Digital Summit Detroit Recap

You might have seen us there, or you might have seen it on our social media, but some members of the Oneupweb team traveled to the Digital Summit Detroit conference last week, the annual confab for digital marketing pros.

This was our second year in a row where we sponsored a stage and had a booth to chat with others at the conference. In addition to the work that comes with being a sponsor, most of us were able to hit sessions throughout the two-day conference.

Here Are Four Things We Learned From Digital Summit Detroit

1. No One Knows What’s Happening With Gen Z

There were many sessions with titles like, “How to Win Over Gen Z” or “How to Market to Gen Z,” which shows you that everyone is trying to figure that out. With good reason, too: By 2020, Gen Z will make up 40 percent of all consumers.

One focus from the Gen Z talks was using social media like YouTube and Instagram to its full potential. That’s because we learned that half of Gen Zers surveyed said they couldn’t live without YouTube.

So the key to reaching this generation is embracing the platforms they’re loyal to and trying to provide them with content that, while still being true to your brand, is what they’re looking for.

2. Personalization and Storytelling

Several of the sessions focused on tailoring more and more of what you do to your target audience. In Seth Godin’s (a well-known author and business executive) keynote, he suggested marketing to the smallest profitable group. So instead of focusing on creating for the masses, you focus on creating one thing better than anyone else.

There were also presentations on how to enhance the customer experience and personalize the customer journey. There were also multiple sessions about the power of storytelling and how brands need to embrace it to form a connection with consumers.

When personalization and storytelling go hand in hand, brands win.

3. Forming a Hypothesis From Sessions at Digital Summit Detroit

We’re always thankful for actionable takeaways from presentations. When we leave a session with even one great new idea to implement for our clients, we’re happy.

One Oneupwebber came up with this hypothesis from several sessions he went to.

After listening to a session on voice search optimization, another on the importance of site speed and another on semantic search (keyword contextualization and user intent while searching) he hypothesized that the reason Google has been promoting site speed as a ranking factor is because of … voice search!

Since voice search queries require that Google return a near-instant response, the algorithm pre-fetches and cachés results in real-time as the phrase is spoken. If a website is slow, then Google’s ability to render it as a result is too slow for it to be provided as a spoken response.

So site speed matters – and will matter more and more – to rank well for smart home devices. Of course, this is a hypothesis.

And, of course …

4. Team Bonding

What can we say? We love spending time with our colleagues and learning new things about the way they think and act and what they’re interested in. Learning more about each other is always a highlight of a road trip to Detroit and two days spent soaking up valuable information and ideas from thought leaders like Seth Godin and Rand Fishkin (of Moz.com).

What Did You Think of Digital Summit Detroit?

Did you attend the sessions? Maybe you stopped by our booth and grabbed some candy or coffee. Or did you catch Freddy’s presentation on a zero-click SERP and want to reach out?

Whatever it is, let us know your thoughts about Digital Summit Detroit.