Symposium on the Use of Social Media in the Tourism Industry- #SoMeT 2011

The Symposium on the Use of Social Media in the Tourism Industry will take place, November 9-11, 2011 in Tunica, Mississippi.  

The second annual Symposium - referred to via the Twitter hash tag #SoMeT - will feature several tourism focused presentations and panel discussions on the impact of social media in the travel, tourism and hospitality industries. 

The program will begin on Wednesday, November 9th at 1:30 pm, CST and continue with several sessions that afternoon.  An offsite reception and "Tweet Up" will take place at the Tunica River Park at 7:00 pm that evening.

Thursday's program will feature general sessions, breakouts, and lunch. The day will conclude with another reception on the hotel property at 6:00 pm.

Friday includes morning sessions and then the symposium will end at noon.

Become a Facebook Fan of SoMe Tourism Symposium and Follow us on Twitter @sometourism  

A variety of topics and presenters have been assembled. The tentative schedule is below:

Day 1: Wednesday, November 9, 2011

11:30am-4:00pm: Registration

1:30pm-2:30pm: “Welcome to #SoMeT 2011 at @TunicaMS”

2:30pm-3:30pm: "Where It's At: How to Engage In/Out of Market Visitors with Two Turntables and a Microphone" -Tim Hayden, 44Doors, @TheTimHayden

3:30-4:00pm: Break

4:00 pm-5:00pm: “Slashing Through Red-Tape to Revolutionize Corporate Communication” -Paula Berg, Linhart PR, @PaulaBerg

6:00-6:30pm: Buses Depart to Reception location

7:00 pm-9:30pm: Opening Night Reception at The Hollywood Cafe 

Day 2: Thursday, November 10, 2011

8:00am-12:00pm: Registration

8:30am – 9:30am:  “Banff Squirrel on How it Came About and Creating Content” -Steve Wright, Arcade Brand Strategies, @Banff_Squirrel

9:45am–10:45am: Break Outs (3):

1) “Two Takes: How Two Different Destinations Capitalize on Video Content Marketing” -John Groh, Rockford Area CVB, @JohnGroh & Brian Matson, Fargo-Moorhead CVB, @BVMatson

2) “Social Destinations Create Social Meetings?” -Aaron Babbie, @Ababbie & Anne Hornyak, @WhosYourAnnie, Sparkloft Media

3) "Social Networking or Social "Notworking" -David Downing, St. Petersburg/Clearwater CVB, @VSPC & Nate Huff, Miles Media, @MilesMedia

10:45-11:15am:  Break

11:15-12:15pm: “Chicks Do Tweet” - Theresa Overby, Baton Rouge CVB, @TheresaOverby & Mandi Engram, Columbia, SC CVB, @MandiEngram & Amy Brock, Savannah CVB, @Amy_Brock

12:15-12:45pm: Lunch Served 

12:45pm-1:30pm: Lunch Speaker -“7 Ways to Convince Management that Social Media has an ROI" -Bill Geist, Zeitgeist Consulting, @BillGeist

1:30pm-2:30pm: Forum Discussion Breakouts

2:30-3:00pm: Break

3:00 pm-4:00 pm: Breakouts (3):

1) "Mobile: Checks, Treks & Apps" -Robert Patterson, MMG Worldwide, @robertpatterson

2) “An Inside Look at the Behaviors & Actions of Those Who “Like” & Follow” -Erin Francis-Cummings, Destination Analysts, @DA_Research

3) “Sharing Your Destinations with the World: Lessons Learned Using Flickr” -Katie Cook, Austin CVB, @KatieCook  & Sarah Page,Tourism Tech, @pagetx

4:00 pm-5:00pm: “Passionate Communities and the Dallas Facebook Super Bowl Campaign” -Rodney Payne, Think! Social Media, @rodneyp

6:00pm-8:00pm: Pecha Kucha Night sponsored by TIG Global

Day 3: Friday, November 11, 2011

8:30am-9:30am: “Getting Brands to Pay for Your Marketing Program” -Tom Martin, Converse Digital, @TomMartin

9:30am-10:00am: Break

10:00am-11:00am: "#Winning Ideas: 60 Ideas in 60 Minutes" -Midori Connolly, @GreenA_V & Jessica Levin, @JessicaLevin, Seven Degrees Communications

11:00am-12:00pm: “Event and Festival Promotion with Social Media: A How-to Guide of Best Practices” -Sheila Scarborough, Tourism Currents, @SheilaS

Regarding hotel and air transportation:

- The host hotel isHarrah's Casino Tunica.  Rooms will be $79/ night:  Visit this link to make your online reservations.

- To make a reservation over the phone, please call 800-946-4946 and use the group code: "S11SMT1"

- The airport with the most options is Memphis - MEM. We will have complimentary #SoMeT buses - courtesy of the Tunica CVB and its hospitality partners - with scheduled hotel runs to and from the airport throughout the symposium.  We will be co-coordinating your flight times after you register and confirm your flight. 

A special thank you to Think! Social Media, the symposium's title sponsor:

And, the Destination Marketing Association International, our symposium partner:

- Destination Management & Marketing Institute (DMMI) is also being held in Tunica, November 7-9, 2011, directly preceding #SoMeT:

Hosted by Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI), DMMI offers savvy destination marketing pros expert training across disciplines and builds knowledge of key specialty areas for marketing strategy and product development. Corbin Ball, an internationally recognized technology expert, is the opening keynote speaker at DMMI. 

Visit this link to view the schedule and registration information.