Pubcon Vegas 2014 – The Big Picture in Online Marketing

Last year, I felt that the big overarching theme of Pubcon was “do more with less”. This message permeated through all of the keynotes. Urging the use of neuro marketing for the subtle changes that do more and pushing for conversion optimization to make your website work harder for you. Google is keeping more of the SERPs traffic because they are trying to enhance their user’s experience.

This year I had two major take-a-ways from Pubcon Vegas: the “internet of things” is here and “be useful to be successful”.

The “internet of things” is a major concept to understand. Online marketing started with email, websites, and banner advertising. The main consumption point of those channels were desktop computers, but then laptops steadily grew in usage; and furthermore, tablet usage. Coinciding with the increasing use of tablets, large mobile phones are now the standard (Samsung Note 4, Iphone 6+, Nexus 6, etc). In the past, online marketing was somewhat confined to the world of computers. Today, we have “the internet of things”.

When imagining the “internet of things” think about how many devices can connect to the internet:

• Cars – Tesla, Cars with internet access for live traffic, music, and more
• Home – Nest, alarm systems, cameras, home automation
• Accessories – Smart watches, health monitors
• Diapers – Did you know there is a diaper with a sensor that can tweet you when it needs to be changed? http://www.cbsnews.com/news/huggies-tweetpee-device-sends-tweet-when-baby-wets-diaper/

The “internet of things” revolutionizes the advertising industry (again). How do we promote specials at a restaurant as a Tesla is driving by? How does Google change your search results when they know you are home because of Nest? If you are running and using an online device to track your activity, should you get an ad for running shoes? Who doesn’t want a happy baby? What if those tweets were sponsored by other baby products? Online advertising is not just website marketing anymore!

Watch for my follow up post to discuss the value of “being useful” and tying it to each of the Pubcon keynotes.

In the meantime, you can read Brittni’s session coverage on Pubcon’s Blog:
http://www.pubcon.com/get-in-the-fast-lane-with-seo-tips-from-car-dealerships
http://www.pubcon.com/mission-driven-execution-keynote-by-chris-brogan
http://www.pubcon.com/facebook-keynote-introduces-new-features-for-marketers
http://www.pubcon.com/creating-socially-engaging-content
http://www.pubcon.com/advanced-ppc-tactics-by-larry-kim
http://www.pubcon.com/hacking-adwords-top-ten-ppc-hacks-of-all-time
http://www.pubcon.com/writing-for-success-tips-from-bruce-clay-seo-session
http://www.pubcon.com/copywriting-style-guide-session-coverage
http://www.pubcon.com/amazons-4-pillars-of-success-keynote-by-jeffrey-eisenberg
http://www.pubcon.com/jeffrey-eisenberg-keynote-coverage-understanding-buyer-legends
http://www.pubcon.com/seo-trainning-laratro-enge-hunt
http://www.pubcon.com/brad-geddes-ppc-masters-group-training-coverage
http://www.pubcon.com/9-paid-marketing-takeaways-from-brad-geddes-training-coverage