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Join us Thursday, April 30 and Friday, May 1, for two days of informative conference sessions covering real world case studies from the digital community frontier, along with journalists covering the business of mainstrain and new media, online communications practioners, and industry thought leaders. Register by April 2 and save!
Conference Schedule for Thursday, April 30
8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Registration
8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m. Registration & Breakfast
9:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m. Opening Keynote
Put the 'Public' Back in Public Relations
Using Social Media to Reinvent PR
Public relations has evolved from engaging the public to broadcasting disconnected messages to “media and analysts.” Learn how to rewire your public relations DNA to stop marketing “at” audiences and instead, identify, understand and reach everyday people and the communities they inhabit. Learn how to improve your company’s ROI and earn a new level of results that just wasn’t possible before now.
About the Speaker
Brian Solis is the principal of FutureWorks, an online public relations/communications firm he founded in 1999. He is a co-founder of the Social Media Club, a national organization which convenes events for the purpose of sharing best practices, establishing standards and promoting social media literacy. He is an original member of the Media 2.0 Workgroup, and also contributes to the Social Media Collective. He recently co-authored “Putting the Public Back in Public Relations” (March 2009 FT Press).
10:00 a.m.–10:15 a.m. Break/Coffee
10:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. Breakout Sessions
A World of Strangers
How Social Media is Transforming Our Networks and the Way We Find Information
Thanks to the digitization of our networks, we are building networks with and are permanently connected to people with whom we would never have maintained contact in a pre-online life. The way we interact with people and the trust we place in complete strangers are impacting the way we think about the brands and products we buy. This is forever changing the way that brands will communicate with their customers.
About the Speaker
Tom Smith is founder of Trendstream, a company dedicated to understanding global trends in Web usage. Trendstream delivers research projects for clients on Web, social media and mobile usage trends, with particular focus on how consumer Web use affects businesses across the globe. As head of Consumer Futures EMEA at Universal McCann, Smith created the world’s largest social media tracking study, Wave.
Social Media Public Relations
How to Use Social Media to Reach Reporters and Analysts
Find out how to avoid pitfalls and defuse scandals by leveraging grassroots support for your product or service; how to use social media to solicit cost-free feedback from customers and stakeholders; and how to determine whether “shiny object” tactics like Twitter and Facebook align with your corporate strategies or are a disaster waiting to happen. You’ll also learn how to use tools like LinkedIn and Facebook and how to use technologies such as RSS feeds.
About the Speaker
John Wall specializes in customer relationship management (CRM) and sales support systems for clients such as Microsoft, Oracle, and Salesforce.com. He and Christopher S. Penn co-host the award-winning Marketing Over Coffee podcast. Penn is the chief technology officer of Edvisors, Inc., and the Student Loan Network, and is founder and producer of the multi-award-winning Financial Aid Podcast Internet radio show.
11:15 a.m.–11:30 a.m. Break/Coffee
11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Breakout Sessions
Leverage the Power of Pull
How to Make Your Brand More Digitally Discoverable
Increasingly, bloggers are more likely to talk about you if they discover your content organically, rather than through an e-mail pitch. Call it the power of pull. But search engine optimization isn’t just about lists of keywords. It’s about creating powerful blog posts, videos, white papers, microsites and other content that can’t help but get discovered because it’s inherently interesting. Learn how to ensure your clients are “findable” online and gain concrete tips for creating fresh content that takes on a life of its own.
Sponsored by
About the Speakers
Steve Rubel is senior vice president and director of Insights, Edelman Digital. He writes the influential weblog Micro Persuasion and is a columnist for AdAge Digital.
Jay Krall is the manager of Internet Media Research at Cision US, Inc. His team researches blogs and social networks for Cision’s media database. He blogs at CisionBlog.
The Naked CEO
How Social Media, Communities and User-Generated Content is Changing Organizations
New tools and channels created by the Internet are radically transforming the way we communicate within organizations, as well as changing organizational structures and processes, creating a ripple affect across the organization. Learn how today’s organizations are adapting — and what you have to do to better integrate and deliver your marketing, sales, product development, product delivery and support.
About the Speaker
Rachel Happe is an independent consultant and blogger. Previously she was responsible for the product management, marketing, design and documentation of Mzinga’s social enterprise solutions. Happe has more than 15 years of experience working with emerging technologies, including e-commerce and enterprise software applications.
12:30 p.m.–1:45 p.m. Lunch
The Whuffie Factor
Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your Business
Online success comes from building a community and being part of it — not by pushing a product or service. In the Web 2.0 world, market capital flows from having high social capital, “Whuffie.” Without Whuffie you lose your connections, and any recommendation you make will be seen as spam, met with negative reactions and a loss of social capital. Hear how you can use social networks successfully in the lucrative, but strange and elusive, world of online communities.
About the Speaker
Tara Hunt, marketing lead, Intuit, has worked in a plethora of industries, from nonprofit to consumer beverages to technology for over the past seven years, winning awards and seeing many successes with her creative, community-focused campaigns. She is a frequent speaker at technology conferences on the subject of marketing and community building and has authored “The Whuffie Factor,” (Spring 2009, Crown Publishing).
1:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Exhibits Break
1:45 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Breakout Sessions
Listening to the Conversation — The New Communications Imperative
New Listening Techniques to Gather Intelligence for Communication and Product Strategies
You no longer own your brand. Your brand is a conversation by and between individuals freely sharing their informed and uninformed opinion. They are using simple Web publishing tools to discuss their perceptions and experiences, to praise and criticize, and to influence others. And increasingly, these perceptions — laudatory and critical — are made highly visible in search engines. The impact of these conversations can make or break a brand or product. Effectively listening to, and engaging in, these conversations have become essential communications disciplines.
About the Speaker
Rob Key is founder and CEO of Converseon, an award-winning social media agency that helps brands “join the conversation” to meet business objectives. Converseon provides a full range of social media technologies, consulting and services to some of the world’s leading brands. Converseon is mashup that brings together search experts, public relations professionals, computer scientists, direct response experts, interactive creative directors, independent filmmakers and more.
Personality 2.0
How to Stay True to Your Brand — and Yourself — As You Communicate via Diverse Online Communities
Learn how to manage, monitor and engage in multiple networks — without coming across as having multiple personalities. Find out how to syndicate content to different platforms, clean up your Facebook pages and other personal listings and manage your social media involvement on a busy schedule.
Sponsored by
About the Speakers
Sarah Evans is director of communications at Elgin Community College, founder of the popular Twitter group Journchat, blogger at PRSarahEvans.com and creator of the one-of-a-kind video group Vid PRO Co. 
Heidi Sullivan, Cision’s director of media research and blogger for CisionBlog, blogs about how to manage your personal and professional lives online.
2:45 p.m.–3:00 p.m. Break/Beverages
3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. Breakout Sessions
Help Google Find Your Releases
Top 10 Search Engine Optimization Tactics for Public Relations Professionals
Nine out of 10 journalists, reporters and editors use search engines to do their jobs, according to a recent survey by TopRank. In this environment, public relations
professionals must understand the ins and outs of search engine optimization, aka SEO. Find out how to choose the best keywords, optimize your newsroom and press releases, build better links and sell SEO to decision makers. Plus, you’ll learn the No. 1 SEO tactic to implement today.
About the Speaker
Lee Odden is the CEO of TopRank Online Marketing, an Internet marketing agency. Odden helps companies like Hewlett-Packard, McKesson and Northwest Airlines market their Web sites. His thoughts on new media public relations, search and social media marketing have been cited in U.S. News & World Report, The Economist and PR Week. An active blogger, Odden writes and edits Online Marketing Blog, one of the top 100 popular blogs on Technorati.
What Are Your Customers Thinking — Right Now?
How to Use Real-Time Media Analysis and Data Visualization to Make Better Business Decisions
What are print, online, broadcast and other media saying now? Real-time media analysis can help you see what perceptions your stakeholders are forming now. In this session, you’ll learn how organizations are using consolidated media assessments, coverage tonality reports and dashboards to share strategic insights across the organization and to take action on emerging intelligence.
Sponsored by
Michel Da Costa is an account executive for the LexisNexis U.S. Analytic Solutions Team. He has spent most of his career helping companies gain strategic insights through media monitoring and analysis. Da Costa launched the first competitive intelligence platform in France combining proprietary technology and consulting and implemented 120 customized projects for global companies in Europe before joining the LexisNexis New York office.
4:00 p.m.–4:15 p.m. Break
4:15 p.m.–5:00 p.m. General Session
Wrap-up/Lessons Learned
Digital Impact Conference co-chairs, Elizabeth Albrycht and Eric Schwartzman, summarize today’s sessions, adding insights they’ve gained from hearing today’s speakers share their expertise.
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Reception/Book Signings
7:30 a.m.–9 a.m. Breakfast
Breakfast and Roundtable Discussion Groups
Facilitated by co-chairs, sponsors and invited speakers, these small group discussions allow you to share your social media experiences and gain insights from your peers.
9:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m. Opening Keynote
Selling Social Media to the CEO
Translate New Mediums Into Bottom Line Growth
CEOs are faced with decisions about new mediums that have stretched the boundaries of not only communications but also imagination. How do you convince a CEO that his/her company needs to invent its virtual self in an online world or that he/she should share their thoughts regularly in a blog, or even use a “tweet” to announce a new product? Just as a company’s overall approach to communications must be driven by its larger business strategy, effective social media initiatives should always be aligned with the needs of the business first. Hear from a CEO opportunities and dangers of social media and how it can be leveraged in a deliberate, meaningful way that translates into bottom line growth.
Aedhmar Hynes, chief executive officer, Text 100 Global Public Relations, has worked in the public relations industry for more than 20 years, 19 of which have been with Text 100. Throughout her career she has worked exclusively with technology companies consulting on behalf of both large corporations and small startup companies. She is a member of the Aspen Institute Roundtable on technology, a member of the board of trustees of the Arthur W. Page Society, and sits on the Foundation Board of her Alma Mater, The National University of Ireland - Galway.
10 a.m.–10:15 a.m. Break/Coffee
10:15 a.m.–11:15 a.m. Breakout Sessions
Tweet Your Way to Success
How to Use Twitter to Connect With Your Audiences
Twitter can serve as a powerful addition to any public relations practitioner’s communication toolbox. Discover how forward-thinking companies are using Twitter to connect with their publics and engage in authentic conversations. Learn how to build a community around your brand through microblogging — and find out how to get your message across in 140 characters or less.
About the Speaker
Corinne Weisgerber, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of communication at St. Edward’s University in Austin, where she teaches public relations classes and serves as the PRSSA Chapter adviser. Weisgerber also developed one of the first social media for public relations classes.
The Digital Age Communicator
Managing the Digital-Age Communicator
The online world has created enormous opportunities for communications professionals whose skill-set is tuned to the digital age. From his perspective as a senior leader at Korn/Ferry, the world’s largest executives search firm, Don Spetner will share insights on why the demand for communications executive will increase, how to best manage them, what clients are looking for and how candidates can position themselves for jobs in the digital age.
About the Speaker
Don Spetner is executive vice president of Corporate Affairs for Korn/Ferry, where he oversees strategic corporate initiatives, including monetizing the firm’s intellectual property, developing new products and solutions and integrating new investments. He also serves as a senior client partner in the Corporate Affairs Executive Search practice. Before joining Korn/Ferry, Don served as vice president of Corporate Communications for SunAmerica Inc., and for Nissan North America.
11:15 a.m.–11:30 a.m. Break
11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Breakout Sessions
Tribalization of Business
Leverage the Crowd for Increased Revenues, New Marketing Approaches and the Reformed Business Process
Beeline Labs, Deloitte and the Society of New Communications Research have produced the first study of its kind for learning from the early experiences of more than 140 organizations on how they’re managing communities, measuring success and deriving business benefits. The study surfaced valuable insights, lessons learned and best practices for moving forward. Hear how these study results can influence your social media practices for better results.
About the Speaker
Francois Gossieaux, partner, Beeline Labs, is a lifelong tech marketing and media veteran. He led marketing, product management and strategy at eRoom Technology, is president and partner at MarketHum partner Corante, founded Synopia, advises numerous companies, has developed and chaired industry events, and more.
Make the Most of Social Media and Demonstrate Its Value
Maximize Your Public Relations Dollars
Blogs, RSS feeds, user-generated content, Facebook, LinkedIn, Web 2.0: What do they mean for your organization’s communication efforts, and how can you cost- effectively leverage them to your advantage? Learn to maximize your marketing and public relations dollars to reach your target audiences — plus some audiences you might not have considered — using traditional and non-traditional methods. You’ll also learn how to build participation and use metrics to prove the ROI of that participation.
Sponsored by
Michael Pranikoff, director of Emerging Media at PR Newswire, helps communicators learn about the role RSS, blogs, social networks, search engines and other emerging technologies play in public relations. He created PR Newswire’s Seminar Series “PR in a Web 2.0 World.” His own link blog, Delicious.com/MichaelPranikoff, links to sites and conversations that pertain to the intersection of technology and public relations.
12:30 p.m.–1:45 p.m. Luncheon/Digital Media Panel
Build Your Blogger Relationships
A Panel Discussion with A-list Bloggers
You’ve heard the horror stories about public relations professionals who have sent unwelcome pitches to bloggers and wound up being the subjects of negative blog posts themselves. Here’s your chance to learn secrets of pitching to bloggers from the bloggers themselves. Before you press “send” again, find out what makes these A-list bloggers tick — and what just ticks them off. You’ll leave with strategies and techniques for building better blogger relations.
Peter Himler, moderator, is a blogger himself and founder/principal of Flatiron Communications LLC, a public relations/media consulting firm. He’ll be chatting with Stephen L. Baker, senior technology writer, BusinessWeek’s Blogspotting; Lockhart Steele, founder and president of Curbed.com; Jill Fehrenbacher, editor, Inhabitat.com; Danny Shea, media editor, Huffington Post, Adam Ostrow, editor, Mashable.com.
1:45 p.m.–2 p.m. Break
2 p.m.–3 p.m. Breakout Sessions
Create Sustainable Online Communities
Improve Your Presence on Twitter, Blogs and Forums
Forums, social networking sites and other online communities are only as strong as their members and followers — no participation, no community. Learn how to build stronger communities by recruiting and rewarding evangelists. Find out how to use emerging technology to monitor and manage responses to postings on Twitter, blogs and other social networking sites.
John Cass, author of “Strategies & Tools for Corporate Blogging,” researches the impact of social media and search technologies on business. He was previously director of marketing at 48hourprint.com, director of blogging strategies at Backbone Media, and president of the Boston AMA. He is a Research Fellow with the Society for New Communications Research. He advises business executives on how to integrate social media into their business.
The Experiment Is Over
It's Time to Extract Real Business & Societal Value from Social Media
Given the economic conditions in which we currently operate, experimentation without clear connection to corporate strategy is all but dead. Today is the time to move from experimenting with social media to extracting value from social media, for business and societal gain. This session will share perspective and ideas from IBM's own social media transformation over the past six years.
Adam Christensen, manager of corporate communications, IBM, leads IBM's social media communications efforts, responsible for both the strategy and execution of IBM's Web 2.0 efforts in internally and externally. Adam also leads IBM's blogger relations efforts and is the community manager for the network of IBM's internal and external bloggers.
3 p.m.-3:15 p.m. Break
3:15 p.m.-4:15 p.m. Breakout Sessions
Social Media’s Role In Building Your Brand
Your Brand Is What “They” Say It Is
The social media marketplace is where “they” — customers, prospects, journalists and other influencers — are talking about your brand and forming and sharing opinions that impact your brand at the speed of light. Based on recent research findings, branding goals should lead your social media strategy. Learn which tactics rated highest in achieving branding objectives, and how to fit these tactics into your marketing mix for measurable ROI.
Sergio Balegno is a senior analyst with the MarketingSherpa Research Group, focusing on social media marketing and public relations, e-mail marketing, and business technology marketing. Sergio presents his research, analysis and opinions as a frequent speaker at MarketingSherpa summits, industry conferences and online events. His 30 years of marketing experience have included roles as client-side executive, agency principal, consultant and now as an analyst of emerging marketing strategies.
Download a FREE excerpt of MarketingSherpa’s first–ever "Social Media Marketing and PR: Benchmarks and Best Practices" guide,
Public Relations on the Third Screen
How and Why to Reach Audiences Via Mobile Devices
News outlets and brands are delivering “snack-sized” content to iPhones, BlackBerries and other mobile devices — aka the “third screen.” Take a tour of global best practices, find out what mobile audiences are looking for and learn to grab the opportunities and avoid the pitfalls of mobile communications. Specifically, you’ll learn how mobility is changing the way we consume news; what public relations professionals need to know to create mobile strategies; and tools you can use to apply mobility to your public
relations plan.
Mike Brewer is executive vice president of Brodeur Partners and founder and leader of Brodeur’s Consumer Group. In 2006, he established Brodeur Partners’ Mobility Practice to focus on the increasingly mobile world and to address the sea change in communications it would bring. Before joining Brodeur, Brewer worked at Ingalls, Quinn & Johnson PR, and Hill Holliday, Connors, and Cosmopulos, where he managed high-tech and consumer marketing clients.
4:15 p.m.-5 p.m. General Session
Wrap-up
For registration click here.
To dowload the PDF brochure, click here.
To visit the Digital Impact Conference blog, click here.
Conference co-presented by
Cision, LexisNexis, The Public Relations Society of America, and PR Newswire
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