Jon James of 92Moose Talks Social Media and Radio
92Moose radio host/personality, Jon James
If you’re from the Augusta area, then you most likely have listened to 92Moose once or twice (or maybe a lot more), and you are undoubtedly familiar with long-time on-air personality, Jon James, this week’s Monday Maine Maven.
James has been a part of 92Moose’s daily line-up for more than 20 years, and currently is well-known as a third of the Moose Morning Show trio, Jon, Renee and Mac. Jon was born and raised in Maine and says that as he’s gotten older he’s only fallen in love with the state more, and he knows that Maine will always be home.
With so much experience, Jon says that the integration of social media into radio has been unbelievable, but also for the good. He says, “I like to think that these sites (Facebook and Twitter) broaden our fan base, but the best part of using them is the immediate feedback on just about everything we say and do.”
Being in touch with fans and listeners like never before is a definite advantage and Jon says he enjoys sharing not only what they do on the radio, but what goes on in his personal life adding, “I’ll friend anyone who will have me.” Why? He figures that even if he doesn’t know you personally, that you have somehow formed a connection, and adds that “social media has made us more of a community with our listeners.”
James says that 92Moose has become a true multi-media company and that the Web is only slightly less important than radio. He says, “We all write articles for the website and use Facebook as a way to connect with people and drive them to the website for all of the latest information on contests, people, news and more.”
Jon James (L) with fellow Moose Morning Show hosts Renee Nelson (C) and Mac Dickson (R).
When James isn’t on the radio, he can be found hanging out with his grandson Evan or recording voiceovers. How does he juggle it all? Jon jokes, “Well, I’m a horrible juggler. That’s why I only do one thing at a time!” He says the biggest part of it all is patience and prioritizing. He says his family has always come first and he has been lucky to always find an easy balance between work and play.
Do you want to be a radio DJ? Jon says, “Be willing to move, and do it while you’re young! There are so many opportunities out there, but you have to look a little harder, and be computer savvy because so much is done digitally.”
To listen to Jon and the Moose Morning crew tune in weekdays to 92.3 FM 5:00am- 9:00am. Feel free to shoot Jon a friend request at facebook.com/jjamesvoiceovers or follow 92Moose on Twitter. Don’t forget to check out the latest contests from 92Moose here!
Lunder-Dineen Sponsors Successful Theater of War Production
On Monday night NMC’s Renée Black and Erika Bush traveled to Orono to support our client Lunder-Dineen Health Education Alliance of Maine.
Lunder-Dineen sponsored a performance of Theater of War, produced by Outside the Wire. The performance used a dramatic reading of Sophocles’ Ajax as a way to spark conversation among the audience in a panel discussion about the psychological impact of war on veterans, their families and communities.
The Lunder-Dineen team hosted a successful Theater of War production on Monday evening at The University of Maine at Orono.
The performance featured David Strathairn (Lincoln; The Bourne Ultimatum; Good Night, and Good Luck) who expressed, “From the beginning, we knew we had something special. Anyone who has ever been in the room can testify to that.”
Other actors included Erik Moody, Dustin Tucker, Patricia Buckley and Rob Cameron. The panel discussion was facilitated by retired Brigadier General Loree Sutton.
To learn more about Lunder-Dineen and about programs they’re bringing to a community near you, please visit www.mainehealtheducation.org.
Lunder-Dineen Health Education Alliance of Maine in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital is a nonprofit organization that provides high-quality, CME/CE-certified, evidence-based health education to the citizens of Maine using needs assessments, innovative learning methodologies and expert faculty from within and outside of Maine. www.mainehealtheducation.org
Zaarly: Bringing Local Storefronts Online
Founders of Zaarly (L-R) Ian Hunter, Bo Fishback, and Eric Koester. Koester departed in in February.
One of our recent Monday Maine Mavens, Jordan Weymouth Richards, discussed the importance and value of doing what you love each and every day. Zaarly’s three founders, Eric Koester, Bo Fishback and Ian Hunter feel the same way. The business was created in a single weekend two years ago and doesn’t show any sign of slowing down.
When I first moved to New York City in 2008, the biggest question was, where do I live? How do I find a cheap (college student here) apartment in this expensive city? I met a few people who recommended Craigslist and I found my dream place—two-bedroom/two-bathroom with hardwood floors, granite countertops, stainless-steel appliances, full dining and living room for a mere $1,650/month in a nice Harlem neighborhood and two blocks from the A train.
It seems like a dream, right? Well, for me it was, but when I recommended it to a friend last year it seemed deals were hard to find and scams were heavily abundant. Enter Zaarly—a site that brings e-commerce to a new level by allowing the seller to create a virtual storefront, complete with product descriptions, a profile picture and comments—the model is remarkably similar to a social media site for your business/services.
Your virtual storefront works like a social media site. Profile picture? Check. Comments? Check. Creativity is welcomed from a company that claims, “Rules for Work. We do not have these.”
Co-founder and CEO of Zaarly, Bo Fishback says, “Craigslist built a great first version of how to use the Web to make local economies work a little better. It’s coming on 20 years since Craigslist was started and it is unchanged at a time when technology is changing faster than it’s ever changed before—I just had a super simple idea about how to create a hyper-local marketplace.”
It all began at Startup Weekendin February 2011. Two of the founders, Bo Fishback and Eric Koester were inspired by personal pet peeves and/or inconveniences. The third founder, Ian Hunter, had been thinking of a similar idea, virtual garage sales—how can you create the sale without actually having to go to the sale? They pitched their idea and Ashton Kutcher just happened to be one of the judges that evening and loved it. He funded the project with $14 million.
All three guys quit their jobs, went all in, and in a mere two years they have grown their idea into a million-dollar brand, boasting 100,000 registered users, 200 cities, 30 employees, 15,000 unique monthly listings, and $6 million worth of posted transactions.
The idea is that they introduce you to local business people who are passionate about what they do—Zaarly helps you meet people within your community, and those relationships and core connections are the key to their business model. Their website tells you to reclaim your local economy, stating that buying local means investing in your community’s future.
On their blog, Fishback tells the story of how much he loves picnics and how happy he was with a fulfilled picnic request he posted on Zaarly. Bo and his wife, son and dog enjoyed a relaxing two hours provided by “a third-grade teacher during the day, but a picnic wizard by night (and weekends),” who made the experience the best picnic of his life. Former Zaarly Chief Operating Office Eric Koester tells a similar story about a bride who had a DJ cancel the day of her wedding. She posted on Zaarly and within a few hours she had a new DJ booked and the crisis was resolved.
In honor of Zaarly’s goal of bringing people and businesses together, their team page makes it easy for you to ‘meet’ them.
Fishback says, “We help people get paid to do what they love—it’s amazing when you talk to these sellers and they come up with amazing things. We’re just welcoming the sellers into this marketplace; we did not have to invent the world of trust and safety in peer to peer marketplaces—we just get to improve on it.”
An improvement to that system came in February when they decided to leave their peer-to-peer model and approach it from the merchant perspective. Storefronts were born, and similar to Etsy and Shopify, they allow businesses to successfully market their products to customers, receive orders and confirm details.
Fishback says this was a difficult decision, but necessary based on the metrics of their original marketplace. He says that being a startup comes with uncertainty from the market saying, “If you don’t know if there are any fish in the pond, or what kind of fish are there, why would you fish?” Their new model establishes the sellers and on average their sellers are making between $1,500 and $2,000 per month, with some reaching between $6,000 and $7,000 each month.
So how can Zaarly help your business? Here in Maine, we are lucky to have an abundance of ‘Mom and Pop’ stores that not only exist, but are doing exceedingly well. We also have a variety of downtown alliances and organizations that are all about promoting local businesses, farmer’s markets and more.
Zaarly helps connect these businesses and people, promoting local prosperity. They are currently represented in San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Kansas City and Los Angeles, and are always looking to expand their markets.
Check out Zaarly and sign up for a free account today. If you’re looking for great ideas for your business then I suggest you follow their awesome founders on Twitter @ianhunter, @bowman, @erickoester.
Contributed by Erika Bush
NMC Participates in Unveiling of New Brand for America’s Newest City: Sanford
On Tuesday, May 7th, Nancy Marshall and Renée Black participated in the launch celebration for the new branding developed for America’s newest city, the city of Sanford, Maine.
Through a strategic process, NMC worked with the Economic Growth Council of Sanford, as well as residents and business leaders to develop a brand that would help fuel economic growth. Nancy and Renee are pictured below with the new Sanford logo on the side of one of Sanford’s fire trucks.
NMC Principal Nancy Marshall and NMC Account Executive Renée Black.
The artwork signifies forward movement, energy and the shape of the Mousam River that runs through the city. The tagline, “Explore. Create. Grow.” signifies the depth of natural, human, and historical resources available to explore in Sanford, as well as the opportunities that can be explored for the future. The word ‘Create’ signifies all that can be created through economic development, education, the arts and recreation. ‘Grow’ signifies the growth potential while living, working and playing in Sanford.
NMC Principal Nancy Marshall with Sanford Director of Economic Development Jim Nimon and Commissioner of Economic and Community Development George Gervais.
Puppy Play Date
They say that dogs have a calming effect, and are great for your health. This means we were the healthiest office in town when NMC Account Executive, Whitney Moreau’s puppy, Libby, stopped by for a visit recently.
Libby, the newest member of the NMC family.
Whitney says, “Having Libby is what I imagine having a new baby is like—I feel like I haven’t slept since I picked her up! Good thing she’s so adorable and sweet…most of the time.” Lucky for us, Libby was pretty tired and dozed off moments after this picture was taken.
The NMC staff wishes you a happy and relaxing weekend.
Using Google AdWords to Attract Customers to Your Business
Hi, Erika here!
You’re bored on a Friday night and looking for something to do when a friend suggests that you guys grab a bite to eat and go see a movie. You say, “Sure, but I want try something new.” You both agree on pizza, so you Google search local pizza place Augusta Maine and you get this:
Local businesses Whipper’s, College Carryout and Pizza Stone make up the top results of the search. Where would your business be?
Chances are, you’re going to pick one of the places on this page—and there is an even better chance that it will be one of the first three or four listings.
So, how do you make sure that your business is near the top?
A search engine marketing system, such as Google AdWords, certainly helps!
NMC Interactive Marketing Manager Matt Rideout has recently received his AdWords Certification through Google’s AdWords Certification Program. The certification required training in complex marketing systems along with multiple tests, and Rideout says, “The certification lets our customers know that we are fully taking advantage of everything the AdWords marketing channel has to offer. Ultimately, it shows our dedication to ensuring our clients receive the best online advertising possible from NMC.”
NMC Principal Nancy Marshall adds, “Matt’s Google AdWords Certification adds one more area of expertise we can offer to our clients that will help them connect their marketing messages with their target audiences.”
So how does Google AdWords work?
- Keywords are the key to a successful campaign. Think like a potential customer—if they had never been to your business how might they find you?
- Pizza place: thin crust pizza Augusta Maine, pizza delivery Augusta Maine, pizza places in Augusta Maine open late, etc.
- Gym: gym open late in Augusta Maine, Augusta Maine gym with tanning, Augusta Maine trial gym membership, etc.
- You decide how much you spend by setting a daily budget that is comfortable for you, and you can change it at any time—you are never locked into a contract.
- You only pay for results (cost-per-click), which means that you never pay for your ad to be displayed, but only when someone actually clicks on your ad and is redirected to your site and/or landing page.
- Relevance means more business—the more relevant your ads and keywords are to the demographic, the higher your Quality Score. The higher your Quality Score, the higher up your position will be on a Google search.
NMC Interactive Marketing Manager Matt Rideout, who recently received his Google AdWords Certification.
As mentioned earlier in this article, the higher your position on the search results page, the more likely you are to be chosen. The more people click on your ads, the lower your cost-per-click will be!
The team here at NMC sets up cost-per-click systems that allow us to measure return on investment (ROI) so that our customers know they are generating a profit with their campaigns.
Contact us today to see how the NMC team can help your business reach the coveted #1 search result spot with $100 in free AdWords advertising.
Julia Clukey Honored by Portland Pirates
On Saturday, April 20, Maine Olympian Julia Clukey was honored by the Portland Pirates for her incredible work as the official spokesperson for the Maine Beer & Wine Distributors Association’s Responsibility Tour.
The 2013 Responsibility Tour featuring Clukey began earlier this month and runs through the prom and graduation season. As the spokesperson, Julia presents at high schools across the state and stars in public service announcements on television and radio. The Responsibility Tour is a part of Maine Beer & Wine Distributors Association’s ongoing initiative to communicate that alcohol is a unique product that requires regulation and responsibility.
Since 2010, Julia has traveled to more than 20 high schools across the state and directly reached nearly 6,000 Maine students. All of Clukey’s presentations are made possible by the Maine Beer & Wine Distributors Association and are provided at no cost to the school.
NMC Coordinated for Olympian Julia Clukey to drop the puck at the Portland Pirates game on Saturday, April 20, 2013. She was honored by the team for her tremendous work with the Maine Beer & Wine Distributors Association on their responsibility initiative.
To learn more about the Maine Beer & Wine Distributors Association and their ongoing responsibility initiative, visit www.mainebeerandwine.com/responsibility.
High schools in Maine can schedule presentations from Olympian Julia Clukey by visiting her website at www.clukeyluge.com.
Google Yourself!
Nancy Marshall, principal of Nancy Marshall Communications
7 Ways to Make Yourself More Findable
If someone entered your name into Google, what would they find? Or, if they can’t remember your name, but they remember what you do, and enter some descriptive key words, will they be able to find you?
It’s a good idea to Google yourself to see what comes up! (Make sure you log out of your own Google account so the results aren’t skewed.) There may be other people who have the same name as you. If you create a personal branding strategy to make sure that all of your online information is up to date and filled with the keywords that describe you and what you do, people will be more likely to find you and not others.
Here are my 7 tips to make sure you are findable:
- Be sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date and filled with the keywords people might be using to find you.
- Have you thought of creating a personal website? Try to secure the URL for your own name, and then create a website all about you. This will definitely help you become more findable.
- If you have a website for your business, or better yet, a personal website, make sure your biography is updated and also filled with the proper keywords.
- If there have been stories in the media about you, then you will be more findable. Perhaps you’ve recently received an award or a promotion and you sent a news item to the newspaper. That kind of information will also come up in a Google search.
- You can position yourself as an expert by pitching the media to do a story about your area of expertise. Or you can write an opinion column and submit it to the editorial page of your local newspaper. The more you can stand out from others by getting news coverage for your particular area of expertise, the better.
- Speaking engagements are a great way for you to establish yourself as an expert and gain media coverage. I speak at numerous chamber meetings and annual meetings of professional organizations to get exposure with new audiences as well as attract television , radio and newspaper coverage.
Google now offers “Google Profiles.” Here’s a link to mine: https://plus.google.com/115192809753549645135/posts. If you haven’t created a Google profile for yourself, now’s the time to do it.
The results that come up when you Google search Maine PR Maven, a term associated with the Nancy Marshall Communications brand.
KVYMCA Goes Social
KVYMCA CEO, Mark Yerrick
Organizations such as the YMCA and Boys & Girls Club are prominent within their communities for families and teens—promoting positive self-image and high self-esteem for young adults. The local Kennebec Valley YMCA has the same goals, and CEO Mark Yerrick says, “I am honored to be able to work with people dedicated to improving their community.”
Yerrick first joined the KVYMCA as a member in 1986, and his children learned to swim at the old location on Winthrop Street, next to the Augusta courthouse. By the 1990’s he was elected to the Board of Directors and served one three-year term, and it was only natural that he would apply for the CEO position when it became available in 2008.
Since beginning his role as the CEO in June of 2008, Mark says that social media has played an increasing role in the way the organization connects with their community. “We have to reach out to consumers in the way they want to be reached. The days of phone calls, direct mail and newspaper advertising are dwindling. Social media is quickly become the best resource for us,” he says.
Nonprofit organizations like the KVYMCA are limited when it comes to funding advertising campaigns, which is why social media is increasingly vital to their success. Yerrick says, “The volunteers on our marketing committee are a huge asset to us. They have worked on developing our online presence—we now use our Facebook page to announce special events, and to build our membership.”
The most influential marketing tool available to the KVYMCA comes from Olympian and Maine native, Julia Clukey. Last year, she developed Julia Clukey’s Camp for Girls, a two-week program that promotes healthy relationships between girls of all ages. Mark says, “Julia has been involved at every level—from training with other counselors, planning the curriculum, and assisting us with interviewing potential staff members. Her enthusiasm is exciting for all of us!” Last year, Clukey’s camp was incredibly successful bringing in more than 90 girls for that program alone and they are hoping for an even greater turnout this summer since Julia will be heading to the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Mark Yerrick and Julia Clukey announce Julia Clukey’s Camp for Girls program last year.
The most challenging part of running a successful nonprofit organization like the KVYMCA is finding balance in the multiple hats each person has to wear every day. This is a challenge Mark has willingly accepted and credits an incredible team and Board of Directors for the success of their programs and facility. He says the key to success comes from the team as a whole stating, “You have to surround yourself with quality staff members that are experts in their fields. There is nothing more valuable than the professional men and women who give their time to assure that the KVYMCA is a quality organization for our community.”
To learn more about membership and to see how you can participate in their upcoming programs, please check out their website at http://www.kvymca.org/programs.php, or like them on Facebook today https://www.facebook.com/kvymca?fref=ts.
Boston Strong
We were so touched by the singing of the national anthem at the Bruins gameon Wednesday night when the iconic René Rancourt started to sing “Oh say, can you see,” then let the crowd take over. It was obvious then and now how we, as a nation, feel that we are all in this together.
The events that are unfolding today are surreal, and our hearts go out to all of our friends, family and those we have not yet met, as we hunt down the criminals who have taken this proud city down.
My family’s roots are in Boston….my father was born in Malden and my mother was born in Newton, and everyone on the NMC team has friends and family members there as well.
So we join together in hope that the forces of good will rise above the forces of evil.
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