On June 16th (1 month!), 1,000+ business execs, civic leaders, entrepreneurs, students and professionals hit the Seaport for BostInno's third annual State of Innovation forum.
In our custom of going bigger (and better), this year we're introducing the first-ever State of Innovation Workshop series. In addition to hearing from high-profile keynotes and cutting-edge panel discussions featuring some of Boston's most acclaimed VCs and CEOs, you have the chance to learn the skills needed put the ideas and insights you hear into action.
In possibly the best deal in the city, you can take up to three General Assembly classes during State of Innovation, free. With each class typically $30 in value – you can't afford to miss this opportunity to get inspired and advance your career all in one afternoon.
Here's what we're learning at #BOSSOI:
Future-Proof Social Media
Instructor: Steph Parker, Digital Strategy at allen & gerritsen
For years, marketing initiatives have felt like branded monologues, talking at people instead of with them. The advent of social media turned advertising into a conversation, where thoughts, feelings, and ideas could be communicated in real-time. In this class, explore the fundamentals of how social media has changed our behaviors and communication styles. We’ll also discuss how these things factor into a successful social strategy so that your business can build something future-proof.
Takeaways:
- Understand the key elements of social media user experience
- Learn how to communicate with your audience effectively using basic psychological principles
- Discover how to incorporate a social strategy into your other marketing efforts
Product Marketing for Business Growth
Instructor: Jo Wightman, VP Product Management - Social Platforms at Fiksu
Product Marketing is a critical function for any technology business today. After all, what could be more important than understanding your customers and explaining how your product can solve their problems? In this class, learn the fundamentals of Product Marketing and look at companies doing exemplary things that drive business growth.
Takeaways:
- Identify your core user groups and develop insight to drive the product roadmap.
- Craft a launch strategy for any product, feature or brand launch.
- Formulate key value propositions and calls-to-action for marketing materials.
- Leverage your community of power users to provide critical feedback and evangelize your products.
How To Get The First Meeting
Instructor: Thomas Liou, Enterprise Account Director at General Assembly
Sometimes the biggest hurdle to selling your hot new product is just knowing who to sell it to and how to find them. This class focuses on giving you strategy, tactics, and methods that will help you get that crucial first meeting. We'll get into the details – looking at everything from creating a target list, to sourcing accurate contact information, introducing your product in a way that makes you truly stand out, and how to find the elusive balance between persistence and peskiness.
By implementing these surprisingly simple tools and guidelines, you're sure to find potential clients' doors open wider than ever.
Takeaways:
- Create a target list and source accurate contact info
- Craft introductions that make your product stand out
- Strike the balance between persistence and peskiness
Why UX Matters As You Scale
Instructor: Mike Scopino, Experience Designer
Why UX Matters takes a dive into the importance of user experience. During this class, explore how a brand comes into reality as the experience design evolves, especially focusing on how all decisions in the product development timeline are tied to the original product strategy. You will look at real-world examples that showcase successes and failures of digital product branding, share insights on your own experiences and learn where mistakes are generally made.
Takeaways:
- UX's role in every stage of the digital product development process
- How to avoid chasing UX trends and gimmicks
- How to narrow the focus of your product to make it successful
- Figuring out the roles of everyone involved in the digital product cycle
Funnel Vision: Making Sense of Your Analytics Data
Instructor: Austin Gardner-Smith, Senior Director – Product Design at Nanigans
What's stopping customers from signing up for your product? Or becoming a paying user? Are the tech and marketing changes you're making having an effect?
Simple analytics can help you answer all of the questions above. By understanding funnels and analytics, you can start using your data to drive your decision-making. In this class, learn how funnels help marketers make sense of the world, how to construct and measure your own funnels, and how funnel analytics can be applied to scale growth, engagement and revenue.
The content is focused on startups and small companies with limited resources, and will look at examples with small sample sizes.
Takeaways:
- Why well-defined funnels are critical for performance marketing
- How to construct and measure the right funnels for your business
- How to understand and analyze funnel data
Design Thinking in Practice
Instructor: Brett Bishop, Design Thinking Strategist at Capital One
At large, Fortune 500 companies like Capital One, Design Thinking has snowballed from a single individual to a massive force for cultural change in the past two years. Stressing the involvement of entire organizations, Design Thinking is a framework for understanding design processes, the relationship between design and business, and “how designers think.” Participants in this workshop will gain insight on how to spread design-centric ideas throughout their company regardless of the industry. And you don’t have to be a designer: all disciplines are encouraged to participate. Come learn about Capital One's journey, with the aim of empowering everyone to begin their own journeys of cultural change within their organizations.
Takeaways:
- Obtain a thorough understanding of Design Thinking and its benefits for your organization.
- Learn how design thinking applies to other industries.
- Identify where to most effectively begin your design thinking journey inside your own organization
- Expand your definition of design thinking from “methodology” to “mindset” for maximum impact
This is the only time you'll have access to these classes and more in one afternoon. So join us: get your tickets below and register for the classes of your choice!
