Revving Up #SESSF: Opening Keynote Live Tweets

Hi, hello and welcome to #SESSF, aka Search Engine Strategies San Francisco! Day 1 started off with a kickass keynote by Kodak’s former “Celebrity CMO,” Jeffrey Hayzlett. Conference attendees who might have seen Jeff rev up crowds at various #140conf (140 Character Conference) events in the past were fully expecting a presentation dripping with animation, insight, and a fresh dose of mild vulgarity. Jeff did not disappoint. This go-round, AIMCLEAR live-tweeted the keynote. Read on for a transcript of the goods– lumped together by categories, themes and takeaways.

Getting Geared Up:

• Start it up, man! RT @JeffreyHayzlett: The room is full– about 1000 for the #SESSF keynote— let’s roll!
• Front row #SESSF with @Matt_Peterson, ready for @JeffreyHayzlett’s opening keynote. @aimclear team, we miss you! http://yfrog.com/9hyc4qj
  
• Bloggers in Germany apparently call @JeffreyHayzlett the “Chuck Norris” of marketing ;) #sessf
• Wow. feisty “Winds of Change” video about Kodak thrusting itself into social media rather than ignoring it #SESSF
• We start the morning with a “revival” – @JeffreyHayzlett’s got us givin’ an AMEN for search! #SESSF
• RT @Matt_Peterson: @jeffreyhayzlett ‘s preaching, sorry we sound like a bunch of Lutherans. #SESSF http://twitpic.com/2fn6pp

Jeff On Integrating Social Media into Business Models:

• “ADAPT OR DIE!”
• You have to do the Proof of Life test- you have to decide, “What business are you in?”
• “Passion is not a substitute for planning”
• “Pheasants are not forever” [aka: your passion will only get you so far…]

On Patience & Attention Spans:

• “The new elevator pitch”  [they’ve turned into 30 pg ppt presentations – have to slim
  down! solution: 118]
• 8 seconds is avg attention span of a human being. 110 seconds is avg time of an elevator ride. you have 118 seconds to hook people
• “Big Macs are worth the wait” – you hafta set clear conditions of satisfaction (COS)

On Revving Up Your Customers & Inspiring Engagement:

• As marketers, you should CAUSE TENSION – take people from the center of the table, push them to the edge.

Eliminating Your Company’s Weakest Link:

• You can only move as fast as your lowest common denominator.
• “Be who you are – we love you, but we’ll miss you” [You are the weakest link… goodbye!]
  

Make Mistakes!

• You can make mistakes, it’s okay. and if you’re gonna make them, make them BIG.
• No one is going to die, no matter what risk you take when it comes to social media.

Allowing Your Brand To Evolve:

• Kodak had a TOTAL SHIFT from traditional to digital, from B2C to B2B
• 1/2 of Kodak’s products are new in the last two years
• Brand Transformation – shifting view, old vs. new… remake products, redesign products so they look COOL.

Back to Basics:

• “Most companies do their best when they get back to their core.”
• “Think about the core of your brand structure.”

Be A Real Person (Er… Brand):

• Inject personality into your brand – April 1st, Kodak announced the eyeCamera! wink & shoot functionality! facial recall! Aroma-tography! Wow-wee! #joke
• Get SOCIAL – live by the 4 Es: Engage, Educate, Excite, Evangelize.
• Social media is a TOOL, not a destination.
• If you educate the community, they will educate you. [consumer feedback from *tweets* !]

Invest in the Art of Listening:

• Kodak hired a CLO – Chief Listening Officer 😉
• CLO acts like an air traffic controller – routes brand-mention tweets to different departments within Kodak

The Reality of Social Media & its Reach:

• Social penetration, new numbers – FB = 500 mil users, Twitter has 40+ mil, 15.5 active blogs, global penetration 500k new people/day.
• Old ROI = return on investment. new ROI = return on ignoring.
• People are tired of dialing 800 numbers for customer service. People want to be heard, they want to participate.
• Kodak held a contest for naming a new product – 28,000 suggestions in a day1!

On Letting the Social Media Team Be Who They Are:

• “Creative people should never have to compromise on what they do or how they deliver their vision.”

Thinking About Your Product Differently…

• Talking to people about “emotional technology” is much different than talking to people about camera.
• RT @Matt_Peterson: @jeffreyhayzlett “We have the only product people would run back into a burning building to save.”
• “People don’t take pictures, they capture memories, moments.”Aw!

That about does it for the #SESSF opening keynote. Saddle up with us tomorrow morning for Wednesday’s AM keynote!