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).
Sharing the Importance of “Real” Relationships
This afternoon, Nancy is speaking at the Thomas College convocation about the relationship between social media and career success.
Nancy will share with the graduates that they need to build real relationships that are supported by social media rather than the opposite.
Photo credit: Thomas College Facebook page
Nancy received her MBA from Thomas in 1994 and is looking forward to speaking today.
Photo credit: Thomas College Facebook page
Award-Winning Editor Becomes Renowned JDRF Advocate
Writer and advocate Moira McCarthy is today’s Monday Maine Maven. Moira was an award-winning newspaper editor and investigative crime reporter before she reached her goal of working as a top ski writer.
Moira was east editor for Snow Country Magazine and is currently a contributing editor at SKI Magazine, SKI AREA Management Magazine and is the weekly winter sports columnist for the Boston Herald.
She has published five books on everything from golf to skiing, to raising a child with diabetes to raising teen girls (the last would star Linda Blair, were it a screenplay).
Moira was president of the Massachusetts American Cancer Society and president of her children’s school PTO (where she raised 100 times more than any other president had in one year).
When Moira’s youngest daughter, Lauren, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, she turned all of her donation time to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and its mission for a cure.
Moira has served on almost every committee of JDRF’s International Board, was “ChairMom” of their International Children’s Congress, president of the New England chapter and was named JDRF International Volunteer of the year.
Moira is an avid tennis player and holds a number of club championships and is a tepid golfer who holds some really cute golf hats. She lives in Plymouth, Mass. with her husband, Sean. Moira’s daughter Leigh, 25, is a teacher. Lauren, now 20, is thriving as a student at George Mason University majoring in – what else? — political communications.
Moira considers herself part Maniac because she’d skied with Paul Schipper and has made jello shots from a Maine cookbook.
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.
Two NMCsmbc Participants Won L.L. Bean Boots!
Our NMC Social Media Boot Camp on Wednesday, April 4, was a success! There were over 30 Maine businesses and organizations present, eager to learn techniques and tips to enhance their social media presence.
Along with a 20-page social media guidebook with highlights of the information shared in the presentations, and the opportunity to interact with social media experts and network with other organization and business leaders, boot camp participants were eligible to win a pair of commemorative L.L. Bean boots.
We are happy to announce that Betty Bell and Lloyd Griscom each were this boot camp’s lucky winners of the L.L. Bean boots!
NMC Account Executive Greg Glynn presents boot camp participant Lloyd Griscom with the desired L.L. Bean commemorative boots after the advanced session.
Thank you to L.L. Bean for donating the boots, and thank you to all of our great participants for attending the sessions.
The energy was high and the tweeting and posting were constant!
Our next Social Media Boot Camp is Wednesday, September 26, in Augusta. Visit bootcamp.marshallpr.com for more information on our sessions.
"We have Band-Aids up here in case anyone is typing so fast today they get a blister!" NMC Account Exec Greg Glynn
Olympian Julia Clukey Gives Back to Maine Community through Reaching Youth
Today’s Maine Maven is Olympian Julia Clukey. Growing up in Augusta, Maine, Julia is passionate about being from Maine and the opportunity every four years to represent her country.
In 2010, Julia competed in her first Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she placed 17th in the luge competition.
In addition to being a phenomenal athlete, Julia takes also takes tremendous pride in giving back to the community and especially connecting with young people.
Earlier this year, Julia announced plans to host a 10-day summer camp in June, called “Julia Clukey’s Camp for Girls at Camp KV.” The camp is designed for girls ages 8-11 as a place to develop self-confidence and a healthy lifestyle. The camp will feature a wide range of activities including swimming, kayaking, hiking, nature walks, field sports, arts and crafts, theater, and music.
Over the past three years, Julia has partnered with the Maine Beer & Wine Distributors Association on their responsibility initiative. As a spokesperson for the association, Julia has recorded public service announcements, appeared on radio and television shows and spoken at several Maine schools about the importance of individual responsibility.
Since 2009, Julia has reached over 4,000 Maine students through the responsibility initiative.
To learn more about Olympian Julia Clukey, you can visit her website at www.clukeyluge.com.
To learn more about what goes on inside the mind and body of an Olympic athlete, we asked her!
Learn to Use the New Facebook Timeline and Other Social Media Platforms for Your Brands
Did you know Facebook will require all brand pages to use their new Timeline feature by March 30? Are you ready for the switch?
This topic, as well as others related to cutting edge social media tools and tactics, will be covered in our exciting NMC Social Media Boot Camps being held Wednesday, April 4 at the Senator Inn in Augusta.
Click here to watch our official NMC Social Media Boot Camp video!
Online registration is available until March 23 at bootcamp.marshallpr.com.
Our boot camps are different from any workshop or seminar you have been to in the past.
We require you to bring your laptop with you so we can physically show you the functions and features of today’s most popular social media websites including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google Plus, and the new darling, Pinterest!
By learning more about social media you can help make a well informed decision about your next steps.
The value of these two boot camps is tremendous. Each session will feature 5 members of our NMC team to provide one-on-one instructions and walk you through the instructional portions of the boot camp. We don’t just want to share with you what you should be doing; we want to show you how to do it.
To see what others have said about our boot camps, check out the video.
Use our event hashtag to tweet about our boot camps before, during, and after the event: #NMCsmbc.
Social Media Boot Camps April 4
In this era of rapid change in the way we communicate both personally and professionally, it is important to learn new skills and techniques every day.
To encourage social media engagement, we are hosting two Social Media Boot Camps on Wednesday, April 4 at the Senator Inn & Spa in Augusta for businesses and organizations looking to increase their social media presence.
There will be two boot camps designed for different levels of expertise.
1.) The beginners’ session from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. is intended for people with a general social media understanding and who are currently using one or more social media networks.
2.) Those attending the advanced session from 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. must have a thorough knowledge of Facebook and have already created an active presence on one or more other social media websites.
Both sessions’ attendees are invited for a complimentary lunch from 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. at the Senator.
Pre-registration is required by Friday, March 23.
To register, visit bootcamp.marshallpr.com/register. Each session is limited to 30 attendees on a first come, first served basis.
In the spirit of capitalizing on social media as a tool to engage and share, I encourage you to use the event’s Twitter hashtag #NMCsmbc to discuss the boot camps before, during, and after April 4.
This Social Media Boot Camp will help keep you on the cutting edge!
Developing Personas to Help with Targeting
Happy Wednesday! During my workshop at the Governor’s Conference on Tourism, I spoke about creating personas to better target your markets. This is a fun exercise and I encourage you to do it.
Break down your customers or guests into three or four categories. Then create a fictitious person or couple to represent each customer group.
For example, if you own a seaside resort in Maine, you might have the following personas:
1. Eleanor and Harry: They come from Marblehead, Massachusetts and they used to own a Hinckley Yacht. They now live in a retirement community for active adults.
Since they can’t manage their yacht on their own anymore, they sold it, but they still like to look at sailboats as they cruise by the lawn of your resort.
They drive a Mercedes Benz and they are enjoying a comfortable retirement. Harry worked as a physician and Eleanor was a stay-at-home mom who took care of their four children who are all married now and have two children each of their own.
They read Smithsonian Magazine and listen to National Public Radio.
Tips from an Unintentional Social Media Expert
Happy Monday! Today’s Maine Maven is Rich Brooks of flyte new media in Portland, ME. Rich is “from away;” he grew up in Needham, MA and graduated from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY.
Rich started flyte new media in 1997 in Jamaica Plain, (JP!), MA, and moved to Maine to be with his now-wife, Cybele. They have two beautiful girls– “thanks to the genes of said wife”–who enjoy snowboarding, playing games on their father’s iPad, and babysitters.
Rich is the co-founder of Social Media FTW, an organization that puts on conferences to educate businesses and non-profits on the power of social media marketing. He is a nationally recognized speaker on Web marketing and social media topics, and is the “tech guru” on 207, the evening news program on Maine’s two NBC affiliates. Rich also teaches a class on Web marketing and social media for entrepreneurs at USM.
Rich can often be seen giving free advice to those people who buy him expensive tequila and/or scotch. Don Julio Blanco and Johnny Walker Black are his favorites.
Rich shares that he will be putting on tons of local educational events for companies and non-profits looking to grow using digital marketing, and if you’re interested, you should sign up for flyte’s free email newsletter here: http://www.flyte.biz/resources/newsletters/.
1.) Rich, you have said that social media is good at strengthening “weak ties” and that actually it’s the weak ties in our lives that could be the most important. Tell us more about that.
There’s been a bit of research around the ideas of “weak ties,” those people on the outside of your network. As the theory goes, if you’re looking for a job (in this example), you’re more likely to find that job through one of your weak ties than through a strong tie, like a family member or close friend. This is because our close ties often have the same knowledge base that we do, thus adding little to help us.
Weak ties, on the other hand, are traveling in different circles, hearing of different opportunities and making connections with people outside of our regular network. In many ways, they can provide more–or at least different–value than our close ties.
Although the original scholarly article by Mark Granovetter appears to be password protected, I found an article at Wired.com about weak ties and what Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink and Outliers, has to say about weak ties and social media: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/09/weak-ties-twitter-and-revolutions/.
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