10 Awesome TED Talks About Marketing

Being creative and different is what marketing is all about in the 21st century. People are immune to the same regurgitated material coming through the TV’s or airwaves, so in order to be different, you have to do things different. These videos are the perfect combination of resources to give you some solid ideas, and more importantly, get your creativity muscle pumping out new ways to market products and services. 1. How to Start a Movement – Derek Sivers In this short video, Derek shows us how it’s not the leader who should get credit for starting a movement, but rather the first followers. It takes courage to be the first one to join a “nut” all by his or herself; however, soon enough everyone else then starts to pour in. The movement starts once there is no chance of ridicule since everyone else is doing it and it becomes the popular thing to do. This translates to really treating your first customers or subscribers in business like they are essential to the life of your business, because they are. Simply put, if they stick around, more will follow. 2. How to Make Choosing Easier – Sheena Iyengar In this video, Sheena demonstrates a phenomenon called “choice overload.” The premise is that when people are faced with too many choices, they take less action. This knowledge can be used to generate more sales because you will find out that customers become less likely to buy when they are faced with more choices. Sheena then recommends strategies for reducing choice overload and getting customers to become more likely to buy your product. 3. Beware Neuro-Bunk – Molly Crockett Molly is a neuroscientist who set out to explore the fabulous claims behind high-selling products and services. She argues that companies look at studies and seek out the positives that support their product or service and completely ignore any kind of result that would go against it. This means that the products and services you buy are likely not all they are talked up to be, or as she calls it, the advertisements are neuro-bunk. 4. How to get (a new) hip – Allison Hunt In this short clip, Allison uses her experience in getting a hip replacement to get you thinking differently than most of the people in the world are used to. She inspires you to look somewhere that other people haven’t looked and find opportunity in any type of business or life endeavor. 5. How to get your ideas to spread – Seth Godin In this video, Seth tells us why it’s so important to market to the innovators and early adopters because they are the ones who are listening and interested. Most companies market to the average person, the masses. Those people are bombarded with so many choices nowadays that they are just ignoring every message being sent to them, so, naturally, the ones you want to appeal to are the ones who are actually going to listen. Seth tells you how to be remarkable and shows you how to get those early adopters and innovators on your side, allowing you to sit back and have them market your business for you. 6. Selling condoms in the congo – Amy Lockwood In this TED Talk, Amy uses her experience of visiting Congo to demonstrate a very importing marketing tactic that can be the difference between a thriving business and a broke business. She demonstrates this marketing method using a product none other than… condoms! She tells you exactly why condoms don’t sell in Congo and how that relates to a common mistake in marketing of any product or service. She states that no matter what you are selling, you have to figure out what exactly is going to cause people to buy. 7. What Physics Taught Me About Marketing – Dan Cobley In this video Dan demonstrates the power of mass and acceleration when it comes to a business brand. The bigger the brand, the more difficult it is to reposition, meaning businesses should never become experts in one area and then attempt to reposition themselves in another one. He also talks about how big brands are in big trouble when some event that happens to the company is a conflicting image to what they represent. 8. On Glamour – Virginia Postrel Virginia shows us how glamour is used in all forms of marketing to sell us virtually anything. Glamour makes us feel like we want to be a part of whatever piece of media is being shown to us, and that we can experience the world of glamour if we buy what is being advertised. We are often being put in a position where we picture ourselves in the shoes of the beautiful person in the ad staring out into the distance, which gives us a vivid picture in our minds of what life could be like if we buy what is being advertised. 9. 404, The Story of a Page Not Found – Renny Gleeson The lesson from this Ted Talk by Renny is that the little things can be what really sets a business apart from the field. Paying attention to the small details and giving the potential customer something to relate to can really strengthen brand image. What you see in the big picture nowadays with advertising and marketing is just a conglomeration of all the small things that have been invented up until this day. So what does that mean? Invent small things to set you apart! 10. Choice, Happiness, and Spaghetti Sauce – Malcolm Gladwell Malcolm tells you exactly what you need to know about modern day marketing in terms of spaghetti sauce. Confused? You should be. It turns out that a change in the product offerrings of Preggo’s spaghetti sauces was responsible for modern day product line development. There is no single best product, there are multiple best products.