Communicator Archives - Joline Atkins

What I’ve Learned Writing Social Media

It was that fateful year of 2020 when I first started lending a hand to small businesses that felt completely behind on social media. Suddenly, when faced with a lockdown, they now needed a consistent social media presence and felt lost and overwhelmed. Taxed with simply trying to keep their businesses afloat, the added pressure of brainstorming, writing, and posting social media was daunting, and yet with stores closed to the public, those platforms were undeniably necessary. Cue a rare bird who actually enjoys social media: Me. Even though my own personal missteps in the early years on Facebook when [...]

By Joline Atkins|2023-06-15T12:51:12-04:00November 21, 2022|

“I’m sorry I’m late” is the only response to showing up late

Listen. I get it. Personal development gurus offer us a ton of great ways to choose positive speech in uncomfortable situations. And for the most part, I actually love many of their suggestions - a few of which I may even blog about. But there is one phrase that just needs to go. As in . . . GO. Because it's selfish. It fails to take into account that others have been inconvenienced by our actions. The phrase could even be considered a form of gaslighting. I'm not being dramatic. You're just late for the party - and exactly who [...]

By Joline Atkins|2021-04-13T20:45:27-04:00April 13, 2021|

Tips from the experts on increasing Instagram reach

I'm an Instagram enthusiast. Encouraged to join the platform almost 3 years ago by a younger gal (STAHP. Not too much younger, but . . . OK, sigh, definitely younger) I will now heartedly admit: I like it there. For two and a half of those years, I wasn't really "good" at Instagram. I didn't know what I was doing, supposed to do, or how to do whatever "it" was. Knowing that I wanted to utilize the platform more effectively to make connections for my business, I decided it was time to pony up and learn from the experts. Ah, [...]

By Joline Atkins|2021-03-11T19:08:14-05:00March 11, 2021|

Turning in my “Coffee Snob” card

My husband dared me to share this. I scoffed. "I can't possibly!" But I've now gone 2 days without a particular product, first shared with me by a friend of mine, who also doesn't want to openly admit they've moved to the mass-produced "dark-side", and I miss it. Terribly. Let's go back a year. The pandemic was just showing signs of actually being something to pay attention to, rumors of stay-at-home-orders and shut-downs lingered, and my parents were just about to board a ship for a 21-day South Pacific cruise embarking from Sydney. Meh. While I hit up Aldi like [...]

By Joline Atkins|2021-02-28T15:20:42-05:00February 28, 2021|

Don’t be a jerk – a “no, thank you” will suffice

I was the jerk referred to in the title. And when I realized what I had done, I made an intentional decision to make amends. Quickly. Sometimes I forget. I forget that for 10 years (next month, 11) I have used social media to build my personal business. And Since 2018, I've supported small businesses through the adventure over at Underground Events. So, what the heck happened? I got snarky. I have learned a LOT about social media since my earliest days of making black & white statements or passive-aggressive remarks to competitors. In the beginning, I cared a ton [...]

By Joline Atkins|2021-02-26T12:37:40-05:00February 26, 2021|