Social mediatrendsetter
After serving 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, Noland Hoshino is contributing to society in another way: through his company, [B]cause Media.
Although Noland Hoshino joined the U.S. Air Force so he could see the world, he ended up discovering more about himself than the global cultures he encountered. As a military recruiter, trainer and marketer, he learned that he has a natural ability to inspire people with his passion. When he decided to retire after 20 years of service, he turned his talents to helping others. As co-founder of [B]cause Media, he is showing businesses and nonprofits alike how to grow their organizations while doing their part for the communities in which they live and work. |
Noland Hoshino, MBA ’06
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He researched the organization to learn how it spreads its message and promotes its work locally, and he learned that its marketing efforts lacked structure and a cohesive approach. “I said, ‘Why don’t we start a blog and put everything together?’” He quickly expanded his efforts and began promoting Heifer International on Facebook and Twitter, too, something that earned the group national attention. Soon, his local blog for the Portland chapter of Heifer International was used as a template for the broader organization. A company is bornPeople began asking Hoshino how he was able to use social media to garner so many supporters for Heifer International, and he realized he had the opportunity to build a business around this work. He and Bryan Dainty, another volunteer from the organization, decided to dive in together. “A light bulb went off when we went to the Blog World conference in Las Vegas,” he says. The conference was holding a contest where the participants who were able to get the most votes got their tickets to attend for free. “We beat out huge nonprofits like Livestrong. That blew my mind.” Realizing the power of virtual communities, Hoshino and his partner founded [B]cause Media, a company that helps small businesses boost their social influences online to build awareness. |
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Settling into civillian lifeWhen Hoshino retired from the military, he put down roots in the Pacific Northwest—a far cry from the lush beaches of his native Hawaii. Though he had started working toward a degree while he was in the military, he wanted to focus all his energy on doing the best job he could in the U.S. Air Force. After his retirement, he had the time he needed to focus on his education. He was also eligible for GI Bill benefits, so he decided to enroll at University of Phoenix. “I earned my undergraduate degree in marketing in 2004 and my MBA in 2006,” he explains. At the time, he didn’t know what he was going to do once he graduated, but he knew he wanted to do something that would make a positive impact on the lives of other people. |
“I’ve always had a giving-back mentality,” he says. “I know that when you do good, good things happen.” Working to end hungerIt was with this mindset that Hoshino first heard about Heifer International, a global nonprofit organization that strives to end poverty and hunger in a way that is sustainable. Heifer International accomplishes this by providing needy families around the world with livestock and the training to care for the animals. In turn, the animals provide the families with milk, meat, fertilizer and the ability to tend to their land, among other things. “I was blown away by their giving model,” says Hoshino. “I contacted someone at the Heifer International headquarters and asked what I could do [to help].” |
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“Social media was never built for businesses. It was built for people to connect to other people.”
They create social media marketing and social communications strategies for their clients, who include a wide range of service providers. “Our niche is to amplify the good of what our clients are doing,” Hoshino explains. “We try to inject good into their programs.” At the same time, he works to make sure that his clients are being true to themselves rather than spoon-feeding them generic messages just to boost sales. “I feel that social media is about being authentic and transparent,” Hoshino says. “As a marketing agency, I don’t feel like we should speak for companies. We get them going, and then we let them go and monitor their progress on the back end.” Though Hoshino always had the ambition and ability to make the world a better place, he found further encouragement at University of Phoenix when he was pursuing his degrees. “The people who go there have the drive to better themselves,” he says. “It was inspiring to be in that environment. I would never have gotten that anywhere else.” The power of connectionsToday, Hoshino is focused on the power of bringing people together for a common good, whether they are businesses or nonprofits. “Social media was never built for businesses. It was built for people to connect to other people,” he contends. “If you don’t open yourself up to things behind the computer screen, then people are not going to respond. You need to humanize your brand.” He is glad to be in a position where helping others do good can be an integral part of his everyday life. “I’ve always felt that you are defined by what you give,” he says. “It is important that we all, as a country and as a community, work together to help each other move forward.” |
[B]cause Media[B]cause Media is proud to support Heifer International: heifer.org KudosHoshino has been honored with the 2011 Social Media (SoMe) Award for Best National Conference of SXSW (South by Southwest) 2009 |
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