By now we’ve all heard about the pervasive presence of social media, and we as a society join increasingly more platforms all the time. In the business space, thought-leaders have started to wonder if social media can be the great equalizer between small and large businesses alike. So, those at Social Media Week gathered some of the industry’s most recognized names in social media and held a panel moderated by Dominic Chu from Bloomberg called Social as the Great Equalizer: Interviews with Companies Large and Small.

Representing the small businesses were Divya Narendra, founder of SumZero, and David Fudge, the Director of Brand Marketing at Bonobos. Hailing from the larger companies were Craig Hepburn, Global Head of Digital and Social at Nokia, Scott Roen, VP of Digital and Partnerships at American Express, and Sara Larsen, VP of Digital Marketing at SAP.

One of the first questions put to the panelists was: How do you know whether your social media efforts are working? David Fudge explained that it starts with figuring out what your goals are. Before you are able to measure success, you have to figure out what metrics you are going to use.

Craig Hepburn chimed in next and said bluntly: “If you don’t understand the value of social, don’t do it. You need to make sure it fits the culture of your business.” Hepburn advocated creating contextual experiences to build stronger relationships with customers, and using social to understand what your customers really want and need.

After this discussion the conversation came around to exploring what makes content engaging, and how you can drive conversation. Scott Roen noted that in B2B relationships it is all about getting the emotional connection. For American Express’ Open Forum they tapped into business’ challenges and they saw a huge influx of participation. American Express gave small businesses a tool to utilize during the tough economy, and established their site as an insightful resource.

Hepburn championed getting behind a social cause as a brand that people already care about, and helping the community amplify it and make it more successful.

Ultimately, the panel agreed that any business or individual could get into social very easily. However, it can also get complicated really easily. Researching to truly understand the psychology and sociology behind social media makes a huge difference.

Last tips for businesses using social media focused on being authentic and timely. You have to be authentic to the brand, but you also have to be authentic to the social channel you’re using. As long as a business stick to their core values and uses social to benefit their customers, social very well could be the next equalizer.

Image courtesy of Flickr, luc legay

Day 2 is almost over, but that doesn’t mean SMW NYC is close to ending. With so many events, you could have missed some great ones. We also added a few new ones. So, to highlight open and newly added events, we recommend you checking these out:

New at our Global HQ

9:30: Master Class: Build Insanely Effective Landing Pages With Old School Secrets
4:30: Social Collaboration: Nokia Lumia 820 Design Challenge: The winner is…
5:00: Performance: Max ZT, Hammer Dulcimer

At our Content Hubs & Across the City

9:30 at JWT: FORTUNE Interview w/ Bonin Bough, Followed by panel: The Secret Sauce of Native Advertising? Authenticity
9:30 at 92Y: Half The Sky Movement: Using Transmedia to Inspire Real Impact
9:30 at Hearst: The Shift from Presentation to Participation, A Discussion With HuffPost Live’s President Roy Sekoff
12 at 92Y: Healthy Living: How Behavior and Patients Can Fix Healthcare, with Jay Parkinson, Greatist, StartupHealth.
12 at JWT: Technology, Advertising & Startup Council (TASC)
2:30 at 92Y: Cowbird and the Storytelling Life: A Visual Story Workshop
2:30 at Bloomberg: Purpose: Driving the New Economy
6 at JWT: Deep Focus Presents: An Evening of Disruption
6 at 92Y: Connections: How the Internet of Things is Transforming Our Social World
8 at JWT: Controller Rocks the Stage: A Night of Music at JWT
7 at Projective Space: “The Magical Sharing Experiment”: Launch of yerdle in NYC presented by Let’s Collaborate!

Don’t wait any longer- we’re running out of time! Register now, and join us tomorrow!

2. What do you think is the most exciting thing happening in the emerging technology and/or new media space right now?
Its very interesting how artists are beginning to have direct control not just over their music, but in the ways in which they are able to engage with fans across multiple platforms and even gain control to valuable fan-made content – I think we’ll see the rise in more crowd sourced music and videos as it becomes easier to aggregate relevant and valuable media through platforms like instagram, ptch, and vine)

3. What speaker or event are you most looking forward to at SMW NYC?
Very excited that DMW Music and Social Media Week have decided to unite and join forces when it comes to music content for the week. As a music tech enthusiast and board member for both conferences, it was only natural to me that these unique teams should know each other and cross pollinate. SoundCtrl was able to bridge the gap and provide SMW with special registration and access to the great lineup of music and technology industry speakers lined up at DMW this year. Check out the full list here: www.dmw-music.com. Of course, we’re also very excited to be presenting SMW’s second installment of “I Know the DJ” with Elektro Magazine and Nokia, taking place on Friday, Feb 22nd at the SoHo House.

4. What prompted you to join Social Media Week’s Advisory Board?
Funny story, many moons ago, Toby Daniels and I were meeting about a charity event he was heading up in NYC called Twestival with Charity Water. That same week was the first ever Shorty Awards. It was an era in NYC. And he turned to me and said and I’m going to call it Social Media Week. I was shocked. It was three weeks out and Social Media was not a huge trend at the time, especially in New York. I looked at him with fright and excitement and said… I’m in! I’ve been on board ever since and over the years it’s been a wild ride that continues to grow and evolve!

What’s interesting about SMW is that it covers a wide range of medias, industries and professionals. The growth and influence of social media on all industries has been radical over the past 10 years. It’s not often that all these very dissimilar professions (health, culture, education, advertising, politics, science, and environment to name a few) get to come together under one umbrella and discuss the rapid evolution we all face… it usually illuminates some connections that we might never have noticed, might lead to new solutions to difficult problems, and even anticipate challenges within our own fields.

5. What is the most creative way you’ve seen social media used?
The 55th Grammy Awards are just around the corner and I’m still reeling from last year’s insider look on the social media analytics that Beverly Jackson (Senior Director os Social Media and Marketing, GRAMMYS) gave us at SMW ’12. Last year, the Grammys became the most social event of all time – overtaking all other award shows and even the Superbowl. Their social team – including one of Billboard’s top 140 tweeters, Lindsey Gabler – are a dream team and I’m excited to see how they manage the biggest conversation in music this year.

Social media may seem like such a fully-ingrained part of our lives, but in reality we’re only hitting adolescence. Conversocial has worked with businesses since their first steps into social media engagement. At the time, this seemed revolutionary to most marketing departments – that customers would speak back, and that companies needed to do something about it. Over the past few years, we’ve come leaps and bounds and today social customer service is a standard concept, program and even team in many businesses.

But we’re still left with questions about what this really is. How will the contact center have to change, with customer support and engagement open to the public? Next week, I’ll be talking about “The Social Engagement Hub” alongside speakers from Edelman Digital, Ogilvy, GoDaddy and Nokia, and what this looks like for the future.

At Conversocial, we’ve worked with marketing, customer service, customer experience, customer insight, product, and sales teams, because social customer service calls for new rules of play for customer relationships. Social media presents opportunities for every part of your organisation – from customer retention in offering service to dissatisfied customers, to new sales from customers grumbling about your competitors. And the wealth of insight available in volunteered social data is wasted if your insight and product teams can’t action it to make better business decisions.

Developing great social customer service is the only way for companies to tap into this. We recently conducted research on the Twitter mentions of some of America’s biggestretailers. In a day in the life of Twitter, it’s astounding what’s out there for the taking. Major opportunities raised by customers constituted over 1/3 of all mentions, and include customer experience, customer dissatisfaction product availability enquiries, sales and pricing questions and service and facilities feedback. We’ll be sharing more of this data on the 19th.

In my vision for the contact center of the future, social relationships with customers sit at the heart of your organisation. Companies will have to consider some serious structural reorganisation of not only how they manage communication with their customers, but also how they perceive it. Customer service will no longer be relegated as an inconvenient cost center, but as the front line of customer engagement.

Join us next Tuesday to discuss market trends, the experiences of leaders in this space and pick the brains of our panel of experts as to how you can start delivering real social customer service in your company. We’ll be opening up discussion that’s relevant for every customer-focused role in your company, so if you’re looking for answers to ‘what is social customer service anyway?’ we should be able to help.

Nokia is no stranger to our SMW NYC community- and we love having them here! In addition to powering our mobile app, SMW Live and SMW RealTime so you can truly engage on numerous levels, they are making their presence known. Starting off with offering Nokia Lumia 920 trials to our community, Nokia x SMW NYC got running early, and isn’t letting up. Making sure the week begins and ends with a bang, Nokia is one of the main forces behind the Opening & Closing Parties. Given their past with us, we’re expecting some fun surprises for the attendees…

Nokia is also making sure SMW NYC attendees don’t miss a beat with an incredible Simulcast set-up at the Global HQ. Streaming events from all over SMW13 and SMWNYC with incredible Monster Wireless Headsets, if you’re nearby, you want to see this. You can also get powered up by using the Nokia Charging Station- you know your phones and computers need it.

But don’t forget to swing by their Photo Lab to see the power of the PureView Camera on the latest Nokia Lumia 920′s. Don’t worry, we’ll be sending them to your FaceBook profiles to share… Speaking of photos, Nokia has partnered to bring the 1197 Mobile Photography Conference to SMW NYC. With 3 days of programming and an interactive gallery, it’s the perfect place for you if you love your camera, your phone and combining the two.

Want to learn something? Nokia #SmarterEveryday is making sure you get the most of your experience by providing the Master Classroom at Global HQ, letting you get hands-on learning from some of the best in the biz. From leaders like Tumblr to Dachis Group to Nokia@Work, Global HQ attendees will walk away with knowledge they can immediately use. Nokia is behind some of our Master Classes like Designing Your Day: Maximize Your Brain, Maximize Your Day. Taught by Paul McGinniss, you’ll be given the neuroscience perspective on how to work with your brain to get the most out of your day- like what are the times of day when you are at your cognitive best?

There’s also Designing your day: Practical Tools to boost your creativity & productivity. To help you truly work smarter, this Master Class will give you the tools to help you reconsider your workday and understand what’s getting in the way of your best work; redesigning the way you work. You’ll leave with ideas and tools you can use to give you more get time to do the things you really love.

Then see the team on stage. Starting with Designing A Smarter Everyday, presented by Nokia@Work, as part of the Smarter Everyday series, this event takes the a considered approach using design thinking and similar models about how to work more effectively everyday. They’ll ask the questions of what does the perfect day look like; what are the best strategies for structuring a day to get the most from it; and more. If you’re serious about being productive and getting your start-up off the ground, these strategies are for you.

Moving to a different theme, The Social Engagement Hub: Re-Imagining The Contact Center As A Critical Marketing Tool brings on Sean Valderas, Nokia Care’s Social Media Manager, to join other brand’s customer service managers to discuss what a Social Engagement Hub looks like and why social customer service is so crucial.

If you haven’t seen Nokia’s Global Head of Digital and Social, Craig Hepburn, yet, you are missing out. SMW NYC is your opportunity. Swing by Bloomberg’s Business & Entrepreneurship Hub as he shares his experiences for Social as The Great Equalizer: Interviews With Companies Large and Small.

Rounding it all out, Nokia wraps up SMW NYC with something they’re passionate about- music. In partnership with SoundCtrl, Nokia Music is bringing a Music Day to SMW NYC. With Rock It: How to Drive Brand Awareness and Social Action Through Music Partnerships, you’ll be able to see how social is driving music and how Nokia Music is working with bands to provide a different music experience.

Well, Nokia@Work currently have 20 Lumia trial devices they want to loan to the hard working people who are making their way from all over the USA to be at SMW New York.

Nokia want to know how the Lumia 920 with Windows Phone 8 fits into your work life and how the phone can make you #SmarterEveryday in the workplace.

During the week, a Nokia@Work film crew will be on hand to catch your reaction and thoughts on the phone and to capture your philosophy on working smarter. Sign-up here, selecting SMWNYC from the dropdown, and tweet @NokiaAtWork to let them know you are interested.

Lots of Nokia@Work events will be taking place at SMWNY this year. Follow them for more details on when and where they will be taking place and to follow the conversation online, and make sure you check out their events on productivity and getting the most out of mobile. From Designing Your Day: Maximize Your Brain, Maximize Your Day to Designing a SmarterEveryday to Designing your day: Practical Tools to boost your creativity & productivity, you’ll want to be there.

Brad, how long have you been with Nokia, and what gets you most excited about your work with them?
I have been with Nokia a little more than 11 years. It really is an exciting place to work– the dynamic environment of working in the mobile industry coupled with the always present need to adapt & evolve. Additionally, there is a wealth of talented and globally diverse people at Nokia who are extremely passionate about their work. I feel quite fortunate to come into the office each day surrounded by exciting challenges amongst colleagues who are dedicated to the cause.

How has social helped Nokia differentiate itself in the mobile space?
I believe it is not so much strictly differentiation as it is a natural progression for Nokia, with regards to what has been a core to our company DNA for a very long time – connecting people. From offering people in emerging markets their first mobile phone, to our smartphones based on the Windows Phone platform, which is inherently very social, to our blog, Nokia Conversations, that helps us connect with our fans worldwide – social is a part of nearly everything we do.

And we take it one step further. When you consider the differentiation of our phones in areas such as imaging, design, and location, we are enabling consumers to capture & share their experiences in entirely new ways (and look good while they do it).

What recent Nokia campaigns would our supporters in NYC be familiar with?
The Nokia #Switch campaign has been a key push for us. It centers on the idea of asking consumers about what would convince them to switch to a Lumia smartphone. We constantly curate consumer feedback from social channels and share their messages via our digital switch hub.

Nokia is entering as a heavy player with mobile photography and is powering some great activities for February, from 1197 and Photo Labs at our Global HQ. Can you tell us a bit more about the key features of the Lumia camera and why imaging is so important to Nokia?
Imaging is an area of strength and differentiation for Nokia, and we’re always innovating here. It really comes back to what I was saying earlier about taking the experience one step further and addressing some of the feedback that we hear from people using cameras on their phones in everyday life. For example, how many times have you tried to take a picture with friends in a restaurant, club or at an evening event and someone has their eyes closed, is looking away, or the photo turns out blurry or too dark to share? Using the camera on a Lumia 920 along with our Smart Shoot lens helps you address all of these common photo pitfalls and capture the moment.

One of my favorite features for the new Lumia smartphones is Cinemagraph, which enables you to create animated GIFs and share them with your social networks. Check out the Nokia conversations post HERE which shares some really cool examples of Cinemagraph as well as how easy it is to share your creations with family & friends on your social networks.

What do you hope to see Nokia accomplish over the next 12 months?
I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am about where we are headed in social this year! Continuing to have quality conversations with both our existing fans/followers remains a core focus and we are always working to engage with new audiences about our products. Sharing the Nokia story through social and the friends we make along the way is such a rewarding experience. Further, building & fostering relationships with consumers is absolutely critical and the best part is it’s something we truly enjoy doing!

Make sure you swing by the Global HQ to see Nokia in action and say hi to Brad!

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EngageSciences was set up to build a platform that would help social media managers deliver measurable return for enterprise marketing departments. So it stands to reason they have partnered with us to sponsor this year’s Advertising and Marketing Content Hub at JWT.

In addition to acting as the sponsor, they have put together an incredible event: You’ve Built A Fan Base, Now What? which explores the idea that while building an engaged fan base is important, CMOs are now looking for tangible proof that measurable commerce and brand value can be driven from social marketing activities. During the event, attendees will learn how famous brands are achieving social marketing success by analyzing, tracking and activating their community to achieve marketing goals.

Leading this panel, is Richard Jones, founder and CEO of Engage Sciences, joined by Brad Spikes, Head of Social Media & Influencer Marketing, North America, Nokia and Gretchen Ramsey, VP, Strategy MRM, who will explain the strategies and tactics they are implementing to acquire fans, engage their followers and amplify the voice of their advocates. They will also illustrate how social content and social data can drive performance across multiple marketing channels, illustrated by the impressive outcomes they achieve.

Though this event is currently full, there’s good news! Pass holders can still walk in and grab a seat. So, if you haven’t snagged one of our passes yet, purchase one here. See you there!

To assist here, SMW Global Headline Sponsor Nokia launched their Nokia@Work initiative, helping businesses of all sizes to get ahead through productivity and in utilizing mobility so that we can all get “Smarter Everyday.” Something we’re excited to get behind.

Courtesy of Nokia@Work and their Smarter Everyday campaign, we are giving away 150 complimentary passes (regularly priced at $99) to the Global HQ at the Metropolitan Pavilion between February 19-21. Our Global HQ will explore how we can architect our own future, collaborate together for better solutions and invent better ways of doing everything. We’ll also feature Master Classes from Nokia and leading brands and experts like Dachis, Percolate, Tumblr and more to give you hands-on opportunities to really grasp new skills and concepts – making it a great experience for businesses and their employees.

How do you get involved? Share something unique about your work space environment!

It could be the way your meeting rooms are designed or the style and function of your desks. Or it could be something completely unique, like a slide that enables people to move between floors or a tree-house you use for company meetings. The more unique, unusual and, of course smarter, the better.

We want to see what inspires you every day.

Take a picture, upload and share on twitter using the hashtag #SmarterEveryday. Nokia will pick their five favorite ones each week. As always, we encourage you to see the full rules here.

Get snapping and show us how you work smarter. Then, if you’re in NYC, make sure you take a break from the HQ to hear how Nokia is creating a Smarter Everyday on Tuesday, February 19.

With only a few weeks until Social Media Week New York, we are daydreaming constantly about one thing: the opening party. Our partner LiveWorld, a user content management company and trusted partner to the world’s largest brands, is one of several sponsors making it happen. Along with Nokia, BuzzFeed and Whole Foods, LiveWorld is throwing a most fabulous VIP fete at the Metropolitan Pavilion – home to our new Global HQ.

Featuring, interactive installations, a mobile photo studio, a live simulcast lounge and food and drink, the event will mark the 5th anniversary of SMW NYC. As an added bonus, you’ll also have the opportunity to strike a pose at LiveWorld’s flip book photo booth and nab a complimentary copy of Ekaterina Walter’s bestselling book “Think Like Zuck”, which illustrates how to make your mark in the world using the five success principles of Facebook.

(Please note: The Opening event is by invitation only, however, if you wish to attend there are a limited number of Insider Passes available, which grant you access to both the official Opening and Closing events, Ideas Connected at Global HQ and full access to all four Official Content Hubs.)

But LiveWorld didn’t stop there! They, along with Pfizer, are hosting an afternoon long series of events at Pfizer Headquarters, focused on social media engagement for regulated and consumer sensitive markets such as Healthcare, Financial Services and CPG. This event will appeal to communicators and marketers in Healthcare, Pharma and other regulated industries. See the agenda, below:

• 2 PM to 3 PM: Case Study — Building A Global Brand Through Content Marketing, Cleveland Clinic
• 3 PM to 3:30 PM: Coffee break
• 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM: Panel — Legal & Marketing Social Media Allies or Enemies
• 4:30 PM to 5:15 PM: Keynote by Peter Pitts — Social Media and Pharma: The age of Reality
• 5:15 PM to 6:45 PM: Cocktail Reception

To see the full details of this day, and register for the event, click here.

We look forward to seeing you there!