TED Talks are taking the business world by storm. Short for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, TED itself is an annual conference that brings together leaders from these three industries to share their expertise with the crowd.
Past events have featured speaking appearances by top executives from companies such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. Al Gore, Bill Clinton, and J.J. Abrams have also spoke at these conferences.
So what can you take from a TED Talk? Plenty. Here are three success lessons small businesses can learn:
1. A Social Media Presence is More Than a Profile
Several of the more recent TED Talks have been focused on social media – surprise surprise. However, instead of just pumping up the social realm as the next best thing in marketing since the internet itself, most speakers choose to discuss how brands can actually use this thriving channel effectively.
One such talk was given by Alexis Ohanian, best known as co-founder of popular social bookmarking site Reddit. In “How to Make a Splash in Social Media”, Ohanian schooled the audience on how to master the use of memes and do social media marketing the right way.
2.Every Good Team Needs a Great Leader
Leadership is an extremely important factor that can either make or break a company. Apple co-founder and chairman late Steve Jobs is a prime example of leadership taking a company to the head of the class, while former Enron President Jeffrey is a classic example of leadership leading a company into the tank.
Some of the most influential TED Talks have focused on the importance of leadership, including “Lead Like the Great Conductors”. Delivered by music conductor and business consultant Itay Talgam, this talk used colorful analogies to illustrate powerful lessons leaders from all industries can learn from.
3. It’s All About Passion
The internet has provided small businesses with more opportunities than have ever been available. Unfortunately, so many brands are so dead set on following the latest trends, they lose site of what truly matters to them.
In “Do What You Love”, consistently rated as one of the best TED Talks for businesses, entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk went into detail of why marketers should put their passion before all the trends. As Vaynerchuk put it, success is within easy reach in the internet era. There is no longer any reason for small businesses not to be profiting from what makes them happy.
Decades of Knowledge
While TED Talks first hit the web back 2006, these conferences have been taking place since 1984. And with all the attention they have been generating online, they are likely to continue for some time to come. Videos of past discussions are freely available, so when the moment calls, check out a few that are relevant to your situation and soak up the knowledge.
About The Guest Author: Abel Velazquez is a writer, online marketing expert, and advocate for email marketing software company, Benchmark Email.
Microphone Photo via Shutterstock
