Social Media Business Forum | SocialWayne.com by Wayne Sutton

Posts Tagged ‘social media business forum’

Posted on October 30, 2009 - by Wayne Sutton

One week later: Why we planned a Social Media Conference in NC? #SMBF Thank you!

Photo via: toprankonlinemarketing on Flickr
It has been a busy year for me in the terms of speaking and traveling to attend various conferences accross the United States. It started in January where I was on a panel at a conference called Chicks who Click in Boulder, CO where I met @GeorgeGsmithjr & @GeekMommy. Then I attended the Future of Web Apps in Miami, FL., next came PubCon Austin where I was on a panel with Chris Brogan, Reem Abeidoh and Lee Odden. Then I was able to speak at SXSW on a panel with Angela Benton. After that I stayed local for a while, working on the Triangle Social Media Club Chapter and attending one day conferences, such as (ConvergeSC) in South Carolina and (New Media Atlanta). Somewhere in between those two conferences I was on a panel at Jason Keath’s Social Fresh conference and after that Ted Murphy asked if I could moderate a panel at IZEAFest. Recentlly I was humbled to be able to speak at Blog World Expo with Robert Scoble, Amber Cadabra of Radian6 and Patrick O’Keefe aka @iFroggy. You can see a full list of my 2009 speaking events here: http:/FriendWayne.com

Photo credit: (cc) Cameron Gawley – www.buzzshift.com

To say it has been a busy year is an understatement, all while launching a company called “OurHashtag” and planning local events in the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, NC ). But last week my partners and I, along with the help of a great team of volunteers planned the Social Media Business Forum in Durham, NC at North Carolina Central University. The conference goal was to bring in national and local speakers together with businesses, marketing agencies and individuals who were looking to have conversations about using social media in their work environment. Basically to discuss “how social media is changing the way businesses communicate”. Personally another goal of the Social Media Business Forum was to bring the experiences I’ve collected while traveling to various conferences to the Triangle. Also I wanted bring in some of the industry leaders in social media marketing, Twitter, marketing, video and blogging to the area so others can learn from people who I consider my peers.

Another reason why we planned the conference is because if you look at your Facebook inbox, gmail and Twitter stream, I’m sure you see a tone of “social media” bootcamps, workshops and meetups from all types of individuals. Everyone from beginners, to copy cats, to other experienced individuals are planning events to share their knowledge on how to use social media. While there is nothing wrong with that, as Brogan would say, “you have to feed the babies” or something like that, my only caution is take a step back look at what your needs are, look at the agenda, speakers, “teachers”, your budget and other attendees to make sure you get the best ROI (return on your investment) while spending time at various “social media” events. Evaluating the ROI of attending meetups / conferences is a blog post by itself that I’ll touch on next week.

But back to the post title, why did we plan a Social Media Conference in North Carolina? Why not? Social media is about sharing, relationships, community, information, business and people; North Carolina has some of the smartest people in the technology / social web living right here in the Triangle and we wanted to bring some of them together and let everyone know it. So to all the speakers, sponsors, volunteers, my partners and attendees Thanks for making the Social Media Business Forum a success and we’ll see you next year.

Also read: Jeffrey L. Cohen Talks About the Social Media Business Forum

Posted on October 6, 2009 - by Wayne Sutton

How to become a social media conference speaker. Tips and a free conference pass.

Photo: by chrisheuer

If you listened to my podcast yesterday on the ROI in attending Social Media Conferences, then you know I just returned from IZEAFest a marketing / social media conference in Orlando, FL. organized by Ted Murphy. In my podcast I mentioned how the ROI for attending various social media conferences is relationships and from the relationships it could lead to more business deals and/or speaking opportunities. While it seems that everyone now is a social media guru or expert, or ninja or “fill in the blank”, the next social media must prove yourself thing to do is write a book or speak at various conferences. While my book is on the way, haha, I have been fortunate enough to take part in both local and national conferences / events such as SXSW, CLT WordCamp, SoFresh, Social Media Club meetings, Triangle Chapter of the American Marketing Association meetings, IZEAFest and more before the end of the year such as BlogWorld Expo, the Social Media Business Forum and Internet Summit 09.

Often I get asked how was I able to take part at various events or how can someone become a speaker at those events. While I’m no “keynote” speaker … yet :), you can see a list of my past speaking events here on FriendWayne.com. I still have a long ways to go, but here are a few tips on how to become a social media conference speaker that I have seen and done.

How to become a social media conference speaker:

Start local – Be known in your own backyard before you try to go global
Establish a personal brand / identity / voice – What will people say about you.
Keep your social networking profiles updated (outdated info can cost you a gig)
Attend other social media conferences – Network!
Create valuable content to showcase your skills. No blog, no videos, no podcast = no gig. Unless you work for a major brand!
Start your own conference / event and ask others to speak – if it works out they may return the favor… maybe.
Have a travel budget
Share your existing presentations on http://www.slideshare.net

Speaking Tips – As you start becoming social media speaker, you need to do a few things such as:

Be memorable and awesome
Provide great content
Provide new content (dont’ just talk about post you read on Mashable)
Tell jokes and stories
Rap – hat tip (Chris Brogan), I dare you! Wait, that’s Chris’s thing so …
Don’t copy other speakers ( I know it’s hard to be creative)
If you’re a quiet person, provide Really great content
Practice, breath and have thick skin
Don’t think about the tweets or “noise” that are being posted while you’re giving your talk.
Have someone video your talks so you can post online for later.
Ask yourself what separates you from the rest and why do you want to become a speaker.
Be yourself.

Free passes to the Social Media Business Forum

If you have Never spoken at a conference in the past and would like to Attend the Social Media Business Forum on Friday, October 23 in Durham, NC, the first Two people who leave a comment on this post saying “I want to attend the Social Media Business Forum” will receive a free pass to the 1 day event. *Tweets or ReTweets of this post do not count.

If you’re a speaker I would love to hear any thoughts you have in the comments or if you have any speaking tips.

Posted on August 19, 2009 - by Wayne Sutton

Announcing the Social Media Business Forum, 10/23 Durham, NC

http://socialmediabusinessforum.com

The Social Media Business Forum will feature speakers from marketing companies, technology companies, and social networks discussing ways in which business communications have changed due to social media. We are planning sessions on internal and external communications methods for both B2B and B2C companies. There will be an estimated 200 people in attendance.

A few of the speakers announced are:

More speakers to be announced soon. Registration starts today with limited early bird registration at $125.00. You can register here: http://socialmediabusinessforum.eventbrite.com

For updates you can follow the Social Media Business Forum on Twitter at @smbusinessforum using the hashtag #SMBF or on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Social-Media-Business-Forum/118721852377

Contact information for the Social Media Business Forum is:

OurHashtag
8311 Brier Creek Pkwy Ste 105-432
Raleigh NC 27617
Phone: (980) 939-8956
Contact at socialmediabusinessforum dot com
Twitter: @smbusinessforum