Social Media

Should you roll your own social network? If yes, how do you build it so they will come, and take action?

Presented by:

Mike Bonifer, writer, director, producer and author of GameChangers. The author of GameChangers – Improvisation for Business in the Networked World, and the co-founder of GameChangers, LLC, Mike Bonifer has consistently been in the forefront of emergent media in the workplace.

A graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a degree in Business and Philosophy, he has been a writer, director, producer and creative executive in entertainment and the internet for most of his career.

Beginning with his work as the publicist for the motion picture TRON, and his association with Toy Story, through a stint as the Chief Storyteller for 2007’s Live Earth concerts for the environment, his work at the edges of emerging business cultures has given him tremendous insight into the creation of wealth in the Networked World.

Past and present clients include The Walt Disney Company, JohnsonDiversey, DreamWorks, Frito-Lay, Mountain Dew, Hot Topic, Smithsonian Online, and a host of smaller, innovative new media companies like Pandora, ignition, Twelve Horses and myPractice.

In creating GameChangers, he has produced a curriculum that helps organizations and individuals communicate, learn and transform.

Wendy Cohen, Director, Digital Campaigns & Community, Participant Media. Wendy led the social action campaign for Waiting for Superman.

Wendy Cohen joined Participant in November of 2007 as the Manager of Community and Alliances and the founding editor of the TakePart.com blog.  Wendy has developed innovative online and mobile initiatives for Charlie Wilson’s War, The Visitor, Food, Inc. and The Cove. She shepherded the digital component of the social action campaign for Waiting for “Superman”

Wendy was born and raised in Montreal and graduated first in her class from Concordia University’s Communications and Culture Studies program.  Prior to Participant, Wendy was the first Community Manager for The Huffington Post in New York City and she co-founded the Screening Liberally film series, of which she remains the National Director. A native of Montreal, Wendy began her work in film in 2004 as the Programmer and Outreach Coordinator for the Media That Matters Film Festival and Media That Matters: Good Food project.. She also worked as the researcher and creative assistant on The Art of the Documentary (New Riders Press) and served as co-chair on the Urban Pathways Young Professional Board. She has been the co-curator of the Netroots Nation screening series since 2007 and continues to be a guest lecturer and panelist at festivals and schools around the country. In 2009, Wendy produced “Every Third Bite”, an award-winning short documentary about bees hailed as a “better bee movie” by New York Magazine. Wendy is a recipient of the 2010 New Leaders Council’s 40 Under 40 Leadership Award.

Presentation from Essential Social Media Skills Practicum at Georgia Institute of Technology

Debbie Curtis-Magley is Public Relations Manager, Debbie leads social media strategy, policies, and practices at UPS.

David Murdico @DavidMurdico is the Executive Creative Director and Managing Partner ofSupercool Creative, a Los Angeles-based digital creative agency specializing in online video creative, production, viral, social media and integrated marketing initiatives for brands including T-Mobile, Pizza Hut, THQ, Atari and IBM.A graduate of The University of Southern California, David is also a contributing writer for media, marketing and advertising publication MediaPost as well as online video and internet marketing publication ReelSEO. David writes from experience, mixing up observations, postulations and humor for topics that include “Online Video and Social Media Marketing Advice for Marketing Executives,” “Online Video Marketing ROI: Five Ways To Make Sure You Won’t See One,” and “Chasing Dragons: The Case for Creating Original Video, Social, Interactive and Integrated Media Campaigns.”David’s background also includes commercial TV spot directing, TV comedy writing and commercial and TV art direction.

Adam Christensen Adam Christensen is responsible for the worldwide social media strategy and execution at IBM. In this role he directs the efforts of the global marketing and communications function in support of IBM’s strategy of enabling and activating IBM’s 400,000 employees as representatives of the brand. IBM has the largest employee population active in social media anywhere in the world.Prior to his current role, Adam held a number of positions within IBM communications and marketing. Before joining IBM, Adam worked at Brodeur Worldwide in New York City leading the firm’s financial services public relations practice. He’s also held related jobs at Novell, Inc. in Provo Utah, and Coltrin & Associates in New York City. Adam can be found on Twitter and his personal blog.

It all starts with monitoring. Learn how to be all ears. Session from Communitelligence Conference:  S.M.A.S.H. Social Media Advanced Skills Huddle, Los Angeles, 2010

Presented by:

Eric Schwartzman, @EricSchwartzman is an online communications consultant to businesses, the US Military, government agencies and nonprofits. He has extensive experience helping organizations leverage online communication technologies and platforms through the development of social computing policies, media audits, pilot programs and training seminars. Eric is a frequenter speaker at professional conferences and instructor of social media seminars. He has been producing the award-winning podcast “On the Record.Online” (@ontherecord) about how technology is changing the way organizations communicate since 2005.Eric has provided online communciations counsel to Boeing, BYU, City National Bank, Environmental Defense Fund, Government of Singapore, Johnson & Johnson, Southern California Edison, UCLA, US Dept. of State, United States Army, US Embassy of Athens, the United States Marine Corps and many small to medium-sized companies and agencies. He is currently co-authoring a book on business-to-business applications of social media communications with Paul Gillin, to be published by Wiley.

Jason Kintzler is a former anchorman turned pr guy. He is the founder and CEO of PitchEngine, a social PR platform that’s putting an end to the “word doc PR” era. He writes about jumping fences and rethinking the process here on New Media Cowboy.

Businesses are rightfully demanding metrics and ROI from social media marketing. How can you pull that rabbit out of the hat?

Sally Falkow APR, is the co-developer of PRESSfeed, the social media newsroom.  A veteran of the PR industry, Sally has translated her extensive experience in marketing, PR and communication to the Internet and her blog, Proactive Report, is a resource for PR professionals who want to learn about digital PR and social media. Her book, Mastering Social Media Strategy: a handbook for PR professionals will be available in May 2011. She is an adjunct professor at the Annenberg School for Communication  and Journalism at USC lecturing in  Social Media Strategy, Content and Tools. Sally is also a Sr. Fellow with the Society for New Communication Research, a new media research think tank based in Palo Alto, CA.

Tony Adam  is currently Director of Online Marketing at MySpace where he heads up all aspects of SEO, Social Media, and Viral Marketing. He is also the Founder and Principal of Visible Factors, an online marketing agency, a Startup Advisor, and Internet Entrepreneur. He speaks at many of the top online marketing conferences and writes a column at Search Engine Land about InHouse SEO.

How to Put Fizz In Your Social Media Strategy

Natalie Johnson (@NatalieJohnson), Manager of Digital and Social Media Communications, Coca-Cola

You understand the incredible transformative power of social media in the hands of millions of users. You know that a properly executed strategy can propel your firm well past the competition in the hearts and minds of your consumers. But how do explain all of this to your boss? In this engaging and informative seminar, leading social media practitioner Maggie Fox will share her numerous experiences in getting corporate buy-in at the highest levels, giving you the understanding and ammunition you need to get the Web 2.0 ball rolling within your firm.

Learning Topics:

• Statistics and Usage
• Best Practices/Case Studies/Benefits
• Metrics, Measurements and ROI
• Risks/Risk Management
• Resource Requirements/Planning for Success

Questions that
will be answered:

• The numbers – bosses may not know social media, but they know numbers. We’ll talk about how many people use web 2.0 tools and platforms and provide you with the ammunition you need to provide context and justification for your social media plans.
• Who’s doing what? Using practical facts and case studies we’ll examine emerging best practices and give you examples of how companies have successfully leveraged social media.
• How can you measure the success of a social media program? There are no metrics “formulas”, but we’ll talk about setting benchmarks, measuring engagement and touch on the idea of calculating ROI
• The risks – what are they, and what do you need to be careful of? How can you neutralize them? Do’s and don’ts.
• Resources – using real-world examples, we’ll talk about basic resource requirements and how planning ensures success.
• Open Q&A – bring your questions. There will be an open Q&A session following the formal presentation.

Presented by:

Maggie Fox, founder of Social Media Group, Canada’s first agency devoted exclusively to helping business navigate the world of Web 2.0, is a communications and content expert who has never met a medium she didn’t like. Over the course of her career, she’s marketed, written and produced television content for some of the biggest and best-known brands in North America, including Sears, Deloitte and Disney.

Pioneers in their field, Social Media Group has created and implemented successful Web 2.0 strategies for major firms like Yamaha Motor and Harlequin Publishing, and Maggie often speaks to the press and business groups about the importance and use of social media in the enterprise. Read the Social Media Group blog.

Brands are living and dying on the 10-20 sites that come up in a Google search for your company, product, or executive names. This webinar will address two critical aspects of your brand’s dance with Google:

• Proactively — How do you create and place the type of content that will greatly improve the chances that you will be found on Google.
• Reactively — How do you react and manage issues that arise and sneak into your top Google results.

What You Will Learn:

• How everyone from celebrities to Fortune 500 companies are treating their “Google Homepage” as the key to their online reputation
• How top online players are combining search engine optimization (SEO) with social media to own all ten of their first page Google results
• Why PR  is the right business unit to own search engine reputation management
• Simple tools to monitor your reputation through search engines

Presented by:

Paul Dyer is eMedia Director of WeissComm Group where he oversees social and new media programming for the firm’s healthcare and consumer brands. Paul’s experience includes leading social media and search engine strategy for a broad range of significant and Fortune 500 brands. Having built and managed his own web property to acquisition in 2003, Paul is adept at creating top to bottom web campaigns that incorporate SEO, social media, web development, media placements, and interactive assets. Paul’s current and former clients have included Virgin Megastore, IBM, Symantec, Coors Brewing, New Balance, Hansen’s Soda, Macanudo Cigars, Nature Made Vitamins, and Elan Pharmaceuticals. Paul is a frequent speaker on social media and SEO and authors the popular industry blog, Dyer Situations.

Sam Michelson is CEO of RepRelations. Sam’s first foray into Reputation Management came over 5 years ago when dealing with his company’s own reputation management crisis. Realizing there were no tools available to handle Reputation Management crises, he set out to develop a unique PR-based methodology, which is still the basis for the company’s RepRelations service offering. Prior to launching RepRelations, Sam created several online businesses, YouNeverCall (a leading cell phone website) CondominiumCentral (a licensed online luxury condos broker) and Five Blocks (a Search Engine Optimization firm). Sam is the inventor of two US Patents – one in text categorization, the other in interactive advertising. Sam holds a BA in Psychology from Yeshiva University and a Masters of Science in Management from Boston University.

Shana Costarella is Communications Manager, Community & Social Media at PetSmart in Phoenix, Arizona. PetSmart, Inc. is the largest specialty retailer of services and solutions for the lifetime needs of pets. Shana ushered PetSmart into the strategic use of emerging media for crisis/issue communication, reputation management and brand awareness. She oversees social media community and online reputation approaches for the retailer’s PR and marketing initiatives. In addition, she counsels business units on social media strategies for listening and engagement to achieve key customer service, recruiting, associate relations, loss prevention and philanthropy objectives.  With more than a dozen years experience in marketing communications, Shana has spent the last 10 years honing and employing Web and web-based solutions to illuminate and involve audiences. In 2005, she joined PetSmart’s Corporate Communications department, responsible for developing and managing web-based communications projects for internal and external audiences. Shana holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Ottawa University.

Launching a corporate blog takes more than an idea, it takes a plan. Successful business bloggers determine the needs of their audience, assess risks, get internal buy in and align the right resources for an ongoing dialogue with their customers. Get the tools you need to go from idea to action with two case studies from the pros. Learn how to scope a blogging project, get support for your initiative and manage a blog day to day.

What You Will Learn:

• Pros & risks of starting a blog for your organization
• Monitoring feedback & strategies for responding
• Strategies for including audio, video, photos
• Writing for authenticity and the right voice
• Managing multiple authors
• Policy dos & don’ts for employee bloggers

Questions that are answered:

• What should be included in a blogging plan?
• What resources will I need?
• What tools are available?
• How do I build internal support for a blog?
• How do I measure success? Determine ROI?
• What are the day to day best practices?

Presented by: 

Nicki Dugan, senior director of corporate communications at Yahoo!, is editor of the company’s official corporate blog, Yodel Anecdotal. It launched in August 2006 as “Yet another self-serving corporate blog” with the mission of providing insights into the company, its people, its culture, and the things Yahoos think about in the shower. The blog covers emerging trends, behind-the-scenes commentary, employee profiles, user stories, guest opinions, and includes video, podcasts and photo essays. All this while attempting to faithfully avoid regurgitation of product press releases. Contributing voices range from CEO to summer interns and Yodel Anecdotal has been lauded for having the cahones to accept comments of all flavors.

Prior to joining Yahoo! in 2000, Nicki represented consumer internet brands such as Yahoo!, Mapquest and Reel.com at Niehaus Ryan Wong, the tech-only agency that presided over the halcyon days of the Internet boom (and may it rest in peace). She also served as editorial director at Sheila Donnelly & Associates of Honolulu and as senior editor at Travel Holiday magazine. Nicki received a B.A. in English from Franklin & Marshall College.

About Paula Berg
Paula Berg is a spokesperson and Public Relations Specialist for Southwest Airlines, the nation’s leading low-fare carrier and the largest domestic airline in terms of Customers carried. In addition to handling the company’s corporate blog, Nuts About Southwest Blog, Paula specializes in strategic communication, regional media relations, reputation management, and special event planning. Paula also supervised on-location production for three seasons of Airline!, Southwest’s reality series for the A&E Television Network, which filmed Southwest’s daily operations in four cities. After brief stints selling beer on Phish tour and working for the Colorado and United States Senates, Paula woke up and smelled the jet fuel and began her career at Southwest Airlines in 2001. Paula is a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder where she earned a bachelors degree in communication and a minor in Political Science.

About Brian Glover
As senior manager of market strategy for Biz360, Brian Glover is responsible for activities that support the company’s product direction and marketing communications efforts. He is the primary author of the company’s MarketIQ blog and has eight years of experience in marketing and public relations. Prior to Biz360, Brian was public relations manager for Documentum, acquired by EMC in 2003, and a Biz360 client. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Rhetoric from the University of California at Berkeley. 

Presented by by Paul McClay (@paulmcclay), Director of Media for Definition 6 at Essential Social Media Skills Practicum, Atlanta