Tomorrow, all three of our children will vote in their first presidential election. It’s a big day for us and a big day for America.

In 2008, I took our daughter to vote for the first time. And, I had two tickets to the Rally in Grant Park. I wrote about my experience here and I’m reposting it again today – exactly four years after I wrote it.

We are so fortunate to live in a free country that allows us to cast our vote for the candidate we believe in.

On the eve of the 2012 presidential election, I’m encouraging you to go vote.

Here’s the 2008 story, along with Grant Park rally pictures and videos.

2008 Presidential Election Grant Park Chicago Rally

Yesterday, I took our oldest daughter to vote, her very first time.

She did touchscreen. I colored in the circles.

Then, we went to Starbucks for our free coffee. “With love from corporate,” our barrister said as he handed over the tall dark roast.

Later, it was on to an afternoon of teacher conferences. All throughout the day, I kept avoiding making a big decision.

Although I had a ticket for two to the Obama rally in Grant Park, I was concerned about all kinds of things: traffic, crowds, even fatigue from walking and standing for what could be [and was] six hours.

Around 3:00 in the afternoon all three of our children started pushing me to make the right decision. They were relentless in overcoming any objection. And so, at 5:00 I backed out of my driveway and headed east to Chicago – a drive that takes about 90 minutes during rush hour.

But, there was no rush hour. Traffic was as light as I’d ever seen it. Now that I was there I had another decision to make: tweet or not.

My company has a strict policy of no campaigning for anyone. That’s why you’ll never see me endorse a candidate. So, it was hard for me to be political on election night. But, I knew people would want to know what was going on and many expressed appreciation for updates from a place they wanted to be, but couldn’t.

Today, I only wish I’d shared so much, much more of what I saw and experienced only because everyone was so joyous, so hopeful, so happy.

Whatever your politics, I hope you’ll take a stand for what you believe in and let people know what you care about and why. You’ll either draw people closer or push them away. That’s okay, really it is. And if you’re ever wondering if you can stand up to the test, don’t be surprised if you’re the one who’s dancing in the streets after dark.

Obama Rally Grant Park 2008 Election Night Images and Videos

11/11/08 Update

Many people asked to see the actual @wiredprworks twitter stream from the Obama Rally in Grant Park on election night. All text is exact as entered and all updates are intact, including replies from senders.

wiredprworks: brilliant move to close streets to traffic open to people strange to be on mich ave w/ no cars

wiredprworks: this is your victory – obama

wiredprworks: sing along sweet home chicago

wiredprworks: turning into a dance party

wiredprworks: sending text to niece in australia with election results

ellenm53: @wiredprworks IT’S OVER!!

wiredprworks: crowd goes wild over va

wiredprworks: lots of souvenirs – it comes in your size t-shirt vendors to everyone huge selection on way in-out

wiredprworks: waiting watching

wiredprworks: scratch cnn husband edits to say obama rally playing music sound check

wiredprworks: thanks to cnn for playing music not ads i’ll take you there

ellenm53: @wiredprworks MSNBC says Oprah is in your crowd now…

ellenm53: @wiredprworks Texas goes for McCain. But Florida will do it. Iowa just went for Obama. Utah for McCain. Obama=206. McCain=89

wiredprworks: husband spots woman featured in movie spirit of the marathon got a picture

wiredprworks: cnn on jumbotron

wiredprworks: we are in breezed through 3 security checkpoints

wiredprworks: very polite crowd

wiredprworks: on ramp to get in massive crowd calm and communicating no idea where line ends

ellenm53: @wiredprworks ABC has called Pennsylvania for Obama; CNN is waiting for the hard voter totals before it does. Can crowd following updates?

ashleeallen: @wiredprworks love Elephant and Castle! Eat up for me!

wiredprworks: super light traffic into chicago at elephant and castle before rally excited crowd here

samuofm: @wiredprworks enjoy! the rest of us are all really jealous

CarlosHernandez: @melodiel Thanks! It’s about “Finding Your Tribe” Be sure to follow @pamslim..she is super cool tweep!! @wiredprworks rocks too!

pitchengine: @PoppaP4SOAR @KellyeCrane @wiredprworks Thanks!

dougtweets: @wiredprworks have a great time, barbara. i’m jealous.

joannayoung: @wiredprworks Have a great time!

Starbucker: @wiredprworks Hope you brought your camera! Look forward to hearing about the experience.

mjcarter: @wiredprworks Have fun at Grant Park!
wiredprworks: heading out to Obama Rally in Grant Park w/ticket http://tr.im/t0c just noticed www.current.com/election link on twitter

Thanks so much to Paul Paone, who’s bringing Meetings Tech Expo to Chicago, for inviting me to speak on social media technology for meeting and event planners.

And, a HUGE shout out to Keith Johnston of Planner Wire, the original speaker, for recommending that I step in for him when he got called away on a client project in California.

The challenge when talking about social media, to many groups, is three-fold.

1. Everyone’s ability is individual.

2. Everyone’s industry is different.

3. Everyone’s story is unique.

The common thread at this event is occupation: everyone is an event or meeting planner. Taking that into account, I took the session description and wove it into my WIRED social media marketing workshop presentation.

Social Media Technology for Meetings & Events: Deciphering the Social Media Maze to Uncover What Works & What Doesn’t

From the Meetings Tech Expo program . . .

With the ever-expanding horizon of social media technologies, event professionals are feeling increased pressure to either get-in-the-game or catch up with the latest must-have implementation. Regardless of your social media status, this session will put your mind at ease by creating a social media blue print that would fit your event best.

Take-Aways

• Determine which social media platforms your audience lives on
• Understand the “event- value” of Twitter, Facebook & Linked-In
• Learn specific deployment strategies that will yield immediate results
• Quantify the return on investment of your time versus results when utilizing social media tools
• Leave with a blueprint that you can implement for your next event

Here’s my presentation . . .

Social Media Technology for Meeting and Event Planners by Barbara Rozgonyi 

Meeting and Event Planners are My Kind of People!

As someone who’s planned, and managed, all kinds of meeting and events, I can relate to how exciting and challenging bringing people together can be.

This presentation is a new one for me. I’m happy to share a collection of mini case studies, as well as tips and tricks, throughout.

I’m also looking forward to learning about the latest meeting technology from the other speakers.

Your Turn

Are you a meeting or event planner?

What’s your biggest social media challenge?

“Social is a new way of working. Companies are doubling the budget for change management and communications.” Kelli Carlson-Jagersma, Wells Fargo

Thanks to BDI Online and Social Media Club Chicago for the complimentary ticket to  the Chicago Social and Mobile Financial Services Leadership Forum on October 9, 2012. Going behind the scenes to see how leading financial services companies manage social media and mobile marketing was intriguing. I think you’ll like the turkey fryer story from State Farm, which is a good example of how a social media campaign can operate on many levels. Here are my notes.

Do you manage social media for a financial services firm? You’re invited to share your experiences, and questions, in the comments section.

Northern Trust Social Media

Sheryl Larson, senior vice president of digital marketing at Northern Trust, talked about using social media and mobile to connect with clients on multiple channels.

With a goal to support marketing objectives through digital tactics to targeted audiences, Northern Trust formed a social media team in 2010 with cross functional representation. One of the first things they did was draft an employee social media policy.

Northern Trust uses social media in several areas. First, they focus on marketing objectives and then, where the audience is.

Social Media HR Talent Acquisition

Because the younger audience is on Facebook and twitter, Northern Trust pushes out job openings there. Being on social networks gives them more personality and takes some of they mystery out of the applications process.

The PR group established the @NorthernTrust handle, which is published by the PR team and connects the company with journalists.

For many companies, the challenge with twitter is to understand the difference between blasting news bits versus engaging with a community.

At Northern Trust, publications responsibilities sit with content owners on a variety of channels. For example the corporate channel is on YouTube at Northerntrustvideos.

The company uses the Northern Trust Open Golf Tournament as a lab to experiment, to see what works and then apply those learnings within the business internally.

The NorthernTrust Open on Facebook is the number one PGA page.

The company finds Facebook and twitter ads to be cost-effective and uses a community manager approach to interact and acquire fans and followers.

Is Twitter Right for You?

Before advising a division within the company to set up a twitter account they ask these questions.

• Is twitter right for you?
• Can you condense messages into small bits?
• Do you have staff members who can regularly devote time to twitter updates?
• Can you speak in a more casual, conversational tone?
• Can you mine for content?
• Do you have a steady cadence of news?

Financial Services Internal Social Media Collaboration

Kelli Carlson-Jagersma, vice president of collaboration strategies, wholesale social strategy at Wells Fargo, talked about internal social media collaboration.

An early adopter, Wells Fargo started blogging in 2004. Because nine out of ten team members are the company’s customers, the company knows that if the team doesn’t get it, customers won’t get it either. That’s why Wells Fargo tests internally before going live.

Kelli presented several case studies that told the story of the company’s social media history.  Merger Talk, the name of the company’s social Intranet and HR portal, helped bridge the transition for one of the largest bank mergers in the world: Wells Fargo with Wachovia.

Integrate social into the business, not social for social’s sake. Social takes time and will change the way you do business. Social will amplify your strategy, as well as the stupid, so be careful. Focus on main business drivers like sales, service, knowledge, productivity and engagement. Then, develop social uses cases with business groups and partners.

Wells Fargo uses two platforms, Jive and Chatter, to manage 140+ communities, 5000+ users and 90 + business teams.

Wells Fargo’s team members are already collaborative; how do  you drive change company-wide?

Internal team events work; Kelli’s team built an internal event app as a site for a mobile device. Before you develop an iPhone app, survey your employees to find out which devices they are using: iPhone, Android or BlackBerry.

Considering developing an app? Think of an app as a compact software platform that focuses on specific tasks. App development, while expensive, can position valuable content to your audiences in a different and interesting platform. Double Dutch specializes in enterprise engagement apps.

Principles for Social Media Success in Financial Services

Johanna Belbey, social media and compliance specialist with Actiance, talked about “Six Principles for Success in Financial Services.” At Actiance, 12 people focus on digital marketing.

Here’s Johanna’s presentation. Follow Johanna @belbey on twitter for financial services information and updates about shoes. She believes in mixing in a bit of personal style into professional updates. I agree – how about you? What percentage works?

The world is social: 97% of people questioned in a survey said their buying decisions are influenced by social groups, not necessarily 100% social media.

Adopting Social Media in Financial Services Firms Four Phases

Johanna sees these four phases of adaptation. Where is your company right now?

Pre-consideration

No social presence; restrictive social policy; no social tools; need to: identify options, best practices

Early Consideration

Some corporate presence; banned restrictive policy in place; pilot program for content distribution might be in place; need to: justify distributed teams usage

Early adopters

Corporate presence; acceptable use policy; social media being used by teams/advisors; need to: use social to develop, strengthen relationships, for some also as a sales channel

Early majority

Corporate social media; social media usage by distributed team advisors; acceptable use policy; next step: use social to develop, strengthen relationships, for some also as a sales channel; previous concerns about IIROC and /or impact of social media overcome by market acceptance and demonstrable results

Social Media ROI For Financial Services Firms

In answer to the challenge: show me the ROI, Johanna shared these results.

At a wealth management firm in New Jersey, an investor watched for LinkedIn updates from connections that mattered to them. Spotting a change in connection’s update to reflect retirement status, the advisor contacted the connection who needed help with financial planning for their $2.75 million account.

On twitter, a real state agent uncovered a $1 million prospect after only 96 tweets.

Because terminology can be tricky. Actiance has a compliance program that screens for questionable words [like sell, stock, buy, guarantee] and catches the updates before they get posted.

Why are financial firms slow to adopt social media?

Concerns include demanding oversight on online communications [SOX, FRCP, GLBA]; regulations governing electronic communications FINRA, SEC, IIROC, FSA, SEBI; fear of data leakage, malware and viruses.

Why is social important to financial services firms?

Social media reaches rich demographics. In the USA, Gen Y accounts for $2.4 trillion worth of personal income.  By 2025, Gen Y will account for 50% of income.

Johanna covered six principles, number six was analytics. Here are a few takeaways:

Comments are more valuable than likes and shares are more valuable than comments. The number of followers is an important metric.  Active listening leads to effective engagement.

When you do a deployment 1/3 will jump on board, 1/3 will try and 1/3 will not.  When the first group begins to see successes, record the training and make it available to everyone.

Social Media and Turkey Fryer Safety

Matt Edwards, senior public affairs at State Farm, talked about State Farm’s turkey fryer safety campaign, featuring William Shatner.

According to the National Fire Prevention Association, 1,000 turkey fryer fires result in $15 million of property damage every year.

State Farm wanted to create a viral video that would reduce the number of fires, create conversation and generate consumer discussion.

Multimedia Social Media Assets

The campaign included these multimedia social media assets:

• two videos as docudramas with William Shatner starring in “Eat, Fry, Love”
• two press releases: William Shanter’s role and top 10 states for grease fire claim
• photo slide show modeled after the Huffington Post’s format
• twitter id @ShatnersFryersClub

Social Media Results

1. YouTube over 470,000 views
2. Photo slide show 116,000 views
3. Mega media coverage with pick up in 8/10 top DMAs
4. 62 online websites [bloggers and traditional media] 23M readers, estimated publicity value of $1.8M
5. Cooking fire claims on Thanksgiving Day dropped nearly 300% from 2010 to 2011
6. Savings of more than $1 million in claims
7. Industry recognition: Silver Anvil award

State Farm tries very hard to be authentic. The Shatner project was sort of a risk and a chance. Matt says his team was fortunate to have a leadership team to empower them to take a chance. It pays off when you are successful.

Part of Shatner’s contract was to tweet and use his celebrity. After having burned himself three times in turkey fryer fires, he was interested in participating in the campaign.

Before launching a campaign, you have to look through all the possible backlash scenarios and see where customer service questions may come in.

State Farm has social teams in public affairs, marketing and systems. It’s taken a lot of work over the past three years to get to where they are today.  The company has a “Bat Cave” room where all the social media nerds hang out. But, there is no us versus them mentality.

“Instead, it’s help me help us. Not help me help me. Be happy. Hold hands. Kumbaya” Matt says.

“There’s no try: do or do not.” Yoda.

You Tell Us

Choose one – or all.

What’s your biggest question about social media? Have you ever fried a turkey?  When do you know that your social media efforts are successful?