Thanks to the Idaho Statesman Business Insider for a great story on social media use and business. Reporter Harrison Berry interviewed several local businesses and experts, including Martin Johncox, a Boise public relations consultant.
In cooperation with Adelante Media stations in Caldwell, Idaho, Alexander and Associates has produced El Minuto de Medios Sociales. As a complement to the Social Media Yak talk show, El Minuto is intended to reach the fast-growing Spanish speaking market. By many measurements, Hispanics use social media at a higher rate than other groups. The spots will air on a trial basis on Adelante station 106.3 serving the Treasure Valley of Idaho this week.
The recording below is for personal and demonstrative use and no public broadcast is allowed. If you are a non-competing station, we would be happy to create a Minuto de Medios Sociales for your listeners with reasonable terms.
Thanks to the Idaho Statesman’s Business Insider for a great story on Social Media Yak today! Reporter Lisa Huynh Eller really captured the essence of this show in a fairly brief story. It was on Page 3 of the Insider, their “BIZ BUZZ” feature, which briefly highlights a local startup. The text is below.
New local radio show offers advice on using social media in business
Social Media and morning radio seemed like the perfect pair, and no-brainer business adventure for public relations consultant Martin Johncox. Last month he launched Social Media Yak. Designed for a broad audience, the half-hour show looks at personal and professional aspects of social media. It features expert guests and examines topics like Facebook for small business, personal branding and legal issues.
“I like to say that Facebook is the backyard barbecue of social media, LinkedIn is the business meeting, Twitter is the cocktail party and MySpace is the smokers in the alley,” said Johncox, co-owner of Alexander and Associates Public Relations and Marketing and a former Idaho Statesman editorial writer and reporter. “The goal of (the) Social Media Yak show is to stay on top of – and ahead of – what’s changing, and which medium is best for what part of your life.”
Through Peak Broadcasting, Johncox gets a certain number of 30-second radio spots at discounted rates. He sells these at a markup to cover costs and earn a small profit. He says this allows him to offer radio ads to small businesses at a lower cost with less commitment than traditional radio ad plans. His sponsors include some of his PR clients, such as Clothesline Cleaners, YMC Inc. and PATH Idaho.
“Social media experts are off in their podcast silos, thinking traditional media are irrelevant, even though traditional media still command enormous audiences,” he said.
Johncox produces the show with advice from his wife, Barbara Miller Johncox, co-owner of Alexander and Associates. He hopes to syndicate the podcasts and partner with other businesses to offer social media training.
Social Media Yak airs at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday mornings on KIDO 580 AM. For more information, go to facebook.com/socialmediayak or alexanderandassociates.com.
Click for image of published story
Social Media Yak: Where Facebook is the backyard barbecue, Twitter is the cocktail party, LinkedIn is the business meeting and MySpace is the smokers in the alley.Social Media Yak features some of
the best thinkers, advisers and creators in social media today. Below is a list of past and upcoming guests. If you’re interested in being on the show, contact us! Social Media Yak shows run from 7:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. on KIDO AM 580.
Saturday, May 19: Teenagers and social media Part 2. Connie Benke, a counselor at Vallivue High School and an adjunct professor in George Fox University’s Social and Behavioral Sciences Department, is back for Part 2 to help us understand some of the issues surrounding teen use of social media. According to a recent survey, 76 percent of teens ages 12-17 use social media sites, making them the spaces where much of teen life is developed and amplified – in ways both good and bad. Adding to the complexity of teenage life, social media offer new opportunities for teens find recognition for their talents, praise from their peers and arrange activities, but there’s also a darker side that involves bullying, abuse, fighting and rumor amplification. As a licensed Professional Counselor, Benke also enjoys a private practice, working with clients as well as teaching classes on a variety of topics including relationship health, emotional intelligence, and building a better Self.
Saturday, May 12: Teenagers and social media Part 1. According to a recent survey, 76 percent of teens ages 12-17 use social media sites, making them the spaces where much of teen life is developed and amplified – in ways both good and bad. Adding to the complexity of teenage life, social media offer new opportunities for teens find recognition for their talents, praise from their peers and arrange activities, but there’s also a darker side that involves bullying, abuse, fighting and rumor amplification. Connie Benke, a counselor at Vallivue High School and an adjunct professor in George Fox University’s Social and Behavioral Sciences Department, will help us understand some of these issues As a licensed Professional Counselor, Benke also enjoys a private practice, working with clients as well as teaching classes on a variety of topics including relationship health, emotional intelligence, and building a better Self. Podcast
Saturday, May 5: Social media creating philanthropy. Giving away free dry cleaning and car washes, holding innovative fundraisers and sponsoring events – these have long been a part of businesses, but there’s some evidence social media are making local businesses more philanthropic. Social Media consultant Martin Johncox of Alexander and Associates Public Relations explains why local businesses are doing more good deeds and how your club or nonprofit can best work Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media. Martin also updates us on some unusual social media-related news. Podcast
Saturday, April 28: LinkedIn for sales and competitive intelligence. Whether you’re in sales, prospecting new leads, or looking for more information about a new business in town, LinkedIn a good resource for competitive information. Learn how to strategically grow your network of contacts to open doors to new business and improve your competitive intelligence. Doug Metzgar, owner of Meshwork Marketing, provides some answers. Doug helps businesses get the most out of social media tools, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and others. Podcast
Saturday, April 21: Engage or die. Facebook is trying to pull people and businesses out of their shells and Timeline is the latest example of it. The wall of a business page is now front-and-center and the interaction between customers and business – for better or worse – is getting more play. Today’s guest is Dave Clark, owner of Social Media Gurus, a company that specializes in assisting small businesses with Facebook pages. Clark will help us understand how businesses and customers can better use Facebook, as well as other social media. Podcast
Saturday, April 14. No, you can’t have my social media passwords! Martin Johncox, consultant at Alexander and Associates, riffs on a variety of topics: New platform overload, what is relevance and the obnoxious trend of prospective employers asking for your Facebook passwords so they can log into your account and see your personal messages. Podcast
Saturday, April 7. Keeping up with changes Just blink once and it seems as though a couple of new social media have appeared and Facebook has changed its settings and format. Many people find the constant change overwhelming and we’re getting some guidance from Dana Pethia, Pacific Northwest regional development director for Constant Contact. Dana will share some up-to-the-minute best practices for small business social media marketing, good content development, connecting with your fans and how email can amplify these efforts. Dana’s advice will help local businesses, nonprofits, clubs and even individuals seeking to use social media more effectively. Podcast
Saturday, March 31. Unbanning Facebook. Does your boss let you access Facebook at work? More than half of all employers block at-work access to Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, but St. Luke’s Health System is going the opposite direction. Ken Dey, St. Luke’s social media manager, explains how he persuaded Idaho’s largest hospital group to embrace social media as a way to improve the company’s outreach and image. With properly trained employees, social media can benefit a business. Ken explains the risks and advantages of this approach and what local businesses and employees might want to consider. Podcast
Saturday, March 24, 2012. Manners. Are you a social media oaf? Used to be, manners were clearly defined, but social media create new ways for people to offend each other. How do you handle defriending and blocking on Facebook or Twitter? And how obnoxious is it when your business adopts a personal profile? Etiquette expert, certified life coach and author Marie Dubuque examines manners in the digital age with Martin Johncox, whose beloved sixth-grade teacher rejected his friend request and left him crushed. Podcast
Saturday, March 17, 2012: Safety. So, you just updated your Facebook status with a photo of your family in the Bahamas and you’ve got two weeks left on your vacation. Depending on your privacy settings, tens or even hundreds of thousands of people can see that – and a few might be looking for a house to burglarize. Lynn Hightower, communications director for the Boise Police Department, helps us understand how to use social media more safely. Podcast
Saturday, March 10, 2012: New social media. Pinterest? Foursquare? GetGlue? If you feel like you’re being pelted with new social media platforms, help is on the way. Jennifer Harris, Internet content specialist at D&B Supply, will help us make sense of some of the newest platforms. Since 2005, Jen has been helping businesses and clients adopt new social media with BlueLine Marketing, Caffeinated Marketing, MPC Computers, T-Sheets, Consilio and Citadel Broadcasting. Jen and host Martin Johncox will discuss a few of the new social platforms attracting the most attention and how to figure out which you might want to try out. Podcast
Saturday, March 3, 2012: Personal branding with Justin Foster, a brand strategist with plenty of lift-the-top-of-your-head-off-and-expose-your-brain concepts. Branding isn’t just for soda and cars; each of us is a brand and others judge us on our relevance . His book “Oatmeal vs. Bacon” should be required reading for all humans. Podcast
Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012: Social media and legal issues Can you really get sued for shooting off your mouth on social media? And what can your boss do if you say something bad about the company on Facebook? Is it really legal for employers to monitor your social media use? We get the facts from Saundra McDavid, who teaches classes on law, technology and business strategy at several universities. Podcast
Saturday, Feb.18, 2012: Facebook for small business How can you make your Facebook business page relevant, grow your fans, deal with customers and use your page to conduct business? Doug Metzgar, owner of Meshwork Marketing, provides some answers. Doug helps businesses get the most out of social media tools, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and others. For the Facebook Agitation Report segment, he’ll provide some advice on Facebook’s new Timeline feature. Podcast
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/05/06/2105276/paul-backers-seek-second-opinion.html
Thanks to the following businesses for sponsoring Social Media Yak! If you are interested in sponsoring, please contact Martin Johncox at 208-658-9100 or martin@alexanderandassociates.com. We have some short-term, low-cost sponsorships, as well as more elaborate ones.
Social Media Yak brings ideas, tips and advice to Treasure Valley radio market beginning Saturday, Feb. 18
Idaho public relations company teams with Peak Broadcasting for Saturday morning talk radio show dedicated to social media
For more information:
Martin Johncox, Alexander and Associates, 208-658-9100
martin@alexanderandassociates.com
facebook.com/alexandermarketing
twitter.com/alexandermktng
Jan. 31, 2012
Listeners can find radio talk shows about politics, relationships, finance, cars, health, gadgets, dogs, firearms and cigars. Starting Saturday, February 18, they’ll have a radio show dedicated to social media.
“About half the population of the U.S. uses Facebook and millions more use Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and others, so the time is right for a radio talk show about social media,” said Martin Johncox, host of Social Media Yak, which will run from 7 to 7:30 a.m. on KIDO 580 AM, covering Idaho’s Treasure Valley. “Social media are fundamentally changing the way people relate to each other and there’s a huge desire to learn more about it.”
The show will cover the best practices for Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google+, GetGlue, MySpace, Yelp!, Foursquare and others, with an emphasis on how-to tips. Topics will include personal branding, bullying, privacy, security, business pages, social activism, apps, new research and more. Guests will include experts in various aspects of social media, as well as local businesses and individuals who successfully use it. The show will be geared toward individuals as well as businesses. Social Media Yak features will include the “Facebook Agitation Report,” a regular update on the ever-changing format and privacy settings of the most popular social media site.
Recently, the Treasure Valley ranked in the top 20 most socially networked cities and Johncox said it is likely Idahoans in general rely on social media – and radio – more than most Americans due to the state’s dispersed population.
Social Media Yak will be nested inside the show of Kevin Miller, a popular Treasure Valley radio show host. Johncox will appear as a guest on Miller’s show at 7 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11, to introduce Social Media Yak.
Dave Tester, KIDO sales manager, said encouraging development of promising new shows is one of the duties of local broadcasters.
“We are pleased to have someone with Martin’s experience and enthusiasm,” Tester said. “Social media is obviously an area of high public interest and we are proud to be among the first stations to provide listeners with advice and discussion about it.”
The show has several sponsors lined up. The show is somewhat selective, because sponsors must be using social media to effectively promote their business and must refer to at least their Facebook page in the ads. Johncox said sponsors should want to reach listeners who value businesses that use social media.
Listeners will be invited to call in with questions. Parallel discussions will take place at www.facebook.com/category/social-media-yak and on Twitter @socialmediayak. The current Web page for the show is at www.alexanderandassociates.com/category/social-media-yak.
A recurring topic will be the best use for each social medium.
“I like to say that Facebook is the backyard barbecue of social media, LinkedIn is the business meeting, Twitter is the cocktail party and MySpace is the smokers in the alley,” Johncox said. “The goal of Social Media Yak show is to stay on top of – and ahead of – what’s changing, and which medium is best for what part of your life.”
Johncox is a former Idaho newspaper journalist and holds a B.A. in Rhetoric from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Oregon. Since 2001, he has been public relations director for Alexander and Associates Inc. in Boise. His social media work has won industry awards and he regularly makes presentations to chambers of commerce and business groups on getting started and moving forward with social media. Since 2009, Johncox has voiced sponsor spots for Boise State Public Radio.
Since 2009, I’ve been doing voiceovers for Boise State Public Radio sponsors. I’ve listened to public radio for some 25 years and I it’s really an honor to volunteer my time to helping. I’ve never had any professional voice training; I was attending a public meeting with some BSPR people and they said they liked my voice and invited me to volunteer for them.
As a shameless plug for myself and BSPR, here are some recent voiceovers.
UW Thank You- Western Capital Bank
UW Thank you – Givens Pursley, PFCU, INL
University of Idaho – Idaho Shakespeare Festival 2011
The Cat Doctor 2011-Ira Glass Sponsor Message
Thank You – FBI, JAC, ULH
Taco Bell Arena Trans-Siberian Orchestra November 2011
St. Luke’s Heart November 2011 Cut 2 Five Alive
Solar Concepts – Solar Star Attic Fan
Opera Idaho Pirates of Penzance October 2011
Northwest Nazarene University Cut 2
New Website Promos-Cut 3
Morrison Center – MOMIX Botanica January 2012 CUT 1
Meuleman Mollerup-Generic April 2011
Magic Valley Symphony-October 2011
Lee’s Candies Easter 2011
Intermountain Medical Imaging 2011 Cut 1
Idaho Shakespeare Festival Early Bird 2012 Cut 3
Pledge Drive Thank You – Locavore
Idaho Rangeland Resource Commission Stories from the Hitching Post
Idaho Preferred Cut 1
Idaho Humanities Council Distinguished Humanities Lecture Calvin Trillin 2011
Idaho Humane Society See Spot Walk 2011 Cut 1
Idaho Forest Products Commission – April 2011
Idaho Dept Commerce
Idaho Botanical Garden Fall Harvest Festival 2011
Ernest Hemingway Symposium 2011 Cut 1
Eat, Drink and Be Healthy
CSI-Mark Edwards Cut 2
City Club of Boise Cecil Andrus November 2011 Martin
Boise Baroque Orchestra Gonzalo Ruiz February 2012
BCT- Off The Record April 2012
Bank of the Cascades
Ballet Idaho -The Nutcracker 2011
Atkins Mediation Services
There’s a lot of emphasis on automating the public relations process and there’s almost daily a new program platform, trick or app with a funny name that guarantees more followers or better notoriety for clients. But there are some time-honored principles for cultivating your brand, whether your use hieroglyphics or Twitter to communicate: Do good deeds, find allies, use what you have an discreetly toot your horn. Because there’s no way to automate relevance.
We have a track record of delivering news media coverage for our clients and it’s worthwhile to examine how it happens with a good case study.
KTRV and KTVB interview a Boise Rescue Mission resident about the clothing drive with Clothesline Cleaners
There are no secrets to getting news media coverage and several good principles include: Make yourself relevant, do something good for the community, make it easy for journalists to do their job and stand back and let them work.
In September, we hooked up Clothesline with Dress For Success Treasure Valley, which collects professional clothing for disadvantaged women and was holding a clothing drive in conjunction with Office Team. In addition to collecting many women’s suits, several people donated men’s suits and Clothesline Owner Gary McCracken wanted to give them to a worthy cause.
A and A looked for another charity and found Boise Rescue Mission Ministries, which has a program to help homeless and other disadvantaged men enter the workforce, and this program often needs good quality professional clothing. After some work with the Mission’s media staff, we arranged to have clothesline collect men’s clothing for the month of November and we drafted news releases to publicize it. With the cooperation of the Mission, we got some coverage in the Idaho Statesman and KTRV 12 at the kick off and during the clothing drive. We set up an event for Dec. 1 to hand the clothing over to the Mission and requested Mission representatives and a Mission resident attend to answer media questions (so often, news conferences and events have officials and leaders, but no one from the group that’s actually the recipient of the assistance).
With some judicious and persistent follow-up, we were able to persuade KTRV and KTVB – Idaho’s largest news source – to attend the handover, with KTVB devoting more than two and a half minutes to its broadcast. We finally collected about 750 items of clothing, providing a great backdrop at Clothesline’s Boise shop.
We started a parallel social media campaign in November, while Clothesline used its emailing list of several thousand customers to help get the word out. Clothesline also brought in Steve Reeder of the local Tom James haberdashery to publicize the drive to his clients. The Mission distributed to the release and assisted with getting publicity. Each party had some kind of publicity assets and put them to work.
We took our own video and will put that up on Clothesline’s YouTube page. Between the last few days of November and December, our weekly Facebook page visits increased by 10 percent and wall comments increased by one-third, and we believe it is attributable to the social media and news media push.
McCracken reported that about a dozen customers that hadn’t used his services in a while called his store on Dec. 2, saying they saw TV news program that morning, or the night before, and that reminded them they needed to get some stuff cleaned.
Sometimes putting the hustle on things gets results with traditional news media. Metro Express told us a day before they were going to host a tour of industry leaders at the Boise, Meridian and Nampa car washes. After a quick news release and some follow up, KTRV 12 came out and did a terrific story on Wednesday, Sept. 21.
Car wash owners from across the U.S. to visit local Metro Express washes Wednesday, Sept. 21
Automated, computer-controlled car wash attracts national attention in close-knit industry
For more information:
Martin Johncox, 208-658-9100 Bill Martin, 208-331-1301About 20 car wash moguls from across the US will tour Metro Express car washes in Boise, Nampa and Meridian on Wednesday, Sept. 21, to check out innovations at a chain known nationally as being an industry leader.
“The car wash industry is still close-knit enough to where we will still tour each others’ washes to learn about best practices,” said owner Bill Martin, a former president of the International Car Wash Association. “I am honored to host a peer group representing some of the best-known players in the industry nationally.”
Martin is being rather modest, though. His washes have won awards for his design, social media practices, environmental protection and use of technology. Martin will be giving tours to car wash operators (some of them much larger than Metro Express) from New York, Florida, and other states on Wednesday afternoon.
“Bill Martin seems to be at the forefront of all technological advances and he recently was named Innovative Operator of the Year from us,” said Bill Carbonel, a California car wash owner and president of the Western Car Wash Association. “Bill is very well known in the industry for his beautiful facilities, for his ability to reach out with social media to attract new customers and for adopting the latest practices and technology, so it is natural other operators would want to tour his washes.”
Martin has more than 40 years of experience in the industry and considers Metro Express to be the apex of the automated car wash, combining the thoroughness of a hand wash with the speed and low cost of an automated wash. His three car washes are highly computerized, with imaging software tracking the movement of each car on the property and up-to-the-minute reports on productivity accessible from his iPhone.
The City of Meridian has honored Metro Express for its water reclamation. And car wash operators aren’t the only people taking tours – in April, public works officials from throughout Idaho toured Metro Express to examine its storm water treatment methods.
Metro Express has a demonstrated commitment to local causes. Since 2010, Metro Express has raised about $11,500 for nonprofits by offering free car washes for a donation. Beneficiaries have included the Valley Crisis Center, Terry Reilly Health Services and ArtFaire Inc. The company has given away hundreds of car wash passes to nonprofits for use as door prizes and is constantly running public service announcements on its downtown Boise electronic billboards.
The death of traditional PR and traditional media hasn’t arrived yet, if ever. This is a good example of how traditional public relations, combined with local partnerships and public service, result in good publicity when the media are listening.
Thanks again to KTRV for a couple of great stories on our clients Metro Express Car Wash and Clothesline Cleaners.
KTRV news story on Clothesline Cleaners
KTRV story on Metro Express Car Wash
Social media this-and-that