2020 Agenda

Enjoy Atlanta's best landmarks and cultural institutions while getting to know your fellow attendees.

Get the latest on Google’s algorithm and learn to optimize your site for the most recent changes—and those likely to come. Huddle with your peers to offer and receive feedback on your company site.

You'll learn:

• What to prioritize in terms of SEO
• How to use paid search to increase your traffic and ranking
• Tactics for stronger metadata
• What the BERT update means for ranking and featured snippets
• Strengths and weaknesses of your own site, via peer feedback

Every brand is vulnerable to crisis in the social media era. We’ll take a look at case studies that effectively prevented or mitigated a crisis that erupted on social media.

This workshop will include:

• An interactive crisis simulation
• Real-world examples of social media crisis
• Proactive and reactive crisis tactics
• A look at social media monitoring and privacy tools

Proving return on investment is one of the biggest challenges that social media marketers face. In this workshop, we’ll look at a range of key performance indicators across various social channels, and discuss how to determine which metrics are most valuable for your brand to track.

This workshop will include:

• A workshop of native social media analytics, noting the most crucial elements of each platform
• Group discussion of the best-value analytics tools on the market
• Case studies of social media campaigns that were aided by strong measurement strategy
• Strategies for adjusting social strategy based on metrics
• Advice for putting together reporting dashboards

Our trainers will share strategies and tools for making the most of a meager social media budget. Attendees will work in groups to brainstorm plans for low-budget social campaigns.

We'll cover:

• Smart staffing
• Low-budget video tools
• Prioritization
• Paid vs. organic social (how low can you go?)

Not every brand has budget for an in-house video team, and those that do benefit from a knowledge of video content best practices. In this workshop, discover how to build a film crew from the office and shoot great-looking social media content for your channels.

We'll cover:

• An overview of visual best practices
• How to use stock B-roll and music to add polish to corporate video
• A look at smartphone and video tools for better looking footage
• Ideal video lengths and metrics across social platforms
• How to find the right talent for your videos
• Case studies in successful video campaigns

Get to know your fellow Shake-Up 2020 attendees and speakers over refreshments.

Our opening mainstage session will include a look ahead at the next two days, a warm welcome from Social Shake-Up 2020 host Brian Fanzo, and a keynote from Leah Feygin of Twitter:

Make Your Branded Content Unforgettable
There are many ways for brands to tell stories on social feeds. In today’s climate, audiences either see ads as an interruption or don't notice them at all, thus making unforgettable storytelling more relevant than ever. In this talk, Twitter’s ArtHouse creator content solutions lead Leah Feygin will cover the guiding principles of making branded content not just noticeable but unforgettable. She'll show how brands can cultivate a voice and connect with audiences in ways that really resonate with their audiences.

This panel will explore the do's and don'ts of working with influencers, from finding the right fit for your brand to ensuring they communicate the desired message to their followers—while keeping with their own overall voice.

Smart brand marketers know how to treat social media conversations as real-time focus groups. In this session, we'll discuss how to distinguish useful insights from chatter and build a content plan that meets audiences' expectations.

Given the seemingly endless appetite that audiences have for social media content, many companies have outsourced content creation to agency partners. But this need not be the case: Cassie Savage, associate director of digital content engagement at Nestlé Health Science, helped her team build a content studio from the ground up. In this session, she'll offer lessons learned and how-tos for marketers seeking to craft their own content powerhouses.

Twitter is playing a major role in shaping public opinion, not just in the U.S., but around the world. This social channel has touched every part of our lives, from government policy to advocacy and brand purpose. In this session, IBM’s Brandi Boatner will share where and how marketers should leverage the platform to weigh in and make their organizations heard.

Apps like TikTok and Snapchat can seem tricky to wield for the uninitiated, but our walkthrough should ensure you are using all of the platform tools correctly. Even more familiar interfaces like Instagram are updated frequently; this Unsession will allow marketers to learn how to use any recent features they might have missed.

You want to encourage your employees to post to social media—within the limits of good taste. But how do you ensure you’re offering colleagues creative freedom without raining down HIPAA, FTC or enraged board members on your top tweeters? We will offer an alternative plan, as well as training and compliance tips for those employees handling influencer marketing.

As the number of social channels continues to grow, social marketers are expected to fill each platform with a never-ending stream of content. Yet most brands don’t have limitless resources for content creation, so smart marketers do the next best thing: repurpose existing content across several channels. In this session, we’ll go over some best practices for creating an efficient content workflow across channels.

From Dove to H&M, many brands have failed spectacularly at marketing to ethnically and racially diverse audiences in recent years. This session will cover how to avoid similar missteps, while creating impactful campaigns that are sensitive to the cultural identity of target audiences.

Facebook has gone through many changes over the years. Is your organization adapting its strategy quickly enough?

Avocacy groups and nonprofits in particular have struggled to keep up in the "post-organic" era, when a paid social budget can mean stretching donor dollars and membership fees to their limit. Still, the platform can be a successful tool for reaching your organization's goals, whether it's seeking additional members, growing awareness for a cause or promoting an annual fundraising event. In this session, learn how your organization can navigate Facebook's changes in 2020 and beyond—while still staying true to core objectives.

Despite social media’s ubiquitous nature, social marketers still find themselves on the defense as to its role in impacting the bottom line. This master class will explore various methods for tying business outcomes to social media efforts.

We’ll cover:

• Which metrics can be used to draw connections between social media content and sales
• New e-commerce tools, such as Instagram Shoppable posts and Shopify
• How to report out meaningful social media results to the C-Suite
• Tools and tips for analyzing audience response to social media

Many social media professionals come in with an understanding of social media tools and features, but how are they trained to create social content that helps drive business goals? Our trainer will share how they onboard and teach new employees to tie social media back to the business.

No social marketer or digital communicator wants to wake up in the middle of the night to a social media firestorm—but in this politically-charged, polarized era, it happens all too often. This session will cover social media crisis prep and ground zero mitigation.

This is your chance to exchange intel with your peers: What tools are working for you, and which third-party services were not worth the spend? Discuss the social channels your business or nonprofit have found worthwhile to invest in, as well as those that have gone the way of the buffalo.

In this session, LinkedIn’s senior content consultant Amber Naslund will walk through the most need-to-know elements of marketing on LinkedIn, from what makes their audience unique to what content resonates with members and why, as well as some of the findings from LinkedIn’s own research about thought leadership on the platform and the importance of building a full-funnel content strategy. She’ll also cover some of the tactical tips and tricks that can make LinkedIn posts—whether paid or organic—shine and stand out from the crowd.

Take a tour of Shake-Up 2020 vendor and partner booths and ask our speakers your burning social media questions at the “Ask Me Anything” area while getting to know your fellow attendees. 

Settle in for lunch and a keynote from bestselling author, podcast and television host Amber Mac.

The Distraction Economy: How to Regain Attention in a Noisy World

In an era of cluttered feeds and endless notifications, the digital economy could also rightfully be called the distraction economy. Platform giants like Facebook and Amazon have come to dominate online audiences' attention, not to mention nearly a quarter of the world’s economy. The result? Average attention spans have dropped to about 8 seconds. In this timely keynote, Amber Mac will share the best remedies to put marketers back in the driver’s seat and break through the noisy consumer distractions of today and tomorrow.

Whether or not your CEO is a born tweeter, there’s no question that the business world expects to hear from vibrant, opinionated executives who champion their company missions. Our presenter will explore several of the best channels to display thought leadership, from social platforms to podcasts and conference appearances.

Social marketers must have a firm grasp of reporting in order to share back their results on social campaigns—and that includes displaying data in a way that senior leaders can understand. In this session, Nike's Tim Degner will explore the endless design solutions for displaying data. Using a single data set, Tim will demonstrate many unique approaches to visually represent the information. Tim will also explore layering in relevant contextual data to help senior leaders better understand the whole picture. He'll also explain his process and methods for creating these designs. 

Your employees are often your best influencers, harnessing their ability to merge a fiery passion for your brand with industry-specific knowledge. But it takes strong leadership to rally the troops while ensuring your advocates stay on message. We’ll look at an employee advocacy campaign that truly moved the needle for a brand, and discuss the tactics involved.

John Young is no stranger to social listening and social customer care, having led Southwest's successful program for years. 

In this session, John will share:

• How AI in listening can be an early warning system
• How to achieve better sentiment reporting
• How to leverage first-party data in listening and response
• Tying crisis management strategies to social listening
• Agent engagement tips

It’s possible to get a great shot, regardless of the location, with the right tips and tricks. From camera angles to lighting tricks and affordable hardware, you’ll leave this Unsession feeling more confident about your in-house camera crew (even if it is a solo, low-budget operation).

It’s under a decade since Facebook's founding, and social media is still in its infancy. So, what does the ideal career path for a social media professional? Some choose a path in communications or marketing; others switch industries entirely as they climb the corporate ladder. We’ll explore a few potential routes and discuss how to advocate for social’s rightful place in the C-suite.

The increasingly complex legal landscape of social media can be intimidating to tackle. From FTC guidelines and GDPR considerations to HIPAA or FINRA regulations depending on your industry—staying compliant can be daunting. Our legal experts will make sure you leave with a better sense of what systems you should have in place to cover your bases.

From artistic aptitude to strong writing and data savvy, the ideal social media hire has a unique and varied skillset. Does it make sense to staff up your social team with polymaths, or should each member have a distinct social-related talent and role? How much can your social media maven interns be trusted to run the shop? In this session, we'll answer these questions and more, as well as looking at a successful real-world org chart.

With roughly 90 million monthly listeners, podcasts are arguably the fastest-growing route for audience engagement in 2019. As an increasing number of brands jump on board, it is crucial to assess whether your team has the resources available to produce a successful podcast series before committing. We’ll discuss what it takes to be sure you’re making the right investment.

Be brave and volunteer to get your social media properties audited live by our Unsession leader—you'll receive useful feedback while your peers take notes on how to make similar tweaks to their own channels.

Get your afternoon caffeine buzz on and chat with fellow attendees on the exhibit floor.

This annual Shake-Up mainstage tradition takes a broad look at the brands and nonprofits that have made bold statements in political, social and economic spheres—for better or for worse. Our panelists will discuss how brands can better partner with nonprofit and advocacy groups to launch purpose-driven campaigns without making compromises or missing the mark. 

Celebrate the end of the first full day of Shake-Up 2020 with your favorite speakers and fellow attendees.

Over the past decade, the LEGO Group's social media presence has grown from being non-existent to a best-in-class, fun and engaging experience across leading social platforms, delivering meaningful and engaging interactions with millions of fans every day. In an ever-changing marketing ecosystem, James Gregson, head of LEGO Social Studios, will take you through how The LEGO Group's developed such a global and evocative social media content strategy across audiences and social channels.

In this fireside chat, we’ll discuss emerging channels as well as what’s expected to come from established platforms like Facebook and Instagram in the next year. We’ll also touch on other tech trends that may seem a long way off, but that are crucial for marketers to understand. How will new tools impact consumers and online audiences in years to come? We'll investigate.

Our trainer will share and discuss tools for taking existing content and boiling it down to the essentials, from audio editors to free and easy-to-use visual software.

Beloved by billions of users, Instagram is an invaluable tool to marketers, but its popularity has reached a saturation point. This session will focus on how to strategically use the platform and its newest features in order to break through the noise by answering some of the biggest questions marketers are asking about where the platform is going.

Despite all of the fancy third-party social monitoring tools on the market, the power of native social media metrics can't be denied. In this session, we'll hone in on the key performance indicators to watch within each major social platform's analytics offering.

As more brands adopt video and photo-centric social media strategies, finding the right online visuals has become a much more complicated discipline. How can social marketers make sure their Instagram and Facebook videos get more eyeballs than the competition? Our trainer will discuss how to hook and retain viewers in the era of visual bombardment.

Even those that swear by organic reach have to admit that it's not as powerful as it once was. In this hands-on session, we’ll discuss how to put together a social media budget and determine how far your advertising dollars go.

We'll cover:

• How much reach you can expect at different price points
• Which social platforms offer the most bang for your buck
• How to adjust your bids and targeting while a campaign is ongoing
• Which content to put paid behind
• How to argue with leadership for a paid social budget
• How to report out results after a paid campaign has ended

Be part of a live podcast recording on the marketplace floor with Social Shake-Up host and veteran podcaster Brian Fanzo. (Or, take a moment to unwind and network with fellow attendees.)

In this fireside chat, Dagger CEO Mike Popowski will interview Brandon Butler, the executive director of digital culture channel Butter.ATL on growing the brand into a local media powerhouse. They will dive behind the scenes of channel growth, content creation and the process of signing on and working with a brand, addressing do's and don'ts for reaching out to and partnering with influencers from the brand side.

We've all heard the statistic that most audiences have a shorter attention span than a goldfish (at this point, it's likely even shorter). This session will focus on how to hook viewers from the get-go, stopping them mid-scroll.

If your brand wants to see ROI on its marketing partnerships (and it does), it is essential to innovate as you work with your marketing partners.
 
"Partners" come in all shapes and sizes and can offer significant value to brands in any industry. However, many brands struggle with how to find the right partners to help them reach new audiences, achieve incremental results and gain a competitive edge in their industry.
 
In addition, it’s becoming increasingly important to brands that more of their marketing is performance-based. Marketers must ensure they are paying their partners after results have been realized—not before.
 
This session will help expand your understanding of who a partner is, how more relationships can be managed efficiently at scale and why performance-based compensation is the future of marketing.

We'll cover:

• The definition of a strong performance partnership
• How to reframe your perspective of who a “partner” is in 2020 and beyond
• Why your performance partners need to know your brand’s goals and the reasoning behind those goals
• A successful case study example from Home Depot's partnership efforts
• How to work across your internal marketing and business development teams to identify partners that align with business objectives

Taking an accessible approach to social media will help ensure your social presence is inclusive of all users. In this session, we'll cover hashtag etiquette, emoji optics, sound-agnostic video and more tactics for attracting a wide swath of the social media community.

Take a tour of Shake-Up 2020 vendor and partner booths and ask our speakers your burning social media questions at the “Ask Me Anything” area while getting to know your fellow attendees.

Chow down and settle in for a mainstage conversation with Sephora's vice president of content strategy, Emmy Berlind.

Last year, Sephora brought its intentions of cultivating an inclusive beauty community to its first-ever large-scale influencer program, #SephoraSquad. The program was an amplification of the community of voices, perspectives and experiences that have shaped Sephora to be what it is today; a true reflection of Sephora’s clients and employees, the Beauty Insider Community and the beauty industry as a whole. As #SephoraSquad enters its second year, Sephora’s VP of content strategy Emmy Berlind will be sharing the brand’s successes and celebrations along with key insights and learnings of the brand's best-in-class approach to influencer relations.

In an ideal world, every brand would have a full team devoted to social media. But in reality, it’s often a solo practitioner or skeleton crew responsible for populating and analyzing every platform channel. In this session, we’ll discuss productivity hacks, best practices for doubling yourself, repurposing content and arguing for more resources from upper management.

Whether your sales team or social team is charged with lead generation on social, it’s crucial to understand lead gen strategy in order to report ROI of your various channels. We’ll look at lead gen tactics—particularly on Instagram and LinkedIn—for converting social followers into loyal customers.

At many organizations, social media sits within the same department responsible for optimizing the company website. It's crucial that social marketers understand how to craft content that drives meaningful traffic to owned digital properties, and measure those efforts. This Master Class will over a full overview of skills and tactics marketers need to appease Google’s algorithm.

You'll learn:

• How Google ranks websites based on load time, images, metadata and copy
• Ways to improve load time and decrease bounce rate
• Strategies for amending a website with bad SEO
• How social strategy and SEO relate to one another
• What metrics are most important to track in Google Analytics
• How to strengthen your keyword strategy

Building a tribe of brand loyalists is no easy task, but some brands have mastered the art of making customers their content creators and influencers. In this session, we'll offer a case study that successfully unified online audiences around a crucial branding campaign.

The FTC now requires specific disclosures around influencer marketing, with new guidelines released in fall 2019. Our trainer will help prepare your team and your influencer program to handle the latest guidelines depending on your industry.

With an increasing number of social channels to manage, marketers are faced with a conundrum: Which channels should be prioritized, and which can stay dormant? We'll discuss ways to determine which platforms your audience spends most of its time on, as well as how to tell when a platform is not worthy of dedicating staff or resources. Conversely, we'll cover how to ramp up efforts on your brand's most successful platforms. 

Many brands have boosted sales with social media, but PR and sales must work in tandem in order to ensure brand reputation is high and leads are regularly coming down the funnel. Our trainer will discuss how best to transform your social media, PR and sales teams into a well-oiled machine.

The newest social media channel on the block has gotten a lot of buzz in marketing circles, but is it a fit for every brand? We'll discuss the brands seeing success on the platform so far, and the elements that made them a fit. For companies ready to jump in, our presenter will share how and where branded content works on the platform.

GIFs have become a staple in the way we communicate online. Not only do they communicate emotions that can't be captured in words, but they make iconic pop culture moments shareable in real-time. Whether you're on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat or Facebook, GIFs are essential to staying culturally relevant. In this session, Meg Lewis, senior social media manager at GIPHY, will share not only how to become fluent in the language of GIFs, but how to best use them to perfect your brand's social presence.

See you at The Social Shake-Up 2021!