Thanks to everyone who attended and spoke at our first – and SMMS industry first – Social Business Summit. As we reflect upon the state of social business, content marketing and community management, we hope our two-day event was able to stimulate creative and strategic thinking; in addition to raising your level of business intelligence (and adrenaline for those who hit the racetrack).

 

 With an eye-opening keynote from Amber Naslund and Matt Ridings to the converged media strategy discussion from Jeremiah Owyang and the flush of amazing content from Jason Falls, Racing Ahead 2012 was designed to raise the bar on social business, while shedding light on the opportunities now and trends down the road.

10 final thoughts and insights from the conference:

1. Think of marketing on Facebook as a cocktail party … things are better with friends.

- Nat Hampson, client partner lead, Facebook

2.  Stories are currency that create value for your brand.

- Laura Ruff, senior channel marketing manager, Coca-Cola

3. Voice of the customer surveys give strategic insights based on customer satisfaction.  We’re hyper-focused on SoLoMo.

– Fred Neil, vice president, CRM, Home Depot

4. Content is evolving. Stand out from the crowd and be a good storyteller.

– Matt Wurst, director, brand strategy and emerging media, 360i

5. Think mobile first.

- Jill McFarland, senior manager, digital, Applebee’s

6. It’s not about selling a car, it’s about the relationship.

- Sajeev Mehta, social media manager, Group 1 Automotive

7. For brand renewal, find relevance or die … tap into an existing trend with a built-in audience.

- Scott Gulbransen, director of social business strategy, H&R Bloc

8. Harry Potter will be like Star Wars to us … it will live on.

- Michele Edelman, vice president, direct to consumer marketing, Warner Bros.

9. Your content should elicit an emotional action or response from the audience.

- Jason Falls, CEO, Social Media Explorer

10. Social metrics must focus on reach, engagement and virality. Your SMMS platform should enable the right stuff for social media success: right information, right user, right visual, right time, right delivery and right action.

- Peter Heffring, CEO, Expion

Select presentations from our outstanding speakers are below:

• Jeremiah Owyang [Altimeter]: Accelerating your Social Strategy to Performance

• Matt Ridings and Amber Naslund [SideraWorks]: From Social Media to Social Business – the realities of making the shift

• Matt Wurst [360i]: Social Content: Marketing in a Digital Age

If you’re interested in a demo of Expion Social Software, connect with us online or say hello on Twitter or Facebook.

And remember, people first, technology second.