Speaking

Brian Solis is consistently ranked as one of the top speakers at events around the world. Solis actively keynotes, moderates, and speaks at industry conferences, summits, and corporate events. To discuss the possibility of having him speak or provide counsel or training, please contact Brian directly.

Topics:

The Socialization of Your Corporate Brand – analyzing how the social web, and the corresponding tools are giving way to the crowdsourcing of corporate brand visibility and perception. How not to lose control and to help steer perception using the same tools and channels where they congregate.

Digital Anthropology, The Passage of Rapid Information and Movement of Contextual Relationships on the Web – The socialization of media is powerful and transformative, but while the technology has democratized information and equalized influence, it is anthropology that gives us insight into these newly forming communities.

The State of Social Media – A view of the current landscape of social media trends, benefits, and tools, with a focus on its future.

The Last Mile – An analysis of the new roles that today’s social consumer plays in our society and our markets and how businesses must socialize every facet of their business to directly connect value and purpose to the 5th P of the marketing mix, people.

The Hybrid Theory Manifesto – Hybrid Theory is the fusion of marketing, communications, and advertising to humanize campaigns in what’s called “The Last Mile.” Hybrid Theory shifts marketing from a campaign model to an going “continuum” approach that brings stories to life through direct engagement between brands and consumers. It adds a human connection to “social objects” to spark work of mouth, validate relationships, and empower communities.

The Me in Social “Me”dia – Everything in social media starts with you and as such, we are creating a new society where we define our online experiences based on who we know, what we consume, and what we share. If, our attention is focused on our social graphs and the information that flows through our stream, how can we as personal and professional brands hope to capture attention now and in the future.

R.R.S.: Relevance, Resonance, Significance – In social networks, we are no longer competing for friends and followers, we are competing for the moment in order to earn mind share. If social objects are the future of marketing and attention spans are further thinning, how can we introduce catalysts for conversation that stay alive in social streams long enough to cause action and response. R.R.S. is the key…

Conversion Science - Conversations contribute to chatter and as we further compete for attention and relevance, we only get one click to make a lasting impression. Opportunity clicks and businesses must learn how to introduce clicks to action, how to define the online experience from social to branded domains, and how to measure the activity in order to study how to improve conversion ratios.

Social Media Optimization: SMO is the New SEO - The technicalities involved with wiring SEO are not the same processes required to boost visibility in social networks like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Twitter. And it’s in social networks like these where people are increasingly spending time communicating, finding relevant and interesting content, and sharing it with their connections. So now, in addition to SEO, we have to implement and manage a Social Media Optimization (SMO) program around our content to increase visibility in these new environments.

The Future of Marketing Starts with Publishing - In social networks, it is the shift from conversations to a thought leading editorial program that place brands on a path to becoming a valuable and undisputed resource within their industry. The new CEO will essentially assume the role of Chief Editorial Officer to turn tweets, status updates, viral videos, and blog posts into social objects that spark conversations, cause action, and earn intellectual leadership.

The Information Divide and the Socialization of News - In the era of the real-time Web, information travels at a greater velocity than the infrastructure of mainstream media can support as it exists today. As events materialize, the access to social publishing and syndication platforms propels information across attentive and connected nodes that link social graphs all over the world. Current events are now at the epicenter of global attention as social media makes the world a much smaller place. News no longer breaks, it tweets – with far greater speed, reach, impact, and resonance. How can media properties minimize the information divide, the time between an event and the first official report (as separated by the news spreading on social networks)

Culture Shift: From Social CRM to SRM - If we look at CRM and the methodologies and technologies that support customers today, social CRM represents much more than a modernization or even socialization of an aging system of support and service. The operational side of many businesses actually works against a culture that supports change. SRM may at first blush, seemingly appear to introduce yet another acronym or perhaps challenge the promise of sCRM However, its only intention is to spur thinking beyond the literal frameworks of traditional customer relationship management in order to foster meaningful corporate change.

Social Media in Small Business is Anything But Small – For entrepreneurs, business owners, investors, and consultants, one of the most exciting prospects of social media, lies in the ability to dramatically amplify your visibility and value proposition among existing and potential stakeholders. Social Media finally places small, local and emerging businesses in the spotlight in ways that up until this point, were largely unattainable.

The Future of Broadcast is Social – Many technologists, media industrialists, and marketers refer to the current landscape of content consumption as “The Three Screens,” representing mobile, PC, and televisions. The three screens are the windows of the world, your world, as you are increasingly empowered to take control of the experiences in which you wish to immerse.  What was once the water cooler effect, has given way to the social effect. Conversations are taking place around programming, yet the experience is disconnected, requiring multiple devices to view, share, and react. But as this social effect gains in influence, its true opportunity lies in its unification of  the three screens and the socialization of broadcast programming.

Can Social Media Save Journalism - Whether it’s newspapers, television shows, or online mediums and networks, the shift is in how people find, consume, and share information and in turn, form social networks around related content.  What eludes publishers is the very thing that can save them. A new model is evolving where publishers can not only survive the evolution, but also thrive in an ecosystem of connecting content with audiences—where they congregate online. The socialization of the web is powered by the ability to publish and share content and form relationships with the real people who define these influential communities. In order to succeed, publishers and journalists will be versed in the art and science of online community building. The reinvention of publishing models starts with journalists, where people become the ambassadors for content and the flagship brand they represent.

Selling Social to the C-Suite – Social Media is leading a revolution in marketing, communication, and service. As champions, we are on the front lines of new media as we work to inspire business leaders to understand this curious and often underestimated medium where brands can not only engage directly with customers, but also shape perception and influence behavior. We eventually hit a ceiling as we attempt to win management support and secure necessary resources. And it’s up to us to find a way to break through. As champions, we’re initially met with various forms of resistance, from skepticism to justification. Everything starts with making the case. It’s up to you to answer questions before you’re granted the privilege to engage. It’s up to you to learn how to package what you know into something that literally motivates executives to buy “in.”

The Rise of Social Nicheworks: Mapping Relationships on Twitter and Social Networks - Content Context is now king. Social Networks have evolved from a parallel friend/follower archetype to a hierarchical top-down network where individuals not only connect with those they know, but also with those they want to know based on themes and interests. I believe we are entering an era of contextual networks or nicheworks or what Twitter refers to as the “interest graph”

Defining the Online Experience…From Interactive Traffic to Static Dead-Ends: Where do you send consumers today? What is the action you wish them to take when they’re at your destination of choice? Chances are, we’re sending individuals to our Website, and to be honest, as much as we praise the socialization of the Web, our sites are still stuck in Web 1.0.  Now, however, attention is thin and consumers are now in full control of the connections and content that fills their social streams. As such, you only get one click to make a first impression. Define the value proposition and “what’s in it for me” and package it in a way that will captures attention. Introduce the action you wish to engender and extend the social and interactive experience directly to the destination where you’ll send consumers.

In the Social Web, We Are All Brand Managers – An overview of how the social web will shape corporate and individual brands and what we can do to cultivate them strategically and effectively. Nowadays, everything we create and share online is open to public discovery, interpretation, and feedback. It introduces our thoughts, emotions, passions, and insights to new people and erases the geographic borders and boundaries that prevented us from artfully and naturally connecting with like-minded people around the world. Your digital identity defines who you are. And in this genre of Web-savvy content creators and purveyors, your online reputation does indeed precede you. Perception is reality.

Reinventing Crisis Communications and Reputation Management (ORM) for the Social Web – Conversations related to your brand, company, executives, products, and competitors take place each and every day, without our knowledge and perhaps worse, without our participation. In the era of the Social Web, a story, and the ensuing public recruitment, rallying, and support, can rapidly spread unlike any crisis wildfire witnessed or experienced in previous generations. The migration, exploration, experimentation, and education of social media and related online conversations will contribute to its significance and resilience and ultimately change behavior and expand the infrastructure for corporate communications in the process. Regardless of genre, the sum of all social channels today equate to a powerful, influential, and revolutionary archetype for exposing and diffusing public opinion. It’s the art and science of diffusing crises before they erupt.

Brand Syndication and Participation Aggregation – Digital entrepreneurs will continue to experiment with existing and arising forms of social media, many will feel the effects of social network fatigue and attention scarcity. The ability to compel those we wish to reach will require a new practice of sharing and distributing value will require frequency and range. It’s the fusion of brandstreaming and cross platform networking. Social Syndication and Aggregation will be the new content syndication and participation. Meaning, that finding social services that can broadcast your expertise, thought leadership, and vision to communities that reach your audiences while utilizing a hub that allows you to participate in each community, from one place will transform and improve our foundation for success.

Twitter Tools for Community and Communications Professionals – A comprehensive discussion of the tools available on Twitter for community managers, marketers and PR professionals. I currently maintain an up-to-date list of the top tools (currently sitting at over 80).

In Social Media, Engagement Has Its Rewards - A review of how B2B and B2C customers, prospects and the people who influence their decisions are seeking, sharing and referring information online and how businesses can engage without selling.

The Undercurrent of a Cultural Renaissance – A discussion of how the socialization and democratization of online content is transforming our society from the inside out and shaping new digital communities cultures in the process.

The Poetry of Social Networking to Court Customers and Invest in Relationships – Social Networks have effectively introduced us to a digital land rush that allows us to stake a claim to the markets where we can excel in ways previously impossible. We’re creating and populating online societies and global neighborhoods where we can contribute to, and directly benefit from, the proliferation of innovation, interaction, and subsequent commerce. Maintaining a central presence online on social networks, in addition to a company website or blog, provides you with an effective dashboard for building strategic relationships with the very people in that network who can help your business grow.

The Conversation Prism, Inside the Looking Glass of Social Media – The Conversation Prism is a living, breathing representation of Social Media. It can reveal the very people you want to reach, where they participate, and how you can engage We will observe, analyze, dissect, and present the dynamics of conversations, how and where they transpire – becoming digital anthropologists in the process. As conversations are increasingly distributed, everything begins with listening and observing. Doing so, will help you identify exactly where relevant discussions are taking place, as well as their scale and frequency. This dialog can be charted into a targeted social map that’s unique to your brand.

The Essential Discussion on Social Media – In Social Media, everything is powered by dialog, two way discussions that bring people together in order to discover and share information. Joining the conversation isn’t as simple as jumping in however. The Essential Discussion on Social Media is a “quick start” overview covering how and where to listen and participate in social media.

Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR – PR, as we know it, is a dying practice having evolved away from the public and instead concentrating its energy on broadcasting disconnected messages to “media and analysts.” But, PR is only dying if it’s not evolving.  Putting the public back in public relations is a critical and mandatory process to excel in today’s social economy. It will help businesses forge meaningful relationships with those who will bridge specific benefits to distinct groups of consumers in order to cultivate a loyal, vocal, and hyper-connected community of customers and influencers.

Attention Marketers: Drop the keyboards and step away from Facebook and Twitter: How the Conversation Prism and a unique conversation index teaches us, not only where to listen, but how we can genuinely participate and add value in the communities that are specific to our brand

In the Statusphere, A.D.D. Creates Opportunities for Collaboration and Education - Twitter, Facebook News Feeds, FriendFeed and other micro communities that define the Statusphere, are captivating and distracting our focus. But, while many argue that it’s decreasing productivity, I say it’s arousing a more active, engaging, and enlightened community of media literate information socialites.

Are Blogs Losing Their Authority To The Statusphere? - While blogs are increasing in quantity, their authority is collectively losing influence to Twitter and Facebook, or is it? With the popularity and pervasiveness of Twitter, Facebook, the rise of the statusphere is simplifying the ability to publish, share and distribute ideas and information. But, is the statusphere the next blogosphere?

Get a Job, Why “Social Media Expert” is not a Profession – It’s virtually impossible to master an medium that evolves faster than our ability to learn from it…why there’s strength and value in humility

Redefining Viral Marketing – A review of the science and strategies behind viral movements and how to inspire communities and people to help you amplify visibility and reach of your social objects.

ENGAGEMENTS:

For a list of upcoming and previous speaking engagements, please visit “Appearances.“