Scratching The Surface: Momentum Summit
“You want a serious disease on your hands,” said Brian Halligan during his brief presentation at the Momentum Summit on March 23rd.
Any guess as to what he was referring to? Well, he’s the CEO and founder of HubSpot, so you can forget about some sort of bio-terror reference. World domination might be closer, considering the company’s $32 million in new funding. But, I digress. He was actually referring to the viral coefficient that goes into generating massive marketing momentum. Much less exciting than world domination, but to a marketer like me, it quite literally is.
His short lecture (some of which I recorded on FlipCam–see below) was a part of an all-day conference that focused on how small start-ups build momentum and translate it into big business opportunities. Other speakers included Paul English (co-founder and CTO of Kayak), David Friend (CEO and founder of Carbonite) and Angus Davis (Tellme and Swipely co-founder).
Each speaker had their own story on striking it big with their start-up, but what struck me the most was how simple and logical they all were. How so? Let’s dive in:
Kayak built a product that people love and a company that people want to work for.
Carbonite solved the simple issue of online storage by making it, well, simpler.
HubSpot recognized the importance of viral growth and capitalized on it while simultaneously contributing to the birth of Content Marketing.
These stories aren’t riddled with the impossible. There isn’t any magic or illusion. They’re just well thought-out business concepts executed by smart, forward-thinking people (who most likely work their butts off). I emphasize “forward-thinking” because I think it’s a crucial element. As marketers, we’re always reading about what just worked, what just was a huge success and what just made a ton of money. This “what just” mindset is like a bad disease–except unlike the one Brian mentioned, this is one you don’t want to have. Why? It’s a method of thinking that isolates you from seeing the “momentum” of the market (I’m seeing a connection here!)
The Momentum Summit was all about companies and businesses that ignored the “what just” mind-plague and focused on forward thinking. They were thought-leaders–those who saw where the market was going (not where it just was). So it got me thinking about what we’re doing here at Scratch Marketing + Media. Sure, we know social media marketing is hot right now. We’re definitely utilizing it for our clients. But instead of being a “social media marketing” company, we’re cutting it down to just plain “social marketing.” We know Social Media plays a role– a big one in fact. We’re just shifting from the “what just” mindset to digging deeper and asking “why?”
Why are people engaging on social networks? Why do they associate themselves with brands? Why would a customer care what I have to say?
Well, we simply feel like it’s where the market is going. We see it in the conversations we have on social networks with hundreds of people. They’re individuals who are customers, fans, followers, celebrities and businesses. But above all, they’re human. And we feel the momentum.
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