Digital Summit Detroit 2019 Takeaways

Digital Summit is a two-day digital marketing conference loaded with trend-forward digital marketing sessions and workshops. This year attendees could choose to attend the summit in over 20 cities across the US. With over 55+ tracks on content, SEO, email, social, strategy, and more, I was looking forward to attending the Detroit event for the third time. Digital Summit Detroit was held at TCF Center, formerly the Cobo Center, and featured best-selling author Seth Godin as the Keynote and a special appearance from Dennis Rodman.


Dennis Rodman, NBA Hall of Fame and Michael Albanese, Comedian, Writer & Producer

What Even Are Best Practices 

I always find great value in the pre-conference AM workshops and would highly recommend paying the extra fees to attend. You'll have to start day one a bit early, but I promise it's worth it! This year I chose to sit in on, "Forget Everything You Know About Email Marketing," given by Jen Capstraw, from Iterable. I found Jen to be extremely knowledgeable and fun, which is always a great way to start an early morning! One of the most memorable takeaways from her track was that best practices are only best practices because it worked well for someone at one time. However, as we all know, the world of digital marketing is fast-moving, and our techniques are as well. Jen encouraged us not to be afraid of critical thinking when it comes to industry standards and "best practices." 

In her second talk of the day, The Feng Shui of Monden Email, Jen introduced her four steps of Feng Shui email. All of us digital marketers have heard "content is king," but Jen put a different spin on it, saying that "concise copy is king." In her first step, she advised us to clear the clutter by being clear, direct, and brief, use relatable language and write in an active voice. The other steps suggested to streamline design, deliver clean, bold CTAs, and to personalize messages. 

The Feng Shui of Monden Email, Jen Capstraw, Iterable

Year of Efficiency 

This year I chose to focus on attending sessions that centered on Email Marketing. However, to get a well-rounded experience, I made sure to sit in on other topics as well. One of my favorites was, "Modernize Your Marketing Work: 4 Simple Ways to Get More Done", given by Brent Bird of Workfront. I won't get into all four steps here, but because BizStream has dubbed 2019 "our year of efficiency," this track resonated with me. 

One of my favorite takeaways was centered around owning your calendar. Brent suggested things like:

1. Declining meetings you're not needed at or that have no agenda
2. Switching calendar settings to a shorter default meeting duration
3. Rescheduling impromptu meetings
4. Scheduling meetings with yourself to accomplish specific tasks 

These can seem like pretty obvious modifications, but it can be easy to get caught up in what feels like the never-ending cycle of just trying to get tasks accomplished. This talk helped me to take a step back and reevaluate where and how I'm spending my time at the office. I look forward to making some calendar tweaks of my own so that I can focus on not only getting tasks accomplished but also leaving myself time to be innovative and work on the business rather than in the business. And because I found so much value this track, I plan on sharing these tips with the rest of the BizStream team in an upcoming Lunch n Learn! 


"Modernize Your Marketing Work: 4 Simple Ways to Get More Done", Brent Bird, Workfront

Resources for Days

One of my favorite things about Digital Summit is that tickets include access to speaker presentation slides and recordings post-conference. I like this because with four tracks going on simultaneously throughout the whole day, I sometimes find it challenging to choose which one to attend. I also appreciate that I can not only glance over my notes but also review the slides to refresh my memory once I return to home and work. 

Defining the 5 Key Elements of your Brand DNA, Adrion Porter, AP & Company

There were so many great nuggets of information I gathered from Digital Summit Detroit! Unfortunately, it would be impossible to highlight all of them. I hope that if you are working in digital marketing that you'll consider attending one of the Summits in the future. It's a great way to network and stay current in a fast-moving, ever-changing industry! 

Did you attend Digital Summit? Let me know your thoughts on it below!