It’s that time of year again: voting season for proposed SXSW Interactive panels!
This summer’s SXSW PanelPicker is jam-packed with more than 3,200 potential sessions, including several good ones in social business, social media, customer service, and mobile.
I’ve rounded up 13 panel proposals worthy of your voting consideration, including the three from our team at Social Dynamx. For the sessions that strike your fancy, follow the links and cast your thumbs-up votes! The public voting remains open until 11:59pm Central on Friday, August 31st.
Public voting accounts for 30% of the final decision on which panels are ultimately chosen for next year’s lineup, so your votes and input do make a difference!
1. My panel: “Outsourcing & Offshoring Social Customer Service”
“Brands are now under the gun to deliver blow-your-pants-off customer service in social media, and they’re failing. Big time. Constrained by limited internal resources, inadequate tools, political infighting, and a lack of expertise in the art of online engagement, companies are responding poorly or too slowly … and sometimes not at all! But what happens when they turn to more savvy digital agencies or business process outsourcing firms (BPOs) for relief? Can businesses successfully outsource or offshore their online ‘voice’?”
* Bryan Person | @BryanPerson - Social Dynamx
* Chris Abraham | @ChrisAbraham - Reputation.com
* Michelle Kostya | @MichelleKostya - Rogers
* Rohit Kapoor | @RohKapx1 - Capgemini
2. Social Dynamx panel: “Social Customer Care for Big Brands”
“There’s a great opportunity for companies to be the front runners and write the rules in Social Customer Care. A recent American Express Global Customer Service Barometer study focuses specifically on the impact of social customer care versus traditional customer care. The results: Consumers who have used social media for customer service are willing to spend 10% more for excellent service and will tell, on average, 33 more people about good service compared to their counterparts who haven’t used social media for customer service.”
* Michael Pace | @MPace101 - The Pace of Service
* Heather Strout | @HeatherJStrout - Social Dynamx
* Paul DeArras - DISH
* Vanessa Sain-Dieguez | @VSDieguez - Hilton Worldwide
3. Social Dynamx panel: “Superfans of the World. Unite.”
“Can a brand create a superfan? Or does the superfan emerge from primordial ooze of the marketplace? Think back to a meeting when your boss gave you the mandate to create a viral video. Acknowledging that a video is being created for viral purposes is the death knell for it ever going viral. Can the same be said for a superfan — the passionate base that comes to the rescue of brands in crisis? Are we just wasting our time trying to create this blissful customer state? Or is there a repeatable, proven methodology?”
* Dave Evans | @EvansDave - Social Dynamx
4. “How to Scale Without Losing Savvy Customer Service”
“Natalia Oberti Noguera has assembled a panel of early adopters and representatives from the startups that these power users love. Speakers will discuss tips, best practices, and lessons learned on how to provide consistently great customer service while growing a business.”
* Natalia Oberti Noguera | @nakisnakis - Pipeline Fellowship
* Danae Ringelmann - Indiegogo
* Sumaya Kazi - Sumazi
* Nathan Hurst - Ohours
5. “Where’s the Love for Brands on FB?”
“What motivates people to ‘like,’ ‘friend,’ or ‘circle,’ brands online and does that really reflect the true nature of their relationship? What does having a digital fanbase really mean and how can you build this in a holistic way? People like to interact with other people that they like, and this truth also extends to brands online. To that end, “Brand Endearment” is when a brand takes time it could be using to ‘sell’ and instead focuses on building a deeper emotional bond.”
* Greg Smith - The VIA Agency
* Eli Singer | @EliSinger - Entrinsic
* Art Markman | @ABMarkman - University of Texas at Austin
6. “Confessions of a Community Moderator”
“Back by popular demand, we bring you Community Confessions. Double agent. First Responder. Cheerleader. They’re all fair descriptors of the now prevalent role of Community Manager. Whether you are one yourself or just morbidly curious about “the man behind the curtain,” you know there are incredible stories from those who have the rare opportunity to interact with both the brand and the customers. No matter how much they love their communities, moderators have their fair share of ‘I can’t believe this is happening’ moments.”
* Alison Fraker | @AlisonFraker - Critical Mass
* Kristin Rupert - Imagine Publishing
* Lizz Kannenberg - Walton Isaacson
* Kim Matlock | @KimPossible2 - Hard Rock International
7. “B2B: Seriously? Your Customers Deserve Better”
“Due to elevated customer expectations, online self-service is becoming a must for B2B companies. Empowering your customers to answer their most common questions will increase retention, improve satisfaction, and differentiate you as a supplier. How do you get there? We will explore the principles of a great online self-service experience, learn from companies that have taken this journey and discuss the steps that you can take to kick start changes on your end.”
* Gioacchino Loquercio - National Instruments
* Garrett Hellman - National Instruments
8. “Enterprise Invades the Apps Playground”
“Long a stronghold for consumer-friendly photo apps, games, and renegade business apps, the app stores of today are in for a major renovation as enterprise-class comes into its own.”
* Eric Lai | @EricYLai - SAP
* John Arrow Mutual Mobile
* John Wargo | @JohnWargo - SAP
9. “Real Talk: The Social Customer Service Shift”
“This panel will give you the straight dirt on how to turn your social service theories into real customer service practice. Learn strategic and operational lessons from social media and customer service leaders from Southwest Airlines, Samsung, JP Morgan Chase, and Comcast. Get real-world insight on how these individuals are helping people and defining new ways to listen, engage, and assist their customers.”
* Marsha Collier | @MarshaCollier - The Collier Company, Inc.
* Carla Saavedra Kochalski | @SamsungCarla - Samsung Mobile USA
* Bianca Buckridee | @BlatantlyBianca - JP Morgan Chase
* Brooks Thomas | @brooksethomas - Southwest Airlines
10. “Meaning of Mobile: An Anthropological Approach”
“We know a lot about WHAT people are doing in the mobile space: when they use their phones, what activities they do with their phones, how many times a day they use their phones, etc. But what is missing in the marketplace is a deep understanding of the WHY the mobile space is so powerful. That is, what is the emotional relationship people truly have with the mobile space and how they make meaning there?”
* Jesse Haines - Google
* Abigail Posner - Google
11. “Supersize Me: Social Business at Enterprise Scale”
“Business was clearly marketing’s dish du jour in 2012, inspiring the creation of multiple consultancies, books, job titles and brand teams. But what was a plate for fine dining last year has become a taste for the masses in 2013, and confounded many along the way. As many brands seamlessly integrate social, these transitions can be uniquely consuming and challenging.”
* Eric Swayne | @ESwayne - M/A/R/C Research
* Carissa Carmanis O’Brien | @CarissaO - Aetna
* Blair Klein | @BKlein34 - AT&T
* Scott Monty | @ScottMonty - Ford Motor Company
12. “How Facebook Custom Actions Grew The Business”
“Last year, Facebook rolled out the Open Graph (which integrates with people’s personal newsfeed, timeline and ticker), allowing brands to connect to a user’s Facebook social graph. In 2012 brands can now create custom actions using any verb and object related to the activity taking place on the app.We created a custom action for the wishlist feature on our travel website - responsibletravel.com, which means that when someone logs in using Facebook and creates a wishlist of holidays that they want to take, the action of “wishlisting” a holiday appears in their ticker, timeline and newsfeed - thus spreading the word about our holidays.”
* Lara Solomon | @LaRoo - responsibletravel.com Ltd
13. “Social COE: Extending Social Across the Enterprise”
“During this panel, experts from Intel, Verizon and Fidelity will talk about their experiences, insights and best practices in creating social media centers of excellence within their organizations. Each company will represent how their particular industry, focus and maturity level impacts the development and maintenance of an SMCOE.”
* Aaron Strout | @AaronStrout - WCG
* Becky Brown | @BeckyAnnBrown - Intel Corporation
* Mason Nelder | @MasonNelder - Verizon
* Martha Hayward | @MarthaSix - Fidelity Investments
