Like never before our communities are physically distanced, but socially connected: a new human reality that the pandemic has only amplified. We’re hard-wired to connect with one another, but have built distances into our professional and social lives that test that wiring like never before.
At AMA Madison’s 2021 Virtual Annual Conference: Power of Community on Sept. 30, Aaron Templer will present on “Leading in a Social World,” an unexpected look at social media through the lens of leadership.
Social capital—measurable, manageable value that’s accessed and shared through social networks—has become an undeniably valuable resource for people and their organizations. But contrary to what many of us marketing people will tell you, socially connected systems reject marketing. They are communities for nurturing, not audiences for conversions. Aaron encourages anyone who’s using the social web as a way to influence and move people that they need to ditch their social media marketing and build social capital—a leadership skill— instead.
Aaron will share how to:
- Shed biases: When it comes to building committed communities around your brand, social media marketing data shows suspect results at best, brand-damaging results at worst.
- Learn a better way: Learn why some brands are successfully motivating others within social networks (and how they’re doing it).
- Elevate your approach: Learn how to use leadership acumen to build communities who give back to you, your brand, and your cause.
We sat down with Aaron for a Q&A to share his thoughts on what to expect from his AMA Madison session:
What do you expect the audience to take away from your Leading in a Social World presentation?
I hope marketers will come away from this presentation with an elevated sense of what marketers actually do, and a keener awareness of the difference between driving conversions and building community.
What is holding companies back from succeeding with social media?
As marketers we’ve built strong but incorrect frameworks for social media marketing, and we experience social media with an entirely different network activated in our brains than non-marketers participating in them do. Shaking off those biases are important. Plus I think as marketers we need to see ourselves more as leaders and less of tacticians, and develop more leadership skills.
What will companies gain from building social capital?
Understanding how to build and use social capital and what that necessarily will change in your marketing operations can immediately save companies a lot of time and money. Long term it provides nothing less than an approach to building and leading talent as well external relationships in the only way that’s both effective and moral.
What is a hobby you enjoy?
I’m a fairly active hobbyist musician, playing in a few projects around Denver. I also love travelling with my wife. Both of these things have taken a hit these past 18 months, of course. But they’ll pick back up. Much of my wife’s family lives in India, and those trips have been my favorite for a number of reasons. I play a drum called a dhol, which is from North India and used in North India folk music called bhangra. I’ve been incredibly lucky to play it for an Indian dance troupe and for Indian weddings as a hobby. Some folks in the community call me The Gora Dhol Wallah, which basically means “the white guy who plays the dhol.”
Don’t miss Aaron and other marketing thought leaders at our 2021 Annual Conference. Register Now!
About Aaron Templer
Aaron Templer is a polymathic marketing firm owner at Three Over Four, occasional speaker, first-time book author with Leading in a Social World, and hobby percussionist. He is an American Marketing Association Professional Instructor and Past President of its Professional Chapters Council and Colorado chapter. His marketing firm, speaking engagements, teachings, and writings are at the intersection of strategy, creativity, brand, influence, and leadership. Some call him the Gora Dhol Wallah.