8:00 a.m.
Continental Breakfast & Networking

8:30 a.m.

Chairperson’s Opening of Day Two & Presentation: Using Social Media For Research: Understand Your Audience, Learn Where Your Audience Is And How They Communicate Online

Formal research can be costly, impractical and even out-of-reach for many government organizations. While using social media for research could not and should not replace traditional research methods, it has opened a world of possibility and can provide insight into thoughts and opinions that were previously inaccessible.

However, to truly capture and understand this value, organizations must have an understanding of how human behaviour differs online and where and how people typically communicate online.

In this session, we will discuss the theory behind social research and the step-by-step procedure to successfully mine data and recognize patterns of information, including how to;

• Proactively identify key topical influencers and online communities of interest relevant to your issues and organization
• Identify Canadian, or geo-specific, search results and narrow results to your target audience
• Understand the online landscape and how citizens interact with each other, businesses and government
• Build a report and position findings in a factual and easy to understand format

Kelly Rusk, Consultant
THORNLEY FALLIS GROUP
@krusk

9:30 a.m.

Understanding How Social Media Affects Traditional Media And How To Use It To Your Advantage

Social media means many different things to many different people. The social media movement is currently happening and changing the way most people, corporations, cities and political parties do business. It’s also changed the way media operates and has changed the news cycle. Knowing how media use social media will help your organization in both the proactive and reactive segments.

This session will shed light on social media and on the many factors at play for government. It will also provide some principles that can be applied to help you with this ever-changing world, including:

• Opportunities and challenges specific to social media
• The main platforms, and which are best suited for your organization
• Principles to use when getting started in social media
• Political vs. practical applications

Carole Saab, Manager of Government and Media Relations
FEDERATION OF CANADIAN MUNICIPALITIES
@carolesaab

Eric Collard, Consultant
INTERSOL GROUP LTD.
@_Ecinc

10:15 a.m.

Morning Refreshment & Networking Break

10:30 a.m.

You’ve Started Your Social Media Journey – Now What? Learn How To Manage The Growth Of Social Media Within Your Organization

Maybe you started social media in your organization with one or two people, a Twitter account, and perhaps a Facebook presence. It was fun and exciting but now you have more followers asking more questions and your other work isn’t getting done. As a communicator, how do you let go of day-to-day interaction while keeping the ball rolling? Who will take over your hands-on role and how do you ensure that the content, tone and responsiveness stay at a high level?

SaskTel, Saskatchewan’s leading communications provider and a provincial Crown Corporation, has a dual role as a competitive company in a rapidly evolving industry, and also a government-owned entity.

This session will you provide you with the experiences and lessons learned while growing social media from a Twitter account off the side of a desk in the corporate communications department, to a cross-functional team guided by a comprehensive social media strategy, including:

• Enlisting other departments to play a role in social media
• Building and training a social media response team to take over the hands-on role of answering questions
• Becoming a communications consultant to your social media team in order to ensure consistent messaging and be able to identify and manage issues before they blow up
• Managing your employee base as they interact with social media in their work and personal lives

Andy Tate, Communications Manager – External
SASKTEL

11:15 a.m.

Aligning Your Social Media Tools To Better Fit Your Overall Strategic Approach To Internal And External Communications

The Canadian Army has been using social media tools for several years now. Its current tool kit includes YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Flikr. Recently, the Canadian Army reviewed its use of social media tools with a view to better aligning the use of each tool to most effectively reach target audiences with specific messages and to better fit into an overall Canadian Army strategic approach to external and internal communications.

This forward thinking session will provide you with an overview of the review processes, the resulting strategy being developed and how to employ it through each of  your social media channels, including:

• Finding your target audience and the social media channels they are actively using
• Tactics and techniques to get your message heard through the clutter
• Discovering which tools fit your communications strategy best

Hal Doran, Manager of Integrated Communications
Sheila Wadden, Social Media Specialist
CANADIAN ARMY

Join a group of your colleagues for lunch with an informal discussion on a social media hot topic. Take this opportunity to join others in a small, interactive group setting to network and brainstorm solutions to your most pressing social media concerns.

1:30 p.m.

Group Exercise: Brainstorm Solutions And New Ideas You Can Use

You asked for it, you got it! Interact and discuss solutions to your social media challenges with your fellow attendees and our experienced speakers. You will leave with new tools and hands-on experience and ideas for more successfully applying best practices to your own social media initiatives.

2:10 p.m.

A Step-By-Step Look At How To Create, Integrate And Market A Mobile Application

According to Bricks and Mobile, 1 in 4 Canadians will cut their landline by 2014. Citizens are moving from hard line connections to wireless, so how do you keep up?
Owning a small piece of an individual’s digital real estate results in a very personal connection, and an app gives you the opportunity to be on that real estate.

In this information-packed session, you will hear first-hand how the City of Regina launched and marketed their CityApp, providing you with the tools and techniques to do the same, including answering the following key questions:

• Should you go in-house? Buy a service? 3rd party developer?
• Even if your site is already mobile-enabled, should you still bother?
• What can you deliver? Should this be on your app?
• How do you actually get people to download your app?

Philippe Leclerc, Interactive Communications Manager
CITY OF REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN
@CityofRegina

2:55 p.m.

Afternoon Refreshment & Networking Break

3:05 p.m.

How To Successfully Use Social Media For Crisis Communications: Keeping Your Community Safe And Informed At All Times

The goal of any crisis communications incident is to keep the community as safe and as well informed as possible. Through the use all of the tools available, including social media, this goal can be accomplished.

In June 2010, a diesel spill near a Regional water plant resulted in the possibility of contaminated drinking water for almost 20,000 residents. Social media played a crucial role in communicating with residents during the crisis.

This session will provide you with the tools and techniques you need to ensure maximum preparedness for the next crisis situation you find yourself in, including:

• The impact of social media on resident communications
• The benefits of having a social media presence in place prior to an emergency
• How to leverage social media during a crisis
• Why social media can no longer be ignored
• How to manage risk

Daryl Barnhart, New Media Communications Coordinator
REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY OF NIAGARA, ONTARIO
@DarylBarnhart

3:50 p.m.

Gov 2.0:
Impacts And Opportunities Of Using Social Media In Your Agency

Prompted by the many media debates about twitter revolutions and the Arab Spring, Social Media is on the radar for many governments, from townships to federal branches. This session will briefly explore the impact of social on government and the societies they govern, including some thoughts on present controversies.

• The opportunities to embrace Gov 2.0
• Details at how to increase your employee’s collaboration with other and with other agencies
  
• Best practices that can be adapted to your government collaboration, then naturally evolve to meet your specific needs
  
• A social media challenge for the governing and the governed
  

TBD
Government of Canada

Tim Albright, President
JIVE SOFTWARE 

4:35 p.m.
Chairperson's Recap: Key Takeaways And What To Do When You Get Back To The Office

We’ll recap the highlights of the past two days and ask you to share key insights and next steps with the group.

Kelly Rusk, Consultant
THORNLEY FALLIS Group