North Coast Media, LLC

How you can give back to your community in Cleveland

By Allison Barwacz | Digital Media Content Producer

There’s no shortage of generosity during the holiday season, and the same could be said for the employees at North Coast Media (NCM). While NCM employees volunteer to serve lunches every Wednesday at the Bishop William M. Cosgrove Center, they wanted to contribute more during the holidays.

They did this by donating four large bags of toys, which included cars, baby dolls, board games and coloring books, to Cosgrove, one of the largest day drop-in centers in Northeast Ohio. The company also donated 55 turkeys.

“It was really heartwarming to see how appreciative the families were,” said Debbie Pipik, director of human resources at NCM. “It really puts everything in perspective.”

With that in mind, here are some other ways you can give back in Cleveland during the holiday season — and any other time of the year.

1. The Cleveland Food Bank

15500 South Waterloo Rd.

The Cleveland Food Bank is the largest hunger relief organization in Northeast Ohio. It operates a community food distribution center, providing food and other grocery products annually to more than 750 local food pantries, hot meal programs, shelters, mobile pantries and more. Those who want to help can donate money, food or time as a volunteer.

2. The Cleveland Animal Protective League (APL)

1729 Willey Ave.

Calling all animal lovers: The Cleveland APL offers a variety of volunteer opportunities throughout Northeast Ohio. Volunteers can walk dogs, foster animals, learn about a veterinarian’s everyday duties, photograph animals and more at its shelter in Tremont, its PetSmart Charities Everyday Adoption Center, its PetSmart Parma location and other offsite locations. APL also accepts donations, including money, towels/blankets, dog and cat treats, and a variety of other items.

3. Encore Cleveland

4415 Euclid Ave., Suite 200

The mission of Encore Cleveland is to channel the time, energy and talents of experienced Clevelanders into solving community challenges and filling unmet needs. Volunteer opportunities through this organization include becoming a reading instructor, food pantry assistant, usher, library aid, museum volunteer, disaster action team member and respite/companionship volunteer.

4. Cleveland Metroparks

For those of you who love spending time outdoors, the Cleveland Metroparks offers a variety of volunteer opportunities throughout its system. Volunteers can participate in outdoor youth programs, work in the trails division, learn about park history and more.

5. HandsOn Northeast Ohio

HandsOn Northeast Ohio offers a variety of volunteer programs, from dog walking to donation sorting to working at food pantries. The site includes a calendar listing all of the available volunteer opportunities during each month of the year.

Friday Favorites: Pest Management Professional

Best of 2015, as picked by the editors

The issue: Pest Management Professional, August 2015

Selected by: Editor Heather Gooch

When I was asked to choose my favorite PMP cover story from 2015, my initial thought was, “How can I choose? I love them all!”

I’m still quite proud of all the work we’ve done throughout the year, but I do have a favorite: the August issue.

“The Buzz on Pollinator Policy” takes an in-depth look at how the Screen Shot 2015-12-17 at 2.44.23 PM White House Pollinator Plan, issued May 19, directly affects the professional pest management industry. We interviewed associations, consultants, business owners and technical directors, and we did a timeline of the history of bee colony disorders. For example, did you know that the phenomenon now known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) was first documented in 1869? It’s not as new of a problem as one might think.

Our coverage was a team effort, from Senior Editor Will Nepper and Editorial Director Marty Whitford to now-Managing Editor Diane Sofranec and myself. We uncovered so much information, in fact, that the topic spawned a follow-up story in our October issue, where we rounded up reaction and insights from six major manufacturers affected by the policy.

In 2016, our first priority will continue to be to our readers — as it has been since our founding as Exterminators Log in 1933. We will continue to break down the issues that affect the industry, and help put them into context.

5 reasons why you should include images in online articles

By Joelle Harms | Senior Digital Editor

Seeing is believing.

And lucky for us, we live in a world where taking images or finding free images, illustrations and photos is as easy as 1- 2-3. (Just make sure you check usage rights before posting and editing.) Lone text isn’t acceptable to stand alone anymore — especially when you consider all of the visuals that are competing for your audience’s attention.

Getting your article read is (obviously) the main reason you write an article. But, it could be the best article in the world and not be seen because, well, your audience didn’t actually “see” it.

Here are the five reasons why you should always include a visual component to your online article:

1. Articles with images get 94 percent more total views. Optimind Technology, a digital marketing agency, published these results. Even if the numbers may not be as high as 94 percent for your website, chances are it’s more than 50 percent, which means this is pretty much a no-brainer.

2. It’s easy. “I wouldn’t do it if it was easy” is not the case here. Finding images to complement your topic is simple (and fun). See the bottom of this article for a list of resources I regularly use.

3. Not everyone is an avid reader. People or potential customers that visit your website may not be there to truly read. Most will skim — if that. Adding an image can really put words into meaning for those who are visual learners.

4. It makes the complicated uncomplicated. Not everyone is a wordsmith, and not everyone sees words the same way. Most writers have had work on their desk that requires meticulous wording because the topic itself is confusing. For articles like this, consider infographics or images that show steps.

5. The world of images is at your fingertips. Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box. Image allow for so much creativity and it allows us to experiment where sometimes writing does not.

Three free stock photo and image resources:

Craig MacGregor named Associate Publisher of Landscape Management

CLEVELAND, Ohio — December 17, 2015 — North Coast Media is happy to announce the promotion of Craig MacGregor to the position of Associate Publisher for Landscape Management.

MacGregor joined LM in January 2012 and has doubled his annual LM sales from 2012 to 2015. In that same time, MacGregor has excelled on the digital media side, working with the digital team to pioneer the concept of the platinum digital sponsorship. He has grown his annual digital sales from $18,000 to nearly a quarter million dollars in 2015.

Beyond the numbers, MacGregor has played an integral role in the revitalization of the LM brand—enthusiastically getting the word out about the rebranding/redesign; always coming up with new ideas and opportunities to help his clients grow their businesses; and demonstrating a true team-player attitude.

MacGregor’s office is located in North Coast Media headquarters at 1360 East 9^th Street, Suite 1070, Cleveland, OH 44114. He can be reached at 216-706-3787 or cmacgregor@northcoastmedia.net.

Inside the GPS World redesign with VP of Design Pete Seltzer

Pete Seltzer has more than 20 years of experience as an art director and has spearheaded dozens of magazine and brand redesigns since he began working in publishing. He sits down with NCM Insights’ Bethany Chambers to talk about his latest project, the redesign of GPS World magazine and related properties, which launched last month.

Q: Before you get started on a redesign, where do you look for inspiration?

A: We base our redesigns on reader and advertiser research. Using the research results in combination with industry expertise provided by our staff, we affirm the brand essence. The brand essence identifies the audience, their key need, our value proposition, proof of that value proposition and the personality of the brand. Visual cues reference all of these aspects. Additionally, one of the questions we ask readers is what consumer magazines do you read on a regular basis.

Q: Why do you ask this, and what did you find out?

A: This gives us a feel for what they like, both from a content standpoint and an aesthetic one. GPS World readers also read Scientific American, Popular Mechanics and The Atlantic.

Q: Once you have inspiration, which elements do you start with for a redesign?

A: Creation of the logo is the cornerstone for the redesign. It should project the brand essence, personality and tone for the overall redesign.

Q: The new GPS World logo is drastically different. What stands out about it to you, and how many iterations were there in the redesign process?

A: What’s key about this is how we arrived here. Typically a tagline is something that is added after the logo development and is not necessarily essential to the logo itself. The tagline in the GPS World logo is not a tagline really; it’s part of the logo. It’s the brand guideline to never use the logo without it. These are the key sections we cover.

Q: So to say there were more iterations than usual would be correct?

A: Absolutely.

Q: How do you pick colors/themes for the design?

A: Creation of color palette and themes are born out of the editorial strategy for a brand redesign. Colors/themes should support and reinforce editorial approach, as well as personality of the brand. Special consideration should be made for the audience demographics.

Q: The new color palate of GPS World has earthier tones as opposed to the previous bolder, more saturated colors. What does the new color palette say about the brand and the audience?

A: I would describe the colors as more muted but still masculine because a good portion of our audience is male. This is more sophisticated and reinforces the technical feel of the brand.

Q: What would you say is the most important element of a redesign project?

A: I would rate selection of fonts as one of the most important elements. Ease of readability is a core function, while finding the right combination of display and text font families that work well together is also key. The fonts’ secondary purpose is to further reinforce the personality of the redesign.

Q: What stands out to you about the new GPS World fonts?

A: The display type has a technical flair and the body copy has an ease of readability.

Q: What makes this design more effective than the previous design?

A: By definition, a redesign updates the presentation of the brand—that in and of itself is window dressing. However, by also conducting research and re-examining the brand essence in an effort to serve our audience (which is readers and advertisers both) to the best of our ability, we are confidently providing a more effective design presentation.

Instagram for the B2B company

By Allison Barwacz | Digital Media Content Producer

Instagram typically isn’t the first social media outlet a B2B company might consider using. To some, it makes more sense for B2C companies to use Instagram, where they can showcase their products to customers.

It doesn’t have to be that way, though. Think about what you use your personal accounts for: to relay messages, to promote causes or simply for fun. The same can be said for B2B accounts, as long as you follow these guidelines:

1. Choose a direction.

Give your Instagram a purpose. It can go in any direction, from promoting your business to growing your audience to racking up website page views. Consider your audience: Is it customers, clients, partners, prospective employees or a mixture? An article on Outbound Engine mentions six strategies for building a B2B presence on Instagram: brand awareness, relationship building, recruitment, public perception, brand affinity and reaching new and current audiences. Choose a direction based on what your company has to offer and what your company ultimately needs.

2. Post appropriately.

This seems like a given, but there’s always someone that needs a reminder. Keep your photos PG, and follow your company’s established social media guidelines.

3. Post consistently.

Post at least once a day on your Instagram account, especially if you’re starting out with a limited number of followers.

“Social media analytics tool Quintly analyzed over 5,000 profiles in early 2015 to learn that the average Instagram account posts once per day,” said Courtney Seiter in an article on Buffer. “Accounts with the highest number of fans tend to post a bit more than that — up to two or three photos per day on average. This data might allow us to say that ‘more successful’ accounts tend to post with a higher frequency.”

4. Use relevant hashtags, and create a company hashtag.

When posting, be sure to use hashtags; however, don’t go hashtag crazy (I’d limit it to five hashtags, tops). When you’re typing a hashtag in your post, Instagram will automatically tell you how many users have used that particular hashtag. Use the ones with the highest numbers, and be sure to test out variations of certain words (for example, type in “#cat” and “#cats” to see which hashtag is more popular) in order to gain the most traction.

Also, create a company hashtag. Tell your co-workers to use it when they’re posting photos from, say, your company holiday party… or not (refer to guideline No. 2). Use it on all of your posts on the company account. It’ll help personalize your brand and help identify your company in the Instagram world.

4. Update your bio URL.

If you’re like North Coast Media and plan to share blog posts on your Instagram, don’t forget to update your bio URL. It’s how readers will find your articles, and it’s how readers will find your site. Links placed within posts on Instagram are not live and won’t direct as much traffic as the one in your bio.

5. Be fun and creative!

Use your Instagram as an opportunity to showcase the fun side of your company. Connect fun holidays with events going on at your company. Be personable, be relatable. FedEx is a perfect example of a B2B company using its Instagram to show its quirky, fun side. Think FedEx is all about delivering packages? This cat in a box says otherwise.

This box is pawesome. #NationalCatDay

A photo posted by FedEx (@fedex) on Oct 29, 2015 at 8:06am PDT

Using Instagram for your B2B company can be challenging, but it’s a tool that’s growing exponentially in the B2B world. There’s no risk in starting an account, as long as you follow the guidelines above. And remember: Even if it doesn’t take off immediately, it’s some of the most fun you’ll have on social media.