NOW HEAR THIS
Dillon’s radio career
began at Seton Hall
University’s college
station, 89.5 FM
WSOU.
10 years ago, Dillon can hardly
believe her luck.
“We have these amazing relation-
ships, it kind of blows my mind
sometimes,” she says. “Who would
have thought 10 years ago I would
be on a first name basis with all these
housewives and have them in my
phone?”
Dillon got her “housewife” connec-
tions as a senior reporter and fash-
ion editor for NJ Advance Media’s
now-defunct social and style website,
OMJ.com, where she hosted and
produced online videos ranging from
hair and beauty tutorials to celebrity
interviews.
She lives within walking dis-
tance of her parents' Mt. Prospect
Avenue home in Verona where
she grew up. After Verona High
School, Dillon attended Seton Hall
University, where she “fell in love
with broadcasting” on the school
radio station, 89.5 FM WSOU. After
paying her dues in production as a
freshman, she worked her way up
to DJ and news anchor under the
handle “Malibu Kelly.”
Her first job out of college was
as a DJ and traffic and entertain-
ment reporter in Sussex County on
102.3 WSUS, 103.7 WNNJ, and Max
106.3. Five years later, she moved
to 1010 WINS in New York as a traf-
fic reporter; she also worked for the
new 102.7, Alt 92.3 and WFAN,
where she did traffic reporting on
Mike Francesca's show.
Her status as a social-media
influencer grew out of her passion
for beauty and fashion, her website
kellydillon.com, and her more than
100,000 Instagram followers. A
range of companies — cosmetics,
fashion, entertainment and even dat-
ing apps — pay Dillon to promote
their product in an Instagram story
or post. Working with the company's
public relations teams, she plans a
theme, costume and backdrop, then
hires a photographer to “create a
beautiful image to post.” Her pay can
be in products, perks and cash.
For example, one year Century 21
hired her to model a different item
of clothing, such as a designer hand-
bag or faux fur coat, each month,
and post a photo on Instagram.
Afterward, she could keep the outfit.
“I got to pick it out myself; it was
so much fun to go shopping every
month,” she says.
Dillon says all sponsored
Instagram posts must be marked with
a hashtag #ad. “Everything is com-
pletely transparent,” she says. “It's
also organic. I would never promote
something that I wouldn't actually
use in real life.”
Recently, she got a call asking
for help promoting the release of
the DVD of the Downton Abbey
movie. “I was so over the moon,
I would’ve done it for free,” she
says. With the movie's public rela-
tions team, she came up with a
plan to stage a release “costume tea
party” with the movie playing in the
background.
Dillon has an eye for beautiful
backdrops. Recently, she used the
sun-room in her parents' center hall
colonial to film a Christmas gift-
wrapping shoot for Papyrus. And
she often stages shoots in Montclair;
favorite locations are Van Vleck
House and Gardens, and downtown,
especially on Church Street.
“The lighting there is fantastic, and
you can't beat all those amazing brick
buildings,” she says. “There's just a
great vibe to it.” ■
MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE SPRING 2020
17