Social Media Marketing WorldBy Gini Dietrich

I am headed to San Diego for Social Media Marketing World and I thought it would be fun to give you a sneak peek into what I am doing there.

If you’re going to be there, make sure you attend one of my sessions and, if we’ve not yet met, introduce yourself!

Spin Sucks readers always get first priority. Always.

If you’re not already going, it’s a bit too late to get there, but you can buy a virtual pass and watch the recordings (this is not an affiliate link because I was too lazy to set up my account).

Or you can just read the following and glean what you can without the benefit of the in-person experience.

Big Media Panel

On Thursday at 3:15, I am moderating a panel with Peter Stringer, Tim Washer, Susan Beebe, and Jamie Turner.

We are going to discuss what happens when journalists from major media call you because of something that happened on social media.

When you have the Boston Celtics, Cisco, Tyson Foods, and a CNN wonk expert on the panel, you know we’re going to hear some good stories.

But, have you ever attended a panel that is just, well, boring? What? Every panel you’ve ever attended has been like that?

To keep things lively, we have five rounds.

  1. The first round we discuss the positives that can come from social media and how Big Media told the story.
  2. The second round is a trivia round, with a catch. A person in the audience will ask each panelist a trivia question. If they get it wrong, they have to do a shot of tequila. If they are correct in their answer, the person asking the question has to take a shot of tequila.
  3. The third round we discuss the negatives that can come from social media and how Big Media told the story.
  4. The fourth round is another trivia round.
  5. The fifth round is a lightning round where I ask five questions and they all have to answer them as quickly as possible.

I can guarantee it will not be a boring panel. It will set the bar for future panels the world over.

Crisis Communications Session

On Friday at 9:45, I have a session on crisis communications.

We will talk through some case studies, including:

  • Paula Deen
  • Negative comments
  • Rouge social media mentions
  • Campaigns gone wrong
  • Kenneth Cole
  • Susan G. Komen
  • Penn State

I provide examples of the differences between an issue and a crisis, and how to prepare for both.

We brainstorm potential scenarios every organization could face, including natural disasters, a website hack, death of an employee, unhappy customer on social media, media getting a story wrong, and more.

Then I give examples of holding statements, how to build a dark website, and how to practice until you know what to do in your sleep.

Though my slides don’t make a lot of sense without the context behind them, you can see the presentation here:

Book Signing

There also is a book signing, where I’ll have time to talk one-on-one with anyone attending that I haven’t yet seen.

That is in the big hall where the exhibitors hang out on Thursday at 1:45.

I’ll personalize and sign books…and I have a few Spin Sucks goodies with me to give away.

I hope to see you there. If I don’t and you don’t buy the virtual pass, we’ll find a way to get context behind these sessions to you.

More on that later.

Gini Dietrich

Gini Dietrich is the founder, CEO, and author of Spin Sucks, host of the Spin Sucks podcast, and author of Spin Sucks (the book). She is the creator of the PESO Model and has crafted a certification for it in partnership with Syracuse University. She has run and grown an agency for the past 15 years. She is co-author of Marketing in the Round, co-host of Inside PR, and co-host of The Agency Leadership podcast.

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