What are RED CHAIR events?

Sometime in mid 2009, it became clear that businesses needed something more advanced than the “Here’s how you should use Facebook and Twitter” training programs typically showcased at industry conferences around the world.

While 101-level social media training has its place, many organizations are quickly finding themselves outgrowing these basic “programs”, and the question from CEOs, CMOs and COOs has quickly become “Okay, now what?”

More to the point: “What about planning, integration, management and measurement? How do we plug social media into – and across – our organizations? How do we actually DO this?” The need to create an enterprise-level social media training program that catered to CEOs, senior executives and decision-makers became obvious. RED CHAIR was born out of that necessity.

To address the needs of organizations looking for a greater level of guidance and insight, RED CHAIR events are delivered as full-day training sessions aimed at teaching decision-makers and managers how to plan for and operationalize Social Media, properly deploy it across their organizations, and develop adequate management and measurement practices to ensure their success. Basically, think of RED CHAIR as accelerated consulting (or in some cases, pre-consulting).

Who are RED CHAIR events intended for?

Executives: The RED CHAIR program has been specifically developed for C-suite on down to Director-level executives looking for high end strategic and operational training that focuses on properly integrating Social Media into their organizations.

Mid-level Managers and rising stars: To cater to “roll-up-their-sleeves-and-do” managers, we are also piloting a half-day RED CHAIR ‘Lite’ training program designed to give mid-level managers and account-level Social Media professionals a framework of strategic and operational excellence that will help them improve the success of their programs.

How are RED CHAIR events structured?

Full Day Programs – For 2010, RED CHAIR events are divided into 4 distinct modules taught in one day:

Hours 1 and 2: Social Media Program Development – This is the overarching strategy piece. It begins with the process of defining critical business objectives, then understanding how Social Media can impact specific outcomes linked to those objectives. Phase two of that process is the development of a complete Social Media strategy for the organization.

Hours 3 and 4: Social Media Program Integration – This is the ops piece that picks up where the strategy phase leaves off: How do you actually plug Social Media into your organization? We will cover integration with HR, Marketing, IT, Legal, Business Development, PR, Customer Service, Product Management, Internal Collaboration and even investor relations. Also covered: Vertical and Lateral integration, employee training, liability, and corporate guidelines.

Hours 5 and 6: Social Media Program Management - This is the execution piece: How to actually manage specific Social Media programs and functions, from customer support and community management to digital brand management and internal collaboration. Also covered: How-to’s, case studies and Best Practices touching on key business functions.

Hours 7 and 8: Social Media Program Measurement – This module comes full circle by revisiting the strategy piece’s business objectives, establishing baselines, developing an adequate measurement methodology that includes relevant KPIs, and differentiating between non-financial and financial impact (R.O.I.) Also covered: Goal setting for managers and operators, budget justification and F.R.Y. methodology.

Plenty of time is set aside for Q&A and hands-on exercises. Breakfast, lunch and coffee are usually served onsite.

Do you offer half-day programs?

Our half day RED CHAIR ‘lite’ program focus on strategic planning, effective management, measurement and growth strategies for program managers. The level of detail found in the full day program will be the same, but with a specific emphasis on program Management.
Half day programs are designed for account-level social media professionals, community managers, small business owners with simple organizational structures and junior managers.

Where are RED CHAIR Events held?

Red Chair events are held in major cities in North America and around the world. We do this to eliminate the need for overnight travel, which can otherwise be unnecessarily time-consuming and cost-prohibitive for attendees. Coming to your city is a simple way for us to help you keep costs down, reduce your carbon footprint (jets burn fuel), and interfere as little as possible with your busy schedule.

Already in the works for 2010:

(US): Portland, OR; Chicago, IL; Denver, CO; Philadelphia, PA; Atlanta, GA; San Francisco, CA; Boston, MA; New York, NY; Seattle, WA.

(Internationally): Paris, London, Sidney, Toronto and Hong Kong.

How much does it cost to attend a RED CHAIR training event?

Prices vary from location to location and special discounts are available for small businesses, startups and qualifying students, but typically, the standard cost for a full day of training will usually range from $800 to $1,000 per participant. This includes an entire day of training, a personalized copy of all course materials, learning supplies, breakfast lunch and snacks, and scheduled access to course instructors for up to 6 months following the program. (We don’t want to just leave you to figure it out on your own.)

We expect that the registration fee will not be a financial obstacle for high level executives looking for this level of strategic and operational training.

Half day training events (RED CHAIR “Lite”) are priced significantly lower as they cater to Social Media operators, mid-level managers and small business managers. Expect registration fees to range from $250 to $450 per person depending on location. This includes a half day of training, access to all course materials, breakfast and coffee/tea, and scheduled access to course instructors for up to 3 months following the program. (Again, we don’t want to just leave anyone on their own to figure it all out.)

We expect that the half-day registration fee will make the trainings financially accessible to department with limited budgets and small businesses (less than 10 employees). Since we’re already in town, there’s no need for us to try and fleece you.

By keeping our prices as low as possible and eliminating your need to travel to one of our events (as you would, say, a conference), we hope that every organization looking for this level of help and training will now have access to it.

What if I need additional consulting help after the training is over?

For simple questions and assistance, your registration fee includes access to course instructors for up to six months after the session you attended. This can be done through any combination of communications tools ranging from email, phone and skype, to twitter and Facebook. Whatever works best for you. If your company needs more hands-on assistance in actually implementing what you have learned during your session, deeper levels of engagement or fee-based consulting are available as well.

Who teaches the program and who developed it?

The content of the program was co-developed and will be continuously improved upon with the assistance of an advisory board composed of industry leaders in Social Media program development, integration and management. Though the board will continue to grow in Q1 of 2010, it already includes executives from Michelin, Coca Cola, Microsoft, Best Buy and Sungard.

In 2010, the majority of the content will be delivered by Olivier Blanchard, with a portion of the training being delivered by hand-picked SMEs and leaders in the field based in the area in which your particular session is being held. A comprehensive list of co-trainers for each event (including full bios) will be available soon.

How do I register for an event?

Simple. Just check our Eventbrite registration page.