Social Media

What’s your strategy?

Posted by Paul Holman of AHA Creative Strategies on October 21st, 2011

In today’s AHA Fast Take Friday, Ruth talks about needing strategies for your communications initiatives.

Engage or they will engage without you

Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on October 20th, 2011

There have been good articles written recently (The Globe and Mail and BC Business) that talk about Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) labour negotiations and how Facebook played a strong role. Both articles are worth a read, whether you work in a union environment or not. They are proof that social media is a key tool in your organization’s communication. It’s here to stay. Even if you are engaging and facilitating open and relevant discussion, groups will still form (and are forming at this very moment) without your input. At the very least, you need…

Are you ready for social media?

Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on October 13th, 2011

There is a great article in today’s Globe & Mail: Time to adapt to social media or face the consequences.

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Online newsrooms, brand journalism and Gillian Shaw

Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on September 28th, 2011

I was fortunate enough to attend a Vancouver CPRS breakfast event where Gillian Shaw, Digital Life Reporter for The Vancouver Sun, spoke about what it is like to be a journalist in the age of social media. It was an excellent event – well run, interesting and I walked away feeling like I had learned something valuable. Gillian Shaw is an excellent speaker – full of knowledge, authentic and she gives the audience information, knowledge and her experience. She isn’t there to impress, she is there to share and provide insight. (Which means she ends up…

Social media – first steps

Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on September 26th, 2011

We have had several new business meetings over the past week or so and the discussion always turns to what the organization can be doing in regard to social media.

Not everyone is ready to leap into social media full throttle, but it is important to start the process of listening. See what people in your industry/area of expertise are doing online. Pay attention to the conversations that are happening. It’s a good first step into connecting with your specific community.

Have a critical look at your website. We often get clients calling and asking for a social media strategy…

Crisis communications and social media

Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on September 06th, 2011

There is a great article on Ragan.com that focuses on the results of a study that says most companies are not prepared for a social media crisis. It’s worth a read.

How and when an organization responds and reaches out using traditional communications vehicles and through social media is crucial. One of the challenges is that social media has turned the world into a 24/7 news cycle. Many organizations aren’t prepared for that. How do you strategically and authentically respond if you aren’t prepared?

There are many steps an organization can take to put processes in place…

How to sell social media to the C-suite

Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on August 29th, 2011

It might seem archaic to those of us living in a social media world, but not everyone sees the benefit or value. We often hear from communications professionals that they want to incorporate social media into their overall communications strategy, but they can’t get buy in from their senior executive team. It’s not as unusual an occurrence as you might think. And if it’s happening to you – you aren’t alone.

When we work with clients that have this challenge, we focus on what the senior team needs to hear. While every team has its own idiosyncrasies, there are some…

What is good public relations?

Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on August 24th, 2011

AHA Creative Strategies is a public relations agency. We’re communicators. We’re social media participants. We’re brand journalists. We use video, video news releases, b-roll, podcasts, photography, articles, news releases, media and blogger pitches, news conferences, media tours, speaking tours, speeches, special events, trade shows, community meetings, annual reports, newsletters and so much more to assist our clients in communicating with their stakeholder groups. (Notice I said “with” – not “to” – that’s very important.) We are in the business of informing, educating and creating conversation. As importantly, we’re in the business of listening and responding.

I mentioned in Monday’s blog…

Wikipedia and You

Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on August 15th, 2011

Is your organization listed in Wikipedia? If it is, is it accurate?

When a potential client comes to AHA to talk about what we can provide to them in terms of public relations or communications, we always check out Wikipedia (among other places) to learn more about the organization. The information isn’t always complete or accurate. More and more, when we ask about Wikipedia, the response that we get is that not everyone understands what to do or how they can update or revise their Wikipedia listing.

I came across a great post on Ragan.com…

AHA Fast Take Friday…Sort Of

Posted by Paul Holman of AHA Creative Strategies on August 05th, 2011

In place of our regular AHA Fast Take Friday, we bring you: AHA Launches Brand Journalism Services… An edge of your seat thriller if there ever was one!