Tag Archives: marketing

Food Blog South Conference on January 22nd

FoodBlog South Logo

New York Times food writer Kim Severson, culinary literary agent Lisa Ekus-Saffer to speak at New Southern food blogging conference

■FoodBlog South Conference
■January 22, 2011 @ 8 AM
■Woodrow Hall, 55401 1st Ave N [map]
■Individual Registration Cost – $135 [Register]  MOB members can save $20 by entering the discount code FBSMOB.

Food Blog South, a regional conference for Southern food bloggers, is set for January 22, 2011 in Birmingham, Ala.  Award-winning New York Times food writer Kim Severson, author of Spoon Fed: How Eight Cooks Saved My Life will talk about food writing; and culinary literary agent Lisa Ekus-Saffer of the Lisa Ekus Group will talk about how bloggers can become cookbook authors.

The day’s sessions also include:
• Food photography and styling taught by Southern Living senior photographer Jennifer Davick and Southern Living food stylist and test kitchen professional Marian Cooper-Cairns.
• Marketing your blog with Christy Jordan, blogger at Southern Plate (averaging 13 million page views a month) and author of Southern Plate: Classic Comfort Food That Makes Everyone Feel Like Family (currently #2 on Amazon.com’s Southern Cooking, Food & Wine category)
• Making the most of social media with two-time Shorty Award winner John-Bryan Hopkins, “The Foodimentary Guy
• Recipe development with Virginia Willis, author of Bon Appétit, Y’all! and former Kitchen Director for Martha Stewart Living Television, and Alison Lewis, cookbook author and recipe developer for clients like Southern Living, Cooking Light, and Better Homes & Gardens
• A panel on writing and blogging about Southern seafood after the Deepwater Horizon explosion
• “Hungry for More: How Blogging Keeps Customers Coming Back for More,” a session on building food businesses with blogging, by Wade Kwon of Birmingham Blogging Academy.

The conference will be held at Woodrow Hall in the historic Woodlawn district of Birmingham. Discounted hotel rates are available at The Hotel Highland located in Five Points South, near a number of great restaurants including Frank Stitt’s Highlands Bar & Grill and Chris Hastings’ Hot & Hot Fish Club.

Sponsorships, which include workshop registration and display space, are available at several levels. “We’re especially interested in getting some up-and-coming food businesses as sponsors—the start-ups that are still in kitchen incubators that are doing great things that no one knows about,” Chavis said. “We’d like to connect bloggers with these new, great finds.” Sponsors will be able to attend the workshop, including a special session on blogging for small food businesses and restaurants.

Additional details and registration information is at foodblogsouth.com.

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The MOB December Mixer

Media of Birmingham

December Mixer

  • Tuesday, December 7
  • 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
  • Pale Eddies Pour House, 2308 2nd Ave N., Birmingham, AL 35203 [map]
  • Free admission. RSVP required by Dec 6th at 5:30 PM.
  • NO WALK-INS. Late fee $10.

Get into the holiday spirit with our December mixer. We’ll be at Pale Eddies Pour House in Downtown Birmingham.

Enjoy happy hour specials and invite your friends and colleagues in media (print, broadcast, online, etc.), public relations, advertising and marketing.

Free admission but guests are encouraged to bring unwrapped toy. All toy items will be donated to YWCA Santa Workshop!

Register Today

Questions? Contact us or leave a comment.

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Want to sponsor a MOB event? It’s easy.

 

 

Web editor/designer – Oakstone Publishing

Oakstone Publishing - Birmingham, AlabamaOur pal Gayle sent us this posting for Oakstone Publishing:

Are you more focused on the look and feel of a website than how it works? We are looking for someone with good aesthetic sense that can build landing pages, product pages and e-mails that fit our branding and perform well.

We need someone to keep static pages updated, mind the web site and coordinate with marketing for e-mail promotions. Working closely with the Director of E-Pub, this person will help with the testing of new features and troubleshoot web issues. The web editor will also format and proof biweekly and monthly newsletters from PDF’s and coordinate with relevant departments for deployment. The work environment is laid-back and cooperative, with an opportunity to learn more about the web and e-mail marketing in a B2B environment.

You should know HTML, Photoshop, CSS, design, be deadline focused and have some experience before you apply. Having good recommendations and an online portfolio is a plus.

Contact gchristopher[at]oakstonepub.com.

• • •

Need a job? Check our job board.
Have a job to fill? Contact The MOB for your free listing.

Alabama PRSA teleseminar on Dec. 3

How Sustainable Word-of-Mouth Marketing Can Help Boost Your Bottom Line

Geno Church and Spike Jones show how to identify those brand advocates already speaking out on your word-of-mouth program. Build an effective, meaningful movement for your brand to directly impact your bottom line.

  • Who: Alabama chapter of the Public Relations Society of America
  • When: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Dec. 3
  • Where: Innovation Depot, 1500 First Ave. N., downtown [map]
  • Cost: One can of food, to be donated to United Way Food Bank; food and refreshments provided, plus door prizes.
  • Also: 1.0 Continuing Education Credit
  • To reserve your spot: Register online or e-mail elise.hayles@luckie.com.
  • For more information: Visit the event site.

Online Managing Editor, Web Designer-Developer – Compass Marketing

Our pal Wells sent in these openings for Compass Marketing:

Compass-Logo

Online managing editor (full time)

Are you a researcher, writer, editor, marketer, salesperson, manager, analyst and results-getter? Would you like to put all these skills — the whole enchilada! — to use every day in a dynamic, start-up-type work environment? If so, read on, amigo!

For more than 20 years, our company has been a leader in engaging leisure travelers with useful content and travel tools, and connecting them with advertisers and travel service providers across the Southeastern U.S. We’re building a new online business unit here in Birmingham which will focus on developing a unique suite of interactive platforms and solutions to serve the leisure travel market. We’re looking for an Online Managing Editor to join our Birmingham team and lead the development of a content-fueled model that will power substantial growth and innovation.

Strategic Objectives: Create happy readers and empowered travelers while maximizing revenue and profit

Key Metrics: content posts and email deadlines, Web site pages, search engine impressions and arrivals, inbound links, email sign-up conversion rate, email file size, contact frequency, revenue per thousand, retention rate

Strategic Activities and Key Metrics

  • Content Development: Works with content partners to create tips, information, travel/destination reviews, innovative digital media tools, and multi-faceted promotional packages for use in the Web site network, email newsletters, and content syndication. Develops new content concepts (travel guides, blogs, targeted landing pages, community-generated content, etc.). Collaborates with Content Team (members of Sales/Production/Editorial) to convert Print content to Web-ready content.
  • Search Engine Optimization: Optimizes all content for search engines and develops keyword/tag strategies to maximize SEO effectiveness.
  • Link Building: Initiates and maintains relationships with complementary travel media and their Web sites by both monitoring their content and making frequent contributions, links, etc.
  • Web site Conversion: Plans, executes and optimizes all Web site conversion architecture including Landing Pages, Floaters, OFIEs, OFINs and test links required to capture email sign-ups, client leads and other key transactions.
  • Email Marketing: Plans, executes and optimizes email marketing campaigns using links, embedded advertising and display advertising.

Ideal candidate: The successful candidate will have the following:

  • Bachelor’s Degree in interactive media, journalism, communications, marketing, creative writing or equivalent experience coupled with a dynamic “left brain-right brain” mix of creativity and analytical skills.
  • Two to three years of relevant online marketing and writing/editing experience, ideally with direct experience in the travel market.
  • Working knowledge of fundamental strategies, tactics and metrics associated with content-focused online business models.
  • Experience using a WordPress Web site platform would be a great plus.
  • Working knowledge of generating organic search engine traffic through keyword research and content optimization.
  • Experience using social media, blogging, linking tactics to build engagement and drive response.
  • Top-notch project management and coordination skills.
  • Goal-driven with the ability to adapt to change and to new opportunities.
  • Ability to work independently as well as a team and community member. Ability to manage content creators stationed across the Southeast, as well as manage interns.
  • Positive, can-do attitude and ability to laugh at any time, even at bad puns.

Web designer-developer (full time)

Are you a wily WordPress weaver, tricking-out WordPress Web sites with customized themes/templates, useful plug-ins, and effective calls to action – and tying it all together with diverse backend databases and fulfillment platforms? If you said “yes!” please keep reading – opportunity is knocking!

For more than 20 years, Compass Marketing, Inc. has been a leader in engaging leisure travelers with useful content and travel tools, and connecting them with advertisers and travel service providers across the Southeastern US. Compass is building a new online business unit here in Birmingham which will focus on developing a unique suite of interactive platforms and solutions to serve the leisure travel market. We’re looking for a Web Designer-Developer to join our Birmingham team and lead the transition of our Web site properties to a WordPress-based model that will fuel substantial growth and innovation.

Strategic Objectives: Design, build and maintain Compass Web sites in order to engage, inform, empower and retain online visitors.

Key Metrics: page views/visit, bounce rate, transaction conversion rates (e.g., email sign-ups, downloads, clicks to sponsor sites, lead generation), internal search success rate, site uptime, release/update deadlines

Ideal candidate: The successful candidate will have the following:

  • Specifically: Demonstrated, hands-on experience building WordPress sites — creating and customizing themes/templates, integrating diverse plug-ins, synchronizing with backend systems, etc.
  • Generally: 3+ years of frontend-backend experience with web applications and technologies in a direct results-driven environment
  • Experience in full Web site production lifecycle: requirements gathering, wireframes, comp, prototype, development, deployment
  • Ability to analyze challenges and opportunities, develop creative and practical solutions, and exercise sound judgment based on UI/UE best practices and core business objectives
  • Good understanding of cross-platform browser compliance
  • Working experience with design tools like Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash (would be a bonus skill!) or related tools
  • Solid knowledge of PHP and mySQL
  • Strong experience with JavaScript
  • Excellent project management skills, including managing freelance/agency resources, scheduling/trafficking/coordinating to meet mission-critical business milestones
  • Goal-driven with the ability to adapt to change and to new opportunities
  • Fluent translator of tech-to-english (and vice versa!), and enjoys building consensus and understanding through practical communication
  • Ability to work independently, collaborate with a diverse set of internal/external partners, speak up as well as listen
  • Enthusiastic team player who can check ego at the door and likes to laugh

To apply for either position: E-mail Compass.Bham@yahoo.com.

• • •

Need a job? Check our job board.
Have a job to fill? Contact The MOB for your free listing.

Freelancers unite for Vulcan Media Team

vulcan-media-teamWhat is Vulcan Media Team? A group of freelancers working in public relations, marketing and video production, founded by Scott Mauldin, who was laid off in March from NBC 13 (EXCLUSIVE: NBC 13 cuts another 11 positions).

Mauldin told the Birmingham Business Journal:

“I realized what talent they had and what trouble they faced finding full time work in this economy. It all started with a simple word-of-mouth idea.”

You can hear more from Mauldin in an interview from Local TV Now. (His segment starts at 18:46.)

What are other media refugees doing for their next careers? Let us know.

Birmingham AAF luncheon event, Sept. 19

Tim Brunelle

The Birmingham chapter of the American Advertising Federation will tackle the future of advertising with guest speaker Tim Brunelle on Friday.

What is the future of advertising?

Perhaps the better question today is, “What is advertising?” In less than 10 years we’ve witnessed never-before-seen mutation in the marketing and advertising industries. Technology, consumer empowerment and media fragmentation are helping redefine the rules and methods of what defines an ad, how they’re made, who makes them and what kinds of impact we can expect to achieve.

Tim Brunelle thinks this state of affairs is wonderful and hopes to convince you it is, too. His presentation mashes up management consulting, philosophy, copywriting, design, interaction, strategy, media negotiations and, most important, the primacy of ideas, to help you evolve your work in this new age.

View an outline of Tim’s presentation and send him your comments, questions and feedback on his site, Useful Lunacy.

  • Who: Tim Brunelle, CEO, Hello Viking
  • What: AAF-Birmingham Luncheon
  • When: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday
  • Where: Alagasco Midtown Business Center, 20 S. 20th St. [map]
  • Cost: $10, free for members
  • RSVP: E-mail bhamad@mindspring.com.