social media

Social Media Strategies Summit Chicago

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Slide from Social Media Strategies Summit in Chicago

Last week I attended the Social Media Strategies Summit in Chicago. I enjoyed the conference, which was held at the Union League Club. Summit sessions focused on evolving and developing social media strategy, content creation and storytelling best practices, and video strategy and marketing best practices.

Presenters represented brands that included Microsoft, Walmart, Kickstarter, The Hershey Company, and American Family Insurance. Several sessions deserve mention for being better than the rest:

  • “Case Study: Best Practices for Storytelling when Working with Influencers and Partners” (Sarah Scroggins, Advocate Health Care)
  • “Lessons in Unconventional Innovation” (Ryan Riess, The Hershey Company)
  • “Predicting the Future of Social Media” (Ian Beacraft, Epsilon)

So, would I recommend attending the summit? You bet. The conference is a great way for social media and digital marketing professionals to get up to speed on what some of the big players in the field are doing to take their brands to the next level. I’m glad I went, and I got to meet some cool people besides–now on to all of those notes I took!

I’m Ready for the New Facebook

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Just as Facebook replaced Myspace a decade or so ago as the top social media platform, it too will be replaced at some point. My guess is that somewhere someone is working on the aging platform’s replacement at this moment, and that’s good. In this writer’s humble opinion, anyway, the new platform is already overdue.

I’ll spare you the litany of things I dislike about Facebook or things I’ve tweaked over the years to keep the network appealing on a personal level (professional use is a whole other matter), but I will say that the thing that keeps me coming back is the ability to stay in touch with people and that any “value” added is extraneous.

With any luck, the new Facebook will be a stripped-down platform that doesn’t want to do everything but tie your shoes for you. Just your friends, just life, just things that matter. The platform’s creators won’t be out to replace YouTube or become your news and weather source or your town hall. They won’t run your friends’ posts through their algorithms or care how you order food, and they’ll know you don’t want to download more than one app to use their platform’s features.

Facebook has become the new Myspace. Like most people, I’ll continue using it to keep up with my friends and family, but only until the next big thing arrives. I’m ready for the new Facebook.