Ed Cianci and I just got in from four awesome days at SXSW Interactive 2011 in Austin, TX. It was an amazing time with information that helps both us, Grow Socially, and iFlyMobi alike, as well as a chance to meet some great people in the social/tech industry from all over the country. It was an absolute blast with each day going from about 9am-2am with little time to catch your breath or soak up info in-between, and you know what- we loved it! I’d like to thank Grow Socially on behalf of myself and Ed for the amazing opportunity to attend the cultural and business phenomenon known as South By Southwest.  Here now, in no order whatsoever are 50 things I learned over the past few days in Austin.

1.       A social media marketing effort is not measurable in numbers.
2.       It’s impossible to measure the effectiveness of a social media campaign without taking into consideration your entire brand’s marketing presence.
3.       Online surveys on social sites and email blasts are some of the most accurate ways to gauge your audience/
4.       Clients and businesses want to see social media’s relevance by how much traffic it directs back to their site and how it improves SEO.
5.       The more analytics, the better, there is always something more to look into.
6.       Listening tools such as Radian6 is a great component to traditional social media growth analytics.
7.       Social media policies either empower or entirely negate a brand’s social credibility.
8.       Letting users comment, but not directly post to a page shows interaction, but still puts the company in control.
9.       Allow negative comments, just not the profane ones.
10.   Jason Falls is a funny guy.
11.   The folks at Frog design can not only throw a party, you can learn at them as well.
12.   The coolest way to show Twitter’s power? A visual heat map of Tweets in your area on a projection screen.
13.   Traveling during daylight savings makes for uber-jetlag.
14.   If someone tells you the Foo Fighters are playing a party, they’re not.
15.   Clients are not the ones who truly empower a brand’s social presence, the users do.
16.   The social brand-consumer relationship can be compared to walking an uncontrollable dog.
17.   If you educate people on your product or service more and more, there’s an increased chance for them to opt-in.
18.   Putting content that’s not just exclusive, but truly worthy of the “Like” is the key to a successful Facebook page.
19.   Don’t just copy and paste press releases!
20.   It’s about the quality of Facebook fans, not quantity.
21.   The smaller number of fans, the more valuable each one is.
22.   QR Codes are everywhere!
23.   No seriously, EVERYWHERE
24.   80% of online chatter about a brand occurs off of their official website.
25.   Apple could sell a bag of air and people would wait in line overnight for it.
26.   A pop-up store in Austin during SXSW will cost a pretty penny, but pretty much guarantees ROI within 40 hours.
27.   Everybody in this industry should have their own personal domain name as well as a social presence.
28.   People LOVE iFlyMobi
29.   Facebook pages eliminate the need and costs for a focus group.
30.   The actual dollar of each Facebook fan is irrelevant.
31.   If you want to get a lot of people to your company’s meet up over the sessions and panels, free Pabst Blue Ribbon does the trick.
32.   “Slacktivism”-Social media nonprofit/good causes by Gen-Y’ers.
33.   Some consumers see Twitter as a forum for “ruthless anarchy”
34.   If you put every techie in America in one city in Texas at the same time, the internet will slow down pretty significantly.
35.   Emo’s on 6^th street is the greatest live music venue I think I’ve ever been to.
36.   Twitter’s head of analytics, Kevin Yeil has to be the busiest man in the country.
37.   Challenges facing fundraising and non-profit marketing have always been prevalent, it’s not social media’s fault your campaign doesn’t work.
38.   Until a brand does something to engage or empower a fan, the value of their page is 0.
39.   When you try to locate influencers, you ignore the other 99% of the crowd, who actually matter.
40.   Sponsored stories on Facebook are the latest way brands are integrating social ads.
41.   @HouseOfBrew is a hard working, fun loving guy we’re all happy to know.
42.   When crisis strikes, turn off comments enabling until you can respond properly,
43.   If you want an example of a powerful brand with an engaged social presence, look no further than Oreos.
44.   Some panels are so popular people waited in line to sit on the floor in the back.
45.   Ironic moustaches are the trademark of a young entrepreneur these days. It’s like the 2011 sweatervest.
46.   Esther’s Follies is home to some great comedy and a great meetup spot for podcast nerds like myself.
47.   People really, truly do not at all like the term “Social media specialist, guru, expert, etc”
48.   I don’t think anybody can take in information at such a high pace like Ed Cianci.
49.   If you see someone dressed as Captain America at an Interactive meetup, just go with it.
50.   I want to go back. NOW.

Want more of our coverage from SXSW? Check out our photos!

Here is more video coverage of our trip in Austin!