Peer Practitioner Forum

September 28th - Members Only

PEER PRACTITIONER FORUM

The Peer Practitioner Forum is an exclusive, members-only space for dynamic, vendor-free discussions led by experienced practitioners. Participants gain hands-on learning and share proven best practices — leaving with practical strategies they can implement immediately and confidently.

12:30 pm

Registration, Networking, Refreshments

1:20 pm

Welcome and Introductions

1:30 pm - 2:10 pm Practitioner-Led Workshops
SocialMedia.org Practitioner Forum

Managing Tech Change: Adapting Platforms to Fit People and Process

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RFPs, consolidations, tool sunsets, and new integrations can quickly take over a team’s time. This workshop explores how peers are evaluating platforms, prioritizing integrations, phasing migrations, and managing adoption fatigue. We’ll discuss how teams decide which systems should connect, align technology decisions with governance and training, set realistic rollout timelines, and define success metrics before contracts are signed.

Amber Getschel

Manager, Enterprise Social Media Governance and Operations

Brunswick

SocialMedia.org Practitioner Forum

Proving Social’s Business Value: Moving Beyond Vanity Metrics to Earn Trust

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Executives want clarity, not dashboards. This discussion focuses on how teams are building credible, simple stories that link social activity to awareness, consideration, and conversion. We’ll look at ways to balance qualitative insights with quant metrics, simplify reporting, and earn leadership confidence without relying on vanity metrics.

Anna Pickard

Senior Manager, Social Media

Boomi

SocialMedia.org Practitioner Forum

Global Strategy, Local Storytelling: Empowering Regions Without Losing Control

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Even the most global brands struggle to balance control and creativity. This workshop explores how teams are giving regions autonomy while protecting reputation and efficiency. We’ll discuss governance tiers, shared libraries, and review frameworks that enable local storytelling without eroding brand standards.

Ashley Keravuori

Senior Manager, Global Social Strategy

Merz Aesthetics

SocialMedia.org Practitioner Forum

Maximizing the COE’s Influence: Evolving From Governance to Guidance

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A Center of Excellence only works if it has influence. This session looks at how COE models are evolving to drive consistency, upskill regions, and prove value across the organization. We’ll talk about how leaders are modernizing COEs to act more like internal consultants and accelerators — especially as budgets and tech stacks shift.

Jim Lin

Director, Enterprise Social Media

Caterpillar

AEO Board Practitioner Forum

AEO Test & Learn: What are we trying, and what’s the impact?

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What experiments are brands running to influence AI-driven discovery — and what early signals are emerging from those tests? In this session, we’ll compare the approaches our teams are taking to experiment with AEO, GEO, and related discovery strategies across content, structure, and distribution.

You’ll discuss:

  • The experiments your teams are currently running to influence AI answers
  • Early signals or directional insights emerging from those tests
  • How teams are structuring experimentation and deciding what to test next

Daniel Horowitz

Enterprise SEO Strategist

Salesforce

AEO Board Practitioner Forum

Operationalizing AEO: Integrating AI-Driven Search Into Cross-Functional Workflows

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How are you integrating AI-driven search into the workflows that already exist across your organization? In this session, we’ll explore how brands are adapting cross-functional processes, responsibilities, and handoffs to support AEO.

You’ll discuss:

  • Where AEO is being integrated into content, SEO, web, analytics, agency, and approval workflows
  • How teams are prioritizing which AEO recommendations get implemented first
  • What’s changing in how search, editorial, brand, web, and other partners collaborate on this work

Billy Chambers

Senior Director, Digital Marketing & CRM

Crocs

2:15 pm - 2:55 pm Practitioner-Led Workshops
SocialMedia.org Practitioner Forum

Smarter Listening: Turning Sentiment into Signal During a Crisis

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When a crisis threatens brand reputation, listening becomes a critical decision-making tool. In this workshop, we’ll explore how members track conversations in real time, combine social listening data with manual monitoring, and use AI to analyze sentiment at scale. We’ll focus on how teams turn qualitative and quantitative signals into communications strategies — and what that means for response planning, stakeholder alignment, and protecting trust.

Jonathan King

Senior Social Media Manager

Mercy

SocialMedia.org Practitioner Forum

Elevating Social Care: Turning Customer Support into Brand Experience

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Social care is often the first and most visible touchpoint of brand trust. This workshop looks at how enterprise teams are elevating care as a marketing advantage — through better routing, unified dashboards, and agent empowerment. We’ll also talk about managing burnout, measuring CX outcomes, and strengthening credibility with leadership.

Cassidy Rota

Director, Social Community

Fidelity Investments

SocialMedia.org Practitioner Forum

Scaling Content Operations: Building for Speed Without Losing Control

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Reactive content can’t wait on old approval ladders. This session explores how teams are modernizing workflows, pre-approving creative assets, and building scalable templates for “always-on” content production. We’ll also talk about balancing risk management with speed, and what governance looks like when real time is the default.

Amber Graham

Vice President, Digital Marketing

Memorial Hermann Health System

Andy Pape

Director, Content & Social Strategy

Memorial Hermann Health System

SocialMedia.org Practitioner Forum

Balancing Risk and Creativity: Managing Creator Partnerships in Regulated Industries

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Influencer work in regulated industries takes precision. This session focuses on briefing models, legal workflows, and disclosure structures that reduce rework and risk. We’ll talk about how peers balance creative freedom with compliance and use post-campaign reviews to strengthen both policies and partnerships.

AEO Board Practitioner Forum

Redesigning Content Workflows to Support AI-Driven Discovery

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How are you adjusting content creation workflows to account for AI-driven discovery systems? In this session, we’ll explore strategies for adapting editorial workflows to support AEO, GEO, and AIO.

You’ll discuss:

  • If and how modular content, thought leadership, structured knowledge pages, and scalable FAQ frameworks are working for our brands
  • New content formats or structures your teams are testing
  • How search, editorial, and brand teams are collaborating on these changes
AEO Board Practitioner Forum

Responding to Inaccurate AI Answers to Protect Brand Reputation

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When AI-generated answers surface outdated, incomplete, or incorrect information about your brand, how should teams respond? In this session, we’ll compare how organizations are monitoring inaccurate AI responses and determining when intervention is warranted.

You’ll discuss:

  • How teams are identifying inaccurate or misleading AI responses
  • When it makes sense to intervene — and when it doesn’t
  • How communications, digital, and legal teams are coordinating responses
2:55 pm - 3:10 pm

Networking (Snack) Break

3:10 pm - 3:50 pm Practitioner-Led Workshops
SocialMedia.org Practitioner Forum

Governance That Enables Agility: Protecting the Brand Without Slowing Teams Down

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Good governance can empower creativity — or slow it down. This discussion focuses on practical frameworks for decision rights, escalation ladders, and pre-approved responses that protect the brand without creating bottlenecks. We’ll share examples of governance documentation that enables speed and discuss how to maintain buy-in after rollout.

Matt Cannington

Senior Director, Social & Digital Strategy, Global Communications

PepsiCo

SocialMedia.org Practitioner Forum

Building a Unified Voice: Connecting Brand, Leaders, and Employees to Tell a Cohesive Story

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As more brands lean on leader and employee voices to tell their story, alignment has never mattered more. This session explores how teams are connecting corporate messaging, executive visibility, and employee advocacy under one system — without adding layers of approval. We’ll dig into frameworks that scale participation safely, keep tone consistent, and measure business value across audiences.

Natalie Calvo

Social Media Manager

Prologis

SocialMedia.org Practitioner Forum

Future-Proofing the Social Org Chart: Structuring Teams for What’s Next

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Social’s scope keeps growing, even when headcount doesn’t. How are teams staying effective as roles, tech, and expectations evolve? We’ll look at models that balance specialist depth and generalist flexibility, when to centralize versus embed, and how automation and AI are reshaping daily work.

SocialMedia.org Practitioner Forum

Influencer Marketing’s Next Chapter: Doing More With Creators Who Matter

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Creator fees are climbing, expectations are rising, and measurement is still a challenge. This session takes a candid look at what’s working — from smarter briefs and mid-tier partnerships to performance-based compensation. We’ll also talk about balancing authenticity with brand safety and setting clear expectations with stakeholders.

Alyssa Greve

Sr. Director, Social & Influencer

Stanley Black & Decker

AEO Board Practitioner Forum

Testing Paid Media in AI Search: Early Learnings for AEO

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As paid advertising enters the fray of AI-driven search and answer experiences, many teams are still trying to understand what is possible, what can be measured, and how this works with broader AEO and paid media strategies. In this session, Vice President of Growth Marketing – Search and Affiliate at Synchrony, Isabel Nie will lead a discussion around paid media in AI search — from testing opportunities and reporting limitations to the unclear relationship between paid placements and organic visibility.

  • Learnings from early paid placements in LLMs and AI-driven search experiences (ie. Ads in AI Mode, ChatGPT Ads)
  • Where measurement, reporting, and attribution remain unclear
  • How paid capabilities compliment the broader AEO, organic visibility, and paid media strategies

Isabel Nie

Vice President, Growth Marketing - Search and Affiliate

Synchrony

AEO Board Practitioner Forum

Governance and Risk: Establishing Guardrails for AI-Driven Discovery Work

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As brands experiment with influencing AI-driven discovery, what governance considerations should be in place? Teams are beginning to encounter new questions around risk, transparency, and responsible engagement across knowledge sources and community platforms. In this session, we’ll compare how organizations are establishing guardrails around this work.

You’ll discuss:

  • Governance considerations around influencing AI discovery systems
  • Organizational policies for engaging with knowledge sources and community platforms
  • How teams are balancing experimentation with risk management
3:55 pm - 4:35 pm Practitioner-Led Workshops
SocialMedia.org Practitioner Forum

Optimizing Paid Social Measurement: Finding Clarity When Data Gets Fuzzy

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With attribution getting harder, paid measurement needs a rethink. This workshop looks at how teams are adapting to signal loss — using MMM, incrementality, and qualitative testing to paint a fuller picture of performance. We’ll also discuss how leaders communicate results upstream when data gaps persist.

SocialMedia.org Practitioner Forum

From Community to Insight: Turning Conversations Into Business Intelligence

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Communities often surface early signals — if you know how to listen. This discussion explores how teams are collecting, classifying, and sharing community insights across marketing, product, and CX. We’ll talk about how teams are turning community feedback into business intelligence that drives decisions.

Ava Witthauer

Sr. Manager, Social Enablement

The Aspen Group (TAG)

Carolyn Berg

Manager, Social Engagement

The Aspen Group (TAG)

SocialMedia.org Practitioner Forum

Rebooting the Brand–Agency Relationship: Getting More Value from Partners

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As budgets tighten, the brand–agency equation is shifting. This session explores how teams are rethinking scopes, collaboration models, and reporting expectations to get more value from agency partnerships. We’ll compare what’s working, what’s changing, and when it makes sense to bring work back in-house.

SocialMedia.org Practitioner Forum

Data Fluency for Social Teams: Making Metrics Make Sense

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Data storytelling is everyone’s job now. This session focuses on how leaders are building data literacy across creative, care, and strategy teams — helping everyone interpret numbers, not just display them. We’ll talk about training approaches, simplifying dashboards, and making data part of everyday planning.

AEO Board Practitioner Forum

Mapping the AI Discovery Ecosystem to Understand Where Brand Signals Come From

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Where do AI systems appear to be sourcing information about our brands? As answer engines synthesize information from across the web, many teams are discovering that the signals shaping AI responses extend far beyond owned channels. In this session, we’ll compare what our brands are seeing across platforms and how those observations are shaping early strategy.

You’ll discuss:

  • Where AI tools appear to be sourcing information about your brand today
  • The role of owned content, earned media, Wikipedia, Reddit, and other sources
  • Surprising or unexpected signals influencing AI-generated answers
AEO Board Practitioner Forum

Rethinking Brand Authority in an AI-Mediated Information Environment

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If AI systems prioritize sources they perceive as authoritative, how should brands think about building credibility in this environment? In this session, we’ll explore how organizations are strengthening authority signals across expert voices, earned media, and trusted third-party sources that increasingly shape AI answers.

You’ll discuss:

  • How brands are building credibility beyond owned channels
  • The role of expert voices, media coverage, and community platforms in AI answers
  • Strategies teams are exploring to strengthen authority signals
7:00 pm
7:00 pm

YOU GET EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO

Members-Only Advantages

ONSITE ADVANTAGES PEER PRACTITIONER FORUM

PRIVATE MEMBER DINNER

Connect over a private dinner with peers after an afternoon of rich discussion, building bonds before the main event.

VIP LOUNGE

Connect with Summit speakers and members in a premium space with enhanced amenities.

peer ADVISORY roundtables

Lively peer led discussions where participants propose, vote on, and join topics they care about.

practitioner-led workshops

Hands-on learning and proven strategies from seasoned experts, ready to apply with confidence.