2021 Conference
As the curtains came down on last year’s Social Media Savvy and just as we were packing up to leave the Titanic Hotel – which I must admit I’m a little bit in love with – I overheard an attendee say:
“This year’s Social Media Savvy was a bit like going to your best friend’s wedding. Once it’s over you feel just a little bit bereft and wish you could just go back and do it all over again.”
There was something really special about last year’s Connecting and Communicating in Times of Crisis conference.
Maybe it was because it was the first time many of the speakers and attendees had physically come together in the one albeit magnificent space.
Meeting each other in a safe way and when it was safe to do so after enduring months of social distancing and isolation made the experience feel edgy, exciting, intoxicating, emotional and a little bit profound.
It made all the difference being in a real room with real people and being educated, entertained and informed by experts at the top of their communications and social media game.
Great things can and do happen when highly talented people get together in the one creative space to share ideas, impart knowledge and just be well, really, really funny.
Like when the fabulous John Thornton, part marketeer, part stand-up comedian of @innocent split his only pair of trousers from front to back and had to repair them himself first with pins, then a hotel sewing kit.
The camaraderie at the event, the interchange and exchange between experts and delegates felt like a collective Get Out of Zoom Jail Free Card.
A popular metaphor for something that will get us out of an undesired situation, like the one, with the arrival of Omicron, we are now once again grimly facing.
Humour plays an important and stabilising role during times of crisis. It helps to buoy us up and keep us hopeful that there will be better days ahead and ‘this too shall pass.’
Social Media Savvy speakers struck exactly the right balance between levity and recognising and respecting the collective trauma we have all endured and are still navigating our way through.
First up was keynote speaker Donald Steel, a global practitioner speaker and trainer in crisis communications and reputation management.
His Communicating in Times of Crisis speech: Spinach, Scones and Heroes urged organisations to have a plan and take control of the narrative.
Key takeaways. Leadership must always come before communications, plan, prepare, rehearse now, stay victim focused, respond rapidly with words and pictures.
That’s the other stand out memory I have of Social Media Savvy. It struck me just how generous everyone was of their time, knowledge and expertise.
During the breaks, I watched speakers seek out delegates who had asked them questions wanting to go deeper, share more information, expand on their answers and invest in future talent.
There was no holding back in praise and celebration of each other either.
I hope whatever circumstances we find ourselves in for the next Social Media Savvy in the Spring we can recreate some of the many factors that made this event stand out.
We’ve already got our shoulders to the wheel, evolving the event in its fourth year into something better than before, once again attracting the very best talent and speakers.
This time around it will be about learning lessons, building resilience, putting practical steps in place to do better and be better than before.
I can’t wait to hear about the stories and experiences of those who have not only survived but thrived through adversity and what they can teach us about innovation and social media.
Pleased to say, there has been a phenomenal response so far to our invite to speakers. Stay safe and sign up below to be the first to hear about 2022 Social Media Savvy.
SOCIAL MEDIA EVENT
BELFAST 2022
Whether you are a marketer, professional or business owner you do not want to miss this event!
Incredible speakers, networking opportunities. Stay current with emerging trends and building connections to put into action with your own business
Learn to use digital marketing and social media to innovate, build resilience and support the recovery process.
