Melody Jarvis - Round 2, 2017 Champion

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Using online connections to affect change in small towns

Melody Jarvis is the founder and director of Shop My Town, a digital agency and social movement advocating for family businesses in rural Australia. She says her life mission is to affect change in small towns so that they begin to prosper for the future of our children. She believes the new world of digital technology is the answer.

Melody’s mission stemmed for a time when she had grown tired of finding no solution to her need for more online information about the local shops in her own town. Her plan was to build them a website. With the support of a receptive local council, she started to develop relationships with those local businesses. In 2014, Shop My Town was born.

Melody and her team create digital solutions, deliver real, face-to-face customer service, and train small business how to run their own marketing, including providing social media training. In doing so, they are equipping rural Australia for the new world.

Her work with family businesses includes:

  • setting up websites
  • creating blogs
  • training business owners
  • advocating for small business through social networks on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Melody has seen third-generation, 100-year-old businesses actively blogging. She has helped other businesses to reach thousands of people per month. Melody is constantly amazed by the creativity and inventiveness of members to use powerful digital tools to reach new markets and tell their own story.

Melody was first recognised as a Community Digital Champion in 2016. As a continuing Champion, her focus will be on:

  • delivering workshops for family businesses, including on topics such as “How to use Instagram to make yourself famous", “eCommerce for bricks and mortar” and others
  • reaching out to the local high school and undertaking workshops with senior students
  • continuing her advocacy role and promoting the uptake of digital tools and digital marketing by family businesses in order to deliver increased custom in Queensland regions, and in doing so growing the economic advantages for the bush
  • disrupting the web agency marketplace by offering affordable digital marketing solutions, only serving family businesses and campaigning for them

Melody is nominated by: Lockyer Valley Regional Council

Using online connections to affect change in small towns

Melody Jarvis is the founder and director of Shop My Town, a digital agency and social movement advocating for family businesses in rural Australia. She says her life mission is to affect change in small towns so that they begin to prosper for the future of our children. She believes the new world of digital technology is the answer.

Melody’s mission stemmed for a time when she had grown tired of finding no solution to her need for more online information about the local shops in her own town. Her plan was to build them a website. With the support of a receptive local council, she started to develop relationships with those local businesses. In 2014, Shop My Town was born.

Melody and her team create digital solutions, deliver real, face-to-face customer service, and train small business how to run their own marketing, including providing social media training. In doing so, they are equipping rural Australia for the new world.

Her work with family businesses includes:

  • setting up websites
  • creating blogs
  • training business owners
  • advocating for small business through social networks on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Melody has seen third-generation, 100-year-old businesses actively blogging. She has helped other businesses to reach thousands of people per month. Melody is constantly amazed by the creativity and inventiveness of members to use powerful digital tools to reach new markets and tell their own story.

Melody was first recognised as a Community Digital Champion in 2016. As a continuing Champion, her focus will be on:

  • delivering workshops for family businesses, including on topics such as “How to use Instagram to make yourself famous", “eCommerce for bricks and mortar” and others
  • reaching out to the local high school and undertaking workshops with senior students
  • continuing her advocacy role and promoting the uptake of digital tools and digital marketing by family businesses in order to deliver increased custom in Queensland regions, and in doing so growing the economic advantages for the bush
  • disrupting the web agency marketplace by offering affordable digital marketing solutions, only serving family businesses and campaigning for them

Melody is nominated by: Lockyer Valley Regional Council