Get “Closer” to Social Media Week Holland | Social Media

Social Media Week comes to Holland this year from Nov. 14 to Nov. 16. As one of the world's leading conference series, Social Media Week brings together leaders from all around the world to share insights and trends on social media, marketing, technology, innovation, and more.

This year, with the global theme, “Closer,” SMW Holland is paying tribute to the power of technology in bringing people together.

We spoke with the organizers of SMW Holland about the upcoming event, what sessions the team is most excited about, and what local trends they are seeing in their market.

What do you think will be the most important attendee takeaways from your city's SMW conference?

One of the most important takeaways from Social Media Week Holland will be that technology and communication come hand-in-hand. Technology can boost communications and vice versa. This an overall takeaway that is in every session during #SMWNL.

Another one is: Think bigger. Be ambitious. Who's your overall business or personal hero? Nike? Elon Musk? Make that the goal in your field of work.

Finally, conferences like ours are not just about analyzing trends. What's far more interesting and inspiring is how you apply the trends — how the Dutch police uses VR in order to investigate crime scenes and solve murders? How a chain of hotels use AI for their reservations? How the UN uses AR for awareness?

What are some sessions that your team is excited about?

Without any doubt, this year's most exciting session is “UN's Under the Blue Helmet & Clouds over Sidra VR Experience,” hosted by Kristin Gutekunst of the United Nations. Kristin has extensive experience in campaigning for development, particularly through the combination of high-level advocacy strategies, grassroots mobilization, youth engagement, and innovative communications such as immersive and new media.

Second up must be “Meme-ology 101: The New Digital Language,” with Reddit's Head of Brand Strategy Joe Federer. Joe believes that great social marketing is based on great content — content that ladders up to a meaningful brand purpose and, just as importantly, gets people to share it. In his own words, “Understanding what makes for great social content requires a real nerd. I am that nerd.”

We are also excited about our speaker Guido Berben, partner-manager at Tikkie, an initiative of the Dutch ABN AMRO bank. Tikkie is a clever app that makes paying fun, social, easy and open, so we are looking forward to what Guido wants to share.

How do your overall agenda tie into this year's global theme?

We confidently say that SMW Holland at The Hague is all about this year's global theme of Social Media Week: “Closer.” There's plenty of excellent examples of how technology plays a role in getting people more connected, closer to each other, and more aware of important issues. The UN's VR experience immerses people into the life of peace soldiers around the world.

And in a way – amongst all these technological and digital innovations – there is always a need to meet people in person. To interact face-to-face, to chat, to agree or disagree and to enjoy a drink or two. In that perspective, #SMWNL gets us closer in every sense.

Which partners or brands are you most excited to be working with this year?

As mentioned before we are so proud to have the UN in our lineup during #SMWNL. At the same time, we are also thrilled for the participation of BMW i, Google, Lidl, KPN, Tikkie, Reddit, Randstad, the Dutch National Police, and so many more.

What are some local trends you are seeing in your market?

A few local trends in our market can be found on stage as well. One of them will be that the closer an agency is to customers, the better the outcome. And by “Closer,” it does not only refer to the business side of a brand, but more importantly, physical and emotional connection to customers.

What are some of the key questions that will be addressed during your edition of SMW?

#SMWNL recognizes that there are a lot of questions out there — questions about how to apply AI, AR or VR to marketing; how to integrate bots and voice tech into businesses; what's the key strategy in making a social media campaign successful; how to explore the potential of influencer marketing, etc.

But don't you worry, we have got all the answers.

Where can potential attendees get news and updates about your conference?

To keep up with all news and updates on Social Media Week Holland, please check out our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and our website.

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