If you weren’t at #GIANTtalks, then what’s crackalackin’?

Battling through the monstrosity that is the M20, our GIANTS hosted the final GIANT talks of the year at The Orchard Events Venue.

Celebrating #ThrowbackThursday in the truest way, with 90s themed goodies, music and references throughout the morning.

We were joined by three speakers, all experts in their fields.

Danny Windsor

Kicking things off by (Boom) shake(ing) the room with his awesome look back through the last two decades of social media was newly appointed Brand & Marketing manager Danny Windsor.

Danny’s talk took us back as far as the times we wrote on cave walls in true Buzzfeed listicle style of ‘56 ways to slay a Buffalo’. All the way to the present day and how all the things we’ve learnt over the last two decades of evolving social media, have resulted in the cool things we have today.

He went through 7 things we have learnt from Social Media’s past:

1. Challenging the Status Quo
2. We like consistency but also Individualism
3. Learn more from each other
4. We are more authentic
5. Increased appreciation of the unique and handmade
6. Truth is Exposed
7. Creativity & Inspiration is unleashed.

If you’d like to know what these 7 points mean in more detail… well, you should have been there! Maybe, if you’re lucky and email me on amber@sleepinggiantmedia.co.uk with the subject ‘I want the 90s pretty please’ – you might find out more. 

“It’s always an awesome feeling speaking to a GIANTtalks crowd. They are so clued up and eager to learn new things. They crave the practical and that is what we excel at, so I always leave the stage with a smile on my face.”

Lucy Hall

Lucy Hall, the brain behind the Social Media Planner, Avviso Media and Social Day events in London, joined us on stage second. Walking on to ‘Here Comes the Hotstepper’ you might even say she was a lyrical G.

She delivered a social media and content marketing 101 to our audience. Everyone had their pen in hand and notebooks covered in advice.

Three top pieces of advice we picked up from Lucy’s talk:

1. Twitter has a marketing hashtag calendar! You can download it here.
2. When it comes to content creation for social media, think like a creator, not a publisher. You aren’t selling, you’re providing value, education or entertainment.
3. Social Listening is a great way to find out what your audience is doing, what they want and what they need.

You can join Lucy’s social media event Kickstart Social on the 19th November at Buckmore Park – Danny will be speaking at the event too.

Luke Quilter

Last but not least, Luke Quilter took to the stage to Blur’s Country House, because… well, he has a house in the country.

Luke started his talk with a 90s Nostalgia edition of his Stand Up game and a prize of a Retro Gaming Mat, won by Juliette Lumley. His speech tied up the whole event by explaining that social media is only one part of the GIANT funnel.

What did we learn from Luke?

1. The users are in control, not us. Make sure our content and marketing efforts reflect this.
2. Success comes from integration. Combine social media with search engine optimisation, display advertising, remarketing and email for GIANT impacts.
3. Be there when they ask Google. There’s nothing worse than missing out on a potential customer because you weren’t where you should be.

“We love bringing the GIANT way outside of GIANT Towers. Sharing knowledge is such a powerful thing and I think all of the expert speakers we have had have provided so much value for the audience. I learnt something myself, so that must be good!”

At the end of the morning, Danny threw a surprise content creation demonstration. Showing how to make GIFS, he attracted a third of the audience to stay behind. It was a great way to sign off the last GIANT talks of the year.

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