Zócalo Group town square blog

We’ve mentioned that Zócalo Group is a proud co-host of Social Media Week Chicago 2012. We’re now excited to announce that we’ll be hosting the following events about the impact of social media in topics ranging from employment to comedy. Click the links to find out more and sign up.

“Smart, Sexy Content” (new!)

 Featuring Josh Coon, SentrySafe; Barbara Liss, Quaker Oats; Jamie Newton, Tongal; and Emily Bader, Zócalo Group

Disrupt. Resonate. Engage. We’ll explore new rules and tools for great – and powerful – social media content development.  Join a panel of social media marketing leaders and innovative content creators who’ll share their perspectives, approaches and work.

“The Power of Social in B2B Lead Generation” (new!)

Featuring Pamela Robertson, Experian Marketing Services; Gerry Moran, SAP; Frank Helmert, AON; and Gina Gesmond, Zócalo Group

New online tools and social media experiences provide opportunities to engage specific audiences in more effective ways, offering valuable content while generating leads. Join us to learn how leading B2B companies are using social media in their demand generation efforts, and gain valuable insight into the ways that social media can directly contribute to your organization’s business and marketing objectives.

“Father Knows Best? How brands are engaging dad bloggers and finding common ground with these increasingly important influencers”

Featuring Jim Higley, Bobblehead Dad; Doug French, Laid-off Dad; Shannon Jenest, Philips; and Paul M. Rand, Zócalo Group

There’s a new force on the web and he’s eager to be heard. Join us to learn more about what’s driving the growing dad blogger movement and see how brands can engage and work with these increasingly important influencers.

“Read Anything Good Lately? How WOM, social media and recommendations drive media consumption”

Featuring authors Stacey Ballis, Carrie Goldman Segall and Nicole Knepper

Books live and die by word of mouth. When so much rides on winning the almighty recommendation, how do authors and publishers use social media to build a digital presence that grows advocacy and sells books?

“Social Media & the Changing Face of Employment”

Featuring Jordan Ho and Jessica Abraham, Zócalo Group; Regan Caruthers, Pathbrite; Megan Gebhart, Elance.com; and Ben Foster, Ketchum

Social Media has been instrumental in the disruption of so many industries. In what ways has it impacted (for better or worse) the ways we fill and find jobs?

“When Comedy Meets Social – Creating something to laugh about”

Featuring Tom Yorton, Second City; and Erich Marx, Nissan

What happens when you combine a new product or service with the world-class comedians from The Second City? Lots of laughs of course! Join us for a laugh out loud session that will include live improv from Second City performers, as well as insight from brands about the process for using comedy and improvisation to enrich social media content. Panelists from will share the objectives and results from recent campaigns and answer audience questions on what comedy can bring to social media.

“The Fame Game: Leveraging celebrities in social media”

Featuring Erich Marx, Nissan; and Tanya Silverstein, Entertainment Partnerships

Call it the ‘Ashton Kutcher Effect’ or ‘Celeb 2.0’, but one thing’s for certain – where celebrities go, fans follow. The saying applies even more so these days to the social media space, where celebrities have legions of followers across Facebook and Twitter. A simple mention or endorsement of a product on a tweet can greatly encourage their fans to either buy it, or at least try it.

Working with celebrities to promote a brand or a product is no new trend. Companies have been working with talent for decades in commercials, sponsorships and promotions. It’s only recently that brands have found ways to integrate and leverage celebrity talent into their social media strategy. This session will go in depth into ways brands and companies are working with celebrities to enhance and amplify social media programs, and what should be taken into consideration when deciding if a celebrity endorsement is the right strategy for a product or brand.

“Tweeting Louder: Using paid and earned tactics to make noise in the Twittersphere”

Featuring Brent Hill, Twitter; Andrea Javor, Beam Global; and David Heiser, Zócalo Group

When should I use Promoted Tweets? How can I integrate my brand into organically trending topics? Who should I target with Promoted Accounts? Join us for a 360 degree look at the best ways to get the most out of your brand’s Twitter account by using Promoted Products and organic engagement tactics, with perspectives from our panel which includes an experienced community manager, a media planner, two veteran corporate brand managers, as well as a representative from Twitter itself. We’ll discuss what works and what doesn’t, innovative campaigns that have delivered great results, and answer questions from attendees.