Relationships and Brand Building in the Social Media Age

St Louis, Missouri

Thursday, November 3, 2011

A full day workshop – 9:00am to 5:00pm

“Your chance to get beyond the 101 material and think together about business growth with social”

Join us in St Louis for an in-depth full day workshop for marketing, public relations, and communications professionals and those seeking to use the social web to create meaningful relationships with customers, build brands and drive business.

Valeria Maltoni

The foundation of the day’s learning will be provided through an interactive workshop session lead by business strategist and author Valeria Maltoni, Principal of Conversation Agent, LLC.

Valeria brings more than 20 years of real-world business experience, specializing in taking companies to “what’s next” in their business cycle by planning and building value creating systems that add momentum and performance to deliver strength, resilience, and endurance to the business. She has been responsible for overseeing engagements for companies including Anheuser-Busch, InBev, Allstate, and GE Appliances. During her career, she’s held senior business roles executing growth strategies at global Fortune 500, mid-sized businesses, and small start up companies in 5 industries. Her Conversation Agent blog is consistently ranked among the top 30 marketing blogs in the world on the AdAge Power150. You can also connect with Valeria on Twitter @ConversationAge.

Valeria describes her keynote session as “the conversation we never had about social media and desperately need to have to make sense of what works and what doesn’t. The prequel to the tactical implementations that have followed in the last couple of years.”

A few of the points Valeria will cover under the premise that why is more important than how will include:

How to use social media to build a better brand vision that creates mutually beneficial relationships and trust with customers.
Why strong, resilient, and enduring brands have and will always be the goal.
Why creating motivated, “well armed” brand advocates via social media is infinitely better than trying to recreate mass media through a new venue.
Examples of business that have succeeded at keeping their brand promise focused.
How to increase value by embedding products and services with meaning.

For some great insights in what to expect, read this interview with Valeria talking specially about her coming session at Social: IRL. Valeria also wrote about her session in these recent blog posts: Inhabiting Your Vision, What Can I Do With It?, I’m Not Buying It and The Business Behind Conversations. This is going to be a truly valuable workshop session you will not want to miss.

Following Valeria’s session will be interactive workshops sessions focusing on important and practical issues facing agencies, businesses and brands today, including:

Who Owns You? Content in an Interactive World: How to protect your online content and community and avoid potential legal problems.
Social CRM: Intensifying customer bonds through the marriage of technology and compelling content
Social Business Success Strategies: Learn how to get started achieving your business objectives using social media and get advice on what content and strategies really work.

The event will also include a special presentation and panel discussion featuring representatives from leading regional and national brands, taking a look at how they are each using social media in their business, challenges and opportunities they have identified, and some of the important lessons they have learned.

Click thru to read detailed descriptions of each session and full bios for each of the speakers.

You’ll get a total of six hours of actual session time. Expect a day of engaged learning, group exercises and discussion, plenty of opportunity for Q&A, and a focus on providing practical takeaways.

If you are one of the first 50 people to register using discount code IRLNEWS you’ll save 25% off the $145 registration.

Students, educators and job seekers can save 50% off registrations thanks to the ongoing Social: IRL and Klout “Future Influncers” promotion. Simply register using discount code IRLKLOUT and registration will be reduced to just $72.50 for the full day. Limited discounts are available on a first-come basis.

Limited registrations at just $145 per attendee.

No refunds for cancellations within 14 days of event date.

If tweeting about the event, use hashtag #socialirl. It’s a great way to connect with other attendees. For another great opportunity to connect and network, RSVP to the events we’ve set up on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Plancast.

Venue

Our venue in St Louis will be The Coronado Ballroom, 3701 Lindell Boulevard.

The Coronado Ballroom is conveniently located in midtown St. Louis with plenty of parking in the new Moolah Parking garage right behind the Coronado.

Directions from I-64 are provided on the venue website.

Agenda

Registration will take place from 8:00am to 8:45am

Sessions will run from 9:00am to 5:00pm.

We will have ninety minute break for lunch.

Morning and afternoon beverage stations will be provided with coffee, tea, water and soda.

Afternoon snacks will also be provided, including freshly baked cookies and brownies, mixed nuts, pretzels, and gourmet popcorn.

You are on your own for lunch. We encourage attendees to use the lunch time to connect with other attendees and enjoy lunch together in one of the nearby restaurants.

Session Descriptions

Click here to read full descriptions of each session.

Speakers and Panelists

Valeria Maltoni, Principal Conversation Agent, LLC (full bio)

Jake Jacobson, Social Media Manager, Garmin International (full bio)

Justin Meyer, Manager of Air Service Development, Kansas City Aviation Department (full bio)

Jenna Petroff, Public Relations and Social Media Manager for Hardee’s Food Systems (full bio)

Jim Rudden, CMO at Spredfast (full bio)

Craig Moore, Co-Chair Social Media Practice Group, Armstrong Teasdale Attorneys (full bio)

Jeff Schultz, Co-Chair Social Media Practice Group, Armstrong Teasdale Attorneys (full bio)

Team members from award winning brand engagement agency 4ORCE (full bios)

Sponsorship Opportunities

Affordable sponsorship opportunities are available which offer both valuable online and on-site branding as well as direct engagement with both speakers and attendees.

Presenting Sponsors

Spredfast was created to help companies be great at social media management. When the company was started in 2008, it was already clear how chaotic social media management could be. Since then, social has only gotten more important. It is now a primary channel for customer and market communications. Spredfast SCRM, a software as a service (SaaS) solution, was first introduced in 2010 – combining listening, publishing, managing and measuring social activity all from one system for the first time. The idea of Social CRM became a reality for marketers. Today, Spredfast works with companies and agencies of all shapes and sizes from around the world. The Spredfast Social CRM platform helps social media practitioners gain Social Advantage by monitoring, engaging, coordinating and integrating social media with one, robust application. Connect with them on Twitter @Spredfast.

4ORCE is an intensely collaborative team of digital strategists, usability experts, designers and developers who craft experiences rooted in measurement — not assumption — to spark, shape and sustain meaningful relationships between people and brands. Their clientele is comprised of leading CPG and consumer service brands; Nestle-Purina, Scottrade, Square, Save-A-Lot and Cepia (manufacturer of Zhu-Zhu Pets and other leading children’s toys). Connect with them on Twitter @4ORCEdigital.

Sponsors

St. Louis Social Media Club (SMCSTL) is the Saint Louis, MO chapter of Social Media Club. Their goal is to foster a community in St. Louis that serves as a resource for learning about emerging trends, tools, technologies, strategies and opportunities. They do this by hosting events, sharing information and providing resources. They host monthly events that include panels, national speakers and authors, debates and networking. There is no fee to join SMCSTL and most events are free. Connect with them on Twitter @SMCSTL.

AdSaint is an entertaining and informative hub for the St. Louis marketing communications industry. AdSaint is here to take the marketing pulse of St. Louis, from the latest advertising campaigns to CMO interviews, Agency of Record personnel and other news, upcoming events, local and national trends and profiles of the people that make up our advertising, marketing and public relations community. The website is directed and produced by Mercury Labs, a local cinema and communications company. Connect with AdSaint on Twitter @AdSaintSTL.

The St. Louis Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is one of the leading public relations professional organizations in the St. Louis metropolitan area. They are committed to serving local PR professionals by providing opportunities to further develop their professional knowledge; enhance the standards, ethics and standing of their profession, and exchange ideas and experiences. Connect with them on Twitter @PRSASTL and on Facebook.

St. Louis Women in Media is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization dedicated to providing educational and networking opportunities for media professionals and hobbyists throughout the St. Louis metro-area. Through their quarterly educational events and programming, as well as their online resources, they serve a community of 350+ vetted practitioners in all media areas. Connect with them on Twitter @stlwomeninmedia.

Celebrating over 50 years in the quick-service industry, Hardee’s Food Systems is a wholly owned subsidiary of CKE Restaurants, Inc. of Carpinteria, Calif. As of the end of Q2 fiscal 2012, CKE, through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,202 franchised, licensed or company-operated restaurants in 42 states and in 23 countries, including 1,278 Carl’s Jr.^® restaurants and 1,914 Hardee’s restaurants.Hardee’s^® restaurants are located throughout the Southeastern and Midwestern United States. The chain built its reputation on a unique breakfast menu featuring Hardee’s mouth-watering Made from Scratch Biscuits™. With an emphasis on premium quality, Hardee’s has taken the lunch/dinner segment to the next level with its line of 100 percent Black Angus beef Thickburgers^®, Turkey Burgers and Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders and Sandwiches. Hardee’s is not only an industry leader in menu development but continues to keep its finger on the pulse of its customers with iconic, memorable advertising and innovation in social media, digital marketing and mobile technology. The chain was among the first to have a presence on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and was the first to launch a proprietary mobile loyalty rewards application, Happy Star Rewards®, available in iTunes and Android Market.For more information, or to find a Hardee’s near you, go to www.hardees.com.

@free is a consumer focused brand sharing the best of what is free with readers. While the concept of giving value for free to then drive sales is well-established, @free brings highly curated offers to readers where they “live” – on the Internet, social media and their mobile devices. @free has taken “free” from the confines of coupon cutting and elaborate processes, and made it simple, fun and meaningful to people’s lives. @free works with businesses and brands to highlight the best of what they offer and help them engage,connect, and build new audiences in the social media space. Having started in social media @free understands that the audience must come first. As such, @free lives were readers live, involves them in important decisions and strives to give them a quality experience for however much time they choose to spend with @free each day. Connect with them on Twitter @free and on Facebook.

Expion provides Enterprise Social Media Management Software that manages multiple social profiles to monitor, communicate, and engage customers. Expion manages your online communities to present consistent messaging while fostering local relationships to attract and retain customers. Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Expion, Inc. is a privately-held technology company specializing in developing tools and services that enable organizations to engage with the hundreds of millions of users of online communities. Their solutions combine their Social Media Management software with deep customer relationship management knowledge and expert coaching services to help enterprises manage their online communities more effectively. Expion’s easy-to-use software is designed for all levels of an organization. It allows the enterprise a structured yet simple way to manage multiple social profiles with sophisticated multi-phase communication plans. Through their industry expertise, technology platform and integrated approach, Expion provides comprehensive social media management solutions.

Klout measures influence across the social web. Klout believes that every individual who creates content has influence. Klout’s goal is to accurately measure that influence and provide context around who a person influences and the specific topics they are most influential on. The Klout Score measures overall influence on a scale of 1 to 100.

ManageFlitter is an easy to use web application that provides a set oftools for the Twitter user to assist them in optimising their Twitter account. With ManageFlitter you can easily bulk unfollow “no follow backs”, see who has unfollowed you, search through the bios of the people you are following, remove spam and inactive accounts and a lot more. You can use the full featured free version of ManageFlitter or for $12 per month you can sign-up to the Pro+ version which provides you with a set of great extra features. ManageFlitter is used by tens of thousands people a month with several high profile accounts trying it and giving it the thumbs up.

emfluence is a full-service digital marketing agency and email service provider based in Kansas City. They specialize in designing and developing websites and helping drive traffic to them. From search engine marketing to email marketing to social media, emfluence uses the power of one-to-one digital marketing to drive results and return on investment online. emfluence powers Social: IRL email marketing through the emfluence Marketing Platform, a platform that allows clients to create, deploy and track emails, social media messages and landing pages.