Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on April 23rd, 2012
I have seen a couple of incidents of criticism that were wrapped in the concept of “feedback” that are still wrinkling me. Given that as communicators, most of what we do is put out for review and input, I think that there might be some value in my little rant about what is and isn’t constructive criticism.
I have a friend that is currently working on a volunteer project. She is putting in many, many hours as a volunteer to help our former high school celebrate its 100-year anniversary. The small group of volunteers producing this event have done a…
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Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on April 11th, 2012
It’s been a busy few weeks here at AHA. It has been challenging to keep up with the blog posts and Fast Take Fridays. While that’s a little frustrating, I also believe that it keeps things “real” in our office and with our clients.
If you have committed to a channel of communication, it is important not to let it slide too far out of the schedule. There’s no point in writing a quick blog post just to have something to upload. No matter how busy you are, the information you share needs to provide your readers/viewers with something they…
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Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on April 09th, 2012
Every once in a while, I come across an article or blog post that is so helpful it is almost unbelievable. The online world and social media have given us access to so much great information (and some not so great, so you have to be discerning).
Every great writer I have worked with has realized the value of a great editor. Creating interesting, informative, relevant and engaging content takes both a writer and an editor. It’s a little bit like peanut butter cups… On their own, chocolate and peanut butter are really good; together – it’s a whole different…
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Posted by Paul Holman of AHA Creative Strategies on January 06th, 2012
In today’s AHA Fast Take Friday from Barbados, Ruth talks about monitoring what is being said about your organization online.
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Posted by Paul Holman of AHA Creative Strategies on December 30th, 2011
In today’s video, Ruth is in the AHA Creativity Studio (A.K.A. The Naked Cowboy) talking about setting goals for 2012.
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Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on December 05th, 2011
On Wednesday, I wrote about the CEO/President’s blog. Today we’ll have a look at the organization blog, the employee blog and the blend.
The Organization Blog
This blog is a little less about the person writing it than it is about the organization as a whole. Often there will be several writers who cover a range of topics and areas regarding the organization. It might be that different departments or division heads each write one blog post a week about news, events and interesting points relevant to their area.
In this style, it is more like local news…
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Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on November 28th, 2011
Recently, at the AHA office, we have been working on communications audits for several clients. One of the areas that we review is their use of social media. (We also research and analyze how other organizations in the same field use social media and provide them with best and worst practices during this process.) In our research, we discovered an interesting trend: many organizations have reverted to a more traditional approach of pushing information out through social media channels rather than engaging and starting or participating in conversations.
Of the five communications audits we have done in the past few…
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Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on October 04th, 2011
HSBC has developed an online editorial style website that uses brand journalism. There are differing opinions on the value and benefit of the site. I have to say we lean towards the side that says this is a great site. I think it can be easy to criticize without taking into context that it is brand journalism – not journalism. While the stories should be credible, balanced, multi-faceted and provide value, it is still a brand that is responsible for creating this content.
Step by step, we are moving into a more credible approach to sharing the stories…
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Posted by Paul Holman of AHA Creative Strategies on September 30th, 2011
In today’s AHA Fast Take Friday, Ruth is outside the Palace of Versailles talking about understanding what will be of value in your organization in years to come.
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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…
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