Jump-start your conference experience by attending these interactive workshops. These information-packed sessions are a great opportunity to network with fellow attendees while taking a hands-on, common-sense approach to mastering social media strategies that will enhance your understanding of the informative, case study presentations throughout the entire conference.

Choose A or B or BOTH for Maximum Value and Learning

Social Media 101: How To Integrate Social Media Into Your Communications Plan - - Answering Your Toughest Questions On How To Get Your Agency Started By Using The Right Tools, Managing The Process And Tracking Results

This workshop will walk you through a step-by-step process to start sharing within other government agencies and constituents, focusing on internal versus external communications. This session and interactive discussion will dive deeper into success stories and implementation strategies when it comes to the digital divide of the Government, both inside and outside of the firewall.

You will learn how government agencies are using social media to reach their constituents, as well as communicate to each other within the office, even to the next cubicle. We will also discuss what the best social media methodology is and why it could be the answer for your approach in communicating with others. You may think "Facebook" or "Twitter" is the answer to sharing. But it may not be that simple.

The goal of this workshop is to prepare you to make a knowledgeable transition into effective communication and workflow using software as a service or other Web 2.0 applications in an enterprise manner. While there is much good being done by social media/web evangelists — those intrigued should not get caught in the glamour and glitz of something new, but strategically plan around what the problem is that an organization is trying to solve. Identifying the problems, in detail, before you have a solution in mind will help you choose the right tool for the job.

Sounds a little old school right? It should — using social media is just a new way of doing old business.

WORKSHOP LEADER: Andrea Baker is the Director of Enterprise 2.0 for Navstar, Inc, under which she is a consultant for the Federal Government and private industry. She has supported various agencies throughout her career such as the CIA, DIA, NSA, NOAA, and the Pentagon. Ms. Baker helps her customers utilize social media tools as Enterprise 2.0 solutions effectively. She specializes in the user community advocacy and an application developer liaison, through tools like wikis, blogs, and other social web technologies. In July 2009, Ms. Baker became Executive Vice President and Programming Director of the Social Media Club - Washington, DC.

12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Lunch On Your Own

Social Media Strategies At Work: How Social Sites, Metrics And Reporting Data Can Prove Value To Your Senior Management

This workshop will address how your agency can create your social media program and sell it to your management. Many organizations know social media exists, but there is hesitance with some management on the value it will provide.

Government examples will be addressed to show why and how social media strategies can benefit your organization. We will also discuss how to build custom social sites and link to current popular sites, giving your organization a way to provide data-capture ability and metrics to give more value to your social media program. The reporting will give you a way to approach your management with metrics to show them how it works and how it can be incorporated in your marketing strategies.

• Choose the sites that will work best for your organization
• Create a site that is customized to your organizational goals and brand
• Design your site to reach and educate your customers
• Offer better reporting/analytics on visitor demographics to your senior management
• Use the data to approach your management on the value social media offers
• Implement the programs and gain a greater understanding of what is involved in site maintenance

WORKSHOP LEADER: Sandy Miller, Director of New Business Development at Success Communications Group, has worked in marketing and advertising for over 20 years. During that time she has had the opportunity to work for agencies and as a freelance consultant. For the past 5 years she has worked for Success Communications in new business development. She is responsible for bringing in new business and consulting with the client to develop their marketing plans. Sandy manages projects that include web development, social networking, interactive media, marketing, advertising and promotional materials.