How to Find More & Better Content Ideas with Media Monitoring

Oh, the dreaded blank page, the taunting blink of the cursor!

As a marketer, one of your greatest challenges is to continuously come up with great content that resonates with your audience — whether you’re writing blog posts, email campaigns and newsletter copy, marketing page messages, or social media updates. When you feel like your main job is to always be producing new content, it’s easy to forget to stop and listen to the people for whom you’re creating it.

You might be wondering, “How does this help me?” Well, we’ll get there.

Getting to know and understand your audience is the best way to connect with them. What problems do do they face? What topics, questions, people, and products do they find interesting? How do their thoughts and opinions relate to your marketing and business goals?

The key to creating successful content is to be relevant and engaging — and one of the most powerful ways to do that is to be helpful and provide value. This kind of giving mentality works to build the trust and relationships you’ll need to attract, convince, convert, and retain your community and customers.

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Media monitoring gives you the ability to gain insight into how to identify that value. People-watching or keeping your ears perked up in a crowd is a well-known tactic for gaining creative writing inspiration — and media monitoring is much the same way. You get to learn about people and what makes them tick, on their terms, and then use that intelligence to get creative, reach more people, and build deeper relationships.

Here are three ways to use media monitoring to come up with successful content ideas that make an impact.

Monitor keywords for topic ideas that will help your readers succeed

Make the content unique

Get to know your audience by monitoring general keywords and then deducing specific trends of interest. Set up alerts for key terms, topics, and hashtags that are in line with your brand and industry with tools like Mention. Or do manual searches on social media channels like Twitter and tools like BuzzSumo.

By tracking broader terms like “email marketing” and “lifecycle email,” we’ve discovered that people are hungry for guidance through best practices and tips. That gives us a choice to play into that trend or differentiate ourselves from the crowd by diving deeper into topics, with more specific treatments as well as concrete, real-life examples.

For instance, we noticed a recent uptick in interest around deliverability and spam filtering, but saw most of the content provided vague tips. So we published a post walking through specific steps to keep your emails out of the spam folder.

Social content-sharing forums and news sites, where community members can vote on articles and posts — like GrowthHackers, Inbound, Hacker News, and Quibb — not only reveal what people find interesting, but also have a built-in distribution network. Monitor trends in relevant topics and then use that networking power.

By using this approach to track the most popular email marketing content, we saw that people wanted templates and blueprints that they could then adapt and use. So we came up with some blog posts that provided copy templates for different types of emails. (Now depending on the month, sites like GrowthHackers and Inbound are among the top 5 largest drivers of traffic to our blog.)

Key takeaway: Use keyword and topic monitoring to identify trends and opportunities to stand out in a crowd.

Uncover specific problems by listening to what people are saying

With keyword monitoring, you get a sense of the forest of what people are interested in. But when you start paying attention to what specific people, community members, customers, and influencers are saying — not just sharing and upvoting — you get a sense of the trees, the specific questions and issues people are facing.

People pose questions in forums and social media and chances are, if a few folks have spoken up about something, there are many others wondering and working through the same issues.

Here are 3 quick ways to listen in a more targeted way:

1. Pay attention and respond to direct questions.

This is probably an obvious tactic, but just remember not to undervalue when people reach out to you. Here’s a question, unrelated to our product, from a Twitter follower, regarding a new tool from Gmail.

That sparked an internal discussion about trying the tool ourselves and seeing if we could come up with interesting insights to share.

2. Curate groups and lists of experts and influencers.

Find out what experts and practitioners are going through and listen to them talking shop. This is a great way to gain focus and efficiency in your media monitoring.

For instance, I created a list of awesome email marketers and learn about industry-relevant news, events, issues, and informed opinions about problems and trends.

3. Tap into people’s emotions.

On social sharing and monitoring tools, you can search and filter by sentiment or whether people are expressing generally positive or negative opinions. These tools aren’t perfect, but can give you a lot of insight into when people have strong feelings about something.

Here’s a sample Twitter search of the hashtag topic #emailmarketing, in English, expressing negative sentiment:

With this tactic, we’ve been able to learn more about how people often feel frustrated with email marketing, both on the receiving and sending end, because things don’t work the way they’re supposed to. There’s a gulf that people experience in how the care that gets put into building products and businesses often doesn’t extend to how email is treated. This inspired one of our most popular posts about how email is actually part of the user experience.

Key takeaway: Make your listening targeted and efficient by paying attention to particular audience members, experts, and strong emotions.

Talk to people, plain and simple.

Just as product managers must get out there and talk to users and customers to do their job well, so should marketers. Your product is your content and copy, and talking to your audience is the best way to get feedback and new ideas.

A great opening into a conversation with people is when they share your content. In the optimal case, say thanks and express gratitude, but don’t just stop there. Be proactive about continuing the conversation. Here’s a more content/product-focused interchange: where the reply back to a “Thanks for sharing!” message paves the way to introduce our newsletter:

More importantly: ask questions based on their initial tweet or around the content they’ve just shared. It’s a real opportunity to learn from others, increase understanding, and prompt creative ideas.

A tip: don’t just track your Twitter handle for content shares. Remember to set up alerts for brand names without an @ symbol. According to Mention, “30.72% of tweets containing company names don’t include their Twitter handle.” And that becomes even more important when you’re looking to start a conversation with someone who has shared your content but didn’t directly include an “@“ mention.

Finally, email is one of the best ways to talk with people because it’s a more personal, one-to-one communication channel. This is easy to overlook, given common (but not best!) practices like having no-reply email addresses or treating messages as a one-way, outbound street. Whether it’s with your newsletter, feature announcements, or lifecycle emails: keep the conversation going, because this is your core audience.

Key takeaway: Use media monitoring to not just start but also develop an ongoing conversation by asking questions.

Putting this into action

• Set up alerts in your media monitoring tool and track topics in community content-sharing forums to identify recurring themes, questions, and trends.


• Look for specific questions and challenges posed by your followers, customers, and community members as well as influencers on social media and forums.


• Pay attention to signals of strong emotion that will suggest ideas for strongly resonant messages.


• Listen and keep the conversation going with your audience and community, instead of thinking of marketing as a one-way, outbound channel.

How to Find More & Better Content Ideas with Media Monitoring

5 Observations From Local Search & Marketing Practices That Reveal Opportunities For ...

The local marketplace is incredibly hard to pin down. So much variance exists in business category, size and location that making forecasts or identifying trends is difficult. What works for an SMB with eight locations and 100 employees is often not a good predictor for a two-person store.

At the Local Search Association, we are working on analyzing narrower profiles of local businesses to try to provide better information and insights into the needs of SMBs in today’s changing search and marketing landscape.

Our research partner, Thrive Analytics, conducts an annual Local Pulse survey to gauge SMB attitudes towards different forms of media and offers forecasts for economic activity, SMB marketing budgets and their relationship with agencies. I’ll be taking a look at Thrive Analytics’ 2015 Local Marketing Outlook for Home and Auto Emergency Related Service Businesses to provide five search and marketing tips for small local businesses with similar profiles.

Business Profile

Home and Auto Emergency Related services include businesses such as appliance repair, plumbers, HVAC service providers, auto repair shops and tire dealers. There are a number of common characteristics in this group that help define those businesses this outlook would apply to.

• Services are often provided in a time-sensitive manner and involve repairs that customers view as urgent or problems that require quick solutions.


• Businesses are small in size — more than 80 percent of these businesses have nine or fewer employees, and almost 65 percent have four or fewer employees.


• Most are single-location businesses — 52 percent have one location and 75 percent have three or fewer locations.


• Average transaction revenue is $431, excluding roofers. Roofers have an average transaction receipt of more than $4,600.


• The ideal customers are established and financially stable clients who spend more — often older customers with stable jobs and larger assets. For example, the average transaction price for an auto repair service for a Millennial is $327, compared with $533 for a Boomer or senior.


• Average marketing spend is approximately $8,000 per year.


• Business outlook is up, and 34.4 percent of businesses with nine or fewer employees will increase marketing spend. The remaining SMBs will mostly keep spending the same.

Here are five observations about local businesses with the above profile that reveal great opportunities for marketers to help improve these SMBs’ local search and marketing strategies.

1. Both Digital And Traditional Search Are Top Performers.

According to Thrive Analytics’ Local Pulse Survey, the top-rated media by performance for Home and Auto Emergency services were company websites at 35 percent, Print Yellow Pages at 28 percent, Social Media at 19 percent and Newspapers at 18 percent. SMBs rated SEO and SEM a combined 27 percent, and Internet Yellow Pages adds an additional 15 percent to the print Yellow Pages number.

The marketing where SMBs expect to grow most are email marketing at 34 percent, websites at 32 percent, SEO at 29 percent, and social media, direct mail and newspapers at 28 percent.

Source: Thrive Analytics

Takeaway:

While a company’s website was rated the most effective marketing method, its success depends heavily on other marketing methods in getting found. Many other media, such as social media, Google search results and internet Yellow Pages, all direct traffic to the website.

Since traditional media still play an important role for this business profile, taking away marketing dollars from these marketing methods to apply elsewhere may cause an overall decrease in ROI from marketing. The better strategy would be to use expected increases in marketing spend towards growth areas such as SEO and email marketing.

2. Social Media Is Being Used, But Not Effectively.

The Local Pulse Survey reported that 68 percent of Home and Auto Emergency-Related Service SMBs have some type of social presence. This presence reflects the public’s huge consumption of social media. ComScore reports in its 2015 US Mobile App Report that Facebook is the top smartphone app in total time spent by almost half of its user base and is in the top three apps for 80 percent of users. The average mobile user spends a whopping 26 hours a month on social apps.

Thus, SMBs’ desire for a social presence is being driven by the perception that the significant amount of time spent by consumers on social media makes it a free and productive source of marketing leads. Thrive Analytics reports that 60 percent of these SMBs have not tried a paid campaign on social media. Instead, they set up free home pages, expecting it will generate leads (60 percent), engage customers (40 percent) and generate brand awareness (28 percent).

But these expectations also result in 25 percent of the SMBs feeling they’ve received zero value from social media and 32 percent feeling it takes too much time to manage.

The reason for the chasm between usage numbers and effectiveness in generating leads is that media usage does not equate to media influence. Google performed a study that demonstrated very little correlation between usage and influence. Rather, influence is achieved through consumer experience and matching your content with what consumers need or are looking for.

Takeaway:

SMBs understand the value of social media in terms of its scale. But they often need help understanding how to use it to make it an effective local marketing tool. While the platform itself might be free, as with many things, you get what you pay for. Social media takes time and commitment to make it useful in the areas that SMBs want: lead generation, engagement and brand awareness.

Since so many SMBs have an existing, albeit stagnant, social media presence, this is an area where marketers can demonstrate how their services increase ROI through benchmarking of before and after results. Active social media management may also support other marketing strategies, including local search and SEO.

3. SMBs Are Lagging In Technology Adoption.

The above data showing websites to be the highest performing media among Home and Auto Emergency Services are even more impressive when you consider that almost half of those SMBs have no websites. Only 53 percent of small businesses have websites, a slight increase from 2014, and only half of those have a mobile strategy. Further, only 37 percent accept mobile payments, and only 36 percent use CRM tools to track leads.

Perhaps many are relying on free enhanced listings or free pages on social media platforms, given that more SMBs in this group have a social media presence than a website. Pages on sites like Yelp and Facebook may be promoted via other forms of marketing, such as local search and email campaigns.

However, Local Search Association surveys show that 50 percent of consumers are extremely likely to look at websites when searching for a local business, product or service. Further, another survey shows 67 percent of consumers want improvements or mobile optimized sites from those businesses.

Takeaway:

Businesses that fall into the above profile need help in adopting digital media strategies to sustain long-term viability and growth. Failure to do so will result in declining market share and reach. Only 25 percent of businesses in this segment are mobile-ready, despite the fact that most Americans use mobile devices to search for local businesses and services, and not having a mobile site hurts other marketing strategies like local search and SEO. Agencies and marketing service providers must help SMBs understand how digital marketing strategies overlap and impact one another.

4. Repeat Business Is A Top Priority.

The areas of marketing where SMBs in the Home and Auto Emergency-Related Services category expressed the greatest need for help were loyalty management and traditional media. In Thrive Analytics’ survey, with an index of 100 being the average across all business categories, SMBs in this business category scored 120 points in loyalty management and 109 points in traditional media as areas where they need the most help.

The importance of these two areas to this business segment appears to indicate that return customers or regular customers are highly valued. Loyalty management focuses on improving customer retention, securing long-term loyalty and prioritizing services to needs of existing clients.

For similar reasons, SMBs have a strong interest in maintaining traditional advertising where past customers found the business.

Takeaway:

Businesses in this category deal with wear and tear. Tires wear down, appliances break down, air conditioner parts wear out and homes or cars need maintenance. Inevitably, the time will come when customers need help with that service again.

Keeping customers satisfied and knowing when they are not is key to maintaining return business. Regular communications and reminders to keep the business or brand top-of-mind are important to make sure searches for the business are narrow or specific in scope so that the business will show up in search results.

Also, marketing strategies for attaining new customers should focus on long-term customers, as opposed to one-time shoppers.

5. The Value Of Fresh Content Is Misunderstood.

Those in this SMB business category scored significantly below the index average in wanting help in the areas of social media (63), content marketing (78) and websites (83). The numbers are surprising, given that the SMBs expect websites and social media to be among the areas where they expect the most growth in media spend. (See above point #1.)

The relative lack of interest in content marketing alongside those content-dependent media means that little is being spent on updating websites and social media pages.

Further, Thrive Analytics’ survey found that over half of websites are created and maintained by a family member or friend. Sixty percent of content by “do-it-yourself” SMBs only gets updated every six months or more. The infrequent updates are likely due to the fact that 64 percent of SMBs expressed that the biggest challenge with digital marketing is time and knowledge to engage in effective marketing. These numbers point to media spend on advertising that drives traffic to stale content.

Takeaway:

It is clear that these SMBs need to be educated on the importance of keeping content fresh and engaging. Last month, I noted the widely held opinion among marketers that content marketing is currently the most important digital marketing trend. Fresh content boosts SEO, impacts the effectiveness of your website, engages audiences on social media, updates enhanced listings and keeps audiences coming back for more.

With 64 percent expressing that it is not money, but time and knowledge that are obstacles to effective marketing, the low priority and media spend given to content marketing can be changed if SMBs are properly educated on its value.

Some opinions expressed in this article may be those of a guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.

About The Author

Wesley Young is the Local Search Association’s vice president of Public Policy. He blogs about the industry on the Local Search Insider blog.

(Some images used under license from Shutterstock.com.)

5 Observations From Local Search & Marketing Practices That Reveal Opportunities For ...

Marketing Manager - Adelaide Health Club & Online Sales Retailer

At Blackwood Fitness our Departments include Health & Fitness, Gym, Kids Swim School, Personal Training, Supplement Shop, Swim Shop, Health Centre which includes Physiotherapy, Psychologist, Podiatrist, Dietician, Exercise Physiologist and soon to be built a 30 seat cafe. That’s where you come in. We are looking for a full time Marketing Manager at Blackwood Fitness who can bring all these departments together and provide direction, expertise & develop the marketing strategy whilst leveraging the common benefits for each department.

We are not just a fitness centre or gym we are a lifestyle and a way of life for over 6,000 current members and over 1,000 individual visits on a daily basis. You will have at your disposal a full time graphics person, a full time web developer and a part time content editor and data entry person along with all the required resources to fulfil the role. You will also have at your disposal a well-established marketing department that has expertise in both online and offline advertising mediums.

The ideal candidate for this role must have solid experience and a true passion for online direct response marketing and is constantly learning and utilising new innovations, along with the following:

• You must have excellent written and verbal communication skills; impeccable organisation and project management skills and a willingness to be hands-on and deeply involved in multiple projects;


• Ideally you will be degree qualified in marketing, business or commerce with at least 2 years’ experience in marketing or brand management within Australia with a proven track record of success;


• A track record leading a creative team to design, project plan and implement innovative online marketing strategies to prospects and current members;


• Ownership of the online marketing budget and outcomes with responsibility for lead generation targets, budget allocation, internal forecasts and analytics in both online & off line sales channels;


• Understanding & Experience of online marketing funnels and building a high-converting direct sales funnel;


• Extensive experience in all aspects of online marketing including blog articles, web site review and upgrades, design and implementation of new web sites, landing pages, split tests, digital newsletters;


• Management and understanding of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Facebook advertising and PCC (Pay Per Click) strategies, Instagram, Twitter & Tumbler;


• The ability to design, implement, test and measure both offline & online marketing campaigns, that convert leads into sales;


• The ability to manage the social media strategy, to ensure the development, management and implementation of YouTube channel marketing, blog articles, writing PR releases, and social media strategies


• The ability to develop offline and online affiliate programs and joint ventures;


• Experience in the management & the development of content and copywriting for web sites;


• Previous experience within the fitness industry is not a prerequisite or not essential

Remuneration

• A very competitive salary package is on offer commensurate with your relevant experience.


• A rewarding role with opportunity for growth


• Display a stable career history


• Immediate Start


• The salary is between $70 – $120K salary package, depending on experience and history. Only experienced people apply.

Apply

• Please include a cover letter addressing the selection criteria with your resume & a portfolio examples of your work.


• All applicants will be contacted for further information as part of the assessment process prior to interview.


• Please apply by sending your resume to john@blackwoodfitness.com.au  Applications close Friday, 18 December 2015

Please apply by sending your resume to john@blackwoodfitness.com.au Applications close Friday, 18 December 2015.

Marketing Manager - Adelaide Health Club & Online Sales Retailer

Holiday Email Marketing Insights: Send Emails Early, Avoid Thanksgiving Day & Segment Your Lists

Adobe predicts this year’s online holiday sales will reach a record $83 billion, an 11 percent year-over-year increase compared to last year.

With so much up for grabs between now and the end of the year, brands are already escalating their email marketing campaigns as we enter the holiday season – but, reaching consumers through their inbox may prove to be more challenging compared to this time last year.

Email marketing provider ReturnPath reports global inbox placement rates have slid below 80 percent in 2015. According to ReturnPath, U.S. brands identified as “legitimate senders” saw 24 percent of their marketing emails blocked or placed in spam folders this year – a steep rise compared last year’s 13 percent.

The email marketing platform blames decline in inbox placement on refined technology and filtering approaches by mailbox providers.

“While inbox placement decision-making is highly proprietary, the mailbox provider community has has been expanding its filtering criteria into engagement-based and individualized signals in recent years,” says Return Path.

To help improve holiday email engagement rates, GoDaddy recommends brands avoid sending emails on Thanksgiving Day all together.

“On Thanksgiving Day, open rates hit their lowest rate for the entire month of November,” says GoDaddy.

The email service provider says brands planning Cyber Monday emails should be ready to compete as it saw a huge surge of marketing emails sent on Cyber Monday 2014.

“Email is one of the primary marketing channels that drives e-commerce orders during the holiday shopping season,” says GoDaddy’s SVP of business applications Steven Aldrich, “It’s a key time for small businesses to engage with their customers, but our data shows that many are missing an opportunity to stand out when it comes to scheduling their marketing efforts.”

SendGrid reports the same, with data from 2014 showing brands sent a high volume of email on Black Friday and Cyber Monday versus sending campaigns in advance.

“We expected holiday shopping marketing volume to be concentrated in advance of the big day, we found that wasn’t the case,” says SendGrid, “Plenty of emails went out pretty late in the day as well, despite Black Friday’s reputation for early morning – or even midnight – deals.”

Black Friday Versus Cyber Monday Email Send Volume in 2014

SendGrid says marketers should consider sending Black Friday-related marketing emails earlier this year, “While it probably pays to be top of mind on the big day, it may also be worth getting on shopper’s minds when they’re planning their Black Friday strategy.”

The email marketing platform also offered tips on formatting:

“Most email templates are designed for a standard desktop, with a set HTML width of about 600 pixels. This is too wide for most phones, and could result in unnecessary horizontal scrolling.”

SendGrid said brands need to offer a plain text version in HTML for their marketing emails, and not overuse images as they increase the risk of emails being marked as spam.

Additionally, SendGrid reinforces the importance of more targeted send lists versus large email blasts, using the following chart to show how engagement rates decline as the size of an email send list grows.

Email List Size Versus Engagement Rates

When looking at send frequency, SendGrid reports more sends equal more unsubscribes, and that higher send rates have a direct correlation with lower engagement.

“According to our data, senders who sent 100 Black Friday emails – multiple per day – would be expected to average an 11 percent engagement, compared to 16.5 percent for senders who sent only 10 Black Friday emails.”

Email Send Frequency Versus Engagement Rates

SendGrid says brands should be wary of sending too many emails as it could result in email fatigue. “You should send multiple emails per day only rarely, and only to recipients who consistently engage with your mail.”

One resource email marketers may want to check out is the recently launched email marketing search engine Notablist. Indexing more than four million email marketing newsletters, Notablist offers a broad view of the email marketing design landscape.

---

About The Author

Amy Gesenhues is Third Door Media’s General Assignment Reporter, covering the latest news and updates for Marketing Land and Search Engine Land. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs.com, SoftwareCEO.com, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy’s articles.

(Some images used under license from Shutterstock.com.)

Holiday Email Marketing Insights: Send Emails Early, Avoid Thanksgiving Day & Segment Your Lists

Real Publicists Break Down How PR & Digital Marketing Really Works, Really

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Belize Internet Marketing & Website Design Launches New Placencia Real Estate Website for ...

Belize Internet Marketing & Website Design Launches New Placencia Real Estate Website for Vision Properties
PR.com
2015-09-29

Belmopan City, Belize, September 29, 2015 –(PR.com)– Today, Belize Internet Marketing & Website Design is excited to unveil the new Vision Properties Belize website. Vision Properties offers prime real estate and high-quality construction delivered on schedule in Placencia, Belize. The new website highlights all the services – such as home construction, fractional ownership and vacation rentals – that Vision Properties offers and does it in a visually attractive way that encourages visitors to do business with them.

The new design helps make the website more effective by improving the visual experience, making the site easier to navigate, and enhancing the SEO of the site to make it easier to find in search. Also, because more people are using mobile devices, the site has a fully responsive design, which means whether you’re browsing on a tablet, laptop or mobile device you can easily navigate the site.

About Vision Properties:

Vision Properties Belize located in Placencia, Belize. Offering services, such as home construction, fractional ownership and vacation rentals. If you’re looking to invest, vacation, or retire in Southern Belize, Vision Properties vision is to provide the highest quality residences with a low maintenance, flexible ownership model to fit an owner’s desired lifestyle.

About Belize Website Design:

Belize Website Design has created websites for many organizations in Belize and specializes in providing affordable Internet solutions and technologies that deliver maximum return on investment for businesses in the tourism and travel industry.

Contact Information:

Belize Website Design

Richard Beane

011-501-822-0006

Contact via Email

www.BelizeIM.com

Read the full story here: http://www.pr.com/press-release/637993

Press Release Distributed by PR.com

Belize Internet Marketing & Website Design Launches New Placencia Real Estate Website for ...

Online Sales & Marketing Executive

Ending Oct 23

Altrincham

Part Time

Generous commission

Description

Altrincham Today is blazing a trail in hyperlocal, mobile-first news.

At a time when local print newspapers are suffering from falling interest and revenue, we’re growing fast: over 80,000 people visit our site every month, the vast majority living within five miles of Altrincham.

Our social media community now totals almost 11,000 people, and is by far the most engaged audience of any comparable local news service.

After a recent redesign, we can now boast a cutting-edge and class-leading website that is entirely mobile-first in design and usability.

And we’re now looking to expand our brand across the North West and beyond.

The role

There are now a number of highly effective ways for businesses to communicate to their customers through Altrincham Today, including sponsored content, display advertising and our jobs board.

We’re looking for an ambitious and highly motivated person to market these opportunities to the businesses within Altrincham and neighbouring towns. In partnership with the editor, you will devise and coordinate a detailed marketing plan in order to capitalise on the opportunities that currently exist in both digital and hyperlocal news publishing.

The person

You will have at least a year’s marketing or sales experience, and experience within online or newspaper sales would be an advantage, although not essential.

A strong network of contacts within the Altrincham area would also be a distinct advantage.

You’ll also have excellent writing and communication skills, thorough attention to detail and a working level of social media expertise.

Most importantly, you’ll be personable, professional, a self-starter and enthusiastic.

Benefits

This is a part-time opportunity initially, with potential to develop into a full-time role as the company expands.

You’ll be able to manage your time to suit your own work, life and family requirements, but roughly the role will require a commitment of around 15-20 hours a week.

You’ll also be able to work remotely, although there will be regular progress review meetings (usually in Market House!).

Pay will be on a generous and highly competitive commission basis.

Online Sales & Marketing Executive

Movers & Shakers: July 2015

July shot past like a bullet train, so here’s some of the job updates that you might have missed in the last month.

Let’s start with the agencies, where Havas Media’s James Cooper has stepped into the position of global performance director after six years at the company.

Cooper will be rolling out and managing Ecselis, its PPC, SEO, affiliate and display performance brand, while Morgan Anning will take his post as head of acquisition.

7thingsmedia said farewell to former account director Fiona Gandy, who joined multi-brand fashion retailer Net-a-Porter as performance marketing strategist.

Brand agency ORB has boosted its roster having secured a number of new contracts, appointing Jodie Price as account manager, Helen Page as designer and Rick Malhi as creative strategist.

Mobile

Mobile commerce and proximity marketing specialist Proxama has installed its CFO John Kennedy as interim chief executive.  

This followed former CEO Neil Garner announcing his intention to step down in May 2016, while he remains on the board to lead strategic development of tech, products and partnerships.  

Meanwhile cloud-based iPad Point-of-Sale (PoS) provider ShopKeep announced the hire of Christophe Delacroix – founder of PoS reseller BlueBird – as general manager in line with its launch in the UK market.

Display

Polish display ad tech company RTB House continues to expand abroad, installing Alexandros Rigas in its Greece headquarters following openings in Turkey, Russia and the Czech Republic.

Bringing 15 years of experience in online media and a career at ITV, Jon Block has joined the ranks of video ad specialist Videology as EMEA vice president of product and platform.

Skin-based ad experts Sublime Skinz onboarded Lisa Menaldo as UK managing director, having left the same position at programmatic trading company Bannerconnect.

Content monetisation startup VigLink took on former Pandora Radio senior director of HR in the same capacity. Teryle Macdonald has held senior positions at GE, NBC Universal and Comcast.

Online games marketing specialist ad2games announced a double title for new hire Sheila Kagan, who joins as chief operating officer and managing director combined.

A Tel Aviv native, Kagan previously served as senior VP of client development at performance advertiser Matomy, and director of affiliate market and operations at 888.com.

And finally, Affilinet welcomed Jonathan Reynolds as head of client services, having left Tradedoubler as head of international clients.

Are you looking for a new job or hiring?

Would you like to advertise your performance marketing vacancies to PerformanceIN’s captive and knowledgeable audience? For more information about the opportunities we can provide please contact our  sales team. For the latest performance marketing jobs take a look at PerformanceIN Jobs. 

If you or a colleague are switching companies soon, drop an email including details of the switch to our content team to feature in next month’s edition of Movers & Shakers.

Movers & Shakers: July 2015

TrueShip Releases New & Improved Ecommerce Shipping Guide for Users of ReadyShipper ...

SCOTTSDALE, AZ, Aug 05, 2015 (Marketwired via COMTEX) — TrueShip (http://www.trueship.com), the leading provider of ecommerce shipping software and automated online product returns management solutions, has just released a new and improved ecommerce shipping guide.

The goal of the guide is to help users of ReadyShipper shipping software make the most of theire-tailing ventures by learning the ins and outs of fulfillment with the information that is provided to them in this step-by-step, 5,000 word guide.

As the ecommerce industry grows, experts are projecting that it will top the $1tn marker by 2017. With millions of online stores already populating the internet, shipping and convenient, automated returns have become the focal point for online retailers; and for the bargain savvy consumers that are seeking an exceptional online shopping experience.

TrueShip’s newest guide is designed to educate newcomers as well as fulfillment veterans, and enable them to better tackle their orders and get them out the door to their awaiting domestic or international customers.

In this updated and comprehensive guide, users will learn about:

-- Using marketable packaging.
-- Options for packaged goods.
-- Why less is more with fulfillment.
-- Breakdown of ecommerce shipping options.
-- Illustrated infographic on how shipping prices affect sales.
-- Comparison and contrast on whether or not to offer free shipping.
-- Illustrated infographic on the top shopping cart abandonment reasons and
 how shipping cost plays a strong role.
-- Using real-time rates from carriers.
-- Offering flat rate shipping for customers.
-- Overview of ecommerce shipping options.
-- Determining your ecommerce shipping rates.
-- Understanding variances between carrier rates.
-- Options for padding profits with your shipping prices.
-- The pros and cons of using shipping insurance.
-- Understanding how tracking numbers work.
-- Customs forms and declarations.
-- Customs tariffs, taxes and duties.
-- Reducing costs of international shipping.
-- The low-down on shipping labels.
-- Pros and cons of using warehouse fulfillment centers.
-- Managing ecommerce returns with illustrated infographic.

“Online retailing is an exciting world, but you want to make sure that you are prepared before you set forth on this adventure,” explained Michael Lazar, Director of Online Marketing at TrueShip. “Our new and improved ecommerce shipping guide has been revamped to provide a wealth of information to retailers, so they can find answers to all of their shipping questions from one convenient source.”

The guide can be read in its entirety by visiting: http://www.trueshi p.com/articles/how-your-online-returns-policy-is-viewed-by-shoppers-w hy-automation-is-the-key.

A wide assortment of related guides and white papers can also be found at: http://www.trueship.com/blog.

About TrueShip

#ShipSmarter — TrueShip is the original architect of multi-carrier ecommerce shipping software. ReadyShipper shipping software integrates into the most widely used shopping carts and online marketplaces. It is an easy-to-use order fulfillment solution designed to save e-retailers time and money.

Start a 14-day trial of ReadyShipper shipping software by visiting: http://www.TrueShip.com/products/ReadyShipper.

About ReadyReturns

#ReturnsHappen — ReadyReturns is a customer-facing, plug-and-play, self-service online product returns software solution. It integrates into virtually any website without any programming. ReadyReturns lets customers make returns from a website by filling out a simple form and printing the return shipping label. E-retailers set the rules of the returns, including things like return shipping and restocking fees.

Start a 30-day trial of ReadyReturns by visiting: http://www.TrueShip.com/products/ReadyReturns.

Embedded Video Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEgwtCcwjYk

Press Contact

Michael Lazar
Director of Online Marketing
Tel: (877) 818-7447
Email: support@trueship.com

SOURCE: TrueShip

mailto:support@trueship.com

(C) 2015 Marketwire L.P. All rights reserved.

TrueShip Releases New & Improved Ecommerce Shipping Guide for Users of ReadyShipper ...

The VP Marketing & Bus. Part. of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), David Fischer Sold 25000 Shares

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David Fischer Insider Sell Transaction

In consideration of trade David Fischer made he is in in the stock market eye today. The VP Marketing & Bus. Part. of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) 86.06 -4.50 -4.97% and an insider, unloaded 25,000 shares worth $2,366,250 USD. The average price was $94.7 per share. In the last month, he also unloaded 42,651 shares that are worth approx $4,007,255 USD. The dated August 21, 2015 transaction’s filing that was filed with the (SEC) is freely available here. The chances that this deal stays hidden are nil because of the massive amount of money involved. Presently, David Fischer owns 295,262 shares which make up around 0.01% of the Company’s market capitalization.

Facebook Inc Stock Rating, Sentiment and Fundamentals

Since this was such a enormous transaction, it may signal that Mr. David is a pessimist about Facebook Inc’s future or the increase of its stock price. Fifty top financial analysts expect the stock to have 41.60 forward PE, $2.07 earnings per share and 28.90% eps growth.

Rating & Sentiment
PsychSignal Social:	SELL
Analysts Rating:	BUY
Hedge Funds Sentiment:	BUY

Stock Fundamentals
Earnings + FCF Trend:	BUY
Sector/Industry Macro:	BULLISH
Valuation Models:	–

Technical Analysis
ST Trend:	UP
MT Trend:	UP
LT Trend:	UP

OctaFinance Rating*:

NEUTRAL

Facebook Inc’s stock chart indicates it has risen 0.32% in the last 25 days and the strong and smooth up trend is expected to continue. This uptrend plus David Fischer’s insider selling and our trend-following model force us to rate the stock “NEUTRAL”. Look at the chart below.

Price Chart of Facebook NASDAQ:FB Stock

Source: RightEdgeSystems, Yahoo Split & Dividend Adjusted Data and OctaFinance Interpretations

Hedge Funds Ownership

According to 13F filings from SEC for Q4 2014, 1126 hedge funds have shares of Facebook Inc. The tracked institutional players have traditionally had an extremely high interest in the company, and that was also the case in Q4 2014. The institutional ownership was 51.38% of the stock’s outstanding shares. They increased by 63.29 million the total shares they hold. As of that quarter these institutional investors owned 1.45 billion shares. There were 77 funds that closed their positions and 330 that reduced them. A total of 181 funds opened new positions in Facebook Inc and 490 increased their holdings.

This stock is held by 143 institutional managers in their Top 10 stock portfolios. Some of them are: Ah Equity Partners Iii L.L.C., Alpinvest Partners B.V., Alydar Partners Llc, Ao Asset Management Llc, Atika Capital Management Llc, Buckingham Asset Management Llc, Capital Planning Advisors Llc, Cmt Asset Management Ltd, Ems Capital Lp, Hamilton Lane Advisors Llc.

Accuvest Global Advisors is the most positive institutional investor on Facebook Inc, with ownership of 17,460 shares as of Q4 2014 for 0.29% of the fund’s portfolio. Avalon Advisors Llc is another positive asset manager owning 153,355 shares of the company or 0.55% of their stocks portfolio. The stock is also 0.29% of the fund’s AUM. Moreover Balasa Dinverno & Foltz Llc have 0.06% of their stock portfolio invested in the stock for 5,795 shares. Beck Mack & Oliver Llc revealed it had purchased a stake worth 0.01% of the fund’s stock portfolio in Facebook Inc. The Texas-based fund Belmont Global Advisors Inc. is also very upbeat about the California-based company, with ownership of 10,200 shares or 0.79% of their stock portfolio.

Facebook NASDAQ:FB Company Profile

Facebook, Inc. is a social networking company. The Company is engaged in developing products that enables users to connect and share through mobile devices and personal computers. It offers various services focused on people, marketers and developers. It offers various platforms for people to share their opinions, ideas, photos and videos, and to engage in other activities. Its products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp. The Facebook mobile app and Website enables people to connect, share, discover and communicate with each other on mobile devices and personal computers. Its Messenger is a mobile-to-mobile messaging application available on iOS and Android phones. Instagram is a mobile application and Website that enables people to take photos or videos, and share them with friends and followers. WhatsApp Messenger is a cross-platform mobile messaging application and allows people to exchange messages on iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and Nokia devices.

Company Website: Facebook

Facebook Inc has 10955 employees. As of writing its market worth is: $242.48 billion and it has 2.68 billion outstanding shares. At the moment it has 55.08% shareholders and the institutional ownership stands at 55.08%. Facebook Inc was founded in Delaware on 2004-07-29. The stock closed at $90.559998 yesterday and it had average 2 days volume of 11664642 shares. It is up from the 30 days average shares volume of 7341388. Facebook Inc has a 52 weeks low of $70.32 and a one year high of $99.24. The stock price is above the 200 days SMA. Facebook Inc last issued its quarterly earnings stats on 07/29/2015. The company reported 0.3 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of 0.31 by 0.01. The company had a revenue of 4.04 billion for 6/30/2015 and 3.54 billion for 3/31/2015. Therefore, the revenue was 500.00 million up.

* The sales reported were effected pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted by the reporting person.

Tagged: David FischerFacebook – (NASDAQ:FB)

The VP Marketing & Bus. Part. of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), David Fischer Sold 25000 Shares

Recognised as 'Best Broker – Eastern Asia, including China' & 'Best Affiliate Programme'

The Program uses a pioneering social posting facility which makes affiliate marketing on social media simpler than ever before, and boasts one of the …

Recognised as "Best Broker – Eastern Asia, including China" & "Best Affiliate Programme"

Ben Meyer, Email Marketing Specialist & Campaign Coordinator, cleverbridge - Shares Insights ...

Our profile feature takes a look at some of the global professionals working across performance marketing, shedding light on the varying roles and companies across the flourishing industry. This week we head to Chicago, to meet Ben Meyer.

Name: 

Ben Meyer. 

Job title and company:

Email marketing specialist and campaign coordinator, cleverbridge. 

In one sentence, how would you describe what the company does? 

Cleverbridge is a proven leader in e-commerce technology, services and expertise for global software and cloud companies that serve consumers and businesses. For more than 300 clients – including Avira, Corel, Dell, Malwarebytes and Parallels – cleverbridge is a true extension of their teams, understanding each client’s billing models, markets, channels and specific e-commerce requirements. 

What are the company’s unique selling points?

Cleverbridge was founded by experts with decades of experience in the e-commerce industry. Our laser focus on software and cloud companies has resulted in unmatched expertise that addresses the unique needs of this complex market.

The cloud-based cleverbridge platform offers exceptional flexibility and robust capability to increase online sales while streamlining clients’ internal processes.

As companies continue to realise the vast opportunities and challenges of serving a global customer base, cleverbridge’s extensive localisation capabilities are extremely valuable to account for differences in distinct markets and correctly adapt clients’ sales efforts to local needs.

Within the last six months/year, what stands out as the company’s major milestones?

• In 2014, we transacted more than USD $536 million through our platform with over one million transactions per month.


• Expanded worldwide to more than 280 employees among our Cologne (Germany), Chicago, San Francisco and Tokyo locations.


• IDC named cleverbridge a ‘leader’ in the digital commerce applications market, based on product functionality, future road map strategy, innovation and pace of productivity in research and development, growth strategy execution, and customer service.


• Announced a strategic partnership with global cross-channel digital marketing provider ExactTarget. The seamless integration between the ExactTarget email marketing solution and the cleverbridge e-commerce platform enables clients to more effectively create, deploy and track promotional and transactional emails based on customer data.


• With software companies continuing to tap into the benefits of cloud-based delivery models and recurring revenue streams with subscriptions, more are turning to our advanced CLM and subscription capabilities to manage the new complexities.

Duration in current role:

I have been with cleverbridge for almost four years, now with a focus on email marketing.

Where are you based?

The beautiful city of Chicago.

Previous performance marketing-related companies you have worked at:

I am lucky to say that I have been with cleverbridge since the start my career. 

What are your main job responsibilities?

I oversee the email marketing services on behalf of cleverbridge clients. I focus mainly on the business development and strategy for a full-feature email program. This means creating marketing roadmaps that drive client revenue through the email marketing channel.

Take us through what you get up to on a typical working Monday:

A typical Monday starts off with viewing what the deliverability scores are for our clients. If there is a dip in the score, then we will work to correct the issue. Mondays mean reporting! Every Monday we start running reports from the previous week to see how our campaigns are performing. This is the type of stuff an online marketer comes to work for; to see how their campaigns are performing and what can I do to improve them. 

What top three websites can you be found browsing during your lunch hour?

Engaget.com, Adweek.com and hypem.com. 

What are your top three tips for someone looking to get their hands on a job like yours?

1. Work on your organisational and attention to detail skills – The work you are doing is customer facing and email marketing helps build a brand. You don’t want to send an email with a mistake and have that be associated to that brand.


2. Be passionate – There are many moving parts to a successful email program. You will have the opportunity to work on all big aspects of an email production. 


3. Set goals – Keep striving to accomplish goals. Understanding your personal and business goals will help you align yourself to become successful in your career.

Career-wise, where do you see yourself in three years’ time?

I see myself being in more of a director role that helps our clients grow in all online marketing channels. 

Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?

I am pretty fierce Mario Kart player!

Ben Meyer, Email Marketing Specialist & Campaign Coordinator, cleverbridge - Shares Insights ...

Wisdek Inc Guarantees Top Rankings for Websites with Affordable SEO Services & Strategies

Wisdek launches new SEO services with money-back guarantee. Increase traffic, users, clients and more with Wisdek, a full-service seo strategy, web design and internet marketing company with long-tested proven methods for helping businesses achieve sustainable website traffic and lead conversion growth.

Richmond Hill, Ontario (PRWEB) July 19, 2015

Wisdek (http://www.wisdek.com/) a full service Internet marketing optimization firm, introduces SEO centric web design services and guaranteed SEO programs for small and large businesses. Wisdek’s web design services allow business clients to receive a performance focused website that achieves results in North America’s most popular search engines quickly, by implementing clean and well structured code, simple and concise navigation, and an itemized presentation of service options.

With over 32 web design elements that directly contribute to search engine favor-ability, and 47 visitor conversion enhancements, these websites are built to perform. Many believe that the user experience of a website, accompanied with rich, useful content is enough to gain traction in search engine rank positions (SERPs), but not so says the SEO firm. They operate with the belief that there is a tremendous amount of technical sophistication that goes into a properly engineered website, and performance in the search engines. For questions related to web design and SEO, the technical team has implemented an interactive live chat on their website enabling potential clients to speak directly with SEO technicians and ask questions in real-time with strategy feedback. Featuring new videos, clear descriptions of all available services, and a page specifically showcasing Client Reviews & Testimonials about the company’s performance and success in executing online marketing projects, the company’s online presence speaks volumes about their ability to develop powerful web solutions for businesses.

Each of the new features demonstrate the organized clarity the company possesses in all of its ventures, and help contribute to a more functional and user friendly website. The success of the new site reflects the continued achievements the company sees everyday. The SEO company located in Richmond Hill goes way beyond the typical client and service provider relationship. The team spends a lot of time helping clients improve their businesses and increase their revenue through a variety of online marketing campaigns. Operating with a unique set of Values and Principles they state, “Our Internet marketing services are designed to give you back control of your business success. Whether you’re the CEO of a large company, a Marketing Manager in charge of a department, or a small local business owner interested in achieving results through online marketing, we have a variety of tested, proven solutions to help you succeed.”

In addition to the numerous changes on the site, a newly implemented SEO blog has been providing an area for clients and general consumers to read, visualize and understand key strategies for internet marketing. These include guidelines, rules, positive suggestions and many infographic media files. Striving to establish open communication with each client, their priority is maintaining a clear understanding of their available services regardless of the client’s knowledge of SEO and internet marketing strategies. The company provides detailed information to keep the client as informed and knowledgeable as possible.

The company has already seen a substantial increase in conversions since the new site launch and they anticipate that the success will continually grow in the weeks to come. Every website needs to be user-friendly, accessible from any web browser, and optimized for the business or individual that owns it. This requires constant attention to a website’s current traffic using Google Analytics, easy content management using a simple system like Textpattern or WordPress, and a simple yet impressive layout design using the latest graphic design tools.”

Wisdek Internet Marketing Services include:

Wisdek Inc Guarantees Top Rankings for Websites with Affordable SEO Services & Strategies

TrueShip Drops New Guide Covering 17 Ecommerce Marketing Tips & Tools You Need Now

SCOTTSDALE, AZ –(Marketwired – July 07, 2015) – TrueShip (http://www.TrueShip.com) has just released a brand new guide that reveals 17 ecommerce marketing tips and tools that you need now.

The expansive juggernaut that is the internet rakes in an estimated $1.5 million nearly every 30 seconds. In 2014, over $300bn was hauled in, setting a new annual record for US online sales. Experts are projecting that in 2015, sales will eclipse $345bn, marking the strongest year-over-year growth yet.

With millions of retailers competing in an increasingly crowded online space, a unique approach is necessary to break the mold and make one’s store stand out from the rest of the pack. As the leading provider of ecommerce shipping software, TrueShip routinely issues detailed guides that are designed to help its users earmark successes.

The newest guide by TrueShip delivers 17 ecommerce marketing tips and tools that everyone in this industry should be using, including:

-- Integrated FAQ pages that are self-learning.
-- Providing a multimedia shopping experience.
-- Utilizing multiple selling platforms.
-- Why email marketing is still very much alive. 
-- The importance of the live chat option.
-- Donating products to gain blogger coverage.
-- Making checkout as fast and as easy as possible.
-- Cross-promoting products. 
-- Cashing in on digital coupons.
-- Announcing sales and events to the press.
-- Price-matching to gain more conversions.
-- The benefits of integrated customer feedback models.
-- Long form content marketing and placement. 
-- Social engagement and referral tactics. 
-- Finding niche long tail keywords for content outreach.
-- Retargeting bounced users to improve conversions.
-- The value of a strong and automated returns policy. 
-- Illustrated infographic of must-know ecommerce facts. 

“A business is only as good as the tools that it can use to expand and generate revenue,” explained Michael Lazar, Director of Online Marketing at TrueShip. “In our new guide, we deliver 17 timeless ecommerce marketing tips and tools to help our users improve their conversion funnel.”

You can read TrueShip’s newest guide by visiting: http://www.trueship.com/blog/2015/07/07/17-ecommerce-marketing-tips-tools-you-need-now/#.VZx6YEYY3QI.

About TrueShip

#ShipSmarter — TrueShip is the original architect of multi-carrier ecommerce shipping software. ReadyShipper shipping software integrates into the most widely used shopping carts and online marketplaces. It is an easy-to-use order fulfillment solution designed to save e-retailers time and money.

Start a 14-day trial of ReadyShipper shipping software by visiting: http://www.TrueShip.com/products/ReadyShipper.

About ReadyReturns

#ReturnsHappen — ReadyReturns is a customer-facing, plug-and-play, self-service online product returns software solution. It integrates into virtually any website without any programming. ReadyReturns lets customers make returns from a website by filling out a simple form and printing the return shipping label. E-retailers set the rules of the returns, including things like return shipping and restocking fees.

Start a 30-day trial of ReadyReturns by visiting: http://www.TrueShip.com/products/ReadyReturns.

Embedded Video Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT61wv8wud8

Embedded Video Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY7ZCN_9myo

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Press Contact
Michael Lazar
Director of Online Marketing
Tel: (877) 818-7447
Email: support@trueship.com

TrueShip Drops New Guide Covering 17 Ecommerce Marketing Tips & Tools You Need Now

The June 30 Donate & Learn Business Expo is a Must for Toronto's Top Entrepreneurs and SMBs

Join 400 Toronto Entrepreneurs June 30th and learn business, branding, marketing and management strategies needed to succeed. Jam packed with Keynote Speakers and Advanced Workshops, the Green Lotus Donate & Learn Business Expo is a must for SMBs!

Toronto, ON (PRWEB) June 29, 2015

In partnership with Enactus-Ryerson University the June 30 Donate & Learn Business Expo features Keynote Speakers from Microsoft Bing, American Express, Constant Contact and Green Lotus. Providing Expo attendees with valuable insights into what it takes to succeed, lessons learned, and how to apply them to any SMB.

Donate & Learn Expo Workshops provide entrepreneurs and SMBs the opportunity to learn specific strategies to boost business leads by marketing, branding and developing an online presence. Workshops include industry experts:

• Increase Your Marketing Campaign Effectiveness with Microsoft BingAds


• Outrank Your Competitors Online in 5 Easy Steps with Green Lotus SEO Tools


• What are you Worth? Learn How to Increase Your Income Dramatically! Presented by the Investors Group


• Create a Powerful and Engaging Email Marketing Campaign with Constant Contact


• Build a Thriving Brand and Create Explosive Success with Focus Mastery, presented by Chris Crawford of KAMedia

Event Details:
Date: June 30, 2014 at 12 – 5pm
Location: Ryerson University – Ted Rogers Building, 55 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Cost: FREE (donations accepted)
Donate & Register: http://greenlotus.ca/expo

Who Should Attend?
Whether just getting started planning business strategy, or deep into implementation; Donate & Learn Events provide the knowledge, strategies, tools and networking opportunities needed to succeed. Entrepreneurs, business owners, marketing professionals, SMBs and startups will all gain valuable insights that can be applied to their own work.

About the Donate & Learn Initiative
“The concept is simple – instead of paying a conference fee, participants make a $20 tax-deductible donation to Donate & Learn partnering charities,” says Bassem Ghali, the founder of the Donate & Learn Initiative and Head of Client Strategy at Green Lotus.

The Donate & Learn initiative was created by Green Lotus in 2012 to support local Toronto charities and provide informative, educational events with a focus on social media, online marketing strategies, and the tools needed to achieve online marketing goals.

There has never been a better way to learn!

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/Toronto/DonateLearnBusinessExpo/prweb12817612.htm

The June 30 Donate & Learn Business Expo is a Must for Toronto"s Top Entrepreneurs and SMBs

New USD Major Prepares Students For Sports Marketing & Media Careers

VERMILLION – When it comes to career opportunities, the University of South Dakota believes sports is more than fun and games.

In fact, the sports industry has become a booming business.

In response, USD is adding an undergraduate degree in sports marketing & media starting this fall on the Vermillion campus. It will teach broad skills in marketing, advertising and public relations, event management and law/ethics. Students can then create a specialized major.

Michelle Van Maanen, chair of USD’s Media & Journalism Department, said the program will help fill demand in the sports and sports entertainment industry.

“A Bloomberg Businessweek article … noted that ‘the sports industry in the U.S. is a $200 billion-plus powerhouse,’” she said.

She predicted the new USD program will draw national attention.

“The new major is not only unique in the region,” she said. “There are only a handful of programs in the country that combine the areas of sport marketing & media.”

By combining sports marketing and media, students will understand how the sports industry as entertainment and a leisure pursuit — serves the public’s needs, she said.

Classes will be taught through four existing majors: kinesiology and sport science, media & journalism, communication studies and business marketing.

Students can design their major to fit their specialized interests, VanMaanen said.

“For example, if they are interested in multimedia design for scoreboard or online media products, they might emphasize graphic design and video courses,” she said. “Or, if they are interested primarily in marketing, they would select the advertising, sports marketing, social media marketing and business electives.

“Students interested in sport journalism careers would take such courses as sports writing, video production, digital imaging and sports broadcasting.”

　

NEW POSSIBILITIES

The South Dakota Board of Regents recently approved the major. However, the program has been under discussion for at least three years, Van Maanen said. In early 2014, Berkeley Research Group consultants believed it was good timing for adding the sports marketing and media program.

The sports industry has seen tremendous growth fueled by the rise of social media, televised coverage, online streaming and extensive marketing, Van Maanen said.

“The online content has exploded,” she said. “There’s a high level of interest in sports and a growing awareness of expanded career opportunities in the field.”

The new major and minor will use existing resources as well as faculty reassigned to new courses supporting the major. The increased enrollment created by the major will contribute to its ongoing support.

Even before it starts, the USD program has drawn strong interest from current and prospective students, Van Maanen said.

“We have heard from a significant number of existing USD students who plan to transfer into the program, and word is traveling fast beyond campus,” she said. “I have already met with a number of high school students who are interested in learning more about the program. We anticipate a graduation rate of approximately 15 students annually.”

Graduates of the new major can work at every level, but especially in marketing, media and managerial positions in the industry, Van Maanen said. Those fields include pro sports teams, high school and college teams, facility management, the sporting goods industry, resorts, fundraising, event management and fitness companies.

Those graduates can find a wide variety of careers in the immediate area, she said. She pointed to professional sports teams such as the Sioux Falls Stampede, Sioux Falls Skyforce, Sioux Falls Canaries and Sioux Falls Storm as well as teams in Rapid City, Sioux City and throughout the Midwest.

　

DRAWING ON CONTACTS

In designing the new major, USD officials consulted with professionals in the industry, including USD alumnus John Gillis. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mass communication from the Vermillion campus. He has served for 26 years — currently as the associate director of development — for the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHSAA).

“He’s an insider in the industry who knows its career potential,” Van Maanen said. “He has hired USD interns in the past and has provided input on program changes.”

Gillis pointed to the wide variety of opportunities with the new USD program.

“I feel that this academic major has unlimited potential as it can be used in several settings,” he said.

For example, NFHSAA combines marketing and media on a daily basis to promote various national programs and initiatives, he said.

“As we seek corporate sponsors for those programs and initiatives, we use all kinds of media to reach those goals — which (today) includes the Internet and social media — in addition to ‘traditional

The USD sports marketing and media program didn’t exist when Gillis was in college However, he said his USD education and work experience have allowed him to adapt to today’s sports environment. He described himself as a type of “hybrid staff member with one foot in media and the other in sports marketing.

“However, a person who graduates with USD’s new academic degree would do so already possessing the knowledge that it took me years to gain through practical work experience,” he said. “Without question, this is an extremely valuable academic program.”

　

GETTING TO WORK

The new USD program requires internships for the major, Van Maanen said. Each department supporting the major offers an internship coordinator.

“We have had many interns work within the sports industry, so the ties to the profession already exist,” she said.

USD coordinated the new major among various departments based on industry contacts, Van Maanen said. Each department plans to tailor new courses to meet changing industry needs.

“There are many career possibilities that do not fall neatly into the area of a single college department,” she said. “The sports industry is a good example of that.”

Gillis feels confident about the new program, given his familiarity with USD academic offerings, particularly the Department of Media & Journalism.

“I strongly believe that USD’s course offerings and sports marketing major would compare extremely favorably with any such similar course offerings and majors at other universities around the nation,” he said.

Van Maanen believes graduates of the new sports marketing & media major will definitely be at the top of their game, so to speak.

“There is a lot of excitement about the new major and minor, just like there is in the sporting industry in general,” she said.

———

For more information on courses, curriculum and requirements, visit the Sport Marketing & Media section of the USD Catalog.

Follow @RDockendorf on Twitter.

New USD Major Prepares Students For Sports Marketing & Media Careers

OPM Pros Brings Abdo Mazloum on as VP, Search & Display

The seven-year veteran will launch and grow the company’s newest division.

Montreal, QC (PRWEB) June 18, 2015

OPM Pros is proud to announce the hiring of one of the Search & Display industry’s most sought-after senior professionals.

“An SEM and Display service is something that has been in the works at OPM Pros for a while,” says Paresh Vadavia, OPM Pros Co-Founder and CEO. “With Abdo Mazloum at the helm, we’re confident we can offer these complementary services at the highest levels. He can see things from 20,000 feet and two inches – and he can add value to our clients in both ways.”

Abdo comes to OPM Pros with an impressive CV. He graduated with a Computer Science degree from Bishop’s University and started his career as a Front End Web Developer. In this role at three different shops, he picked up a few white-hat SEO tricks, and successfully ranked a number of websites on the first page of Google for competitive keywords.

Knowing that marketing strategy was more in line with his passions, he switched disciplines and became an SEO/SEM Specialist and Team Lead at SSENSE. There, he created and implemented search engine optimization campaigns including on-page optimization, keyword research, competitor research, link building, content creation and social media; developed and managed online paid marketing initiatives of text, display and product paid ad placements on AdWords, Bing Ads, DoubleClick and several comparison shopping engines with combined monthly advertising budgets of hundreds of thousands of dollars; and managed a team of SEO/SEM specialists. His efforts in this role led to over a triple digit percent YoY increase in revenue on the SEO & SEM channels at SSENSE.

Most recently, Abdo was a Display Marketing Manager for Beyond The Rack Enterprises Inc., the fast-growing online private shopping club in North America where he managed their display, web analytics, and SEO campaigns while operating multi-million dollar advertising budgets annually. He also ranked 5th in the Biggest Search Geek Contest by Marin Software.

Abdo’s certifications include DFP Fundamentals for Traffickers, Google Analytics Premium Fundamentals, Ad Exchange Sell-Side Fundamentals, DoubleClick AdX for Buyers Fundamentals, DoubleClick Search Fundamentals, DoubleClick Campaign Manager, DoubleClick Rich Media Fundamentals, DoubleClick Bid Manager Fundamentals, Mobile App Analytics Fundamentals, Google Analytics Platform Principles, AdWords Advanced Display, AdWords Advanced Search, AdWords Advertising Fundamentals, Google Analytics Fundamentals and Bing Ads Accredited Professional.

At OPM Pros, Abdo’s portfolio will include paid search, display, programmatic media buying, comparison shopping engines, mobile strategy, SEO and web analytics.

About OPM Pros
OPM Pros is a global award-winning affiliate marketing agency that works closely with major retailers across North America, Australia and the UK to help them maximize their online revenues. Based in Montreal, Canada, and with three US offices (SC, NE and WI), OPM Pros specializes in affiliate program management across the full range of affiliate networks and verticals. Founded by Paresh Vadavia and Sonny Lamba in 2009, the company is counting over 30 full-time employees, a client roster of over 80 retailers, and multiple awards recognizing vision, innovation and financial performance of OPM Pros in the affiliate marketing field. The company’s team members boast a collective experience of over 100 years in the industry.

OPM Pros manages the affiliate programs for major online businesses including 1800flowers.com, Beyond the Rack, Art.com, Staples Canada, Bowflex.com, Forever 21 Canada and Paula’s Choice.

For More Information Contact: Paresh Vadavia, info(at)opmpros(dot)com, 514-341-7767 ext. 21

http://www.opmpros.com
@opmpros

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/06/prweb12795098.htm

OPM Pros Brings Abdo Mazloum on as VP, Search & Display