We’re very excited to announce one of our latest additions to round out WordCamp Raleigh … introducing Jeffrey L. Cohen, who is the Social Media Marketing Manager at Howard, Merrell and Partners, a B2B marketing firm.

He also is a partner in OurHashtag.com plus produces and co-hosts NorthCarolinaWine.TV, an online video show.

Session:

“Business Blogging Best Practices”

Blogging for business is a great way to provide the relevant, valuable and timely content that helps company websites be discovered by search engines.

This session will cover blogging best practices through both actionable advice and examples for those starting business blogs or for those looking to improve existing blogs.

Bio:

Jeffrey is the Social Media Marketing Manager at Howard, Merrell and Partners, a Raleigh, NC B2B marketing firm, and is a partner in OurHashtag.com, which brings together the elements of community, marketing and technology to provide platforms for connection and engagement both online and off-line.

Jeff is also a Contributing Editor at SocialMediaB2B.com, the leading B2B industry social media site, which is highly ranked on the Ad Age Power 150.

Jeff has more than 15 years experience in business to business and business to consumer marketing, on both the client and agency sides.

He is also a photographer and blogger who blogs at DigitalPapercuts.com about social media, marketing, photography and life in general, but especially his kids.

In addition, Jeff also produces an online video show focused on North Carolina Wines. NorthCarolinaWine.TV has provided an opportunity to use video and other social media tools to build out a large digital footprint and create a recognized online brand from scratch.

Jeffrey’s past presentations include sessions for SXSW Interactive, SocialMediaBusinessForum.com, IgniteRaleigh, and others.

Follow Jeff:

Blog: DigitalPaperCuts.com
Website: JeffreyLCohen.com
Twitter: @JeffreyLCohen

We’re happy to announce one of our final Speaker additions to WordCamp Raleigh … Ryan Boyles, is a software developer acting as technical evangelist for Application Infrastructure in IBM Software and a community manager, with the mission to drive simplification of app development in your Enterprise by raising awareness of WebSphere Emerging Technology.

Session:

“Organizing Events with WordPress”

WordPress is a great tool for building community. Blogs are the de-facto way to engage your readers and organize events, conferences and social gatherings.

To host a successful party or meetup, there are several low-fi means to incorporate event planning into WordPress blogs. To create a top billed premium event – large or small – and incorporate community elements before, during and after, takes a lot of hands-on effort and a bit of programming.

Learn more about off-the-shelf plugins and themes that can be a big help. When those are not enough, learn how to mix, mod and meld plugins into a comprehensive Event management solution that match your blogs design needs as well as your business’ function and legal requirements.

Bio:

Ryan is a software developer and technical evangelist for Application Infrastructure in IBM Software and he advocates RESTful situational application development, Agile software methods and dynamic scripting programming models for cloud computing.

He is also a community manager, with the mission to drive simplification of app development in your Enterprise by raising awareness of WebSphere Emerging Technology. He spent 13 years in software development working on user interfaces, web applications, online communities and systems management.

Ryan has a B.S. in Computer Science from North Carolina State University. He works at IBM’s Research Triangle Park Laboratory in North Carolina and is an accomplished inventor with over a dozen patents.

He has been working with WordPress since version 2.0.5 as a developer, blogger, and administrator. He is also fascinated with mobile and declarative living, and the impact of the social web on business, society, and everyday life.

Ryan’s past presentations include Web2.0 Expo, Social Fresh and various BarCamps.

Follow Ryan:

Blog: MobThink.com
Twitter: @theRab
Others: card.ly/theRab

Our latest Speaker announcement is for a fantastic addition to WordCamp Raleigh … Brandon Eley, who is the Interactive Director for Kelsey Advertising & Design, a small-smart advertising agency with a strong focus on digital media.

Session:

“5 Tactics Bloggers Should Learn from Online Marketers”

We don’t usually think of blogs as transactional websites. They’re content sites, right?

The truth is, every website is transactional in some way or another. E-commerce professionals and online marketers have spent 15 years developing the best ways to get visitors to convert.

In this presentation we’ll discuss 5 key tactics that the pros use to boost conversions… and you’ll learn how they’re applicable to your blog, as well as how they can help you make more ad revenue, increase newsletter and RSS subscriptions, and sell more products.

Bio:

Brandon is an Interactive Director, entrepreneur, author, and professional speaker. He has 10 years of experience in online marketing and e-commerce from both the perspective of an e-commerce retailer and that of a consultant.

He is the Interactive Director for Kelsey Advertising & Design, where he oversees interactive projects, online marketing campaigns and information architecture. He is also the owner of 2BigFeet.com, an online retailer of large men’s shoes, as well as several other websites and blogs.

Brandon is also the co-author of “Online Marketing Inside Out” and frequently speaks about online marketing at conferences and organizations all over the country.

In addition to all of this, he co-authors the SitePoint Tribune email newsletter that reaches over 200,000 web professionals weekly.

Brandon’s past presentations include sessions at eCommerce Merchants Association, Digital Age Seminar, South by Southwest 2010, BlogWorld Expo ’09, BarCampBirmingham, plus many others.

Follow Brandon:

Website: KelseyAds.com
Blog: BrandonEley.com
Twitter: @beley

Announcing the addition of Gregory Ng, as another awesome Speaker for WordCamp Raleigh. Gregory is the VP, Creative at Brooks Bell Interactive, an online direct marketing agency.

By night he is the Frozen Food Master, the host of a niche web show reviewing frozen foods at Freezerburns.com.

Session:

“I Want To Be A VideoBlogger!”

It seems like everyone is talking about video blogging these days, but how hard is it to get started?

What equipment do I need to buy? How can I get paid for it? In this presentation we will discuss everything you need to get started producing videos for your own videoblog.

We will also cover how to publish, promote, and make money off of your website using WordPress.

Bio:

Gregory is a direct marketer and a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design where he was classically trained in Graphic Design. He develops effective, integrated, results-driven marketing programs for Global Fortune 1000 clients including: Bank of America, American Express, TRowe Price, Chase. Dell, Microsoft, and Cognos.

His experience spans across all marketing communications channels including: mail, collateral, brand identity, interactive, broadcast, print, out-of-home, and events.

Gregory specializes as a social media strategist with experience in viral internet marketing, social networking, web promotions, SEO, and paid search.

In 2005, Gregory received the Prodigy award from the New England Direct Marketing Association (NEDMA) given to professionals under the age of 30 who have mastered the science and art of direct marketing. Since 2003, he has received over 40 awards for his direct marketing campaigns.

Gregory is also an accomplished blogger and besides FreezerBurns.com, he also runs five other blogs: ClickAroundWith.Me, Noodad.com, FromDadto.Me, ChelvisLives.com, & SlantyEyes.com.

Gregory’s past presentations include sessions at Social Media Business Forum ’09 and Future15 Online Video segment for South by SouthWest SXSW 2010.

Follow Gregory:

Blog: FreezerBurns.com
Blog: FollowGreg.com
Twitter: @gregoryng

Now here’s a session and Speaker addition to WordCamp Raleigh that you won’t want to miss … Andrew Gray, is a partner at TayloeGray, a Wilmington, NC based Marketing and eBusiness Consulting firm.

Session:

“Speed Up Your Site Using Transient API for Caching”

Transient API is a great way to cache sidebar items and other fragments (HTML sections) of your site that don’t need to be created on every page load.

With a simple change to your template, you can dramatically reduce the load on your database and still have a dynamic site.

The presentation will include a basic overview of the transient API and how to use it in your template. Examples will include caching the tag cloud, most commented posts, and other side bar items.

Bio:

Andrew has been a web developer since the late 90’s, and his first commercial internet project was founding the Chapel Hill website Rent.com in 1999.

He is now a partner at TayloeGray, a Wilmington, NC based Marketing and eBusiness Consulting firm, where he develops client sites using WordPress.

TayloeGray’s highest traffic WordPress site is Hip2Save.com, a coupon blog with over 5M page views per month.

Other notable WordPress sites Andrew has created include CBradioshow.com (online radio station) and UNCWEC.org (the Entrepreneurship Center of UNC-W).

Follow Andrew:

Website: TayloeGray.com
Twitter: @TayloeGray