Keynoting at SXSW is a little like doing an interview in a hurricane.
In the 20+ years since its inception, SXSW Interactive has become the premiere networking event for media, technology, and business. FourSquare launched there, Twitter gained early traction, and speakers like Al Gore, Elon Musk, and Chelsea Clinton are big draws.
Now every entrepreneur, start-up, and major corporation competes for the attention of over 30,000 attendees. Deloitte featured 3D printers, including one called the ChefJet that prints sugar. 3M showcased a Dutch artist who creates elaborate works completely from brown 3M packing tape. And start-ups with names like Pivot, Shoutlet, and Zurf used giveaways and street teams to hustle up buzz.
Here are some highlights:
Word of Mouth is More Important than Advertising
Word of mouth is 10 times more effective than advertising. Think about the last book you read or the last movie you saw. You probably heard about it from a friend. Business works the same way. Most new customers come from existing ones. 91% of new B2B business leads come from existing clients. So you don’t need a big marketing budget to be successful, you just have to understand how to turn your customers into advocates.
It Doesn’t Require a Big Budget
The big benefit of word of mouth is that it’s cheap. With advertising you pay per exposure. There’s a cost-per-impression or a cost-per-click. The more people you want to find out about your product or idea, the more money it costs. But word of mouth doesn’t work that way. You don’t have to pay people to spread your message, they do it for free. You just have to understand why people share in the first place.
Read more from Jonah Berger on LinkedIn.
