Panhandling for Change: A Little Vote Goes a Long Way

Yup, I'm that dude. The one with his hand out asking for some change. Well, not actual change but the social equivalent. I'm looking for a vote (thumbs up or down) and/or a comment if you can spare it. It's for the 2010 South by Southwest Interactive Conference (SXSWi) and I am lucky enough to be in the running for three different panels. I've also submitted a fourth panel for my colleague, Kathy Warren, to lead with a client and a couple of other rock star brands.

Here are the details:

Social ROI is Not a Four Letter Word

Organizer/Moderator: Kathy Warren, VP Strategy & Measurement, Powered Inc.

Panelists: Peter Fasano, social media marketing, Coca Cola; Tom Hoehn, director brand communications & new media, Eastman Kodak; Shawn Morton, senior consultant for social media at Nationwide Insurance

If you’ve ever tried tracking down a return on investment (ROI) on “social,” you’ve found that it’s nearly impossible to find. During this interactive discussion, listen as brand practitioners from Coke, Nationwide and Kodak talk about ways that their companies are deriving real ROI from social while providing best practices, case studies and examples of how companies can achieve this elusive ROI Holy Grail.

It's About the Content Stupid

Organizer/Moderator: Simon Salt, CEO, The IncSlingers

Panelists: Aaron Strout, CMO, Powered; Dave Knox, brand manager, digital business strategy, Procter & Gamble; Amber Naslund, director of community, Radian6.

Content, content, content. If you haven't heard, it's the new currency and companies are looking at new ways to create smart, engaging and most importantly, inexpensive content to engage their customers, prospects and partners. From blog comments and community forums to expert videos, this interactive session will answer the important questions such as:

1. Where ownership of content starts, ends and why the lines blur.
2. How to deal with "inappropriate" content, handling negativity, moving beyond the C level fear of what people might say.
3. The best ways to strike a balance between expert, curated and customer generated content.
   
   

Hitting Bombs: Better Social Business through Sports Metaphors

Organizer/Moderator: Tim Walker, Blogger, Hoover's Inc.

Panelists: Aaron Strout, CMO, Powered; Jennifer Leggio, blogger, ZDNet; Kyle Flaherty, director of marketing, BreakingPoint Systems

Teamwork. Preparation. Execution. Sports abounds with lessons for today's socially enabled business. This panel's Murderer's Row of sports fans/social media pros will make you laugh, make you think, and give you fresh perspective on how sports metaphors can elevate social media practice for you and your company.

Where the Hell Are We In the Evolution of the Social Web?

Organizer/Moderator: Bill Johnston, chief community officer, ForumOne Communications

Panelists: Aaron Strout, CMO, Powered; Jake McKee & Sean O'Driscoll, principals, Ant's Eye View; Shawn Morton, senior consultant for social media at Nationwide Insurance

Social media practice and implementation is a dynamic and volatile subject that effects all functions in a company from the obvious (product, support, marketing) to the not so obvious (hr, operations). Hear from 5 seasoned social media practitioners (plus YOU!) about where we are on "the map" of social media adoption and practice, and where we are headed. The mood will be lively, the panel bright eyed and prepared, and the audience smart (and involved).

Experts in the Industry: Shawn Morton (58 of 45)

What can I say about Shawn Morton except that he's a funny guy. A SMART and funny guy. One of my favorites from my 2009 SXSW experience. He's also a senior consultant for social media at Nationwide Insurance -- not an insignificant task given the current economic environment. In spite of all that, Shawn handles himself gracefully on Twitter and in person.

To that end, enjoy Shawn's answers to the five Experts in the Industry questions:

In one sentence, please describe what you do and why you’re good at it.
Wow, you know it will be tough for me to answer anything with just one sentence, but I’ll give it a shot. I am helping Nationwide Insurance become more connected to our customers, prospective customers, agents and employees using my experience in building web communities and aligning social tools with business objectives.

How did you get into the world of online community, social media or social marketing?
I started working with online communities in 1999 when I joined the team at TechRepublic.com. I was fortunate enough to be paired up with Bill Johnston (who was featured at #43 in this series) for a couple of years as we built and grew a thriving community for IT professionals. I worked on TechRepublic.com (and consulted with other sites within CNET Networks) for a total of 9 years. During that time, we developed one of the largest IT communities on the web.

For the last two years I was with CNET, I also built one of the first lifestreaming services, Profilactic.com, in my spare time.

In July of 2008, I relocated to Columbus to lead social media at Nationwide Insurance.

If you had $10 million to invest in one company and one company only based on their use of “social,” which company would it be and why?
If I can't keep the money to fund social initiatives at Nationwide, I think I would invest it in Zappos.com. They understand the importance of putting your customers first in everything you do. The transparency and responsiveness that they've demonstrated using Twitter further reinforces their brand promise.

Which business leader, politician or public figure do you most respect?
There are so many people in the social media space that I admire, so it will be difficult to pick just one. I think Tony Hseih and Gary Vaynerchuk, who couldn’t be more different personality-wise, both really get the power that social media has to provide an exceptional, personalized customer experience. That is part of our strategy for using social media at Nationwide, so both of those guys serve as an inspiration in that regard.

Would you join a toothpaste community?
I think insurance and toothpaste have a lot in common when it comes to interest and enthusiasm. At Nationwide, we are doing a lot of things to get people interested in engaging with us online that don't focus primarily on insurance.

First, we are using a variety of services (Radian6, Google alerts and blog search, Twitter search, etc.) to listen and respond to what customers are saying about us. Over time, we want social media users to know that they can reach out to us on their platform of choice. We think this will help us provide a better overall customer experience.

Second, we are establishing presences on the leading social sites (Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube) and posting content from Nationwide events and sponsorships. So instead of trying to establish an insurance-focused community, we are engaging customers and prospective customers around their areas of passion. These include our relationships with the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ohio State athletics and The State of the Black Union.

Freeform – here’s where you can riff on anyone or anything – good or bad. Or just share a pearl of wisdom.
A lot of people ask me how a big company can get started in social media. I think the best thing any company can do is to start listening to the conversations that are already taking place about them on the web. Whether they are on personal blogs, discussion boards, Twitter or sites like Epinions, you have to start paying attention. Not all companies are ready to start participating, but if you start listening, you'll get a better sense of the opportunities you have to use social media to respond and interact with your customers online.

Photo Credit: Jim Storer