If you’re reading this, I assume you’re either an entrepreneur or a marketer. You’ll likely know that affiliate marketing is one of the most effective ways of bringing in revenue online. Simply put, affiliate marketing is when someone else (a vendor, brand, or company) pays you to promote their products. For example, you get paid to promote a product on your blog or social media channels.
What is TEDx?
In the past, people would travel to distant lands to learn new things. These days, we take our learning world closer to home, with TEDx.
TEDx is a global platform that connects thought leaders from around the world with thousands of participants via live streamed talks. The content covers a wide range of topics, including marketing, business, creativity, technology, science, and more.
This year’s edition of the annual TEDx conference was no different, with talks spanning from viral marketing to financial freedom. Below we’ve curated a list of the top 10 most interesting, relevant, and insightful TEDx talks from this year’s conference.
10. The Role of Brands and Traditional Marketing in Digital Marketing
This year’s theme, “The Role of Brands and Traditional Marketing in Digital Marketing,” covered the expanding role of traditional marketing and the changing face of digital marketing in our exponentially growing world.
To begin, Kate Knibbs, Chief Marketing Officer at 360i, talks about the expanding role of brands and traditional marketing in digital marketing. She stresses the need to evolve with the times and not become outdated, and how brands can use digital marketing to stay connected to their customers.
“Traditional marketing and the ‘brick and mortar’ approach to marketing, have always been with us. It is only in the last decade that we have seen marketing morph from the ‘4 P’s’ of Product, Price, Place & Promotion to ‘NPS’, ‘Data & Analytics’, ‘Virtual Shopping’, ‘Content & Creative’ and most recently ‘Relationship Marketing’. “
9. From Product to Customer: How to Build a High-performance E-commerce Store
Built to combat the ebbing of e-commerce sales toward the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016, Corey Lantero, Senior Manager of Business Development at Shopify, debunks the myth of low-cost-of-entry that sometimes stops motivated entrepreneurs in their tracks.
“Operating an e-commerce store doesn’t have to be hard. You can literally get a professionally designed website up and running in less than an hour. But if you want to make sure your e-commerce store is performing at its absolute best, you need to take some time to plan and optimize it. Fortunately, we’ve got you covered. In this talk, you’ll learn about the different aspects of e-commerce store performance that you need to monitor, track, and optimize. From SEO to conversion rate to e-commerce sales, we’ll cover it all. By the end of this talk, you’ll know exactly how to build and run an effective e-commerce store that will serve your business goals and exceed your expectations.
8. The Rise of Virtual Shopping: How to Make Your Online Store a Real Shopping Destination
With the invention of the computer, an entirely new industry was born. E-commerce, online shopping, and virtual shopping all exist because of the Internet. The ability to purchase almost anything online has revolutionized the way we do business. If you’re reading this, you’re probably already aware of the countless numbers of online shops that have popped up to serve our every need. But what you might not know is that many of these businesses were created by one person with a passion for marketing and a desire to transform how we shop online. In this talk, Shopify’s own Tara Swart introduces us to the world of online marketing and how entrepreneurs can use her platform to transform how we shop online.
7. Personal Branding and the Rise of the Customer-Centric Marketer
In the last several years, the line between marketing and sales has blurred. Today’s marketers aren’t just sending out marketing material anymore. They’re also selling a brand’s products and services directly to consumers, a practice known as customer-centric marketing.
It’s never been easy being a business owner, and the online world has made it even more complicated. With so much competition, how do you ensure you’re getting the right message to the right people? In this talk, you’ll learn about the importance of creating a brand voice and image that will resonate with your customers. You’ll also learn about the tools business owners can use to ensure their marketing materials, social media posts, and emails all match the personal brand they’re building.
6. SEO: The Future of Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is a form of marketing that can be used to improve the organic (non-paid) search rankings of a website or digital property in the search results of a specific keyword or keyphrase.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably already aware that SEO is a fast-paced and constantly evolving field. What you might not know is that SEO isn’t as difficult to learn as you might think. You’ll simply need to have a basic understanding of how search engines work, the basics of HTML, and enough courage to actually try out different techniques. To help you get started, we’ve curated a list of 20 free SEO resources that can help you gain a better understanding of SEO and how to apply it to your own practice.
5. The Future of Email Marketing
While social media has shifted the way we interact and connect online, email marketing will continue to be one of the most effective ways of reaching your audience.
What’s changed is how we use social media to discover and engage with content. In the past, people would use websites like Twitter to follow the conversations that were happening around topics they were interested in. But with the rise of social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, people are now discovering content through their friends’ pictures and videos. And since people already trust their friends’ advice, this means we’re getting a step closer to the trusted advisor model. In other words, your friend Sarah might recommend a book that transformed her life, and because you know Sarah, you might also become interested in that book.
Trusted advisors can help customers make better decisions by providing them with objective and in-depth information that isn’t easily found elsewhere. If your goal is to grow your email list, setting up a separate email account specifically for collecting leads and building a relationship with your audience is a great way to do this. Not sure where to start? Here are some tips from HubSpot on creating an email marketing campaign that will help you build a successful business.
4. Content Curation: How to Find the Gold Amongst the Hay
It’s amazing what can happen when you’re looking for ways to improve your marketing strategy but don’t know where to begin. That’s exactly what happened to Annabel Karmel, owner of Content Curation, who went from dreaming about the possibility of having a content-curating business to actually doing it.
In this talk, she explains how she went from having a collection of articles on personal finance to creating a money-management business. Along the way, she discovered a few key pointers that helped her become more efficient and effective in her efforts.
3. Marketing for Creatives: The Ultimate Blogger Kit
If you’re a creative person who needs help marketing and promoting your work, you’ve come to the right place. In this talk, Lisa Di Stefano, owner of The Di Stefano Marketing Group, walks you through every step of the way, from brainstorming to measuring the results, to ensure you’re ready to hit the ground running with your new blog.
Starting a blog can be a daunting task, especially if you’re doing it from the ground up. There are so many things to think about, and it’s easy to make the mistake of trying to do too much too quickly. One of the most important things you need to do is to figure out what will make your blog stand out amongst the literally hundreds of other blogs covering the same topics. In this talk, you’ll learn about the importance of having a unique voice and style, as well as tips on how to use your blog to further your career.