Last month, I attended three conferences back to back that focused on marketing, social media, and podcasting. I wanted to share some highlights, and tips that can also be catered to fandoms online.

For reference, I attended:

On May 8th in London was The Social Media Marketing Forum 2024 which focused on current and future global social media trends – https://www.socialday.uk/ 

On May 16th in Barcelona was The International Social Summit where they held the top workshops in digital marketing working in global organizations and companies and had over 250+ attendees from 29 countries – https://webcertain.com/international-social-summit/ 

On May 22-23 in London was The Podcast Show, the largest international festival for the business of podcasting, with over 6,000 attendees – https://www.thepodcastshowlondon.com/   

So here are big takeaways: In one talk during the Podcast Show, where the speaker, Jem Stone of BBC Sounds, shared a recent survey that 59% of people between ages 16 to 34 heard about a new podcast through social media vs 46% heard from friends or family.

Don’t neglect social media’s power and influence.

The power of niche content is still important, but you need to understand your audience to have the most meaningful and sustainable form of engagement. On top of knowing your audience, having a call to action, harnessing emerging trends, and keeping your authenticity were all mentioned several times on how to build a loyal community and consistent engagement. One example of how this has been accomplished was #BookTok, where TikTok users discuss, recommend, share, and dish about their favorite books or book series. It has become a phenomenon of how an online community can really grow and learn. But when it comes to social media, make it easy, fun, and relatable. Even serious subjects remember that they need to show humor to be memorable and engaging to get their message across.

Company CEOs and managers shared how they make sure to foster a culture of innovation and ethical leadership. They also know that above all, employees need to know there is always a place to grow and are welcome to share new ideas that can help themselves,  the company, and their customers. This is useful for online fandom communities like The Game of Nerds or similar places. Openness, transparency, and setting clear, ethical boundaries to hear from all parties have proven how major companies that came to these conferences can work together and bring useful, wanted, and needed content to their audience and customers.  One speaker during the Social Day, Patrick Fagan shared insights into the subtle psychological cues and strategies behind cults and how these can be adapted for social media marketing ethically. I even went on to get his book, Free Your Mind: The New World Of Manipulation And How To Resist It and you should not be surprised if I write a review of it later about it.  

Video is still the most popular form of media consumed. There are different types of audiences for each video channel. You have Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, full-length videos, etc.

Choose what you want and can focus on and then build the strategy plan that gives calls to action and suits that decision. If you try to juggle all and can’t maintain it, then you will fail. Consistency is the key to success so decide what you enjoy doing and can handle.

Especially when it comes to video, the speakers shared that clips for longer podcast episodes, for instance, it is vital the clip needs to be brief and to the point. When the title and thumbnail give the intrigue and the clip is to the point, it intrigues and people’s exposure to new podcasts and also communities, influencers, blogs, etc.

Lastly, I share some tips on how also to promote your work:

Guest spots on other similar communities: be it other vlogs, podcasts, partnering with influencers (even if it is micro-influencers, remember niche helps), or news outlets. Reaching out to already established places that have the audience who would be interested in what you have to offer, is a great place to start.

Now get to creating and getting social online!