In this session, we will explore various social media platforms and identify best practices to effectively launch a successful engagement strategy online. The focus of the session will be on mastering platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn. We will explore and identify best opportunities for your brand to interact in the social space.

Key takeaways:

Learn about various social media platforms and their differences

Learn how to develop relative content that will capture the right audience

Learn how to create an effective engagement strategy for your brand

Elly Deutch Co-Founder/Chief Digital Strategist eDigital @deutche

I haven't read it, but I imagine this book is full of advice on psychological tricks to get people to click links, clever ways to take advantage of the trust of your users to promote you via social networks, and generally other behavior that in any other context would be seen as predatory and distasteful. For some reason these techniques are seen as perfectly valid in the world of business, but if you had a friend using the same tricks to hit on girls in a bar, you'd probably be disgusted. Indeed, the whole field of "marketing" has gradually become less about communication, and more about deception and game theory -- and the justification we use is "everybody else does it and it certainly works, so it must be ok." Luckily, there is a another way: An old-fashioned way that feels good and works great; a way that unites your whole company behind a single objective: be the best at what you do, and let your users do the talking. In this session, David will discuss:

Advertising is like crack: once you start, you can't stop -- even if it kills you (which it probably will)

Word of mouth is the most scalable, cost effective, and qualified lead source of all

It won't work everywhere, but where it does, it's winner-takes-all

Come learn tips on what has worked get Expensify a million evangelically loyal users at no cost

The secret: build it and they will come -- but only if the early people rave about it to their friends

David Barrett Founder/CEO Expensify @quinthar

Dr Natalie Petouhoff Business Strategist & Consultant, Social Media ROI Specialist Social Business Builders: The Results Group™ @drnatalie

Yes, we’re using social media. We’re tweeting, we’re updating, we’re posting, we’re having fun…. But are we meaningful? Are our engagements driving actions and do they mean something to our campaigns?

This workshop is dedicated to reviewing the use of social media and how it relates to the bottom line and company mission. We will explore social media engagements and interactions to identify those, which are meaningful and those, which are not.

During this workshop, you will:

Review company social media campaign case studies and your own company’s social media campaigns

Determine the effectiveness and results of social engagements

Learn how to make your engagements more meaningful based on your campaign goals

Jen Cohen Crompton President Something Creative, LLC @jenz036

Ever wonder which social media policies your business needs? And then wonder where and how do you get started?

Social media policies are crucial to the success of any business in this day and age. Identifying the necessary policies, ensuring they are compliant, and learning to roll them out to your internal and external audiences can make all the difference.

In this session, you will learn to identify the most important aspects of properly planning, creating, and executing social media policies for your business, that will not only protect your business, but will prove to be beneficial for your employees. You will learn how to get started, where to get started, and what to look for when considering compliance.

Kelley Keller, Esq. Founder & Managing Member The Keller Law Firm @KelleyKeller

Glenn Selig Founder PRNewsChannel @GlennSelig

This workshop will have three sections:

Navigating Google Analytics

Understanding Facebook Insights & EdgeRank

Creating Excel Dashboards & Case Studies

Dan Soschin will walk attendees through deciphering the wealth of knowledge available through the free enterprise web traffic platform, Google Analytics (GA). We’ll explore the five key reporting areas that every social media marketer should know about:

Engagement

Mobile

Campaigns

Social

Conversions

Attendees who have not previously used Google Analytics will be able to get a solid understanding of the value the platform can bring to your social media strategy. So it doesn’t matter if you are a GA newbie or GA master, this discussion will unlock your data so that you can make meaningful business decisions, such as which platforms to spend the most time on, and what parts of your strategy are generating revenue for your business.

In the second part of the discussion, we’ll briefly discuss Facebook’s EdgeRank algorithm and what that means to your business. Did you know that most of your Facebook updates are not seen by your fans? We’ll uncover why that is and what you can do about it by leveraging Facebook Insights.

We’ll wrap up by looking at some social media dashboards and case studies that you can begin to leverage for reporting your success to your external stakeholders.

Dan Soschin Associate Vice President, Interactive Marketing American Public University System @dan_soschin

You have gained a significant Twitter following to date and you know you can do better in terms of KPIs and the quality of content you provide that resonates with people… which ultimately drives revenue. There is a value to every follower whether they are a current customer, prospect, or key influencer. Twitter grows by the day and we all wonder how much opportunity we are missing out on based on our strategic decisions, or lack thereof. This session will provide practical processes and takeaways to do a deep-dive analysis on your Twitter followers and how to map out a revised content strategy that focuses on getting results that matter. Kurt Krejny will provide a list of the best free and paid tools, real report examples, and ways to analyze data to create a strategy for success on Twitter.

Session Takeaways:

A walkthrough of free and paid tools to analyze Twitter follower data

Utilize Facebook and YouTube to refine your Twitter strategy

Develop personas based on your follower research

Determine ways to create an engagement strategy that solves problems

Learn practical tips and tricks for enhanced Twitter visibility

Kurt Krejny Director of Online Marketing Fathom Online Marketing @KurtKrejny

Adele Cehrs President Epic PR Group @EpicPrGroupDC

Social Media is redefining the way Marketers market to prospects and customers. I’ll share five insights from the space that can lift Marketing performance. It’s not just enough to adapt Marketing approaches though, one has to also adapt organizational approach and structure to effectively tackle the new Social Funnel. I’ll discuss the new innovation structure for enterprises.

This presentation will have three sections. The latter two sections are based on my direct experience with Social Media leading our International marketing to prospects on the platform.

Session Takeaways:

Social and Mobile penetrations have changed the game

You need to adapt the way you market accordingly – here are five ways to do so

It’s not just what you do, it’s also how you go about it in a organized structure and process

Scott McAllister Vice President of Social Media Aquisition American Express @ScottMcADigital

Bring your laptop to this 45 minute breakout because you won’t want to miss a step! During this session Nicole will walk you from beginner to social media expert in just under 1 hour. More than just a conference, we will actually be working on your social media strategy live! Don’t go home with questions. Get the hands on learning you need to be able to succeed today! After attending this session you will be able to:

Setup all of your social media profiles the right way

Update all of your social media profiles with just a few clicks every day

Understand the purpose of Twitter lists and why you need to start creating them now

Know how to appear to be everywhere

Have a step by step strategy you can implement immediately without having to hire an expensive social media manager

Know how to grow your twitter followers and Facebook fans in a natural and real way

Understand the role social media places in order to get your site ranked #1 in Google and you will be able to take action on that knowledge

Peter Stringer Sr. Director, Interactive Media Boston Celtics @peterstringer

Todd Wilms Sr. Director of Social Media Marketing SAP @SocialB2P

Bring your laptop to this 45 minute breakout because you won’t want to miss a step! During this session Nicole will walk you from beginner to social media expert in just under 1 hour. More than just a conference, we will actually be working on your social media strategy live! Don’t go home with questions. Get the hands on learning you need to be able to succeed today! After attending this session you will be able to:

Setup all of your social media profiles the right way

Update all of your social media profiles with just a few clicks every day

Understand the purpose of Twitter lists and why you need to start creating them now

Know how to appear to be everywhere

Have a step by step strategy you can implement immediately without having to hire an expensive social media manager

Know how to grow your twitter followers and Facebook fans in a natural and real way

Understand the role social media places in order to get your site ranked #1 in Google and you will be able to take action on that knowledge

Nicole Munoz CEO StartRankingNow, Inc. @NicoleMunoz

In this session you will learn how American Airlines uses 2 key approaches while managing their social media campaigns. An Offensive approach includes effective marketing and engagement strategy while the defensive approach is focused on customer service and reputation management.

Jonathan Bird Creative Manager/Social Media American Airlines @jonbird_video

With marketing budgets being cut within large and small businesses in today's market and economy, one thing still stands true for all businesses: YOU MUST CONTINUE TO GENERATE NEW BUSINESS AND KEEP EXISTING BUSINESS TO STAY IN BUSINESS! One of the best and most effective ways that virtually any business can do is to get active online and engage with their market via Social Media with a purpose for business development. Having access to the abundance of Social Media platforms and tools today, savvy business development professionals and small business entrepreneurs are now empowered to engage with potential partners and new customers in more efficient and effective ways than ever before. In this session, Business Development and Marketing Expert Jason Okuma will give strategies and specific tactics that will help your company grow their business using the power of Social Media.

SESSION TAKEAWAYS:

Discover the little known Social Media strategies that generate business faster than traditional networking

Learn how to stand out from the crowd and become a trusted influencer to attract new business

Proven effective strategies of personal engagement and closing business

Savvy Social Media tactics that amplify your marketing message and generate more exposure of your product or service

How to think like the top power networkers and business development pros to develop profitable relationships and create sales through Social Media

Jason Okuma CEO / President JATI, Inc. @JasonOkuma

Jeff Gibbard President / Chief Strategist True Voice Media LLC @jgibbard

LaSandra Brill Sr. Mgr, Global Social Media Cisco @LaSandraBrill

Using Facebook for your business is no longer an option, it’s a necessity. Though many businesses know this, the vast majority are only scratching the surface of what Facebook can really do for their business. It’s crucial for a business to focus on growing their Facebook fan base quickly and turn new Likes into REAL customers.

In this session you'll learn:

How to increase your Likes with real people who want to hear your message

Understanding Facebook's Edgerank algorithm to make sure your posts get seen by more people

Maximizing your reach and minimizing your costs with Facebook ads, Sponsored Stories, Promoted Posts and choosing which options are best for your business

How to create Facebook viral marketing campaigns

Facebook marketing best practices

Matt Toomey President LocalGruv @LocalGruv

Unlike the Microsofts, Dells and Pizza Huts of the world, most companies don’t have global brand recognition and a big ad budget dedicated to social media. So how does the average company build a social media audience with limited time, resources and funds? In this session, Social Media Manager Bo Gowan will give strategies and specific tactics for building a loyal and engaged base of followers even if you don’t have the brand recognition or budget of a Fortune 500 company.

Bo Gowan Social Media Manager Ciena @BoGowan

Daniel Maloney CEO and Co-Founder PinLeague @danielpmaloney

An inside look at how USA Swimming used the U.S. Olympic Trials and the Aqua Zone fan experience to take a local event and make it global through interactive experiences and social media campaigns, and still drive sponsor ROI in the process. This session will take a look at how USA Swimming brought together 30 industry & corporate partners on one interactive event platform to create the ultimate fan experience.
At this session you will learn:

How to take a local event and make it global with social media and technology

Create a true fan experience vs. a traditional trade show

How a small organization can take big risks and succeed

How to align more than 20 corporate partners with different goals to align on one common platform

Matt Farrell Chief Marketing Officer USA Swimming @mattfarrell_

Tyler Barnett President TBPR @TylerBarnettPR

Dr Natalie Petouhoff Business Strategist & Consultant, Social Media ROI Specialist Social Business Builders: The Results Group™ @drnatalie

Join Wildfire for a discussion on social media's impact on the customer lifecycle. We’ll share our assessment of the traditional customer lifecycle, its limitations, and why brands must now consider a holistic marketing strategy that considers a new version of the lifecycle. Learn about social's reframing of the customer lifecycle, and how several brands are successfully navigating it.

Session Takeaways:

The traditional customer journey, which is captured by the traditional marketing funnel, doesn't account for the dialogue between brands and consumers that social media facilitates, and has therefore become outdated.

Social media has fundamentally changed the customer journey by introducing more touch points, the concept of earned media, and empowering the customer over the brand.

Forrester Research recently introduced a new customer lifecycle, which accurately reflects the way that social media has reframed the traditional customer journey. The customer lifecycle introduces six key touch points (Discover, Evaluate, Buy, Access, Use, and Get Support) and two overlay concepts: Re-Engage and Leave.

In this presentation, Wildfire examines Forrester's key touch points and overlay concepts in-depth, and showcases brands that are succeeding with these principles.

Emily Eberhard Pereira Director of Communications Wildfire @EmEb

It’s inescapable - you are CEO of the brand called YOU. Whether you are a “celebrity” in your field, or an individual looking to impress potential business partners and recruiters, you need a masterful online persona that represents your brand professionally and consistently. Since the first thing anyone will do when they hear your name is head over to Google, everyone needs to pay attention to, and carefully manage their online identities. In this session, attendees will find the tools for creating an online personal brand that is authentic, consistent and inspiring. We will also explore leading-edge research and proven strategies for developing content around your brand that ignites referrals and Word-Of-Mouth.

Session takeaways:

How to think like a Fortune 500 marketer to create your unique online persona and powerful brand mantra

Proven strategies for managing your online reputation and using metrics to optimize and evolve your image over time

10 tactics for building your awareness, influence, and engagement

Guidelines for creating a great content strategy so that you win at social and search

Top 5 efficiency tools to have in your social media toolbox

Robin Frank CEO / Founder Beep Beep Media @robeen

Chris Leonard Director of Community – TechnologyGuide TechTarget, Inc. @ChrisLeonard

Social media -- everyone is doing it, and you finally decided to join them. You’ve got a Facebook page, a Twitter handle, and you have even managed to create some cool pinboards. Then your boss sends you an email that asks, “what is the value of all of this?” So, in an effort to help you keep your job, I will walk you through some no-cost, no-sweat methods for measuring the impact of social media on your business. It’s not just “ROI”, it’s “ROO” return on your objectives. Do you really know where you should be spending your time and money? You’ll walk away with some tools and processes you can begin using immediately, including information on:

Defining Relevant Metrics and KPIs

Understanding Facebook Insights

Using Google Analytics’ Social Reports

Calculating Earned Media

Dan Soschin Associate Vice President, Interactive Marketing American Public University System @dan_soschin

By now everyone knows how important it is to establish your brand on proven social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, but emerging social networks should not be overlooked. Niche social networks provide new tools for engaging your online community in unique ways. We will present examples using Storify, Yammer, and Quora, among others, to engage your audience. Session attendees will leave with a greater understanding of how these social networks work, how to leverage them within the workplace, and where and how to integrate them into existing and new social campaigns.

Lisa Snedeker Communications and Public Relations Director Wake Forest University School of Law @lisa_snedeker

Gretchen Edwards Assistant Director of Digital Engagement Wake Forest University @gretchEdwards

SAP has made big bet on social. Social is infused in everything they do including deciding what solutions to build, how to market and sell them, and how to support customers after sale. Mark Yolton, SVP of Digital, Social, and Communities at SAP, talks about how SAP’s approach goes beyond social media to social business.

Session Takeaways:

Embedding social in everything you do

Transitioning to a pull marketing model

Helping customers engage with peers whose answers they trust

Optimizing the impact of physical events with integrated online experiences

Communicating the vision of social business - internally and externally

Mark Yolton SVP Digital, Social, and Communities SAP @MarkYolton

The bubble is deflating. Valuations are falling. Social commerce – barely there. Businesses failing from poor publishing strategies or lack of active fan bases – none. But social isn’t worthless, just misunderstood. It’s finally time to move beyond unjustified and inflated expectations towards a more nuanced understanding of social’s value, and deliver real returns by applying social elements across all forms of customer interaction.

Session Takeaways:

Why is social not delivering on its promise?

What’s the future of social media, and what does it mean for my job?

Who is seeing real, tangible value from social, and why?

Jeff Feldman Director of Strategy and Business Development Adobe @jeffreyf

If the rise of social media has demonstrated anything, it is that successful brands need more than an eye-catching logo, an inviting color palette and a memorable tagline. As important as these traditional tools of branding may be, they will not give brands what they need most on social platforms: a personality. Far more than a celebrity face or a mascot, having a personality means that when a brand interacts with fans and even detractors online, it does so in a way that is responsive, engaged and human. In this session, we will take a look at what brands from Intel to Taco Bell have done to demonstrate personality and how your organization can best go about expressing yours.

How consumer expectations of brand behavior on social platforms are evolving

Tips on assessing your brand's social personality

Organizational challenges to personalizing social media engagement...and how to overcome them

Examples of how both B2B and B2C brands have developed personality online

Matt Grant Managing Editor MarketingProfs @MattTGrant

Jason Breed Global Lead, Social Business Accenture @JasonBreed

Okay…you know that social media is important. But how much money should you spend on social media? Which social media platforms are best for you and your business? And, of course, the most important question: does social media actually drive customers to your business?

This session will answer these critical questions with practical solutions and real world answers. Specifically attendees will learn:

Specific ways to measure social media marketing

How you can leverage tools like Foursquare, Facebook and Twitter to get leads and customers

How you can tell if social media even works for your business (it may not)

4 Ways to combine social media with mobile engagement

Specific tactics to start driving leads and customers right now

McKay Allen Content Manger, Contact Point Contact Point @LogMyCalls

If you haven’t been asked to justify your social media budget you are in the minority. Accountability is the new sheriff in town. If you can’t measure it - don’t do it. I will show you how to justify every dollar you spend on social media. Learn how to turn consumer engagement into ROI. Engage your customers, increase brand reach, and drive purchases at a fraction of the cost of traditional PR, marketing & advertising. Review travel, CPG, e-commerce, publisher and entertainment case studies. Identify social media tools and best practices to reduce advertising expenses. Gain measurable supplemental public relations exposure in a crowded media environment. Use social media to go beyond the ‘like’ and actually engage and develop brand advocates. Monetize your blogger outreach programs. Learn how to actually track and reward your true advocates. Using social media, traditional media and public relations in synergy to reduce overall media expenses. You’ve got a Facebook Fan Page and a Twitter account, "So now what? Where's the business result?" This session will examine why typical social media campaigns are not structured to deliver business results and provide case studies on how social media ROI can be obtained. The session will cover the strategy and tactical --people, process and the technology-- requirements needed to deliver bottom-line results. Within days of launch, these companies acquired thousands of brand ambassadors, reduced their pay-per-click budget and tracked revenue directly from social media interactions.

Attendees will learn how to:

Use Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Google+ and bloggers to impact sales

Utilize the power influencers in your network to drive foot traffic

Integrate Traditional Media with Social Media to Optimize content Distribution

Leverage Public Relations with Social Media to deliver more impact

How to use Facebook’s EdgeRank Algorithm to your advantage

Measure everything and generate a true ROI

Make your content stand out as a message rather than “Advertising”

Within days, acquire thousands of brand ambassadors

Large reductions in Pay-Per-Click (PPC) budgets

Ability to track revenue directly from social media interactions

Elimination of custom programs and long implementation timelines

Johnny Miller Founder Manumatix Inc.

In the not too distant future, Community Management will no longer be the task of one single department. Like the Web Masters of a decade ago, these roles will be dispersed among every business unit in your company. How will this effect organizations? What tools will you need to accommodate these changes? What role will HR play in this proliferation of engagement across departments? And who shot J. R. Ewing? All this and more, coming to a microphone near you...

Marcus Nelson Chief Advocate Addvocate @marcusnelson

Jen Friel Social Media Personality Ford, AOL, Samsung, Motorola, AT&T, Southwest Airlines @JenFriel

Natalie Slater Community Manager Lifeway Foods, Inc @StarfruitCafe

Derek Miller Director of Digital Marketing Lifeway Foods, Inc @lifeway_kefir

Social media continues to draw tremendous buzz. Technology and platforms are constantly evolving. Laws and regulations are rapidly changing. Running a successful social media promotion requires engaging multiple groups across the company—and this includes legal! Bringing in legal at the last minute can be a recipe for disaster. In this time-sensitive space, what can you do to get the legal team on board with your social media plans?

Attend this session to learn how to create a cohesive and positive relationship between marketing and legal as well as other important groups across the company. Gain a better understanding of legal’s role and why it is vital to engage them in the beginning. This session will also cover lessons learned, best practices and trending legal topics for you to share and implement with your legal department. The goal is to provide you with information and tools to help you bridge the gap with legal and produce a rewarding and legally compliant social media program.

Aparna Dave Senior Counsel Wells Fargo & Company @apudave

You can train someone on Social Media, but can you make them “Social”? Social learning is the behavior and social media is the technology. Learn how they complement each other. Explore the options you have to train your colleagues on the “do’s and dont’s” using Social Media and the concepts worth sharing companywide.

Sharavan Govindan Director, Social Learning Bentley Systems, Inc. @SharGovindan

Cirque du Soleil is one of the most recognized companies in live entertainment. There are 21 total productions currently throughout the world (seven of them permanently housed in Las Vegas) and a 3D movie about to be released. With fans coming from all around the world, the most efficient and effective way of developing a relationship with them is through social media. From researching about a Cirque show to tweeting during intermission to posting pictures in front of a big top, you’ll discover the secrets behind Cirque du Soleil’s strategy for engaging its fans using the full spectrum of digital media. We’ll cover the complete process from targeting and segmentation to conversion, across multiple touchpoints.

Session Takeaways:

Discovering Your Audience

Understanding Your Audience

Speaking To the Right Audience

Andy Levey Senior Manager of New Media and Analytics Cirque du Soleil @andylevey

In this session, Steve Raymond, VP of Multimedia Analytics with USA Today Sports Media Group will address:

Key engagement strategies to focus traffic driving efforts

How to deliver “unique value” to end users via multiple social efforts

The most important metrics to determine social media success

Best practices for collecting and utilizing data

Steve Raymond Vice President, Multimedia Analytics USA Today Sports @sraymond23

If you didn't already know, selling through the ancient form of storytelling is one of the most powerful and effective ways to educate your potential clients and existing customers about your products and services to influence them to purchase from you. This strategy is being used today by large companies like Target and Nike, as well as many small businesses who are all utilizing the low-cost distribution channels that are now available through Social Media platforms. There's no better time than now to use Social Media to effectively tell empowering stories about your business to generate sales.

In this session, Business Development and Marketing Expert Jason Okuma will share proven strategies and tactics that can have you and your team telling compelling stories about your company via Social Media, and finally generate sales from what many others consider a waste of time. Get the edge over your competition, and learn how to effectively implement Storytelling Selling through Social Media.

Session Takeaways:

What is Storytelling Selling and how you can implement it into your Social Media marketing activities right away

Find out what the best types of stories are that you should be telling

How to use Storytelling Selling to influence purchasing decisions and why consumers are open to stories, not sales pitches

Learn what the four vital components are of every successful story

Tools and Apps that make your Storytelling simpler, faster and easier

Jason Okuma CEO / President JATI, Inc. @JasonOkuma

Mayo Clinic is one of the world’s most well-known and respected healthcare brands, and operates in one of the world’s most regulated industries, where missteps cannot only lead to brand disaster, but government fines and patient lawsuits. Yet Mayo Clinic is at the forefront of the social media revolution, active on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, urging the healthcare industry to invest in social media, and encouraging it’s employee’s to tweet, facebook, and pin. Hear from Mayo’s in-house counsel how Mayo’s in-house social media team and in-house legal team collaborate to manage legal risks.

Session Takeaways:

Best Practices for managing the myriad of legal and brand risks without gutting the value of your social media efforts

How to proactively engage your legal staff to partner and collaboratively manage risks

How to draft social media policies that protect your company and your employees from the most important legal and brand risks

Dan Goldman Legal Counsel Mayo Clinic @danielg280

Caterpillar is the world’s largest manufacturer of construction, mining equipment, and engines via a worldwide dealer network. As a leading B2B company, they were quick to see the business value of social media and were early adopters in the space. They have learned a great deal from their work and experiences, but for Kevin Espinosa, Social Media Manager at Caterpillar, the focus and goal was to build stronger relationships with their customers, provide support and share thought leadership across social media. In this session, Kevin will review the 4 pillars of Caterpillar's social media strategy.

Kevin Espinosa Social Media Manager Caterpillar Inc. @kevingespinosa

Megan Neal Chief Marketing Officer MyStyleLA @mediamegs

In the not too distant future, Community Management will no longer be the task of one single department. Like the Web Masters of a decade ago, these roles will be dispersed among every business unit in your company. How will this effect organizations? What tools will you need to accommodate these changes? What role will HR play in this proliferation of engagement across departments? And who shot J. R. Ewing? All this and more, coming to a microphone near you...

Dr Natalie Petouhoff Business Strategist & Consultant, Social Media ROI Specialist Social Business Builders: The Results Group™ @drnatalie

Jeff Feldman Director of Strategy and Business Development Adobe @jeffreyf

Dan Goldman Legal Counsel Mayo Clinic @danielg280

Marcus Nelson Chief Advocate Addvocate @marcusnelson

LaSandra Brill Sr. Mgr, Global Social Media Cisco @LaSandraBrill