Take social media from complexity to clarity through these interactive workshops guaranteed to jumpstart your training experience. These workshops are a great opportunity to advance your learning and network with fellow attendees while taking a hands-on, common sense approach to mastering social media that will enhance your understanding of the informative, case study presentations throughout the entire training.

Choose A or B or BOTH for Maximum Value and Learning

Social Media 101: How To Begin, Learn The Tools Of The Trade, And Strategize A Plan To Get Social Media Started In Your Government Organization

This session is intended for anyone who is responsible for social media programs within government. Whether you are an experienced practitioner or new to social media, you'll find something you can use in this workshop.

• What social media is and how it revolutionizes communications, collaborative action and the formation of community
• How to make a business case for social media, when it makes sense to use it, and when to avoid it
• Impediments to the use of social media in a government context and how to overcome those impediments
• Which social media tools are most useful for listening, conversation, community building, and measurement

We'll look at examples of the successful application of social media in government contexts. What do the best examples of social media used by government share in common? What can we learn from them?

The session will be highly interactive. You will be encouraged to share the challenges you have encountered. The group will draw on the presentation material and experience to suggest strategies and tactics to resolve the problems being encountered in implementing social media in a government context.

You are encouraged to bring your notebook computer as this will be an interactive, hands-on workshop. However, there is plenty to learn with or without a computer.

WORKSHOP LEADER: Joseph Thornley is CEO of Thornley Fallis Communications & 76design. Joseph Thornley established Thornley Fallis in 1995 to provide senior executives with communications counsel and programs that contribute to achieving their business and organizational objectives. Mr. Thornley has a longstanding interest in the enabling potential of online technology applied to corporate communication. His blog, www.propr.ca, is dedicated to best business practices, practitioners and building the ideal PR firm. Mr. Thornley has been a driving force behind the establishment of the Third Tuesday Social Media events which bring together social media enthusiasts and communicators to explore new developments in social media and their impact on society, organizations and citizens.

Testimonials From Past Thornley Fallis Communications Sessions:

"Excellent presentation. The speaker kept the interest while addressing important questions. If more attend presentations like this, we would have more on board with social media."

"Excellent, engaging content and stories. Joe provides an excellent perspective and understanding of social media in the context of government."

"I liked the presenter and the topic was very good. Well worth the cost."

"Great information and great start for the training."

11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Afternoon break/lunch on your own.

1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
AFTERNOON PRE-SEMINAR WORKSHOP B

This workshop will cover how to develop a social media plan, how to write a social media policy and how to implement both in your organization. Every organization should start with a well developed plan with crucial input from key stakeholders in order to determine goals, resources, training or coaching needs, sustainment measurement and the organization's overall social media philosophy.

• Assigning responsibilities
• Training/coaching in social media
• Providing employees with the tools and authority to carry out your social media plan
• Measuring your results

WORKSHOP LEADERS: Marquis Côté is a Partner at digitalOttawa. digitalOttawa delivers eCommunications services and strategies for public sector organizations. They create a foundation with governance review, education and change management and then build project-specific tools to help meet and exceed mandated goals with sustainable solutions.

Jason Prini, also a Partner at digitalOttawa, helps organizations understand how to best interact with the changing web. He combines his skills in marketing, web development, communication, and education to deliver compelling web projects for clients. He has been working with the web since the mid 1990s and is constantly exploring the bleeding edge of web communications.

Testimonials From Past digitalOttawa Sessions:

"Very helpful - lots of great information shared."

"Professional delivery and good interaction with seminar participants."

"Very targeted, practical presentation. Loved challenges/lessons learned."