February 2010
Atkinson Public Relations launched our new Web site last month. If you’ve enjoyed the Atkinson Advisor all these years, we think you’re going to like the new Web site.
Our plan is to publish frequently and in a number of different formats. We still have articles. We’ve added a blog, podcasts, and even a slidecast. And we have plans for more.
Don’t worry. We will still write the Atkinson Advisor every other month.
Find out more about the Web site here.
February 2010
The fear of content – more precisely the fear of a lack of content – stifles most blogs before they launch or grounds them soon after.
Sonia Simone is an expert blogger who writes for copyblogger.com and her personal blog. Here is a content mix that she suggests in her Internet Marketing for Smart People series.
- Tips: 50 – 60%
- Weighty, cerebral content: 10 -15%
- Entertainment/personality: 10 -15%
- References to other blogger’s content: 5 -15%
- Selling what you do: 5%
Simone’s recommendations are an excellent starting point and help to demystify blog content. Not everything has to be weighty and groundbreaking. In fact, tips are the most useful.
It’s a good practice to share content from other bloggers. It generates link traffic and positions you as a resource for readers.
Personality is important but must be balanced. Readers want to understand the people with whom they are doing business. Personality creates that connection.
February 2010
Next time you have to collect opinions about an issue, try using the voting buttons option in Microsoft Outlook.
After composing your e-mail in Outlook, click Options and then check the box next to Use Voting Buttons. You can enter any options you want.
The buttons will appear on a separate toolbar – not in the body of the e-mail. Recipients will see a message at the top of the e-mail asking them to vote.
This solution only works on computers connected to a Microsoft Exchange Server.
February 2010
Fortune has released the 2010 edition of its venerable list of Best Companies to Work For. This year’s top five companies are SAS, Edward Jones, Wegmans, Google, and Nugget Market. Two Tennessee companies – Baker Donelson and FedEx – made this year’s list.
The Fortune Web site breaks down each of the winners and lets visitors search by size, geography, best perks, etc.
On the new front, CBS’ Undercover Boss should be on every CEO’s radar. The show, in which CEOs go undercover to perform front-line jobs at their companies, is already the talk of the Internet. In the first episode, the president and COO of Waste Management cleaned Port-A-Johns at a state fair, sorted recyclable materials, and worked on a garbage truck.
CEOs are not going to learn anything about running a company from the show. But there is a good chance your company’s employees are watching. It has the potential to be a reality show that changes employees’ views – and maybe their expectations – of the C-suite. Undercover Boss airs Sundays 9/8c on CBS. It’s worth an hour of the CEO’s time to see what people are talking about.
February 2010
www.wordle.net
File this under fun. Wordle allows you to create a word cloud from words you input, a blog feed, or a Delicious user account. The sizes of words vary based on the number of times they are mentioned in the source material. For example, here is the Wordle word cloud from the new Atkinson PR blog. Unfortunately, Wordle doesn’t allow you to save word clouds as JPG or GIF graphics, but you can always take a screenshot.
February 2010
The Elements of Influence by Allen Kelly
Ever meet that person who always seems to be a step ahead of the competition regardless of the circumstances? He or she always seems to read the tea leaves the right way and say the right thing to the right person at the right time.
Allen Kelly calls that person a playmaker. In The Elements of Influence, he details how playmakers operate and explains how to run more than 25 different plays designed to create influence.
Some of the plays are well known, such as the Red Herring and Trial Balloon. Others, like the Crazy Ivan and Peacock, are more entertaining. Details about all 25 plays are online at http://www.plays2run.com/table.
Kelly explains (without preaching) how each play works, its potential benefits, and its pitfalls. He also explains how to decode when someone is running a play on you and what plays you can run as a counter.
The Elements of Influence contains examples of each play and how sequences of plays can impact a desired outcome.
