Branding and Engagement Lessons from the BMA Members Only Event

The Members Only Event hosted by the BMA and ANA on March 9 brought together marketing professionals from all different backgrounds to
inform, engage and inspire one another.

Michael Eisenreich, global head of content, creative and digital marketing for Bloomberg LP, kicked our morning off by speaking on “The Convergence of Content, Design and Technology” — three essential components of Bloomberg’s marketing team and its initiatives. This team, called “The Studio,” was specifically created to break down silos and form compelling marketing communications campaigns and programs. They did this by bringing together creativity and a solid digital foundation to think about their brand and content.

As more and more publications push out content, quality becomes increasingly important. As Mike pointed out, content isn’t just an asset; it’s your company’s story. It’s the reason that people become engaged and continue to stay engaged in what you are telling them.

Some key takeaways from Mike’s presentation:

• Properly align your people and your teams.
• Don’t let design get in the way. Focus on good content and appropriate audiences, and the masses will follow.
• Service your business partners. You have to give in order to get anything in return.
• Tap into the trends. Business-to-business professionals are social as well. If we can engage with them about trending topics on social platforms, they’ll be more encouraged to return the engagement.
• Public relations and communications are critical partners. Your content, or story, would get nowhere without them.

Jeff Willinger, vice president of digital inspiration for Rightpoint, continued the show with a presentation called “Sea of Change: Everything You Need to Know About Personal Branding in 2017.” Jeff kicked off his presentation by highlighting the importance of “beginning with the end in mind” and reminding our guests to “be colorful and memorable.” These reminders speak to the essence of what building your personal brand means. Where do you want to go? How do you want to be remembered? And make sure you have fun doing it!

Sometimes, as Jeff mentioned, people can shy away from showcasing their skills and marketing themselves, because they find it intrusive. However, in reality, it’s admirable to do so — and the best practice for getting to know and market other brands. So show off your skills. Find something that describes you, and put it out there!

Jeff’s most important points for personal branding were:

• Take time. Find yourself. Make your brand important.
• Be remarkable (first and foremost to yourself … others will follow), and make yourself indispensable.
• Be consistent. Be remembered for having the same personality traits and business savvy as the person you were yesterday, the person you are today and the person you’ll be tomorrow.
• Be supportive, helpful and resourceful. Give just because it feels good.
• And, last but not least … have fun!

Pam Hoadley and Katie Larmon, senior solution consultants for LinkedIn, closed our Members Only Event by speaking on “Marketing to Who Matters — Employer Branding: Why It Matters and Who’s Winning.”

LinkedIn is a master of unifying employer brand, consumer brand and culture. They know how to earn prospects’ attention, obtain their engagement and keep it. That’s because they engage their prospects at all stages, from beginning to end. According to Pam and Katie, the most important resource you can use to engage prospects are your employees. When employees are empowered to be your company’s most trusted resource, they will happily work to brand your company and garner interest. They are your most valuable distribution resources for the content and culture you create. As Pam and Katie quoted, “Content is king, but distribution is queen, and she wears the pants.”

People engage for different reasons, but these are Pam and Katie’s top five reasons people want to engage with certain brands, organizations or people:

• It’s relevant to them, and they have a connection with it.
• They find it educational and informative.
• To stay on top of the latest trends.
• They feel inspired or empowered by it.
• And lastly … they gain some sort of skill development.

All in all, when guests left the room after the event, they had what they’d been looking for: information, engagement and inspiration. We hope to see you at our next Members Only Event!