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September 9, 2019 Content Chat Recap: Post-CMWorld Wrap-Up

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Another incredible CMWorld conference has wrapped up, and the community can now hit the ground running with all their new ideas and inspiration. In this #ContentChat, we share our top takeaways from the sessions, exchange tips for future presenters or moderators, and highlight some of our favorite extracurriculars to check out next year. If you were at the conference and want to relive your favorite moments, read through our recap and comment if there’s anything we missed. Or, if you were unable to attend CMWorld, check out our highlights below and don’t miss these speakers as they continue the conference track.

Q1: Were you in Cleveland for CMWorld last week?

More than half of our poll respondents were at the conference, with others facing FOMO for missing out. For those that couldn’t attend, #CMWorld kept folks up to date on the latest and greatest from the show floor.

Q2: What was your favorite #CMworld session and why?

Joe Pulizzi (@JoePulizzi) is a must-see, with the community applauding his ability to think both short- and long-term to identify trends early on. He has several books available that come highly recommended by Erika.

Pam Didner’s (@PamDidner) session breathed new life into sales enablement and was packed with actionable takeaways. She’s also a #ContentChat⁠ familiar who has taken the hot seat⁠ this year—check out the recap from when she taught us how to enable our sales team with content.

Ann Handley (@MarketingProfs) wowed as always, with attendance exceeding the room capacity. If you want to catch her next year, arrive early.

Ian Cleary (@IanCleary) is known for providing actionable takeaways, with how-tos and tools to make your job easier. He also reinforced the importance of optimizing current and past content before chasing new shiny projects.

Christopher Penn (@CSPenn) provided a glimpse of the future with how AI will change content marketing, and the replay video is linked below if you want to check it out.

A few other recommendations from the community: Jay Baer (@JayBaer), Andy Crestodina (@Crestodina), Gini Dietrich (@GiniDietrich), Brian Fanzo (@iSocialFanz), Andrea Fryrear (@AndreaFryrear), Michele Linn (@MicheleLinn), and Marcus Sheridan (@TheSalesLion).

No matter what CMWorld sessions you attend, you’ll always learn something from every session. It’s what makes CMWorld one of the best marketing conferences.

Q3: For those of you who either presented, moderated, or hosted a session/track at #CMworld, share with us something that you learned from that experience.

Presentations should prioritize the quality of content over the visual appeal, but balance the two as possible. Aim to provide at least one or two actionable takeaways during your session. Remember that audiences want valuable assets like frameworks and templates, not high-quality photography of strangers with an inspirational quote.

Marketers love hands-on sessions, which can open the door for future, paid services.

Stepping behind the scenes can show just how much effort goes into every session.

And marketers appear to be very invested in learning more about SEO (a potential avenue to explore for future content or services).

Q4: Attending a conference isn’t just about what happens in the breakout rooms. What #CMworld extracurricular activities did you participate in and encourage next year’s attendees to do also?

Consider attending a meetup at CMWorld 2020, especially those catered to specific communities or Twitter Chats. You can join these digital groups any time, giving you plenty of time to build connections before next year.

Schedule your own dinners or meet-ups with folks you don’t typically see.

Q5: The #CMworld trade show floor always gets me excited about how technology can help me+my clients improve our processes, workflows, etc. What is the one product or service you encountered at the event that you can’t wait to try out?

Some shoutouts to Stensul (WYSIWYG email creation), SEMrush (competitive research service for online marketing), and Intrado (communication and network infrastructure services) for appealing to Erika and Michelle. Comment below if you saw any other exciting companies, or if you noticed brands that exemplified some of our best practices for exhibiting.

About Alek Irvin

Alek Irvin is a content marketing professional with a rich history in social media management, executive thought leadership development, and media relations. As a consultant at Erika Heald Marketing Consulting, he creates human-focused content and thought leadership platforms that help brand leaders connect and engage with their communities. Alek has worked with a range of startups and Fortune 500 companies across the B2B technology and consumer spaces, including IBM, Dell Technologies, Hitch Works, Emtrain, Integrate, and Frameable. Connect with him on Twitter @AlekIrvin.

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