How to Be Heard in Today's Communications Reverb

Teaser: Don't miss The Communication Revolution: Engaging Audiences in Changing Times! This half-day conference features three internationally-rated speakers delivering strategies for maximizing social media, visual communications and creativity.

If budgets didn't allow you to travel to Leadership Institute in San Diego to hear Eric Berrios on the importance of understanding your audiences' social behavior, or discuss best practices for growth with other industry leaders at the International Conference in Toronto, your opportunities for professional development can still be found here in Atlanta.

Join IABC | Atlanta for the Communications Revolution Conference at the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center on March 2, 2010!

As communicators, we know the modes we use to reach our audiences are always changing. The internet brought about an immediate and intimate information-sharing experience and we've made the most of it, adapting quickly to share our messages. The online experience continues to evolve and social media is a bellwether of the social behavior that is the communications landscape. We strive to harness the information and tools we have in order to understand how clients, partners and potentials are filtering their information today. However, each new platform offers a stadium-sized concert, so we need to know how to best Be Heard!

The Communications Revolution Conference on March 2, is a high-value experience at which top IABC and international communicators will discuss key ways you can re-engage your target audiences and maximize your impact using social media, visual communications and creativity. This event is not Social Media Basics, it's a dialogue on how to Be Heard and the social constitution being written every day. It's a must attend for all professionals, but seating is limited to ensure an intimate dialogue that answers your questions!

This valuable half-day event begins at 7:00a.m. and wraps up after lunch, making the most of your time and engagement. Three sessions led by Ron Shewchuk, ABC, Suzanne Scardino Salvo and Steve Crescenzo, respectively, will give you the tools to be heard. A closing Q&A and panel discussion with the speakers will be moderated by IABC Southern Region Executive Board Chair Betsy Pasley, ABC.

Program Details

• 7:00-7:30 a.m. - Registration/breakfast/networking
• 7:30-8:45 a.m. - Ron Shewchuk, ABC, MC: The Revolution in Social Media: Join It NOW!
• 8:45-10:00 a.m. - Suzanne Scardino Salvo: The Revolution in Visual Communications: Words Are NOT Enough
• 10:00-10:15 a.m. - Break
• 10:15-11:30 a.m. - Steve Crescenzo: The Revolution in Corporate Creativity: Taking the "Corporate" OUT of Corporate Communications
• 11:30 a.m.-12:00 noon - Pre-lunch networking/registration
• 12:00-1:00 p.m. - Lunch presentation: Panel discussion with the three speakers, moderated by IABC's Southern Region Executive Board Chair Betsy Pasley

Location

Georgia Tech Global Learning Center (GLC)
84, Fifth St. N.W.
Atlanta, GA 30308
404-385-6203
For directions go to www.gatechcenter.com/directions.php


Session Descriptions

• The revolution in social media: join it NOW! - Ron Shewchuk, ABC, MC
  As blogs, podcasts, and social networks like Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube become part of most people's day to day life, employers are finally starting to take notice. Some are even launching internal social networks, producing online audio and video content and encouraging employees to host their own blogs. For communications professionals, social media offer new ways to engage employees, but they also come with some major new challenges. Communication consultant, blogger and author Ron Shewchuk will describe:

• How social networks are revolutionizing the way we communicate
• What leading companies are doing to capitalize on social media to support business goals
• Why the opportunities outweigh the risks of social media in the workplace
• The dos and don'ts of social media use

• The revolution in visual communications: Words are NOT enough - Suzanne Scardino Salvo
  Most communicators come from a word background and don't even know what they don't know about visual communications. And as the business world becomes less word-centric and more visually oriented, creating and choosing company images based on personal taste and gut feeling is not good enough. Whether you are managing the process, editing or shooting the images, understanding visual 'grammar' and knowing current trends will revolutionize your visual communicators. Included:

• Visual grammar - The essential elements that make a photo an effective communicator
• What's Hot and What's Not: Photographic trends and styles that are currently driving the image marketplace
• Photo Critique: Is it good or is it just pretty? How to judge a photo portfolio
• Techno-geek stuff - tired of not really knowing? Learn enough lingo to talk with confidence to your photographers, web designers, printers, etc.

• The revolution in corporate creativity: Taking the "Corporate" OUT of Corporate Communications - Steve Crescenzo
  Are you in a rut? Are you tired of doing the same kinds of stories the same way - Over and over again? Do you find that you're even boring YOURSELF as you put together content? Here's the bottom line: Corporate communications doesn't work anymore. We need to take the "corporate" out of corporate communications, and replace it with "creative." In this fun, practical session, noted communications expert Steve Crescenzo will revolutionize the way you think about corporate communications and show you:

• How to take those tired, old stories and flip them upside down - so that people actually pay attention to them
• How to find and tell the kinds of stories that will cut through the information clutter that is so rampant in your organization
• How to start using all of your channels together to reach, engage, motivate, and inform your various audiences
• How to start using your vehicles to change the culture in your organization from ¿We've always done it this way,¿ to ¿Let's try something different ans see if it works.¿

Registration Information

Visit http://atlanta.iabc.com to register
Cost includes breakfast, all sessions and lunch:

• IABC Members:
  Registration: $75
• Non-Members:

Registration: $90

February is Worldwide Membership Month so now is the time to make the most of your membership dollars. For membership, conference speaker bios and registration information, visit IABC | Atlanta today.

Don't forget the February luncheon and chapter meeting is Tuesday, February 23. We'll network with peers and hear about how Delta and CARE are working to bring relief to Haiti in the crisis.

Keep an eye on the new IABC | Atlanta Web site (http://atlanta.iabc.com) for details and registration information on the IABC Southern Region Conference we're hosting in October. Our region stretches all the way to Colorado and every year this exciting, multi-day event draws business leaders, communications professionals and speakers from all over and from every industry. The many sessions speak to the diverse needs of communicators and provide tips, real solutions and food for thought in a fun atmosphere of networking and professional development.

Of course, the site offers more for you than just professional development opportunities. Here you can access presentation materials from our wildly popular SIGs, easily join the many dialogues your professional colleagues are having via IABC | Atlanta social media, comment on industry news and trends at our President's blog, read our chapter publications, post and apply for jobs, and log-in to see a directory of our chapter's membership. IABC | Atlanta is helping YOU Be Heard!

About IABC | Atlanta

IABC | Atlanta (http://atlanta.iabc.com) is a local chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators, headquartered in San Francisco, Calif. IABC | Atlanta represents approximately 300 professional communicators in the metropolitan Atlanta area. Membership includes public relations and communications professionals from FORTUNE 500 companies, small businesses, communication agencies, nonprofit organizations and government agencies as well as freelance writers and associates. All have a commitment to continue professional development and a desire to network with other communicators.