Package pricing above includes this session, and the session, Bring 'Em In on LinkedIn: Supercharging LinkedIn for Attracting Customers, offered the same day from 8:30am - 12:30pm.

What are the latest social media tools and techniques you need to know to be a top-notch researcher? Traditional resources for business and company information can be complemented by the effective use of social media tools such as LinkedIn, blogs, Twitter feeds, social networking groups and other specialized search and social tools. This hands-on workshop will help you to think differently about these tools as business and competitive resources. We'll cover both resources and techniques for searching, as well as look at non-US sources. If you attended the “Social Business” workshop last year, this year you’ll look at useful new features in some of our old favorites and new tools to add to your research toolbox. Bring your laptop and a company you'd like to research, and be prepared to be surprised by what you find!

Target audience:   

• Beginner and Intermediate levels: Info pros and business, competitive and industry researchers familiar with and participating in social networking tools (such as LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) who are interested in effectively using social networking tools to supplement their research. 

• Beginners will need to sign up for a free LinkedIn account prior to the workshop. Beginners are encouraged, but not required, to sign up for Twitter and Facebook as well. 

The workshop is intended to be "hands-on,” and participants are asked to bring a laptop so they can practice what they are being taught.  Even if you don’t have a laptop, you will take away pages of notes and lots of examples.

Main topics:

• Effectively finding business, competitive and industry information using social tools.
• Learning both techniques and approaches to social search.
• Best practices of integrating social search results into your research and deliverables

Goals: 

Participants will:

• Gain an approach to thinking about research in social tools, effective tool selection and search strategies
• Have hands-on experience in the workshop, searching a variety of social tools using examples of their own choosing
• Walk away with the ability to immediately start using these tools to add value and insight to their research, and the skills needed to integrate social results into their client deliverables.

Instructor bio:  Scott Brown teaches, presents and trains on the effective use of social networking tools for Fortune 500 companies, government, small businesses, non-profit organizations, and individuals. He is currently completing a book on this topic, “Social Information: Gaining competitive and business advantage using social media tools,” due out in 2012. A frequent national speaker on many areas of information work, Scott is also an adjunct instructor for the San Jose State University and University of Denver LIS programs. In addition, he provides professional coaching services specifically for information professionals. As Senior Information Specialist with Digital Libraries & Research, the library and information organization at Sun Microsystems, he provided in-depth secondary research and competitive intelligence, conducted stakeholder work, and used Six Sigma tools to determine customer needs and wants. He received his library degree from San Jose State University in California in 1999.

From 2011 AIIP pre-conference workshops: 

I attended several workshops with Scott regarding LinkedIn profile updates and Social Media research. In each case, I went into the course *thinking* I was already pretty advanced in my knowledge...but in both cases, I learned a GREAT DEAL and found the courses to be invaluable…I highly recommend that if you get a chance, attend some of Scott's sessions - you'll be very glad you did.

Registration Deadline:  It is OK to register up to the day of the workshop, although pre-registration is encouraged, as participants will be sent information prior to the workshop.

Registration and payment details:  EventBrite allows registrations via credit card, PayPal or check, and automatically generates tickets for registrants. Registration will remain available through the day of the workshop.

Cancellation/refund policy:

Participants may cancel by March 31, 2012, for a full refund. Cancellations received between March 31, 2012 and April 4, 2012 will receive a 50% refund. Any cancellations after April 4, 2012 cannot be refunded.  In the unlikely event that the workshop does not reach minimum enrollment levels, the workshop may be cancelled. If the workshop is cancelled, participants will be notified no later than March 21, 2012, and will be issued a full refund.