Peg Fitzpatrick, co-author of The Art of Social Media and social media pioneer, brings a ton of know-how and experience to the digital marketplace. We are pleased to have her as an exclusive speaker with Gravity Speakers. Peg is known not only for her work with major brands like Google, Virgin, Audi, and Motorola, but also for the multitude of content she actively creates to help businesses brand themselves online.
Recreating Your Brand Online
The whole world is being transformed by the internet. Businesses are finally starting to realize they need to build their online presence to stay competitive. Social media was once thought of as a passing fad and now late adopters are scrambling to create a digital version of their brand online. Peg was an early adopter who saw the tremendous value of the internet for business and she has been creating content to teach businesses “how to” do just that for a long time. As businesses look at the multitude of platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Snapchat, Peg teaches them how to use each to extract the maximum business value.
It Starts with Words and Ends with Images. In the early days of blogging, the format was focused on words. The word “weblog”, which was later shortened to blog, was more of a journal in chronological order. Later it grew into content that was consumable by fans and business prospects. Peg was one of the people who took this further by adding strong visual branding to her content early on and she quickly became a standout. Eventually, the rest of the world would prove the blend of content and visuals was the future of online branding. We can see this with the emergence of Instagram, a visual-focused social platform that just passed one billion active monthly users.
Our Minds Convert Words to Images. As you read information your mind tries to paint the picture of those words in your mind. This aids memory and recall as it stimulates more neuro-connections. This is why sales and marketing experts suggest you get as many senses involved as possible. The smell of movie popcorn and samples at Costco are examples of sensory anchors. This same principle can be applied to creating effective content by engaging strong visuals. By designing your content with a visual focus you help it become more consumable, memorable, and shareable.
Feed Your Fans
Don’t Keep Your Story a Secret. In the same way a physical business would have a sign and locate themselves in high-traffic areas, your online brand needs attention to deliver value. Attention is the currency of online branding. When people have access to unlimited information, it is the packaging that diverts attention and traffic to the information. Fans are hungry for fresh content from brands they love, all you have to do is be willing to deliver it. The best brands learn the rules of digital marketing so their story doesn’t remain a secret. Peg helps brands understand the rules of digital marketing so their brands stand out.
Effortless Referrals. The old school way of getting referral business was to hope your current customers would mention your brand to a friend if the conversation came up. Thanks to social media you can manage and scale those referrals and even make it easy to share your story through content. Now, instead of customers having to remember your marketing messages and brand value, they can simply press a button and share it. These referrals don’t only go to one person but everyone they know. Visuals are the signs that get people’s attention so they can consume the valuable content and then share the same value to everyone they know.
Quality Matters
Visuals are the packaging of your content. If you have ever given a gift, you have likely bought a gift bag or wrapping paper. There is an entire industry devoted to making sure the gift inside is delivered in a visually pleasing way. You can often tell the quality of the gift from the quality of the packaging. Visual branding creates anticipation and excitement in that same way. So many people fail to make sure the visuals match the quality of their brand. Peg is a pioneer of teaching brands how to wrap their brand value in quality visuals. Many people recognize Peg’s brand due to her focus on quality visuals.
Inspired people inspire others. In my latest conversation with Peg, I asked her what drove her to do what she does. She told me, “She loves learning and helping others.” She wanted to create content she would have wanted when she was starting out online. The social media choices continue to grow and the platforms are all evolving to focus more on visuals. Peg creates a constant stream of new how-tos for all the top social media sites to keep new and experienced users up to date on the latest ways to maximize their efforts online. Pinterest, a platform which embodies the concept of visual content and inspiration is one of her personal favorites. Visuals and the desire to help others inspire her to create content that will inspire others to create amazing content. We are so pleased to have Peg Fitzpatrick as a Gravity Speakers exclusive speaker and we know you will be inspired by her at your next event.
Peg Fitzpatrick
