I left the Content Marketing World conference with 10 pages of handwritten notes (I know, who does that anymore?), many business cards, and the memory of Nick Offerman casually eating bacon on stage during his keynote.

This was the first conference I've been to as a guest, and I have to say I was pretty impressed.

While many of the sessions were overcrowded or some of the information was nothing new, the mere energy from everyone there was enough to inspire change and action. Isn't that the point?

I did walk away with some new information and a list of tools to look into. I didn't attend every session or look over every presentation, but still gathered tons of useful information. I've rounded up some takeaways that I thought you all might find interesting.

9 General Content Marketing Takeaways:

Many companies are lacking a clear content strategy
Focus on the customer first and foremost (the audience is king, not the content)
Define metrics that matter + stop tracking only vanity metrics
Focus more on distribution and promotion
Build buyer personas to target your content more effectively
Publish articles from an author (person's name), not a company
More frequent posting = more traffic but less engagement
Native advertising is on the rise

How to Properly Communicate With Your Audience (via Kristina Halvorson)

What do you need?
How can I help you?
I will be transparent.
I will prioritize you over metrics.

2 SEO Takeaways

The time someone spends on your page after clicking over from the search results will matter more for ranking. (So make sure your titles and descriptions are relevant.)
Focus on questions your customers are asking to facilitate conversations and engagement, which in turn helps SEO.

4 Social Media Takeaways

Using a visual with a social post is likely to get 180% more engagement.
Facebook's organic reach is at 2% and dropping. Twitter has said it will take the same route.
Pinterest is #3 of worldwide referral traffic behind only Google and Facebook.
How to view social networks:
- Facebook: "What are my friends up to?"
- Twitter: "What's going on in the world now?"
- Pinterest: "What can I do in the future?"

7 Useful Quotes from Content Marketing World

"Don't build your house on rented land." - Joe Pulizzi (Publish on your own content hub)

"The only way we can differentiate is how we communicate." - Don Schults

"You're more likely to survive a plane crash than click on a banner ad." - Chad Pollitt

"Don't confuse activity with productivity." - Kristina Halvorson

"The only things that matter: business outcomes + customer satisfaction." - Kristina Halvorson

"People don't have relationships with brands. They have relationships with people." - Seth Godin (He wasn't there, but it was an important reminder.)

"By filling your life with what makes you happy, the trick is you end up having a beautiful life even if you don't ever hit a home run." -Nick Offerman