W2O’s Firing Up Emerging Leaders (FUEL) Forum
Firing Up Emerging Leaders (FUEL) Forum was a recent topic for New York’s Social Media Week, hosted by W2O group. The event featured Callie Schweitzer, managing editor of Thrive Global, and included four panels made up of emerging leaders in the social and digital media spaces.
We picked up on two main themes: how companies can communicate effectively with millennial audiences in an ever-changing media landscape, and how millennials can get ahead in their careers. Appropriately, the panels were compromised of young leaders in the digital, healthcare, and news spaces. Topics: How different audiences are affected by various messages, and how news is consumed is not only relevant for big companies, but also for anyone who has to do a presentation or interview with the
Here are some key takeaways:
- Companies need to care about social good
In today’s political, social, and economic climate, consumers, especially millennials, care about a company’s viewpoint and position on issues which they find important. By taking a stand on what products, suppliers, and other businesses that companies engage with they are sending a message to millennial consumers. media.While many companies are afraid to take stands on certain issues, because they fear it will polarize one or more consumer base, now more than ever, companies are speaking out about their beliefs, politically, economically, and socially, and millennial consumers are responding.
- Keynote speaker Callie Schweitzer spoke to the importance of work/life balance and how to rise to the top in your given field.
Tips for career thriving include: take the road less traveled, never saying no to a small task, respect your time, set boundaries, and raise your hand. The overall takeaway messages were, be yourself, take a path that feels right for you, not for anyone else, and respect yourself and your time.
Overall, the panels and speakers on the FUEL Forum touched on one central theme: social media in today’s day and age is a GIVEN, but it has drastically affected how people consume information, products, and services, as well as how people form opinions and act out socially.
The event emphasized that having a social and digital presence isn’t an additional or alternative way to communicate. Instead, it is crucial to your brand or company’s very foundation, and likely will be the centerpiece to overall customer outreach for the foreseeable future.