Lakestar Media has announced it is to exhibit alongside the top digital firms in the UK at this year’s Technology For Marketing and Advertising (TFM&A) conference 2010.

The two-day industry event, which is being held at London’s Earls Court Two on February 23 and 24, will feature themed seminars, displays from over 200 suppliers, guest speakers and networking opportunities.

Lakestar’s digital marketing team will be based on stand F35 during the conference. TFM&A was established 10 years ago and is now one of the marketing industry’s major annual events.

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Over three quarters of companies in the UK do not have any kind of formal policy to cover social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

According to data released this morning by employment agency Manpower, 76 per cent of firms are without a set of rules governing employee use of internal and external social networks.

The survey of 2,100 employers also found that out of those that do currently have a formal policy, 60 per cent said it helps avoid productivity loss and 55 per cent believe it protects their company’s reputation.

Mark Cahill, managing director at Manpower UK, said: “In reality, we have probably only seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of how virtual and social networks will transform the world of work. Companies have often played catch-up in understanding how to harness new technologies.

“In the early years of the World Wide Web, in the mid-to-late 1990s, many organisations feared that employees would spend too much time idly surfing the Web, so they tried to control access and didn’t recognise its potential.

“Few could have predicted how the internet would transform our lives, and it seems the same will become true of virtual and social networks, not least from the commercial opportunities they hold for both employers and prospective employees alike. ”

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Online job advertising site Monster’s agreement to buy Yahoo’s HotJobs site for US$225m in cash signals that the American job market is looking up.

The deal, which would signal Yahoo’s departure from the online recruitment business, was announced around the same time as figures which showed the US unemployment level had steadied at around 10 percent.

Before this deal, Monster held about one-third of online jobs postings in the United States, and said it did not expect antitrust issues to delay the deal, since its new acquisition was much smaller.

Monster’s principal remaining competitor is Careerbuilder, which is owned by a group of US newspaper publishers and Microsoft, and has the largest part of the online job ads market.

It was too soon to say whether Monster will cut jobs as a result of the deal, Chief Executive Sal Iannuzzi told Reuters.

The deal came as the US economy was beginning to show signs of emerging from a long decline.

Under the terms of the deal, Monster will pay Yahoo US$20m to US$31m a year for Yahoo to redirect traffic to its site.

Yahoo acquired HotJobs in 2002 for roughly $445m in cash and stock. J.P. Morgan analyst Imran Khan said that unique users on the HotJobs site in December declined 32 percent year over year, in a note to investors citing data from comScore.

Yahoo’s sale of HotJobs, which had been rumored for months, is the latest example of the internet company’s reorganisation under CEO Carol Bartz who took the helm in January 2009.

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Lakestar Media is pleased to lend its expertise to the organisers of a new Manchester-based course which aims to give students the lowdown on the increasingly influential business of internet and search engine marketing.

Our Head of SEO, Neil Yeomans, will be passing on some of his considerable knowledge to Manchester Metropolitan University students keen to learn about the cutting edge of search marketing, and its importance in today’s commercial world.

The university is launching ‘SearchSchool Manchester’ to help teach the basic principles of SEM and SEO, and show students how to capitalise on the growing importance of the internet as a communication medium.

Commenting on his invitation to participate in the initiative, Neil Yeomans said: “Many people are baffled by the workings of SEO and, more importantly, do not fully understand the real benefits it can offer when the principles are properly applied.

“It is encouraging to see the development of digital marketing courses at universities, and it is a privilege to throw some real-world experiences into the mix.”

The course, which begins with a one-day seminar on Wednesday February 17, has been put together by MMU’s David Edmundson-Bird.

He told of his reasons for wanting to start the school:  “I wanted to run a serious day for students in digital marketing to see some real knowledge about SEM. This is so we get a raft of local grads who know more than just what they’ve read in a book. They’re really interested in seeing this happen.”

He continued: “There are lots of students across Manchester who have a bit of insight, even a developed knowledge about digital marketing.  What they lack is some in-depth knowledge about specific techniques. They’ve heard of SEO, but that’s about it.”

The inaugural session will cover topics such as keywords, optimising pages and how social media can integrate with search marketing strategies.

The event takes place at MMU Business School. For further details email  d.edmundson-bird@mmu.ac.uk

It's a big week in the digital marketing world here in the UK, with Tuesday and Wednesday seeing the biggest gathering of online marketing expertise this year at ad:tech London.

As you would expect from one of the leading players in digital marketing, Lakestar Media will have a stand at the show, where you can meet senior members of our team who’ll be happy to talk to you about any aspect of our work, and show you examples of what we do.

We’ll be on stand no. 174, so please come along and say hello.

In addition, we’re very honoured that Neil Yeomans, our head of search, is giving a talk at the event which will be of interest to anyone involved in online marketing.

His topic is the common mistakes many people make when building a website which hamper their online visibility – and so cost money.

It’s aimed at anyone, whatever their level of SEO experience, and will offer solutions which are easy to implement, and don’t involve huge costs.

Neil and his colleagues will be happy to expand on any aspect of the talk if you come along and speak to them.

A couple of months ago we were looking to strengthen our ranks with a PPC Account Manager and SEO Consultant. Those vacancies have now been filled, and we are now planning to bring a talented and ambitious SEO Account Manager (Ref: SEO 08/09) to our Trafford office.

In this role you will:

• research a client’s business and assist at creating online marketing strategy for the client;
• perform competitive web analysis for our clients;
• write effective, engaging and impressive copy for the clients’ websites;
• develop relationships at the senior level;
• possess excellent communication, interpersonal and organisational skills.

For an interview we require that you have at least 1 year experience within an agency environment, and that you can provide us with several examples of successful SEO projects where your work has yielded impressive measurable ROI.

If this is the first time you heard about a vacancy at Lakestar Media, then here are a few quick facts about our company. We are a premier Digital Marketing agency based in Trafford in Greater Manchester. We have been operating in the present form since 2007, and in 2009 we were awarded a place on Crain’s Best Place to Work program. We already own an impressive portfolio of clients, including some blue-chip companies, and this list is expanding rapidly.

So, if you have what it takes to satisfy the initial criteria, we want to hear from you. Write to us on hello@lakestarmedia.com, quoting the reference, and we’ll take it from there.

Old Trafford Welcomes You

Last Friday has seen a bit of a havoc in our headquarters as we moved from Pall Mall Court in Manchester city centre to Maclaren House in Old Trafford. For some of our colleagues, this is a familiar territory; for others, it’s a new place but spacious and cosy nonetheless. It will be good when someone is performing or playing in Old Trafford Cricket Ground: the stadium is clearly visible from our office windows. And of course, the Manchester United Stadium is just a stonethrow away. Does this indicate that Lakestar Media is in the Champions League? We shall see.

In the meantime, please note the change in our postal address. We are in the process of updating all our records, but we will appreciate if you already begin to direct your correspondence to the new address. The address module at the top of the blog has already been updated.

Lakestar Media
3rd Floor
MacLaren House
Talbot Road
Manchester
M32 0FP

t.: 0845 177 0088

There will be more changes in the coming weeks… watch this space!

The photo is courtesy of Mikey (aka Gene Hunt) of Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution licence. Original photo.

Update: please note that these positions have now been filled. Thank you for your attention. If you would like to work for us, please keep an eye on the vacancies as we post them.

The first point we feel we need to make is that we are waiting for responses from individuals. As much as this may sound disheartening… no agencies, please!

And secondly, at the end of this post there will be a quick selection of blog articles that will help you find out more about the company. We want you to know who you may be working for, but we also want to give you an idea of what we would like to see and hear in the interview: examples of real work. For this reason, we will provide you with some information about ourselves, on top of what you may find out about us on our website.

At Lakestar Media, we have been growing steadily but quickly, and have an exciting range of clients in our portfolio. We have just been awarded by Crain’s Manchester Business as one of the Best Places to Work in Greater Manchester for the year 2009, so you are sure to be joining a company of great and diverse folk. And as we move on, we are looking for an experienced Paid Search (PPC) Account Manager and an SEO Consultant to come on board.

As a PPC Account Manager (ref: PAC 06/09), you will have at least 2 years of experience within an agency in a relevant role in Paid Search. You will have a demonstrable experience at managing campaigns and a proven track record of wins. Once at Lakestar Media, you will be responsible for maximising business and profitability of pay-per-click campaigns across a wide range of our clients. You will be able to work both independently and in a team; to see an opportunity and to act on it; and to develop relationships at a senior level. Excellent communication, ability to work in a dynamic environment, and interpersonal and organisational skills will ensure that you stand out.

As an SEO Consultant (ref: SEO 06/09), you will have at least 1 year of experience in a relevant role in the field of Search Engine Optimisation, preferably in an agency environment. You will have a demonstrable track record of successful SEO projects, especially where your work has generated measurable ROI. Among your duties at Lakestar Media will be doing competitive web analysis for the client, effective copywriting, and researching the opportunities at assisting clients in developing and implementing their online marketing strategy.

This is an exciting time for us, and a great opportunity for you to join an online marketing company that is going places. If you have what it takes to join our team, to contribute to our growth, and to be rewarded for your hard work, then send us your CV and a covering letter briefly outlining your experience and telling us why you would be perfect for the role to which you are applying to hello@lakestarmedia.com. Don’t forget to quote the relevant job reference on your application, please.

And here is a quick selection of posts, to tell you more about us:

Introducing Butlins, one of our recent clients

Receiving Crain’s Manchester Business Best Places to Work award

More news about Lakestar Media on this blog.