The 8 Best Digital Marketing TED Talks

It's never too late to keep learning, getting inspired, and staying up-to-date with all the latest updates that come up in the digital marketing space. That's why I've rounded up the best TED talks about this topic so you can quickly and easily have eight exciting bits of information for your day-to-day routine.

I hope you enjoy these marketing TED talks from experts from all over the world. Knowledge doesn't take up space and TED makes sure it doesn’t take up too much time! Take note of them. 

The top 8 TED Talks for marketers 

1. "Is There a Buy Button Inside the Brain"- Patrick Renvoise

How can brands ensure price stops becoming a significant factor when it's time to make a purchase? They do it through awakening emotions through neuromarketing.

In this TED talk, Patrick Renvoise, the President and Chief Neuromarketing Officer of SalesBrian and the co-author of Neuromarketing: Understanding the Buy Button Inside Your Customer's Brain, explains how he spent two years researching to discover the buy button inside the brain (which you could tell from the title of his talk), and formalizing a science-based map to go ahead and access it.

Renvoise explains that there are three parts of our brain: the new brain that represents your rational self, the middle brain that represents your emotional self, and the reptilian brain that represents your instinctual self. Neuroscientists have discovered that our instinctual self has a much more significant impact on our decision-making than our rational and emotional selves, and that's why he explains that if we all understood our reptilian nature, we could change the world.

Neuromarketing studies people's behavior when deciding to buy or consume goods or services. If we learn to use it to our advantage, these concepts can be precious to us.

2. "How Influencers Have Transformed Modern Marketing"- Rachel David

When talking about marketing today, there’s no way that we can avoid mentioning influencers! One of the best TED talks I’ve found on the topic is from Rachel David, entrepreneur, and CEO of Hashtag Communications.

During her talk, she breaks down how influencers are transforming the industry by turning into referential figures for thousands of consumers wanting to buy what influencers recommend. The rules of the game have changed as a result of their entry into the marketing landscape.

3. "12 secrets to marketing and you won't believe what happens next"- Naimul Huq

Naimul Huq, the current President and Head of Analytics at Lippe Taylor, goes over what are, to him, 12 critical steps to making an impact on consumer's choices. He also explains how companies can use them to foster interactions with customers.

You'll come away with some exciting lessons, including the secrets behind successful marketing and tricks for improving your actions.

4. “Bridging the Gap: Personalized Marketing”-Nicole Martin 

Internet privacy is a highly-debated topic that concerns an incredibly large number of consumers. Digital Marketing consultant Nicole Martin uses this TED Talk to debunk particular myths and proposes a solution: personalized marketing. It’s a way of bridging gaps and ensuring that both parties end up seeing benefits.

5. “404, the story of a page not found”- Renny Gleeson

This video is one of the oldest on my list but its topic continues to stay relevant. I'm sure that at some point you’ve looked up information on the Internet and have come upon a 404 Error page. While it's a frustrating, dead-end road for many users, what if you turned it into an opportunity? Renny Gleason explains how you can use it to build a brand in his TED Talk.

6. “Neuromarketing: the new science of consumer decisions”-Terry Wu 

The second Neuromarketing Ted Talk on my list is from Terry Wu, who holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and specializes in how it intersects with marketing. The past 20 years have seen a significant number of academic papers analyzing how our brains make purchasing decisions, and Dr. Wu has helped many organizations gain insights into consumer behavior to spearhead their growth. 

In this talk, he shares what neuromarketing is and why it’s essential. We are what excites us, and we buy what moves us. If we learn to use this to our benefit, it can prove tremendously valuable.

7. “The Four-Letter Code To Selling Just About Anything”- Derek Thompson

Why do we like the things we like? In his TED Talk, Derek Thompson discusses Raymond Lowey, the father of Industrial Design's, MAYA: Most Advanced Yet Acceptable theory. Human beings move between two opposing forces: the desire for new things and, at the same time, the fear of the unknown. Success lies in finding the middle ground between novelty and familiarity, and it's the key to a successful product or service. Watch the entire talk to learn more about this theory:

8. “There is No Luck. Only Good Marketing”- Franz Schrepf 

We can apply marketing to our day-to-day, and many of its principles can guide us in charting the path that’s right for us. In his TED Talk, University of Amsterdam student Franz Schrep has a fun discussion where he explains that to be successful, we have to forget about luck and start changing the way we present and promote ourselves to achieve our goals. And to be happier, of course. 

This article only contains a selection of the most stimulating marketing TED Talks I’ve watched over the years. However, if you take some time to search for more on YouTube, you’ll find even more concerning marketing and a whole host of other topics that you’ll be able to learn about in a dynamic format. Immerse yourself in them!