GeekOut Conference – LA 2021

It might be a couple of weeks back now but we’re still buzzing after the 2021 GeekOut Conference, where almost 100 attendees came together to - quite literally - geek out at the annual conference for the eCommerce industry in Los Angeles.

Not only was it exciting to be at an in-person event again, but Insense was also proud to be on the lineup of sponsors this year, with our CEO & Co-Founder, Danil Saliukov also joining the roster of illustrious speakers. 

Keep reading to find out more about what happened at this year’s event, why we champion the GeekOut community so enthusiastically, and get the key takeaways from Danil’s interactive session on how creator-generated content could steer your Q4 success. 

The GeekOut 2021 debrief 

This year’s conference happened over 7th-8th October and was fantastically organized (as always) by the esteemed James Van Elswyk and Nicholas Shackelford. Joining us as sponsors were Viscap Media, Thrasio, Gorgias, VIA Customers, and more - so it’s safe to say we were in great company.  In fact, it was great to be joining the event with a whole host of sponsors who are Insense partners or clients that use our platform for their own end customers. 

Following 20 conferences in more than 10 countries around the world, the LA conference marked GeekOut’s #AcquisitionTour. The conference sessions and speaker topics honed in on acquiring traffic, customers, brands, and the art of drawing more customers to your business and nurturing a loyal, repeat customer base. 

The #AcquisitionTour in LA was centered around boosting Q4 preparation as we enter the holiday season - the biggest quarter for eCommerce brands, accounting for around 30-35% of annual sales.

More specifically, speakers focused on the diverse array of alternative strategies to Facebook advertising, as Facebook ads become more expensive and challenging to drive sales post-iOS 14.5.

Speaker presentations included:

• Van Oakes, a performance marketer and a CMO of DieselSellerz –  a giveaway model that might help to build an eight-figure business.
• Nick Sharma, DTC investor, advisor, and operator –  Subscription: How and when you should do it 
• Cody Iverson, CEO of Viscap Media – Creating High Converting Creative Effortlessly
• Brett Curry, CEO of OMG Commerce – the benefits of YouTube Smart Shopping campaigns. ‍
• Joshua Chin, Co-Founder of Chronos Agency – Email x SMS x Mobile Push holiday strategies.
  

Key takeaways from a session of Insense’s CEO and Co-Founder

This year Danil Saliukov, Insense CEO & Co-Founder, also took to the mic to impart some pearls of wisdom on the topic of How to Win Q4 Through Creator-Generated Content and Authentic Advertising on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. What participants took away were invaluable, actionable insights on how to use this powerful trio of social media platforms to transform their success in the final phase of 2021. 

Whether you attended Danil’s session and want a refresh, or if you were otherwise engaged and looking for a recap, here are just some of the key takeaways: 

• The post-iOS 14.5 era is a super difficult time. It’s now more vital than ever before that eCommerce brands are incorporating creator-generated content into their marketing strategies. Consumers rely heavily on this type of content, meaning it’s highly effective in driving shopping actions across the entire eCommerce funnel. In fact, according to Facebook’s September 2021 cross-country study on the impact of creator marketing on brand building and shopping behavior, 71% of consumers took shopping action as a result of seeing content posted by a creator. 
  

• The most effective ways brands can capitalize on creator-generated content is by diving into influencer partnerships on social media, running ads from creators’ accounts, and utilizing creator-generated content in ad creatives for traditional paid social campaigns.
  

• TikTok is currently experiencing tremendous growth - you don’t need to be a social media expert or digital guru to know that. In fact, TikTok ads have proven to be a cost-effective sales driver for a whole bunch of Insense clients this year. Since so many advertisers are still reluctant to test the capabilities of TikTok ads, now is the ideal time to experiment with this platform. Strike while the competition is still pretty low. 
  

If you want to take a deeper dive into these topics, check out our in-depth guide on winning Q4 through UGC and paid social. 

Here’s why we love the GeekOut community 

Aside from GeekOut being a standout event for professionals in the eCommerce industry, we also champion the interactive nature of the speaker sessions - a refreshing alternative to one-sided talks and rigid agendas. 

For instance, attendees can ask speakers whatever they’re interested in, at any time and even ask a speaker to demonstrate numbers and tactics in real-time across real accounts. This is what GeekOut refer to as #Brainpicking - ‘the chance to literally look INSIDE a speaker’s ad account and ask “why?”, “what?”, and “how?”’

We also love how at each and every conference, the event always excels in covering the full range of topics so that eCommerce brands can elevate their business, from ad creatives to Amazon selling, tactics, and hiring.

Massive congratulations to the brains behind GeekOut for another knockout event - we can’t wait for next year. 

In the meantime, we hope you have great success putting all of your new eCommerce knowledge to good use and if you need any support with your custom content creation and paid amplification, you know where to find us.