Our Time at A Taste of BMMU

Last week, I was excited to be able to attend A Taste of BMMU in Belfast on behalf of Ivyhill Digital.

The event had everything a marketer could ask for: a room full of other professionals eager to chat and make connections, a line-up of stellar speakers ready to share their insights, and delicious treats.

The morning kicked off like any good meetup should, with muffins (or as they swiftly became known BMMUffins). After sampling a variety of the delectables on offer and a friendly (though at times vigorous) discussion of our favourites, voting ensued, with Lemon Curd and Blackberry emerging as the clear favourite.

With this tasteful icebreaker out of the way, the event began in earnest. Six speakers took the stage in turn, each drawing on years of experience to share their top tips about the latest developments in social media, marketing, and content creation.

First up, we had Samantha Kelly, discussing her pivot away from X (formerly Twitter) and how she landed on LinkedIn as a new channel for reaching audiences and building relationships. She talked about her biggest takeaways for using LinkedIn to create mutually beneficial professional connections and engage in thought leadership, before running through the increasing importance of LinkedIn video as a means of building trust and spreading your message. It’s clear LinkedIn is no longer just about hiring and recruitment; it’s become a space for developing a unique brand identity and contributing to wider discussions within different sectors and industries, so knowing how best to showcase your work and personality is more important than ever.

Next up, we had David Levin, who delivered a fascinating, and side-splitting, talk about how brands can collaborate with influencers, capitalise on trends, and tailor their content to highlight their authenticity. Apparently, the secret to David Beckham’s success is talking to chickens. Jokes aside, David shed light on strategies for moving beyond a corporate exterior to own certain content types and connect with people on a more emotional and personal level.

Barry Walsh then took to the stage, to share how brands can broaden their customer bases by taking steps to improve the accessibility of their content. This is now more than just an ethics issue; 22% of people on the island of Ireland identify as having a disability, meaning small steps like including subtitles in videos and making webpages friendly to screen readers can have huge payoffs in engaging new audiences. Plus, it’s a way for us to do our bit in creating a more welcoming and inclusive online environment.

We then heard from our host, the fabulous Ashleigh Watson, as she shared her advice for making the most of Instagram. Like the other speakers, she highlighted how important short-form video content is becoming, and gave her tips for creating high-value reels, such as by sharing behind-the-scenes content and showing off a brand’s authentic voice. She highlighted the ethos underpinning marketing on Instagram; people don’t want to be sold to directly, instead, content should focus on entertaining, educating, and building community.

As we neared the finish time, we gained access to the brilliant brain of Andy Lambert, as he presented his key findings from research across the social media landscape. As a Politics student with a background in data analytics, this was wonderful for me. Without wishing to completely geek out, he reiterated what was becoming a common theme: short-form video content is more and more crucial. Instagram is pivoting toward this more heavily, while LinkedIn is also moving to invest in new tools for video content. He also emphasised the growing role of nano-influencers and micro-communities, as people seek a more human touch while AI content proliferates.

Finally, we had Andrew Barlow discussing his new venture, Chatloop, a way for businesses to build UGC elements directly into their websites. From this innovative starting point, he highlighted the importance of creating authentic connections with potential customers to safeguard business in the age of AI and methods of providing this social proof by collaborating with real users to produce relatable content.

And there we are, our experience of A Taste of BMMU. We are enormously grateful to the speakers and the wonderful folks at BMMU and ICC Belfast for coming together to give us this fun, fascinating and fulfilling experience. But remember, this was just a taste; the main BMMU event kicks off in November, and with a spectacular lineup of speakers, we can’t wait for the opportunity to learn more and build new connections. You can find out everything you need to know about the next Big Marketing Meet Up here: https://bmmubelfast.com/.