Tag: content

National Geographic’s #SMWNYC Event on How They Engage 350 Million Fans on Social

Posted on by SMW Staff

National Geographic aims to inspire, enlighten and activate audiences around the world, encouraging them to go further and test the limits of what is possible, and at #SMWNYC, they are sharing this expertise with the Social Media Week audience.

At #SMWNYC, Rachel Webber (EVP of Digital Products, National Geographic) will share insights and perspectives on how they are leveraging the new tools and platforms to maintain their position as one of the most relevant and inspiring brands in social media. The session is titled Masters of Storytelling: How NatGeo Engages 350 Million Fans on Social

National Geographic celebrates the explorer inside all of us; those go, do and push themselves further. Our stories are told by the world’s best scientist, explorers, photographers and filmmakers. We offer true 360 experiences across an unparalleled portfolio of media assets – television channels, magazines, kids, travel, books, video, events and some of the most followed digital and social platforms in the world.

As a trusted global super brand, National Geographic touches over 760 million consumers of every age, in every part of the world, every single month and maintains a social footprint of over 350 million faithful followers.

With an unwavering commitment to the power of science, exploration and storytelling to change the world, National Geographic is a forward thinking multi-media company, with purpose at its core. We return 27% of our proceeds to the non-profit National Geographic Society, creating a virtuous cycle of storytelling and philanthropy committed to research, science, conservation and exploration.

National Geographic’s event from November’s Social Media Week in Chicago

National Geographic strives to check off three boxes with its content: 1) Relevant, 2) Relatable, and 3) Timely. Content that achieves these pillars allow NatGeo to reach consumers across all social media channels, and learn from each posts in order to adapt their content and strategy. They also realize that it’s important to stay realistic, even with big, new ideas.

Here are some highlights from that session featuring Claudia Malley (Chief Marketing and Brand Officer, NatGeo):

The organizational values that push National Geographic’s brand forward:

NatGeo’s strategy for Facebook Live and live video content:

NatGeo’s strategy for Snapchat and vertical video

Social Media Week returns to New York this February 28 to March 3. HQ passes are sold out, but you can still watch the official sessions LIVE and on-demand through our video platform, SMW Insider.

Pinterest will explore “Creativity that Drives Growth” at #SMWNYC

Posted on by SMW Staff

One of the biggest hurdles that marketers fact today is creating content that’s personalized and inspires people to act. Join Alastair Cotterill, Pinterest’s Global Head of Creative and Brand Strategy, for a chat about how developing great creative based on “me” time instead of “them” time may not be as tricky as it may seem.

In this session, “From Inspiration to Action: Creativity that Drives Growth,” attendees will walk away with an understanding of how shifting to this more personalized approach results in unique creative opportunities, as well as the reasons why great creative doesn’t just win awards, but also drives actual business growth.

Alastair will also show attendees examples of creative that inspired people to take action with on mobile devices, plus new ideas for creating engaging content intended for mobile.

Social Media Week returns to New York this February 28 at The TimesCenter. Register to attend here before passes sell out, and view more events on our official schedule here.

The Cost Effective, Scalable, Repeatable Way to Reach New Customers

Posted on by SMW Staff

“Content is the easiest and most scalable way for someone to exchange value for time.”

Eddie Kim, the Cofounder and CEO of SimpleReach, helps publishers, agencies and brands understand what content is resonating with customers and how to distribute it most effectively. In his company’s analytics, he has seen countless times that the best way to bring clients to a potential customer is using content.

Forbes utilizes an “always-on” model that allows marketers to publish unlimited content as they see fit. This approach, referred to as native advertising and content marketing, creates an audience by building a body of work online. The arena is growing, with an estimated $60 billion to be spent on native advertising in 2016, according to Forbes VP of Ad Products and Strategy Ann Marinovich.

The strategy differs from traditional advertising, and the industry has seen a growing need for measurement and transparency on how native programs are performing. Conversations are increasingly focused on understanding what exactly a product is delivering, and data and analytics is key to that story.

Traackr is an influencer management system that helps brands and agencies curate relationships in online media and has recently partnered with Forbes. Pierre-Loïc Assayag, Traackr’s CEO, has observed a clear change in the content of the message itself.

“Brands have shifted from pushing a specific product on customers, to having a conversation about brand purpose,” he explained.

Read the full session recap at SMW News

Secure your spot in February of 2017 to join 2,000+ leaders in media, entertainment, and technology for a week of inspiring and educational events learning.

Better Understand Your Audience with Simple Lessons in A/B Testing

Posted on by SMW Staff

Traditionally marketing and advertising practices have relied largely upon gut-something to the nature of look and feel. As social media has reared its newborn head, incumbent celebrities and corporate heads have gradually begun to tiptoe towards actually building a following for brand and personal purposes.

With the new rise of data and low-cost scalability in computing, the inception of revolutionary metrics and statistics are making us question our gut. For instance, Betsy Fast, Site Director at Seventeen.com, recounted how her suggested titles for a teenager’s article was actually not as popular as the original title, due to the data she received from her site.

On the whole, viewership is exploding due to social platforms: 25 million views from Harpers Bazaar’s Facebook page with only 2.5 million actual followers is unheard of a decade ago. Viewership means voices, and those voices are being aggregated and analyzed.

Disruption is salient. Joyann King, editor of HarpersBazaar.com, mentioned that their site just implemented A/B testing, which would resolve numerous site design and outreach choices through actual quantification of visitor behavior.

Humorously so, she reflected that the choice of a site main product image used to be “holding hands and saying ‘I feel M&M’s’ or ‘I feel Reese’s’,” which is as far a cry from leveraging site analytics as is using ouija board to ask about your ancestors versus signing up for Ancestry.com.

Suffice it to say, this step toward data-driven decision-making in the media industry is a mile long leap for the marketing industry.

Read the full session recap at SMW News

Secure your spot in February of 2017 to join 2,000+ leaders in media, entertainment, and technology for a week of inspiring and educational events learning.

29% of Time Spent on All Screens in 2015 Was Spent on Vertical Content

Posted on by SMW Staff

There’s a challenge for advertisers to promote and portray brands in shows, especially as brand exposure is often not aligned with humor. Brands bring a filter to content, and limit the association of the media with only positive ideas about the brand.

The problem is that content creation on mobile and for mobile is intentionally and inherently unshackled by traditional advertising and media culture-it’s the realness of content creators and social media celebrities that grows viewership towards the holy grail of virality. Ian Schafer, founder and CEO of Deep Focus, brought this to light along with his two honored guests: Ricky van Veen, founder of CollegeHumor; and Lisa Weinstein, CEO of Engine Media Group.

The driving force behind this growing concern is that 51% of digital device time is spent on mobile devices, and yet content creation for the vertical screen is only at 29% of all creation efforts. The gap will naturally close, and the catalyst is social media-media that is viewed primarily over mobile.

So what happens to ad agencies? The company that knows the brand best is the creative/production agency, and the recognized detriment of distance between ad agencies and the actual point of content creation is growing as the environment for media distribution rapidly evolves.

Read the full session recap at SMW News

Secure your spot in February of 2017 to join 2,000+ leaders in media, entertainment, and technology for a week of inspiring and educational events learning.

Meet Storyful, The Trending News and UGC Video Verifier, and Official Event Sponsor of #SMWNYC

Posted on by Tyler Becker

Everyone knows the stars of YouTube, Vine, Instagram and Snapchat. They have big audiences and big price tags, and working with them isn’t always a possibility.

To better understand this complex yet increasingly crucial video ecosystem, we’re thrilled to have Storyful join SMW New York as an Official Event Partner. They’ll break down these video platforms, and share how they’ve has established itself as the leader in verifying viral videos, trending news, ad user-generated content (UGC) online.

Their session, “The New Generation of Social Influencers” on Wednesday the 24th at 12:30pm at The TimesCenter will explore how you create a strategy for identifying and engaging with social influencers to help you achieve you tell you story and reach the right audience.

Storyful’s CEO, Rahul Chopra will dive into what makes a social influencer today, how they reach and engage audiences, and what marketers and advertisers need to do to be effective in 2016.

Storytelling in a Fragmented Media Environment: Keynote with National Geographic’s Chief Marketing Officer

Posted on by Tyler Becker

National Geographic is known around the globe for it’s leadership in visually compelling factual and entertaining storytelling, and in this keynote session at SMW New York, Claudia Malley (Chief Marketing and Brand Officer, National Geographic) will share insights and learnings on how this 128 year-old brand has pioneered the new media and fragmented landscape and to maintain it’s leadership position among consumers.

Claudia Malley heads up brand marketing, membership and market research for National Geographic, and previously served as EVP, Global Corporate Partnerships for National Geographic Society where se oversaw all global corporate partnerships and sponsorships.

Her keynote, “The Power of Storytelling in a Fragmented Media Environment” takes place on Thursday the 25th at 9:30am at The TimesCenter.

Claudia became Vice President and U.S. Publisher of National Geographic magazine in 2004 and Executive Vice President and Worldwide Publisher in 2010. Malley has more than 25 years of experience in media brand management, sales and marketing, working across media disciplines including print, television and digital.

9 Sessions at #SMWNYC That Will Help Your Paid Media Strategy

Posted on by Tyler Becker

Paid media seems to become a more important conversation and investment everyday for digital marketers. Facebook generates billions of dollars from advertisers spending money to reach their target audiences, and for many of us, it’s working!

But, sometimes going from 0 to 60 can be overwhelming, and marketers are still figuring out which tactical and brand-building initiatives are most successful on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social platforms

At Social Media Week New York, paid media is a huge topic of discussion. Leading brands in this space, such as Forbes, VaynerMedia, BuzzFeed, and Code and Theory, will lead sessions that will teach, inspire, and explore the wide world of paid media, and why it can be your organization’s key to success.

Purchase your pass for SMW New York to be among the 1,000+ industry leaders who learn and connect with each other through sessions like these:

1. How Data And Analytics Can Transform And Enhance Native Advertising Opportunities

Hosted by Forbes Media • Tuesday 2/23 at 11:00AM • SVA Theatre
Mark Howard (Chief Revenue Officer, Forbes Media) and Edward Kim (Co-founder and CEO, SimpleReach) will help attendees learn more about how brands can leverage native advertising over time via the web, mobile and social to reach target audiences.

2. The Best Brands On Snapchat

Hosted by Nasdaq • Tuesday 2/23 at 12:30PM • TimesCenter
Snapchat is the new battleground for the most innovative brands. Meet the marketers behind the ghost that are already crushing it on this emerging platform. Join Jeremy Skule (Chief Marketing Officer, Nasdaq), for an exciting chat with these Snapchat trailblazers.

3. Extending Lifetime Value – The Future Of Customer Engagement

Hosted by Simon Data • Tuesday 2/23 at 1:00PM • SVA Theatre
Learn how world’s savviest companies think about – and increase – customer lifetime value. Get an expert overview of the latest crop of marketing technologies, and learn more about the secret channel that’s been delivering huge value for some of NYC’s best e-commerce companies.

4. Bracing For The Ad-Blocked Future: How Brands Are Moving Beyond The Impression

Hosted by Crowdtap • Wednesday 2/24 at 9:00AM • SVA Theatre
Skipping ads. DVR-ing television shows. Installing ad-blockers. These behaviors have all become a common part of the Millennial experience. Led by Crowdtap’s CEO, Sean Foster, hear first-hand accounts of winning marketing programs that have invited consumers to help shape and tell a brand’s story, thereby building more emotional connections and driving long-term brand health.

5. Snapchat: How Brands Can Effectively Market on the Platform

Hosted by VaynerMedia • Wednesday 2/24 at 12:00PM • SVA Theatre
This masterclass led by Dan Grossman (Vice President of Platform Partnerships, VaynerMedia) together with Farrah Bezner (Head of New Business Ventures, Mondelēz International) and Talya Minsberg (Social Media Editor, New York Times) will detail best practices for how brands can market on Snapchat, such as the differentiation of Snapchat’s ROI vs. “more established” platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

6. The High Stakes Of Content Marketing As Seen By A Brand, Agency And Publisher

Hosted by Digiday • Wednesday 2/24 at 2:30PM • TimesCenter
When it comes to brands creating engaging content, the stakes have never been higher. The growth in programmatic and in ad blockers means that content needs to be at Hollywood-scale and cost half the price. This leadership series features in-depth presentations from Shareen Pathak (Digiday), Brian Becker (JPMorgan Chase), Stephanie Losee (POLITICO), and Jinal Shah (JWT New York).

7. Reach New Viewers! Develop Superfans! Impact Ratings! Launching A TV Show Via Social Media!

Hosted by VaynerMedia • Wednesday 2/24 at 3:00PM • SVA Theatre
Social media offers more ways than ever to build awareness around TV programs, but did you know it can drive and impact the new markers of success in today’s ever-changing television industry? This masterclass details how efficient, strategic media spend, time-shifting strategies and always-on content with a consistent voice can combine to increase buzz, awareness, and viewership (both linear and elsewhere like video-on-demand), with concrete, indisputable results.

8. Breaking Down the Silos: Unleashing Creativity in a World Where Social is Everything

Hosted by Droga5 • Wednesday 2/24 at 5:30PM • TimesCenter
In this session you’ll learn from Droga5’s experience working with brands and platforms on how to transition social media from a detached discipline to a shared mindset, leading to more influential and effective integrated creative work. Moderated by David Griner of Adweek, speakers include Colleen Leddy (Head of Communications Strategy, Droga5), Hope Cowan (Creative Agency Partner, Facebook), and Jim Mollica (Global Digital Marketing Strategy, Under Armour).

9. Create by Numbers: How Insights, Data, and Paid Media Shape the Creative Approach

Hosted by VaynerMedia • Friday 2/26 at 1:00PM • SVA Theatre
The volume of data and insights available for social media is changing how agencies and platforms strategize, spend, and steer clients. This session features speakers from VaynerMedia, Pinterest, and Fast Company who will explore the new ways of working together by bringing creative, strategy, account and paid media teams closer together than ever before.

We hope to see you in New York for Social Media Week! Join over 1,000 leaders who register each year, and in 2016, #SMWNYC features two official venues: The TimesCenter (FWD Stage) and SVA Theatre (EDU Stage). Attend the 70+ events with 200+ speakers for an incredible week you won’t want to miss. Get your pass here!

Brand POV on Content Marketing: Brian Becker of JPMorgan Chase Joins #SMWNYC

Posted on by Tyler Becker

When it comes to brands creating engaging content, the stakes have never been higher. The growth in programmatic and in ad blockers means that content needs to be at Hollywood-scale and cost half the price. That means that brands, agencies and publishers need to prove that the level of investment in content is worth it.

Brian Becker, Executive Director and Head of Newsroom at JPMorgan Chase will provide insights into his team’s strategic thinking during this session, and discuss how they make well-informed decisions in the current content marketing landscape.

Register for your SMW New York Pass to hear this session!

Brian coordinates company-wide content strategy and operations, including managing customer engagement projects and underlying business objectives. In his time at Chase, he has cultivated new opportunities around social media and evolved existing strategies on large properties like Chase.com.

He also creates and manages governance models and works internally to advocate for the research, production and distribution of digital content to modernize the organization’s approach to marketing.

Brian’s session, “The High Stakes Of Content Marketing As Seen By A Brand, Agency And Publisher” takes place Wednesday, February 24 at 2:30PM at The TimesCenter (FWD Stage).

EVENT SPOTLIGHT: The Evolution of Data, Trust and Transparency in Advertising

Posted on by Tyler Becker

Transparency is a highly placed value at The Economist Group and it is something that readers are demanding more of. But are they really having a transparent experience, or do they merely think they are?

Register to attend SMW New York to learn the good and the bad of marketers and publishers using more and more innovative methods to create, deliver and disguise digital advertising. Native advertising is the latest under scrutiny from the FTC, which released new guidelines last month, but it won’t be the last as more examples come to light where advertising is indistinguishable by consumers from content.

From hidden sponsorships to privacy, Mina Seetharaman (Global Director, Content Strategy at The Economist Group) will lead a panel with Tonia Ries (SVP and Executive Director, Edelman Square), Barbara Basney (VP of Global Advertising and Media, Xerox) and Amanda Rubin (Global Co-Head, Brand and Content Strategy, Goldman Sachs).

“Making The Invisible Visible: The Evolving Roles Of Data, Trust And Transparency In Advertising And Publishing” takes place Tuesday, February 23 at 4:30PM at The TimesCenter (FWD Stage).

Learn How 360° Video Is Changing The Content Game at SMW New York

Posted on by Tyler Becker

If you’re a marketer or content creator that engages audiences, you need to understand 360° video, and its potential to revolutionize the content ecosystem. While 360° video is quickly emerging as a new content frontier, it is still in its infancy. Now is the time to get in the game.

Register for your pass, and hear Brian Cristiano (CEO, BOLD Worldwide) explain the value, excitement and execution of 360° video through an in-depth discussion and real-life examples. Attendees will walk away with a deep understanding of the technology, why brands need to use it, and how to leverage social media to drive interaction.

Brian’s session at SMW New York, “How 360° Video is Changing the Content Game” will open your eyes in all directions and shed some light on how you can utilize this technology for entertainment, engagement and sales. This event takes place Thursday, February 25 at 3:00PM at the SVA Theatre (EDU Stage).

Putting Your Brand at the Center of Storytelling with Sam Olstein, GE’s Global Innovation Lead

Posted on by Tyler Becker

Entertainment, experience, and authentic engagement can transform brands in the eyes of fans. Today’s Millennials are hungry for stories that are relevant to them, and they don’t want to be sold to. Instead, they want to be active participants with a direct connection to their favorite brands.

At General Electric, there’s an ongoing goal to foster global innovation on new digital channels, and introduce the GE brand and story to new audiences. Sam Olstein (Global Innovation Lead, General Electric) will participate at SMW New York to discuss insights on community management, the power of social influence, and how mobile technology facilitates “advertainment” in today’s digital ecosystem.

Attendees that register for SMW New York and attend this session will learn how to use content and stories to reach and engage a Millennial audience, the differences between a welcomed entertainer versus an unwelcomed sales person, and the keys to find and work with the right influencers for your brand.

This session, “Your Brand, Their Story: Exploring The Shift In Content Creation And Consumption” takes place Friday, February 26 at 9:00AM at The SVA Theatre (EDU Stage).

Image Credit: USC Annenberg

8 Speakers Leading Discussions on Publishing and Content Creation at #SMWNYC

Posted on by Tyler Becker

Everything we read, watch, and listen to online starts as an idea, and ends up as content. Some content performs better than others, but it seems like anyone and everyone is trying to throw their hat into the content and publishing ring.

At SMW New York, some of the leading publishers and content creators will join us to share their knowledge, learning, and experience with attendees. Click here to register your pass for SMW New York, and gain access to events and speakers that will dive deep into the current and future state of online content and digital publishing.

1. Stephanie Losee (Executive Director, Brand Content, Politico)

Tuesday, Feb. 23 • 2:30PM • TimesCenter (FWD Stage)
When it comes to brands creating engaging content, the stakes have never been higher. The growth in programmatic and in ad blockers means that content needs to be at Hollywood-scale and cost half the price, which forces brands, agencies and publishers to prove that the level of investment in content is worth it. Along with Stephanie, hear from Brian Becker (Executive Director, Head of Newsroom, JPMorgan Chase), Shareen Pathak (Brands Editor, Digiday), and Jinal Shah (Digital Strategy Director, JWT New York).

2. Joyann King (Editor, HarpersBazaar.com)

Tuesday, Feb. 23 • 3:30PM • TimesCenter (FWD Stage)
Joyann will speak on this panel to explore how large scale increases in social followings are achieved, and compare the effectiveness of two differing social strategies: the use of performance metrics and audience data to inform social content, and following gut instinct to create posts that resonate with audiences. Kate Lewis (VP, Content Operations & Editorial Director, Hearst Digital), will moderate this session.

3. Summer Anne Burton (Editorial Director, Distributed, BuzzFeed)

Wednesday, Feb. 24 • 11:00AM • SVA Theatre (EDU Stage)
In this interactive presentation, BuzzFeed social experts Rachel Christensen and Summer Anne Burton will discuss how they helped successfully build the largest social networks in media by rethinking the way the industry sees social media editors, content, and distribution. They’ll cover how BuzzFeed stuck to scrappy and unconventional ways of thinking, and how they used data to inform their strategies.

4. Chris Berend (Vice President for Video Development, CNN)

Thursday, Feb. 25 • 9:00AM • SVA Theatre (EDU Stage)
Learn how to build a content strategy that’s informed by data from your social media properties. Plus, find out secrets to harness that data for audience targeting, distribution and more. Berend brings a wealth of experience to Great Big Story, a socially-distributed video network that covers real stories, where he oversees strategy and day-to-day operations from editorial to product and audience development.

More at SMW New York: 5 Events At #SMWNYC On How To Engage Gen-Y And Gen-Z On Social Media

5. Emily Bazelon (Staff Writer, The New York Times Magazine)

Thursday, Feb. 25 • 11:30AM • TimesCenter (FWD Stage)
In 2008, the political news cycle moved to the blogs, and in 2012 it spilled into social media but remained mostly intact as an insular conversation among journalists and opinion-shapers. In 2016, it’s being disrupted by candidates, trolls, and everyone in between. Hear from Emily Bazelon as she joins this session hosted by Blue State Digital. Also on this session is Garance Franke-Ruta (Editor in Chief, Yahoo Politics, Yahoo News).

6. Neal Mann (Editor, The Wall Street Journal)

Thursday, Feb. 25 • 4:30PM • TimesCenter (FWD Stage)
Will data be the new Editor-in-Chief? With the rise of machine learning and the availability of data, both publishers and platforms rely on algorithms, analytics and data modeling to personalize content to no end. A reader’s interaction with content becomes part of an optimization equation, based on preferences, actions taken online and the communities they belong to. Is this a good thing? Does journalism suffer without a human touch? Neal Mann will answer these questions and more during this session.

7. Philippe von Borries (Co-Founder and Co-CEO , Refinery29)

Friday, Feb. 26 • 9:30AM • TimesCenter (FWD Stage)
Through the rise of social networks and smartphones, the millennial ideology has transformed communication, making instantaneous, raw, and constant contact the norm. Philippe von Borries, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of lifestyle media company Refinery29, will discuss the advantages and challenges that this new landscape presents using concrete examples of how Refinery29 is capitalizing on this moment through its recent global expansion.

8. Eric Alt (Editor of CoCreate, Fast Company)

Friday, Feb. 26 • 1:00PM • SVA Theatre (EDU Stage)
Eric Alt will participate in a session to discuss why designers, writers, photographers and video producers need to think about execution and ideas informed by data on how to better speak to our audiences. Content creators are reducing subjectivity in favor of new ways of working by bringing creative, strategy, account and paid media teams closer than ever, all through insights and numbers.

Hearst’s Lessons at #SMWNYC on Using Data and Gut to Build Social Audiences

Posted on by Tess Kaytmaz

Kate Lewis, SVP and Editorial Director at Hearst Magazines Digital Media (HMDM), will moderate a session with three Hearst Digital site editors to explore how audiences of large scales can successfully build and cater towards their social presence.

They will compare the effectiveness of two different social strategies: the use of performance metrics and audience data to inform social content, and following one’s gut instinct to create content that resonates with a community.

The Hearst brands represented on the panel have experienced the largest social audience increases during 2015, and session takeaways and will include: 1) the significance of insight teams, 2) the importance of humans analyzing data, and 3) how to communicate with your audience as if it’s a group of like-minded individuals.

“Data vs. Gut” will take place on Tuesday, February 23rd at 3:00pm at the TimesCenter (FWD Stage), and participating editors on this session include:

  • Joyann King of HarpersBazaar
  • Joanna Saltz of Delish
  • Betsy Fast of Seventeen

★ Join thousands of industry leaders at SMW New York ★

View The Initial Program Of Events for SMW New York

Social Media Week New York, now in it’s 8th year, brings together thousands of professionals in marketing, media and technology. We’re excited to announce the initial schedule and speaker lineup for SMW New York, which takes place this February 22-26.

Join us across our two official venues, and hear from organizations such as Ogilvy, Starcom MediaVest, MRY, Forbes, Mashable, MTV, The Economist, GE, Pinterest, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Spotify and many more!

Register for SMW New York

If you’d like to hear from visionary speakers, and join the thousands of attendees that come to Social Media Week in New York each year, register today by purchasing your pass.

Image Credit: Latino Weekly

Attend These 5 Events To Take Your Content Marketing and Storytelling to the Next Level

Posted on by Tyler Becker

Today “storytelling” and “content marketing” are two extremely abused buzzwords in our industry, but that doesn’t mean that they are not valuable tools to share your brand’s stories and experiences in order to connect with online audiences.

The abundance of content (not just stories) out there, the dramatic competition for our attention, and the staggering speed at which these stories spread and are consumed (or discarded) has made it more difficult to break through the noise and reach our audiences.

Here are five sessions taking place at SMW New York this February 22-26 that will teach, inspire, and think ahead to the current and future state of content marketing and storytelling.

1. The High Stakes Of Content Marketing As Seen By A Brand, Agency And Publisher

(Presented by Digiday)
When it comes to brands creating engaging content, the stakes have never been higher considering the growth in programmatic and ad blockers. The content needs to be at Hollywood scale, and at the quality of best-in-class digital journalism. Shareen Pathak (Brands Editor at Digiday) will examine how leading brands, agencies and publishers are finding success.

2. Mediapocalypse! Are Platforms Killing The Business Of Media & Advertising? And Why Won’t Anyone Talk About It?

(Presented by Deep Focus)
Platforms like Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Twitter are up-ending the media business. Publishers and advertisers, content producers and creators, advertisers and agencies are all dealing with the repercussions of distributed media models. Hear from executives at Deep Focus, College Humor, and Starcom Media Group on this always-evolving battle.

3. Atomization Of Business: Content Strategies For Speed, Quality, And Efficiency

(Presented by Code and Theory)
Code and Theory’ Co-Founder, Dan Gardner, will introduce attendees to Atomization, his agency’s approach to helping today’s businesses take advantage of strategic opportunities via social media. Attendees will learn: 1) How to reach multiple audiences with multiple stories; 2) How to take advantage of trending culture and conversation; 3) The importance of matching content to context; and 4) How to design for natural behaviors online.

★ Register today by purchasing your pass ★

4. Building A Great Social Presence The Resourceful Way, Presented By BuzzFeed

(Presented by BuzzFeed)
In this interactive presentation, BuzzFeed social experts Rachel Christensen and Summer Anne Burton will discuss how they helped successfully build the largest social networks in media—by rethinking the way the industry sees social media editors, content, and distribution. They’ll cover how BuzzFeed stuck to scrappy and unconventional ways of thinking about and creating content for social platforms, and how they used data to inform their strategies.

5. A Writer’s Guide To Viral Storytelling

(Presented by Wattpad)
In this MasterClass with Wattpad’s #1 fantasy writer and #1 Amazon Bestseller Sally Slater, you’ll take a deep dive into the business of viral storytelling and learn how you can leverage an online community to market your brand, attract an audience and share your story with millions–whether you’re an aspiring novelist or a creative marketer.

View The Initial Program Of Events for SMW New York

Social Media Week New York, now in it’s 8th year, brings together thousands of professionals in marketing, media and technology. We’re excited to announce the initial schedule and speaker lineup for SMW New York, which takes place this February 22-26.

Join us across our two official venues, and hear from organizations such as Ogilvy, Starcom MediaVest, MRY, Forbes, Mashable, MTV, The Economist, GE, Pinterest, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Spotify and many more!

Register for SMW New York

If you’d like to hear from visionary speakers, and join the thousands of attendees that come to Social Media Week in New York each year, register today by purchasing your pass. You can also save 20% until January 14th!

Using Data and Insights to Shape Creative: Pinterest’s CPG Lead to Speak at #SMWNYC

Posted on by Tess Kaytmaz

The volume of data and insights available for social media is changing how agencies and platforms strategize, spend, and steer clients. An analytics-driven world means an elemental shift in how creatives work. Designers, writers, photographers and video producers need to think about execution and ideas informed by data on how to better speak to our audiences.

At SMW New York, Pinterest’s CPG East Lead of Creative Strategy, Raashi Bhalla, will take the stage with executives from VaynerMedia and Fast Company, to cover how creative and strategy should collaborate — and work with platform partners — to make content that wins on results, as well as look and feel.

Raashi’s session, “Create By Numbers: How Insights, Data, And Paid Media Shape The Creative Approach” will take place on Friday, February 26th at 1:00pm on the EDU Stage at The SVA Theatre.

★ Register today by purchasing your pass ★

View The Initial Program Of Events for SMW New York

Social Media Week New York, now in it’s 8th year, brings together thousands of professionals in marketing, media and technology. We’re excited to announce the initial schedule and speaker lineup for SMW New York, which takes place this February 22-26.

Join us across our two official venues, and hear from organizations such as Ogilvy, Starcom MediaVest, MRY, Forbes, Mashable, MTV, The Economist, GE, Pinterest, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Spotify and many more!

Register for SMW New York

If you’d like to hear from visionary speakers, and join the thousands of attendees that come to Social Media Week in New York each year, register today by purchasing your pass.

Image Credit: Startup Camp

Synchronizing The Social At The New York Times

Posted on by chauncey zalkin

The New York Times are experiencing a phase of rapid change. While social has been top of mind recently, they decided to pull together the disparate parties working on various aspects of “search” and “media” to create a unified, collaborative front for their search and social strategies. They treat each social platform differently, and find unique uses for each one while not abandoning the others. For example, they print an 800-word article for the magazine, and then allow content that didn’t make it into print to live as a longer web piece. Aside from their internal marketing teams, what’s clear is that they value (need) journalists who have a native understanding of how their content can most effectively reverberate through all of the possible strands of media distribution.

Jenna Wortham, a journalist for the Times, explained how her natural affinity manifests; when she tweets, she reveals her process providing readers an inside look at the ‘day in the life’. She doesn’t think it’s a great use of social media to solely promote yourself or your company with clicks. She says the more you engage – and what I think she means is invest yourself – the more people will follow even if there is no click back. That is, invest with content that is interesting, relatable, and shareable. The editor working on audience development pointed out that she found the most shareable stories to be ones of personal perseverance, service-oriented stories, stories that provoke discussion, and ones that appeal to a bit of readers narcissism (said affectionately). People want to share things that make them look “smart”.

The most important takeaway of the session for me was that people need a sense of continuity as opposed to being inundated by a barrage of content. There most be something to come back to or tune into again and again. Food for thought.



Chauncey Zalkin, Co-founder and Creative Director, Show Love. Show Love creates highly shareable documentary video for lovable companies. Check out our reel.

The Easiest Way to Get More Video Clicks

Posted on by Cassandra Ketrick

Let’s just say I’ve been a fan of Vimeo since way back when. In my film school days, Vimeo was where all the cool kids were, and I’m here to confirm—they are still there.

With 170 million global viewers, and an artistic community of friendly filmmakers at their full disposal, hearing Vimeo’s video insight was as exciting to me as hearing Martha Stewart had a drone battle at Social Media Week NYC. Wait, what? (See it for yourself)

If you are in the business of generating video content for your brand (and you should be according to Vimeo), then I’m here to share a piece of golden advice from Mike Weissman and Andrea Allen, presenters at Social Media Week NYC.

Your video thumbnail is easily the most important part of the video. That sounds crazy doesn’t it? But think about it for a second…just like an email header can single handedly ruin your open rate even though the email is full of gold, so can the video thumbnail.

The video thumbnail is the only thing users see before they click.

There are two thumbnails that offer the most clicks:

  1. Pictures of smiling people
  2. Pictures of cute animals, naturally

Turns out, the title card that you have a graphic designer whip up isn’t going to do the trick. People like people. I guess that explains the selfie craze.

A great thumbnail isn’t the end all, be all. You definitely need a video that speaks to your audience, like this indie creative Penny x Hundreds video that feels less like an ad, and more of an experience. Just because a viewer clicks your thumbnail doesn’t mean they are going to stick around.

Next time you create a video, don’t just haphazardly slap up a thumbnail. Think about what makes a great first impression, and perhaps consider a smiling animal—the ultimate video thumbnail combo.

I’m an NYC digital content professional and social media lover. Proudly born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Connect with me on Twitter @casscakey and if you liked this post please like, comment, and share!

Alex Blumberg And Digg CEO Joins #SMWNYC To Explore The Future of Podcasting

Posted on by Nicole Brown

Thanks to SoundCloud and Spotify, and to shows like Serial and StartUp, we’re at the cusp of a new, on-demand era of radio.

Alex Blumberg is a man who needs little introduction. If you’ve ever listened to This American Life, the massively popular weekly radio show, or Planet Money, NPR’s excellent economy-explaining podcast, you certainly know Alex Blumberg’s voice. Lately, Blumberg has been climbing the iTunes charts with StartUp, a new podcast chronicling his efforts to build Gimlet Media.

Podcasts aren’t new, of course. Even the term has been around for a decade or so, and now feels hilariously dated. Yet Gimlet Media and others are betting that there’s room for more. More production, more storytelling, more narrative. So far, it seems like they’re right.

This article is for Alex Blumberg’s 2015 SMW New York event. If you’re looking for his 2016 session, click here!

Join Alex Blumberg, award-winning reporter and producer for This American Life; co-host of NPR’s Planet Money; and founder and CEO of Gimlet Media, for a discussion on the rising popularity of podcasts, technology’s influence on the future of audio content distribution, and also what he has learned on the journey of a startup from idea to execution.

Interviewing Alex on stage will be, Andrew McLaughlin, a partner at betaworks, a technology and media start-up studio based in New York City. Andrew also serves as CEO of Digg and Instapaper.

Alex Blumberg joins an incredible lineup of today’s leading thinkers, including Rev. Jesse Jackson, Martha Stewart, John Collison (Co-Founder of Stripe), Meredith Kopit Levien (EVP of The New York Times), Jon Oringer (Founder and CEO of Shutterstock), and more. You can check out the latest lineup of incredible events here.

Get your pass today, and join us and our partners for what will be an extraordinary week of exploring our upwardly mobile, connected world.

Stop Chasing Rainbows

Posted on by Nicole Brown

Keeping up with change in our industry is like chasing rainbows; largely impossible.  Rather than bounce around from one latest trend to the next shiny object, we’re recommending that you use SMW to take a breath and explore what’s really working for today’s modern marketer.

During SMW you’ll hear from leading voices from BuzzFeed, The New York Times, IAB, Added Value, MRY, Starcom MediaVest and WIRED on the best practices that have defined some of the most successful campaigns in recent times.

Find out where we are headed, and how we will change as marketers, at the following SMW events:

  1. Measuring Attention and Intention, With The New York Times
  2. Is Social Media Just Media? The Future Of Paid, Earned And Content, Hosted by MRY & Starcom MediaVest
  3. Custom Content: How Publishers and Instagrammers Are Leading Campaigns for Brands, Hosted by WIRED
  4. Creating Video Content For How It’s Consumed, Hosted by BuzzFeed
  5. User Generated Content: The Ultimate Human Content Connectivity, Hosted by IAB
  6. The New Reality Of The Changing Marketing Landscape, Hosted by Added Value

Marketing and advertising insights are a big part of what you’ll find at #SMWNYC, from February 23 to 27, but there are so many other topics to explore.

Get your pass today here, and join us and our partners for what will be an extraordinary week of exploring our upwardly mobile, connected world.