10 tips I picked up at Digicon 2017 about boosting chances of success of online startups

At least 2,500 professionals from the media, brands, telecom, and advertising industries gathered at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay for the second Digital Congress on October 11 to 13.

Human resource experts and startup business owners also grazed the three-day event that went underway on a theme of “DX: The Culture of Digital Transformation.”

Industry stalwarts from all over the world spoke about how they were able to make digital work for them, their organizations, and their businesses.

The conference was divided into six tracks—people and organizations, new age of storytelling, living streams, customer experience, pivots and unicorns, and culture—each track featuring several speakers a day. Each day began and closed with plenary sessions.

In a time where more and more folks are seeing the opportunity to open and grow their startups on the Internet, we present the 10 takeaways from Digicon that should be of help.

1. Design is important. And it doesn't just mean how your website looks. It means how your audience or your customer experiences your brand (online).

DigiCon opened with a talk by Brian Solis, award-winning author and principal analyst at Altimeter Group, who asked the audience: “What are moments that define your experience and your brand?”

Especially in a very crowded space like the Internet and social media, it would be good to ponder on this point every so often.

Brian Solis talking about the importance of understanding the way digital works to move your businesses forward.

2. Look to mobile. Greg Perez, design director at IDEO Tokyo, noted that in the foreseeable future mobile will mean mass media.

It’s good to create a website, yes, and be on every possible social media channel. But have the mobile experience in mind. Make your website responsive to a mobile device. The links you share on Facebook? Include short captions. Keep in mind your visuals and imagery.

3. Introduce, don't interrupt. Don’t you hate getting duped by a clickbait only to find they were trying to sell you something? Yeah, us too. The good news is, the “And you wouldn’t believe that happened next!” strategy is over.

Disturbing your audiences is done for. Why? Because your customers are empowered to bypass you. Instead of interruption, Solis suggests introduction. Introduce your concept, your product, your story to your audiences and would-be customers. Step into your customers’ fold, and tell it their way.

4. Build for different platforms. We all know this by now: Brand presence is important on Facebook, on Instagram, on Twitter, on YouTube, or whatever platform there is. But don't make the mistake of falling for the false promise of efficiency and start linking one social media channel to the other, in such a way that your content on Facebook is also your content on Instagram.

Apart from this being lazy work—and your customers can smell lazy from across their mobile screens—it’s also not smart. Mashable sales director Menglye Liu shares: “You have to build for different platforms because each platform is a different experience.” And it’s true: You go to Twitter for bursts of information, Instagram for visuals, Facebook to check on your friends. And so it goes.

5. Align your content. Now that you’ve built for different platforms, you have to align your content. Make sure everything that appears on your IG, your FB, your Twitter all contribute to telling one story—your story.

6. Remember: good visuals. Every day we get swamped with information on our feeds, everyone fighting for our attention. If you’re going to join the fray, you’re going to need good visuals. Says Liu, attention spans shorten in the absence of cool visuals. Key takeaway? Invest in good photographers! Learn Photoshop! Be guided by the above: What moments define your brand?

7. Financiers don’t just invest in concepts. They invest in people. If you’re starting a business and looking for funding, you need to have your paperwork in place: a strong presentation deck, projected financial statements, a video even. But remember, it’s not just about the concept or your business idea. It’s also about you and your background, your CV, and what you can do, and what you have done. Your would-be backers will be backing you.

8. Listen to your gut. Carlo Calimon of Fundnau says “there’s no real prescribed amount of time” for when your startup should already be making money, or for you to stop gambling because you’ve been bleeding money. “Usually, you feel it, especially in your pockets.” If you’re looking for estimates, however, Calimon says by the third year, you have to be building traction already. If not? Change your business model.

9. Instant gratification. Perez of IDEO Tokyo says a good percentage of online shoppers fill their shopping carts and go through the entire online shopping experience only to leave it all behind on the final step of checking out. Why? Because it's just too complicated.

If you’re going into e-commerce, make sure your customers have a smooth and seamless shopping experience.

Most of the time, business owners are designing for their business’ efficiency and systems—how you categorize your product, the steps people must take so your systems are not disrupted. It’s good on the backend side of things and for your inventory, or whatnot. But remember, your customers are not in the backend. Make it easy for them. Remove that one extra step that makes the experience clunky.

10. Don’t ride all the trends. Moment marketing is a big deal these days—brands trying to get into on what’s going viral at the moment. But according to Margot B. Torres, VP for marketing at McDonald’s Philippines, you don’t need to respond to every single viral thing. “Just because it’s viral, doesn’t mean you need to react and join the trend. You have to stay true to who you are, to your brand values.”  You choose according to your brand. 
 — VDS, GMA News