I’m a sucker for a good conference. So when I won tickets to Uberflip’s CONEX 2019 conference in Toronto, (thanks, Jay Baer and team at Convince and Convert!), there was absolutely no way I was going to turn that down.

Day one was a roll call of content greats. In the limelight the first day:

Randy Frisch from Uberflip (pictured left)

Tyler Lessard from Vidyard (center)

Jay Baer from Convince and Convert (right)

Unless you’re in the content experience industry, I don’t expect you to know who these people are (awesome if you do!), but consider the experts in your own industry. They’re the people who influence how you work and what you want to achieve. If you’re a financial advisor, for example, you probably read books and follow popular influencers, like Dave Ramsey, David Bach and Suze Orman.

Now pretend you get invited to see Dave, David and Suze all in the same room together, and you get to talk to them, ask them questions and get really good advice. I’m willing to bet you’d feel totally stoked and grateful.

This pretty much sums up how I feel right now. CONEX brings together so many experts in the content marketing industry that a jam-packed day of intense learning feels more like a semester of college wrapped up in eight hours.

While I’m not going to divulge any “secrets” from today, I will share with you three "learns” reiterated at CONEX that I want you to know so you understand a little better the importance of content.

Learn #1: Content creates metrics that, when done correctly, align well with business metrics and increase customer retention.

Why does this matter? Nobody goes into business with the goal of being “good enough.” Whether you’re selling ketchup popsicles or engagement rings, you want to be the best, most trusted, most appreciated company selling ketchup popsicles or engagement rings out there. When you add content to your overall business plan in a thoughtful, strategic and intentional way, you WILL see more customers coming in the door, more customers talking about you, more referrals, more sales. More success.

Learn #2: If you’re not working on your content experience, your competitors who are will blow you out of the water.

Here’s the harsh reality: Not employing a content experience strategy into your business plan nowadays is like trying to sell a car without tires. You have a pretty vehicle with no way to move it forward. Your product or service is the vehicle - your content program acts as the wheels that get you around town so you can talk and interact with your target consumer.

Learn #3: Content can help you understand your customers a lot better, even if you think you know them

Don’t even get me started on this one because I’ll end up writing a white paper instead of getting some rest for day two of CONEX. But I will impart you with one thought on how content can help you understand your customers: When you build a solid plan, you’re also building the tools you need to measure your success.

I’m assuming day two of CONEX will be as amazing as the first day. I’ve been tweeting like a murder of crows, so don’t forget to follow me on Twitter to see what all these content shenanigans are all about. And I’ll definitely bring you a recap right here as well.

Cheers!