NOTE: This is a repost of yesterday’s blog post over at Compete.com, my client, and the best event planner (Kristen) and Moderator (Stephen) I know.

Does content drive transactions? It’s complicated right?

We asked ourselves the same question last week at tastybytes, our ongoing (and traveling) luncheon series bringing together lunch, digital marketers and lively conversation.

At The MODERN at the MoMa, We were joined by Digital and Social luminaries Mason Nelder (Verizon Wireless), Colin Hynes (RueLaLa), David Schreibstein (Ogilvy) and Steve Rappaport (Advertising Research Foundation).

After a brief introduction by Stephen Dimarco (@sdimarco) the panelists agreed that indeed conversation does drive conversion, but after that, it gets a little tricky. Here are a few “bytes” of conversation from last week.

“Content is anything that is a catalyst for conversation” @masonnelder

“Authenticity is paramount. Brands need to be careful with ‘advertorials’. Users know when they’re being sold something”  @colinhynes18

“When reviewing content on user-review sites like Yelp, Zagat and more, pay attention to the content and where it’s ranked on a 1-5 scale. Look closely at the ’3′s and the ’4′ s (not the 1’s and 5’s) to see what they’re saying and why they are saying it. The ’3′s and the ’4′s are usually the most well thought out answers that drive understanding” @steverappaport

“Mobile content is a new way to engage, but brands are still thinking through what can be said and done on a much smaller device” @dschreib

“Mobile content is a new frontier, but at the end of the day, brands still need to know more about you to make it relevant. Tricky to do via a smartphone” @masonnelder

The tastybytes conversation continues. If you’re interested in learning more, head on over to our Linkedin Group or follow the hashtag #tastybytes from time to time as we’ll be coming to a city near you in 2012.

NOTE: for a quick look at Compete’s last TastyBytes event in Boston, take a look here.