia Conference 2020

Image 1: DMA MC, Luke Huysmans

Last week I went along to the Digital Marketers Australia conference in Melbourne. After three days of gaining actionable insights, I have incorporated four of my key learnings into today’s blog post, which focuses on ways to engage your audience that you can implement right away.

Talk to the people around you

Okay, so we are starting with a very obvious point, but as explained by Alexi Neocleous, Founder of content marketing agency Fubbi, some of the best ideas for your content can be gauged from your sales/support teams, who speak with customers directly on a daily basis. He suggested finding out what your customers are asking, and use this to guide any messaging.

Naomi Simson was the keynote speaker for the conference and gave us a breakdown of how her company, The Big Red Group carries out their digital marketing. She emphasised the importance of delivering “passion and purpose”, and said that the recent Australian Bushfires were an example of a time when her customers needed support the most. She stressed the need to stay in tune with our audience and continue to deliver value by being “who you need to be.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image 2: Naomi Simson, Founder of The Big Red Group

Recognise demand

A key theme of the conference was user demand, and how this can be identified. Founder and host of Digital Marketers Australia, Stephen Esketzis explained that successful digital marketing is the result of the following principles:

  • A strong offer
  • Copy and creative that resonates
  • Precision and targeting.

Stephen put it simply: “With a weak offer, there is no demand”. He reminded us that it is crucial to recognise the demand for your product and create content that your audience feels compelled to engage with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image 3: Stephen Eskatzis, Founder and Host of DMA

Create good content

Another one that seems like a no brainer, that follows on from the last point. As stressed to us multiple times during the conference, to truly engage an audience, make sure your content is “gold”, that you are providing quality content. Speak to your audience as if you are having a conversation, and offer practical solutions. 

Joyce Ong, Founder of New Heights Media shared some valuable advice on creating the perfect video content on a budget, and showed the audience that these materials aren’t necessarily expensive. Joyce reminded us that we all have a high resolution camera that we take with us everywhere we go, and it is easy to produce video content on these devices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image 4: Joyce Ong, Founder of New Heights Media

Test and learn

Another key takeaway: Invest time and resources into learning how your audience interacts with your brand using analytics provided through your search and social accounts. You will begin to notice patterns in your audiences activity which helps you to test and continuously improve your offer.

Harry Sanders, Founder and CEO of StudioHawk offered advice on using analytics platforms to better understand how your customers are engaging. Harry told us in his sessions on SEO, “People love feeling like they’ve found something” so use this advice to your advantage with these four tactics that you can put into practice right away. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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mage 5: Harry Sanders, Founder of StudioHawk

DMAC 2020 left my mind buzzing —  this is likely to be one of many blog posts I write based on my learnings, I hope you got something out of it — and stay tuned for more!

Have a question or some feedback? Get in touch today at blog@afilias.com.au