Seek out Real Relationships in Life and Beware of How You Present Yourself to the World in Social Media
Credit: "The Atlantic"
Last week I had the pleasure of speaking to the graduating class at Thomas College, which is where I earned my MBA in 1994.
I told the graduates that the good news is that they may be earning their diplomas but the bad news is that the learning cannot stop.
Technology is changing at such a pace that they need to use their education to continue to learn every day. I’ve encouraged my employees to keep pace with changing technology in communications so we can use the most up-to-date techniques and tactics for our clients.
I also referred to an article in the current edition of “The Atlantic” magazine called “Is Facebook Making us Lonely?” by Stephen Marche that talks about how social media is replacing real relationships between people.
Many people have lots of “friends” in social networks but in all reality they are extremely lonely. This is very sad to me.
I encouraged the grads to know the difference between a Facebook friend and a ‘real’ friend who you know and trust. My mantra has been and will always be that social media should supplement real relationships, not replace them.
Credit: "The Atlantic"
Finally, I encouraged the grads to be mindful of their online profile as they go out and look for a job. I asked them to Google themselves and see what comes up.
I related the story of a grad from another college who wanted to work for NMC a couple years ago and he was sure he was the ideal candidate. But when I pulled up his profile on Facebook, there were photos of him getting drunk and acting in a way that I would consider to be unprofessional.
I said that presenting yourself to the world in this way is not the best route to get a professional position.
Thanks to Bob Moore, the director of advancement at Thomas, for asking me to share my thoughts with this year’s graduates.
I hope that my words had an impact on the students and helped them realize that the way you ‘package’ yourself for a professional career will influence your job search significantly, and that social media should enhance their real relationships (it’s “social” for a reason).
All-Inclusive Resort Nurtures Relationship with Guests
Today’s Maine Maven is Mark Osborn, the general manager at NMC client Linekin Bay Resort (LBR). Osborn, a New Jersey native, has been the G.M. at the Boothbay Harbor resort since 2010, but his family connection to the property goes back nearly 100 years.
LBR General Manager Mark Osborn on vacation in Peru
Osborn’s grandmother, Martha, was a counselor in the 1920s at Linekin Bay Camps – the summer camp for girls started in 1919 by Grove and Elizabeth Branch. The girls’ camp was transformed into the current family vacation resort in 1946.
The Osborn family later began spending summers on Linekin Bay, and occasionally stayed at the resort, which is now owned by the third generation of the Branch family and is New England’s only all-inclusive sailing resort.
Osborn owned and operated The Thistle Inn in Boothbay Harbor for four years, converting the property to a fine dining and lodging establishment in 2003.
As the G.M. at LBR Osborn has added a public restaurant and bar, overseen upgrades and improvements to guest accommodations and common spaces, overhauled the resort website and strengthened the resort’s reputation as a popular wedding destination during the early and late summer season.
Osborn has a business degree from Ithaca College, and enjoys traveling and seeking out new culinary experiences.
Add Enthusiasm and Passion to Generate Powerful Marketing Campaigns
When Angus King was governor of Maine, he told me that he thought he and I were among the most enthusiastic residents of the state.
He said, “You don’t have to be the smartest person, but if you are the most enthusiastic person, it will carry you a long way.”
Hmm…now that I think of it, I am not sure that was such a compliment since he might have meant I had more enthusiasm than intelligence. But knowing Angus, I think he meant that he valued my sense of enthusiasm about public relations and marketing.
I am currently reading a new book by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer called “Excuses Begone!” about how to hyper-charge your life to give it meaning and fulfillment. Dyer describes passion as the secret sauce, which, when added to your work, can take ordinary projects and turn them into fabulously successful projects.
He’s not talking about the kind of passion you feel when you fall in love for the first time, although I believe the same chemistry may be involved. He’s talking about connecting deeply and intensely with the people, the purpose and the messages you are communicating. It’s like falling in love with your work and infusing it with the same kind of adulation you feel for the people you love most in this world.
I’ve always felt that enthusiasm and passion are necessary for success in any marketing campaign or program.
For example, if you’re pitching a story to a journalist, you have to tell it in such a compelling way that he or she will want to retell it to their audience.
If you’re creating an ad or a brochure for a client, you need to embrace the essence of what you’re communicating to make sure it connects in a laser-like way with the intended audience.
Local Nonprofit Spreads Message of Empowerment Through Social Media, Website and Employees
Our Monday Maine Maven today is Darryl Wood, the executive director of Life Enrichment Advancing People, Inc., better known locally as LEAP.
LEAP is a nonprofit agency providing a variety of residential type supports for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The support required for individuals is based on functional needs and is developed through Person Centered Planning.
Providing individualized support to people in Central and Western Maine, LEAP works to empower persons to lead joyful lives with dignity, independence, and autonomy.
Darryl has a medical background in nursing. He is interested in leadership and best practices for nonprofits, as well as supporting people with IDD.
On a personal level, Darryl loves to spend time with his family and in the outdoors. An avid sportsman and woodlands wanderer, he maintains a Maine Guides license, in hopes that someday there is part of a living in that.
Is Your Brand Ready for an Audit?
How to deposit into your customer’s memory bank and accrue interest
By Renée Black, NMC Account Coordinator and Graphic Designer
You’ve got an excellent handle on your company’s marketing plan this year. You’re doing traditional advertising, you’ve got a website, you’re doing cost-per-click (CPC) marketing, and you’re even on Facebook and Twitter!
You’re doing everything you can to make sure you’re up-to-date on the latest trends and working hard to hit your targeted demographic, but (there’s always a “but”) are you maximizing your impressions?
As a marketer, of course, your ultimate goal is to affect your audience in such a way that they will remember your brand, service, and/or product. When a message is received, the brain undergoes a series of cognitive processes to categorize where and how the memory will be mentally filed.
Will your message be filed under short-term, long-term, or sensory memory, or will your message simply be forgotten? The strategy and consistency of your messaging contributes to how (and if) the viewer will categorize your brand.
Extensive research shows that repetition and consistency hold certain power to persuade human behavior. Several studies have concluded that it requires at least seventeen impressions of a brand before a consumer will consider a product trial.
If you have several competitors within your market, it may take even longer for your audience to actively associate your brand with your product. To achieve best results and maximize your return on investment (ROI), you should conduct a “communications audit” to evaluate just how effective your impressions are.
A communications audit consists of five key factors that contribute to brand consistency and thus, effectiveness.
Can’t Stand Writing? Then You’ll Want to Read This.
Maine is and has always been a destination for creative people.
Artists like Andrew Wyeth and Winslow Homer, writers like Edna St. Vincent Millay and Harriet Beecher Stowe, and musicians like Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary fame have lived and made their art here. Even modern-day celebs such as John Travolta, Kirstie Alley and Kurt Russell spend their vacation time here.
These are just a few of the names of people who have found Maine’s beautiful landscape to be an inspiration for their creativity.
As valuable as new ideas are to creativity, basic skills like good writing also play an integral role to a work’s success. NMC Integrated Marketing Communications Strategist Jennifer Boes shares today’s Witty Wisdom about the value of good writing
I hope this piece inspires you as much as it does me to take your writing to new heights.
My Mother Told Me to be Careful About What I Write Down on Paper
When I was in elementary school, my mother used to always tell me not to write anything down on paper that I wouldn’t want the whole world to see. That was back in the day when we would be writing notes to other kids and passing them through the grapevine during class. (We were so naughty!)
The same thing applies on the social Web. You shouldn’t post anything or write anything on a social network that you wouldn’t want the world to see.
Your personal brand is your professional brand and vise versa. Anyone who thinks there is some kind of separation is sadly mistaken.
It is quite likely that if you are applying for a job, the prospective employer will look at your Facebook profile even if you’re not friends.
About a year ago, a young man contacted me repeatedly, insisting he was perfect as a candidate to work for Nancy Marshall Communications. I looked him up on Facebook and there, I found a whole slew of photographs showing how social a person he was.
The photos showed him drinking copious amounts of Budweiser and playing beer pong. It showed him in many states of drunkenness, partying in all sorts of venues, proving that he was not only social, but he was worldly, too!
His friends had commented on his posts about how hysterical he was after pounding so many beers while simultaneously bouncing a ping pong ball, so he was athletic as well!
I enjoy a good party as much as most people, if not more, but when you are trying to establish yourself in the world, you can’t assume you can paint one picture of yourself on Facebook and another picture of yourself on LinkedIn, and only your friends will find you on the former and professional contacts will find you on the latter!
So, remember what my wise mother said and don’t post anything on social networks that you wouldn’t want the whole world to see.
Former VP of Communications Excels in PR
Our Maine Maven today is NMC Account Executive Greg Glynn! Greg coordinates strategic planning for clients, including branding, marketing, as well as media and public relations, and writes copy for e-newsletters, press releases and develops multimedia content for NMC clients, including videos and podcasts.
Greg also works with other account executives and account supervisors to plan media events and press conferences. Greg is known for his strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
Prior to joining NMC, Greg worked as the vice president of communications for the American Hockey League’s Portland Pirates, a minor league hockey team in Portland, Maine.
Greg graduated from Quinnipiac University in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in mass communications and a minor in marketing.
1.) Greg, you used to be the VP of communications for the Portland Pirates. Are there any parallels between your position there and what you do as an account executive at NMC? Are there any striking differences?
Everyday I see parallels between the two positions, especially when it comes to media relations.
During my six years that I spent in the Portland market, I developed so many great relationships with different reporters and public relations people that I still keep in touch with today.
The “Inside Out” Approach to Marketing
Yesterday I gave a presentation in Portland as part of Rich Brooks’ flyte school all about the integration of marketing and communications.
I talked about how all the advertising in the world can’t sell a product or service that has bad PR…in other words, if the public doesn’t have a good relationship with a business or organization, they’re not going to buy anything or donate any money even if the organization spends millions on advertising.
Think of companies whose image has suffered recently: Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Netflix and BP Oil.
If these companies didn’t address their PR problems, but rather went out and bought glitzy ads in magazines and on TV, nobody would believe them or want to do business with them.
The essence of my presentation was that marketing needs an “inside out” approach. Any business or organization needs to first be sure that its stakeholders have a trusting relationship with them before they launch any kind of advertising or marketing campaign.
MPBN’s Rooks Discusses the Difference Between Hosting and Reporting
Today’s Maine Maven is MPBN on-air personality Jennifer Rooks. Jennifer joined MPBN in June of 2007 after spending more than13 years at WCSH-TV in Portland and its sister station, WLBZ-TV in Bangor, where she worked as a general assignment reporter and weekend news anchor.
Since 1994, Jennifer has covered a broad number of Maine issues in every corner of the state.
She has twice won an Edward R. Murrow award: In 1998, for coverage of Maine National Guard and Reserve soldiers deployed in Bosnia and Hungary, and in 2003, for the documentary “Citizen King,” about independent Governor (and former Maine Watch host) Angus King.
Jennifer grew up outside Atlanta, Georgia. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia, and her master’s in journalism from the University of California at Berkeley.
Jennifer worked at television stations in San Francisco and Monterey, California, before coming to Maine. She and her husband Mike have two children.
1.) Jennifer, you have been an on-air television personality on a network station, WCSH, and on a PBS station, MPBN. What are the differences between the topics you cover?
At MPBN, I host Maine Watch – a half-hour public affairs program. I focus much less on the breaking news each day than I did at WCSH, and much more on the broader issues affecting the state.
For example, last week, we focused the entire Maine Watch program on the idea of creating an East-West highway in Maine.
If I were reporting daily news, I would have covered the topic differently… I might have attended the public hearing about the East-West highway bill and produced a 2-minute story for the 6:00 news.
Another obvious difference is that I no longer stand outside in cruddy weather for StormCenter! ;-)
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