Almost Timely News: 🗞️ What I Learn At Events & Conferences
Almost Timely News: 🗞️ What I Learn At Events & Conferences (2024-11-17) :: View in Browser
The Big Plug✅ Download my newly revised Unofficial Guide to the LinkedIn Algorithm, just updated with new information from LinkedIn Engineering! Content Authenticity Statement95% of this week's newsletter was generated by me, the human. You'll see an output from Google Gemini in the opening section. Learn why this kind of disclosure is a good idea and might be required for anyone doing business in any capacity with the EU in the near future. Watch This Newsletter On YouTube 📺 Click here for the video 📺 version of this newsletter on YouTube » Click here for an MP3 audio 🎧 only version » What's On My Mind: What I Learn At Events & ConferencesAt the tail end of this year's MarketingProfs B2B Forum, a friend who works in the conference industry said to me, "Gosh, you must not get a lot out of these events, given how technical you are. Why do you come to them, other than to speak?" It's an interesting question, one which has some nuance. Do I go to events to learn the specifics of my craft and trade? No. There are no sessions at any of the events in the marketing industry that are specific to my craft. There are no talks reviewing the latest paper in arXiv or addressing how to deal with tokenizer misalignment in retrieval augmented generation (which is a huge, unaddressed, silent problem). But that doesn't mean I get nothing from the events. That doesn't mean I walk away having learned nothing. Quite the contrary. What do I learn at events like Social Media Marketing World, the Marketing AI Conference, MarketingProfs B2B Forum, and the dozens of events I'm asked to speak at every year? I learn the most valuable thing of all: Problems. Right now, generative AI is so new (still) that it's still a solution in search of a problem for the most part. Classes of ProblemsAnd there are four classes of problems, jokingly called the Rumsfeld Matrix:
When we've got a new technology like generative AI, we often apply it in category one: we know what we know. We know the problems that we have, and we know the solutions for those problems, and we try to shoehorn a new technology into the old way of doing things. Drew Davis calls this Lumiere's Law, where we try to apply new technology as though it were old technology. This is generally not the best way to apply a new technology. Cars aren't horses. Smartphones aren't dumb phones. Laptops aren't desktops. But until we understand a technology, we'll try to apply it as though it were the previous solution because that's how we learn and grow as humans. Our brains work best when we have a starting point we already recognize. So let's dig into each of these problem categories so we can better understand what I get out of events. The Known KnownsWe know what we know. In the context of AI, these are problems for which we have known solutions. We need to generate X blog posts per month. That's a complete, easy to understand problem. We know AI is a viable solution for this because, properly prompted, AI can generate very well-written blog posts. Other problems in this category would be things like basic data classification and cleaning - we know if there's an email address in our database like jsmith@hotmial.com, there's a very good chance it's supposed to be jsmith@hotmail.com. We know the problem, we know the solution, and we try to apply the technology to the solution. At events, these are often the sessions themselves - the speaker on stage isn't going to present a problem without a solution. This is why sessions are often the least valuable part of an event - we know the problem, and we know the solution. The session might present a better, more efficient solution, but generally will not present a novel new solution that's completely different. Where events do provide value, especially for this category, is in the Q&A in sessions when people have a chance to ask questions about the problems and solutions they already know. What problems and solutions have you gone to events with, looking for more refinement? The Known UnknownsWe know what we don't know. In the context of AI, these are problems where we don't know the solution, or the solutions we have no longer work. For example, we need to do good attribution analysis of our marketing. But data is a mess, analytics systems are less helpful every day, and we have a problem without a viable solution. Other problems in this category might be things like true personalization at scale - we know we need to do it, we know broadly that it's something AI could do, but we haven't the foggiest idea how to actually implement it. (hint: it involves a lot of non-AI technology) At events, these are the hallway conversations, the Q&A after the presentation, the conversations at the bar. These are when we find the problems that don't have good solutions and we listen to how people are trying to solve the problems. For someone like me, and a company like Trust Insights, this is one of the most valuable reasons to attend an event because we're in the business of solving problems. The most important thing I can do at an event is listen and take notes on the questions people ask, the frustrations that they have, the things they've tried that haven't worked - and then figure out how to offer those in a paid, professional context. What problems have you gone to events with, looking for solutions? The Unknown KnownsWe don't know what we know. In the context of AI, these are problems where we don't know that we know the solution, or the solution is inaccessible to us because of a lack of knowledge. One of the most powerful examples here is in B2B sales. Imagine an AI solution that can pinpoint your competition, their value proposition, and why you're losing deals. The system gives you a complete analysis of what's going wrong and how to fix it. Would you buy that? I sure would if I owned or operated a B2B sales team. Well, the funny thing is, you already own this system. You already have the answer. It's the call transcripts of your sales team, the emails they sent, the questions they receive. All that unstructured data is sitting around in your marketing automation software, in your CRM, in your call center, in your inbox like veins of pure gold buried in the earth. And you're not digging for it at all. The reality is that generative AI could ingest all that data and provide that analysis for you whenever you wanted it. You don't know what you know because your knowledge is distributed and disorganized. At events, these are also part of the hallway conversations. These conversations tend to be more broad, about general frustrations but people can't put their finger on what the problem even is. They can't articulate the problem well, and thus no solution is even remotely in view. You have to know the domain really well to identify that they're circling around the problem in the dark, but they don't know what the problem is. For events, this is part of gap analysis. You don't know the problem but you might know the solution if you could articulate the problem. For example, suppose I were to take the entire program agenda of MarketingProfs B2B Forum and put it into a generative AI tool. I could then ask it, based on its broad knowledge of B2B marketing, where the knowledge gaps are in the agenda, what's not being covered. It might return with things like:
The key takeaway for me at events is that there are a ton of people walking around with unknown knowns. They need help articulating the problem, and once they do, the solution becomes apparent. What problems have you tried to get more clarity and articulation about at events? The Unknown UnknownsWe don't know what we don't know. In the context of AI, this is the most challenging area, the area where I spend most of my professional development time. We don't know the problems or the solutions - we don't know what's possible. The technology may be capable of things that we can't even imagine right now because it's so new, so emergent, and so confusing that we can't get a handle on things. For example, the AI world is abuzz about AI agents right now, but agents are still fairly murky for most folks. What are AI agents? How do they work? Because it's so new, we can't articulate problems or solutions well, though we're starting to understand the scope of agents with the latest technology releases. If we think of them as autonomous software - self-driving apps - then we are suddenly faced with the possibility of AI that makes purchases or does research on behalf of humans. Imagine how much your B2B marketing would change if the buying committee at a company has an AI agent go out, search and compile all the public data about the vendors in a space, and presents a report to the buying committee of the short list of recommended vendors based on the criteria provided. How would your B2B marketing change if a huge part of the buyer's journey - awareness, consideration, and part of evaluation - was done by AI instead of humans? Here's an example. Suppose I deployed an AI research agent to crawl articles about live streaming software, looking for alternatives to Streamyard, our current platform. I'd provide it the basic requirements, and then the agent would go and:
All this would happen behind the scenes, done by the AI agent. What we as the buying committee would get would just be the best match of recommendations: Your Requirements:
StreamYard is a solid choice, but let's explore some alternatives that might be a better fit or offer more for the same price. Here are a few options that meet your criteria:
That certainly changes the buying process. How would you, as a B2B marketer, deal with AI doing the majority of the buyer's journey rather than humans? It certainly changes how you approach things like brand awareness, doesn't it? Where Events Fit For MeIt should be apparent now, based on the Rumsfeld matrix, why I still find events valuable.
From these four categories, a conference or an event is a bounty of knowledge about the people I serve. No other marketing channel concentrates the right people in one place so easily, and so events will always be a part of my own professional development. Will I find solutions to my own professional development at events? Probably not. But I'm mostly set there; with the power of generative AI and great research tools, plus domain knowledge, I can usually work out the solutions to problems I have for myself. What I can't work out by myself are the problems that you have which I may be able to solve. Where Events Fit For You (aka What To Do Next)The Rumsfeld Matrix isn't just for me to categorize how I know what to look for and listen for at events. It's for you to organize your thoughts before the next conference or event you attend. Set up the simple 2x2 matrix on the whiteboard or app of your choice and, with your marketing or business in mind, write out what you want to get from your next event.
With that list, you can tackle your next event and get real answers to your problems, real clarity on how to define them and solve them. And if you're a speaker, sponsor, or vendor, it should be apparent how to use the Rumsfeld matrix to make events even more valuable for you. Do the same research as me to figure out what people know and don't know about their problems and solutions, how your product/service/company fits into those questions, and then answer those questions! See you at the next event! (and if you'd like me at your next event, let me know.) How Was This Issue?Rate this week's newsletter issue with a single click. Your feedback over time helps me figure out what content to create for you. Here's The UnsubscribeIt took me a while to find a convenient way to link it up, but here's how to get to the unsubscribe.
If you don't see anything, here's the text link to copy and paste: https://almosttimely.substack.com/action/disable_email Share With a Friend or ColleagueIf you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with a friend/colleague, please do. Send this URL to your friend/colleague: https://www.christopherspenn.com/newsletter For enrolled subscribers on Substack, there are referral rewards if you refer 100, 200, or 300 other readers. Visit the Leaderboard here. Advertisement: Bring Me In To Speak At Your EventElevate your next conference or corporate retreat with a customized keynote on the practical applications of AI. I deliver fresh insights tailored to your audience's industry and challenges, equipping your attendees with actionable resources and real-world knowledge to navigate the evolving AI landscape.  👉 If this sounds good to you, click/tap here to grab 15 minutes with the team to talk over your event's specific needs. If you'd like to see more, here are: ICYMI: In Case You Missed itBesides the Generative AI for Marketers course I'm relentlessly flogging, this week, we burned down more of the inbox with questions you had about generative AI, plus an on-site podcast episode.
Skill Up With ClassesThese are just a few of the classes I have available over at the Trust Insights website that you can take. PremiumFree
Advertisement: Generative AI Workshops & CoursesImagine a world where your marketing strategies are supercharged by the most cutting-edge technology available – Generative AI. Generative AI has the potential to save you incredible amounts of time and money, and you have the opportunity to be at the forefront. Get up to speed on using generative AI in your business in a thoughtful way with Trust Insights' new offering, Generative AI for Marketers, which comes in two flavors, workshops and a course. Workshops: Offer the Generative AI for Marketers half and full day workshops at your company. These hands-on sessions are packed with exercises, resources and practical tips that you can implement immediately. 👉 Click/tap here to book a workshop Course: We’ve turned our most popular full-day workshop into a self-paced course. Use discount code ALMOSTTIMELY for $50 off the course tuition. 👉 Click/tap here to pre-register for the course If you work at a company or organization that wants to do bulk licensing, let me know! Get Back to WorkFolks who post jobs in the free Analytics for Marketers Slack community may have those jobs shared here, too. If you're looking for work, check out these recent open positions, and check out the Slack group for the comprehensive list.
Advertisement: Free Generative AI Cheat SheetsGrab the Trust Insights cheat sheet bundle with the RACE Prompt Engineering framework, the PARE prompt refinement framework, and the TRIPS AI task identification framework AND worksheet, all in one convenient bundle, the generative AI power pack! Download the bundle now for free! How to Stay in TouchLet's make sure we're connected in the places it suits you best. Here's where you can find different content:
Listen to my theme song as a new single: Advertisement: Ukraine 🇺🇦 Humanitarian FundThe war to free Ukraine continues. If you'd like to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, the Ukrainian government has set up a special portal, United24, to help make contributing easy. The effort to free Ukraine from Russia's illegal invasion needs your ongoing support. 👉 Donate today to the Ukraine Humanitarian Relief Fund » Events I'll Be AtHere are the public events where I'm speaking and attending. Say hi if you're at an event also:
There are also private events that aren't open to the public. If you're an event organizer, let me help your event shine. Visit my speaking page for more details. Can't be at an event? Stop by my private Slack group instead, Analytics for Marketers. Required DisclosuresEvents with links have purchased sponsorships in this newsletter and as a result, I receive direct financial compensation for promoting them. Advertisements in this newsletter have paid to be promoted, and as a result, I receive direct financial compensation for promoting them. My company, Trust Insights, maintains business partnerships with companies including, but not limited to, IBM, Cisco Systems, Amazon, Talkwalker, MarketingProfs, MarketMuse, Agorapulse, Hubspot, Informa, Demandbase, The Marketing AI Institute, and others. While links shared from partners are not explicit endorsements, nor do they directly financially benefit Trust Insights, a commercial relationship exists for which Trust Insights may receive indirect financial benefit, and thus I may receive indirect financial benefit from them as well. Thank YouThanks for subscribing and reading this far. I appreciate it. As always, thank you for your support, your attention, and your kindness. See you next week, Christopher S. Penn Invite your friends and earn rewardsIf you enjoy Almost Timely Newsletter, share it with your friends and earn rewards when they subscribe.
|
Comments