Tina Tower, the HerBusiness correspondent, and founder of Begin Bright gave another recap of the South by Southwest Conference. We have already been so impressed with all that is happening, and it just keeps getting better.
The first session was with Guy Kawasaki, an author, speaker, entrepreneur, and Robert Cialdini, author of best selling book Influence and Pre-suasion. The two brilliant authors discussed the topic of Cialdini’s new book, Pre-suasion. “Presuasion” is what happens before you go into sales scenario. It is all the things happening subconsciously in a buyer’s head that helps them make the buying decision they are going to make. Cialdini gave two examples of how different companies are increasing sales by using the art of “presuasion.” One cruise company used this idea to get 66% more follow through by placing clock emoticons in the headline of an email about a limited time offer.
“We are not aware of this presuasion, we’re always focused on what’s happening inside the message. We never think about what is going on before the message. We can be swayed without our recognition so we have to be very ethical in this.” – Robert Cialdini
Next, Tina went to a session on “Shopping and the Sacred Social Space” with the a panel consisting of the head markets from companies like Ebay and Facebook. The panel discussed the sacred space of social media and where they see gaps in their businesses. They also go tips about continuing advertising on social media when many consumers are using ad blocking software. The biggest tip: make your ads look like a value added piece and you will be rewarded.
Later she found herself at the creative expo with all kinds of new technology from robotics to shipping container farming that can grow the equivalent of 5 acres of land. She says the Australian booth is a bit lacking, so if you are in the creative business, this expo may be the place for you next year!
Last she ventured into a session that took her by surprise. Casey Neistat, YouTube film star, came out in tracksuit pants and sunglasses, but delivered a phenomenal message about videos. He hilariously encouraged the audience to create more videos, even if they aren’t polished. He said there is no need for fancy equipment and editing tools, just create more videos and ignore the barriers. Here is a link to one of his unpolished videos promoting his message.
The HerBusiness team captured some of Robert Cialdini’s presentation. You can take a look at it here.
This article was co-authored by Mary Klepzig. Mary is currently completing a journalism internship at HerBusiness. She is pursuing a Communication Studies degree at the University of Tennessee in the United States.
