Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Webinar Recap: The Science Of Timing With Dan Zarella

I listened in on a webinar about social media and marketing, "The Science of Timing," given by Dan Zarrella, the author of The Social Media Marketing Book and The Facebook Marketing Book. Dan studies the data surrounding social media behavior and educates marketers on best practices. The webinar discussed the best times to Tweet, post status updates on Facebook, post blog entries, and send email marketing blasts. Social media "noise" is similar to the din at a cocktail party - when you deliver content in the more silent times you have a better chance of being heard. However, these times also naturally have less traffic. Thus a paradox arises that Zarrella called the idea of “contra-competitive timing.” Does a post get more attention when things are quieter and it is more noticeable, or when more people are available to read it and it gets more natural traffic? Some platform-specific data results:

TWITTER


  • Retweets are diurnal as opposed to nocturnal – more retweets happen during the day. The hours between 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. are when retweet traffic is highest.

  • Retweets happen more frequently later in the week. (To discover which of your tweets have the most retweets, go to tweetwhen.com.)

  • Click-thru-rates for links remain consistent throughout the day and spike slightly around 5:00 p.m.

  • Frequent tweets about the same subject have low click-thru-rates. If you are promoting one event or site, don't crowd your content, "let it breathe a little" instead.

The takeaway: Tweet more. If you're posting useful and interesting tweets, you can't post too many times, so post frequently!

FACEBOOK Facebook pages that post every other day have a better follow-rate. It is much easier to flood your friend's streams on Facebook than in Twitter. Content is published more on the weekdays on Facebook (many employers block access at work), but many more stories are shared among friends on the weekends.

EMAIL MARKETING


  • The majority of people spend the most time with email in the morning and data shows a big drop off at night.

  • People are more likely to flag your marketing emails as spam (click abuse reports/ spam report/ junk email) on Saturdays and Sundays.

  • Bounce rates (when your marketing emails do not get through to the intended recipient) are higher on Saturdays and Sundays.

  • Open rates are much higher on the weekends. Marketing emails will get more attention on the weekend, but so do all the other emails sent by other marketers.

  • Emails are most likely to be opened by the recipient between the hours of 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.

  • Marketing emails sent 1x/month have the highest click-thru-rates.

  • Click-thru-rates for marketing emails are highest on the weekends.

  • If you increase the frequency of your marketing email blasts, data shows there is no loss of interest (click-thru-rates) from recipients. Rates are about the same for emails sent 3x/month as they are for 30x/month

  • Unsubscribe rates are highest with fewer emails per month. People will unsubscribe from your marketing email list whether you send frequently or not. They will make a quick decision soon after they subscribe about whether they want to receive your news.

  • Data shows that the more recent the subscriber, the more they click on your email links and the more frequently they unsubscribe. So it makes sense to send your best offers and high-value news to new subscribers.

The takeaway: don't be afraid to send email campaigns out more frequently – data shows that your list members want to hear from you!

BLOGGING


  • Page views for blogs take a dip on Saturdays.

  • Blog post comments spike on Saturdays and Sundays because people have more free time to write and post comments.

  • Posts around 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. get the most views. Early morning 5:00 a.m. posts have the lowest statistics for views.

  • Posts published between 6:00 a.m. – 7:00 a.m. have the best chance of becoming source material for the “linkerati.” (Linkerati are their own class of writers who blog for work and link to other blogs.)

  • Posts published on Mondays and Thursdays are also most frequently referenced by the linkerati.

  • Blogs posted more than 1x/day are by far the most referenced and have the most unique page views.

The takeaway: blog more and know your audience. Your target audience data should support your timing strategy.

GENERAL TIPS


  • Since almost half of the population of the United States lives in the EST zone, Zarrella recommends using this time zone when targeting a national audience.

  • To track click-thru-rates on a bit.ly link, add a + sign after your bit.ly url (for example, http://bit.ly/gxeaQa+). This generates statistics for that particular link.

To summarize, research supports Tweeting more, updating the Facebook status on a Fan page no more than every other day, increasing the frequency of marketing emails and updating a blog once a day. A replay of this webinar is available with a link to the slideshow here. Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Asking Questions? Now, Find Answers On Facebook

Posted by Amanda Walsh


Finding answers to questions through social media has become an easier task thanks to various Q&A options like those found on LinkedIn Answers, Yahoo!Answers, or Quora.

When LinkedIn rolled out its Answers section, professionals were able to crowd source from other experienced, like-minded professionals in their network. Then Quora made a debut. Quora is like the Wikipedia of questions and answers. Self-described as “a continually improving collection of questions and answers created, edited, and organized by everyone who uses it.”



Now, Facebook has jumped on the question train. “Facebook Questions” allows users to get recommendations from friends, see others opinions with polls, or point others in the right direction for answers.


This new Facebook option, along with the "Reviews" tab for products/services, will be valuable tools for marketers and business professionals to be able to communicate directly with clients/customers.


Facebook “Reviews” seems to be used mainly for products and/or services at this point. Big brands like Starbucks use the "Reviews" feature to enable customers to provide feedback on the service and quality of the product. Perhaps this could be used as a business testimonial page after a successful project launch or great media placement, instead of a "traditional" review of an experience or level of satisfaction with a product.


Another idea of how to use both the "Reviews" and "Questions" functions on Facebook would be to reach out to disgruntled customers who left negative feedback. By targeting those them with a question and/or poll on how the business could improve their experience or make the product better. Even if a follow up "Questions" poll is not asked, a community manager should reach out to all unhappy clients quickly.


According to this article found on Mashable.com, Facebook "Questions" differs from Quora and Yahoo!Answers in two major ways. First, users are limited to multiple-choice responses and second, the questions and answers are not catalogued by search engines yet. However, there is a setting that enables users to add more answers to the multiple-choices options. One notable aspect of Facebook "Questions", that will most likely boost usage, is that the feature is integrated within Facebook, which allows users to bypass third party applications in order to provide feedback to businesses/ brands.


To read more about how to utilize Facebook "Questions" or Reviews for your client base, check out the Mashable.com article here. I also found this article on Social Media Today discussing challenges that may arise for community managers that will use "Questions" on behalf of a business or brand. What do you think?

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

PPRA’s "Crisis PR & Reputation Management" March Luncheon Program

Posted by Leah Ludwig

This week I attended a great event on crisis PR and reputation management hosted by the Philadelphia Public Relations Association. The following panelists participated in the discussion: Karen Friedman of Karen Friedman Enterprises, Inc.; Jeff Jubelirer of Jubelirer Strategies; Anne Klein of Anne Klein Communications Group; and Joshua Peck of Duane Morris LLP. The event was moderated by Richard Maloney of SEPTA (and former KYW Newsradio reporter).

We often blog on this topic here at The PR Lawyer and the key points always seem to be the same – plan, plan, plan. Well, this event spoke about different ways to look at “crisis” situations and continual reputation management. Below follow some of the twitter conversation and my bulleted take-aways from the program.

Crucial to have a crisis process in place as opposed to a crisis plan – since each situation is so different. (Richard Maloney)

One thing we can prevent in a #crisis is being caught unprepared. It’s a surprise when it happens, but it’s not unexpected - @annekleincg

The old joke is the wife is the last to know. The PR person is really the last to know. - Richard Maloney of @Septa

Do the right thing and be a decent human being. (Karen Friedman)

Be transparent in a #crisis. Communicate and control, bc in the absence of a message, rumor and innuendo fill the gap - @karenfriedmane

This doesn’t seem to be a difficult concept to understand, but in a crisis sometimes CEOs and upper management lose their cool and their integrity.

Questions that will be asked by reporters – what does this mean? So what? Who cares and how does this affect them? (Karen Friedman)

As a former reporter, I would always ask two questions: When did you know about it? and what did you do about it? - @karenfriedmane

Joshua Peck gave a great example of how the Archdiocese should have publicly handled the sex-abuse charges and claims. He scripted an apology for the Archdiocese to share with the media involving sincere apology and regret, acknowledgement of wrong-doing, and ways that the organization will be working to right the wrongs that have been done.

With law firm, communications professionals write a proposed script, discuss, & hope to influence the speech the speaker gives - @joshuapeck

When doing an interview in a #crisis, give consideration to your audience and frame the message for what THEY care about - @karenfriedmane

If a #crisis topic is highly technical, choose someone who deals with the product/subject daily, not the CEO - @annekleincg

Analyzing the court of law versus the court of public opinion. (Anne Klein/Karen Friedman)

The court of law and the court of public opinion are two different things. If your stakeholders need to hear it, say it. - @annekleincg

PR people should be advocates for their clients who are in the midst of a crisis and can speak to their clients’ attorneys about what will and will not affect a trial, but will support their cause within the court of public opinion.

Apologies aren’t always sincere in this day in age. Acknowledge an unfortunate situation and handle it through risk management techniques. (Karen Friedman)

The art of the apology is overused. It is often phony and it doesn't cut it anymore. Can you spell #TigerWoods? - @karenfriedmane

@HRNer0 @karenfriedmane suggests acknowledging it is an unfortunate situation, but focusing on what you will do to fix the problem

Getting your clients on board with proactive crisis and reputation discussions before a real crisis strikes – compare your client to their peers that may be going through the issues. Is your client prepared? Analyze the pros and cons of being prepared and using PR to your advantage. (Jeff Jubelirer/Joshua Peck)

Your clients don't want to be like their competitors, so #crisis examples from them can be helpful to avoid same mistakes - @jub_strategies

Monday, March 21, 2011

Bucks County Free Library Offers Social Media Classes For Adults

Posted by Amanda Walsh



The Bucks County Free Library is offering free classes as part of its 5 Things project aimed at teaching adults who want to learn how to use the Internet to stay in touch with family, friends and their community. Classes will be led on topics like email, Facebook, blogging, Twitter, digital photography and photo sharing. I recently became involved with the initiative and wanted to share its mission with our local readers.


Two weeks ago, I attended an all-day training session on how to effectively lead classes on the various social media tools. Volunteers from all walks of life attended. We went over the presentations that will be available for training and discussed typical questions that we may encounter during a class.


A big part of my job here at Furia Rubel is staying on top of trends in the social media realm. This volunteer opportunity allows me to combine my love of social media, give back to the community and utilize my teaching skills that I honed while living in Madrid teaching English as a Second Language.


If you know of an adult in the Bucks County area that is interested in getting started with email, Facebook or another social networking tool, please encourage them to check out the Bucks County Library website at, http://www.buckslib.org/ for more details. There is also a blog post on the Library's blog for information, you can access it here. Photo credit: http://www.buckslib.org/

Friday, March 18, 2011

Digital Subscriptions Coming To NewYorkTimes.com

Posted by Amanda Walsh

For New York Times readers who access their news via NYTimes.com. I received this e-mail yesterday from the publisher. Beginning March 28, the New York Times will be offering digital subscriptions. This means that readers will have access to 20 articles a month. After that quota is met, there will be a fee to read content online. Read the e-mail below for more detailed information.

Dear New York Times Reader,

Today marks a significant transition for The New York Times as we introduce digital subscriptions. It’s an important step that we hope you will see as an investment in The Times, one that will strengthen our ability to provide high-quality journalism to readers around the world and on any platform. The change will primarily affect those who are heavy consumers of the content on our Web site and on mobile applications.

This change comes in two stages. Today, we are rolling out digital subscriptions to our readers in Canada, which will enable us to fine-tune the customer experience before our global launch. On March 28, we will begin offering digital subscriptions in the U.S. and the rest of the world.

If you are a home delivery subscriber of The New York Times, you will continue to have full and free access to our news, information, opinion and the rest of our rich offerings on your computer, smartphone and tablet. International Herald Tribune subscribers will also receive free access to NYTimes.com.

If you are not a home delivery subscriber, you will have free access up to a defined reading limit. If you exceed that limit, you will be asked to become a digital subscriber.

This is how it will work, and what it means for you:
On NYTimes.com, you can view 20 articles each month at no charge (including slide shows, videos and other features). After 20 articles, we will ask you to become a digital subscriber, with full access to our site.

On our smartphone and tablet apps, the Top News section will remain free of charge. For access to all other sections within the apps, we will ask you to become a digital subscriber.

The Times is offering three digital subscription packages that allow you to choose from a variety of devices (computer, smartphone, tablet). More information about these plans is available at nytimes.com/access.

Again, all New York Times home delivery subscribers will receive free access to NYTimes.com and to all content on our apps. If you are a home delivery subscriber, go to homedelivery.nytimes.com to sign up for free access.

Readers who come to Times articles through links from search, blogs and social media like Facebook and Twitter will be able to read those articles, even if they have reached their monthly reading limit. For some search engines, users will have a daily limit of free links to Times articles.

The home page at NYTimes.com and all section fronts will remain free to browse for all users at all times.

For more information, go to nytimes.com/digitalfaq.

Thank you for reading The New York Times, in all its forms.

Sincerely,

Arthur Sulzberger Jr.
Publisher, The New York Times 
Chairman, The New York Times Company

PPRA Blog Post: Mobile Technology - Changing the Way We Do Business

Posted by Amanda Walsh


Check out the Philadelphia Public Relations Association (PPRA) Blog, Mobile Technology: Changing the Way We Do Business to read more about the recap of the Mobile Technology conference held on March 3 in Center City Philadelphia.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Colleen DeBaise And Lydia Fisher Speak To Women Business Owners In Philadelphia

Posted by Amanda Walsh

Yesterday I had the pleasure of going to a National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) meeting in Philadelphia. Although I’m not a women business owner myself, I work for one and am fortunate to learn more everyday about how the business is run.

Colleen DeBaise, small business editor for the Wall Street Journal spoke to the group and shared her five secrets of success. As the author of the book, The Wall Street Journal Complete Small Business Guidebook, DeBaise interviewed many small business owners and gleaned years of experience and knowledge from them.

Here are my takeaways from her tips and some of her anecdotes:

* Take time to work ON the business – DeBaise emphasized the importance of taking time away from your daily workload to focus on your target audiences, where to budget and reassess your business goals. Sometimes owners become overwhelmed or stressed out about the business which can take away from reasons why the business was created in the first place.

* Write a strategic business plan – She encouraged those just starting out to have a concrete business plan. It can be used as a resume when looking for investors or lenders, and also help you to organize your objectives and give a clear direction for your business.

* Understand your business finances – A costume designer was faced the tough decision of closing her business or filing for bankruptcy. The owner had been so focused on the creative side of the business that she had neglected the financial side. After taking classes and talking to colleagues about anything and everything having to do with finance, she pulled the business out of the red zone and grew it immensely. The lesson is “know what you don’t know.”

* Don’t worry about competition – High-end fashion bag designer, Kate Spade, used to get so upset when copycat handbags were sold on the street. She decided to stop driving herself crazy and to focus on what she does best – designing high-quality products.

* Always be networking – The struggles of a small business owner just starting out can feel lonely. Through networking and making connections, one can listen and relate to others’ similar experiences and maybe even offer advice or tips to handle any business hurdle.

Later, author of Cinderella of Wall Street, Lydia Fisher, spoke to the NAWBO audience about “Making an Imperfect World Less Imperfect” and fostering values-based leadership and business practices to build sustainable business into the future. According to her LinkedIn profile, Fisher knows from “firsthand experience within the financial industry that sound ethics are the essential ingredients for economic and business sustainability.” She highlighted the importance of integrity and respecting one another through the Golden Rule when conducting business.

The event gave those who own or work for a small business a better idea of how to run their company more efficiently today and into the future.

Monday, March 14, 2011

“How Do I Respond To That?” - Tips For Community Management

Posted by Amanda Walsh

The whitepaper by Buddy Media Platform entitled, “How Do I Respond to That?” circulated throughout our office this week. It provides great insight into brand management of a company Facebook page and how to publish and moderate effectively.

It is important to work within an overall policy of moderation in the same way that you would train customer service representatives to handle clients on the phone or in a store. Online interaction needs to be personalized and specific to your industry. Brands now have a Facebook wall that are often the first outlet an angry or frustrated customer will turn to and managers need to be equipped to handle those complaints quickly and politely.

The worst thing you can do with a complaint on Facebook is ignore it, or pick and choose which users you will respond to. For that matter, monitoring Facebook and other social media platforms has turned into a full-time job and vigilance is key.

Reacting/Responding
Respond quickly, sometimes even a response within 24 hours isn’t fast enough. Other customers can jump on the complaint bandwagon and the negativity can easily spin out of control.
Use the user’s name in your response. Make the message personalized and convey sympathy.
Provide a direct link to more information for a specific problem.
Offer follow up avenues including an e-mail address or a customer service phone number.
Be humble, apologetic and polite.

Spread the Positivity
Not all users will be frustrated. Some will be very happy with your service or product and leave positive feedback. It is important to acknowledge this with a “Thank you!” Positive feed back also provides an opportunity to suggest other options for the customer. For example, a happy customer at a hotel leaves a comment on the hotel’s Facebook page. You now have the opportunity to suggest the hotel restaurant for dinner or the in-house spa for a massage.
Provide direct contact information for a follow up opportunity.
If a customer is happy with service on the phone, let them know that the representative’s manager will be notified of their job well-done.
Take the high road when competitors are acknowledged. Continue to be positive.

Requests for Information 
Quick, accurate responses are key. Especially when there is speculation about a product release or something that is highly anticipated. The rumor mill can quickly spin out of control.
Be proactive with your comments.

Guidance and Advice
There is a fine balance between proactively protecting the brand from litigation and providing a valuable response.
Offer direct links for more information and/or the opportunity to contact an industry expert. Provide e-mail addresses or phone numbers for follow up.
Use a reassuring tone in your message and let the user know you are listening.

Tech Issues
Sitting, waiting customers can easily turn into enraged customers who vent their frustration on your Facebook page. In this type of situation, it is important to:
Give online and offline options for the customer to resolve their issue.
Direct links to community forums for more advice.
Acknowledge there is a known tech issue with the website and you (the company) are actively working on it. Post that information publicly to everyone. This gets the message out that you are aware of, and working on the issue.

In conclusion, vigilance is very important when monitoring Facebook as a brand/community manager. Acknowledge positive feedback from users. Outline rules and guidelines for the brand Facebook page. Post them in a clear area with a link to detailed information. Provide examples of feedback that is encouraged and other examples that are frowned upon. Profanity and/or offensive comments could be grounds to delete or even block a user. Encourage brand advocate to monitor as well. Facebook provides every user the option to report offensive commentary.

In the end, having a rock solid strategy will be the guide to handling disgruntled customers. Brands must continue to be vigilant in all social media spaces, because one negative comment could spur hundreds more in minutes!

Friday, March 11, 2011

The People Behind The PR Lawyer

Posted by Leah Ludwig

Many of you know our PR Lawyer bloggers very well from our daily posts about social media insights, updates in technology, PR and marketing tips and tactics and much more.

Well, here is a behind-the-scenes, everyday-person sneak peak at one of the Furia Rubel team members who helps to fuel The PR Lawyer with breaking industry news and content.

Allow me to first set the stage.

My husband and I recently purchased our first home from a family member. Along with the home, we inherited a herd of nine chickens (hens).

This morning at the wonderful time of 7:30 a.m., as I was strolling to the kitchen of our home to pack my lunch for the day, I noticed our nine hens ranging freely in our backyard. They had broken out of their pen! With my husband (the main chicken caretaker) long gone and off to work, it was up to me to get the escape artists back into their pen. I proceeded to spend the next 20 minutes sweating, cursing and doing my best to make all right with the world and to get our new “pets” out of harm’s way – only to have my feathered friends break out through a hole in the pen’s wiring just 15 minutes later. What a morning!

My colleague and the founder of The PR Lawyer, Gina Rubel, thought our readers would get a kick out of hearing about the people behind the blog. I hope you all got a good chuckle from my Friday morning frenzy.

The Case For Generating Relevant Website Content

Posted by Laura Powers

In February, Google updated their algorithms under the auspices of improving search engine results for users. In part, the updates work toward providing us with Google results that list high-quality websites. One definition of a low-quality website is a site that exists simply to assist with search engine optimization of other sites. These types of low-quality sites are often referred to as content farms.

A good post from SearchEngineWatch.com explains, "What does Google consider high-quality? Original content and information: research, in-depth reports, and thoughtful analysis." There are many search engine optimization services available to businesses that will employ the use of generic keyword-heavy, link-laden articles distributed across multiple low-quality websites. Links from other websites help Google calculate the credibility of a site and these generic articles link back to a specific site with the goal of improving its rankings. Google is now analyzing these types of content farm tactics with more scrutiny.

With authentic articles, original content and relevant news and events, your site's content will be credible and valuable to the user looking for your product or service. As a marketing and public relations agency, Furia Rubel has recognized this – and now Google is going further to helping support these efforts. The new Google changes have stirred up a lot of discussion in the search engine optimization industry. In my opinion, the algorithmic changes are an advancement in supporting companies who work hard to provide quality content online to their audiences.

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

“Shut Up And Say Something: Conversing With The Media When The Stakes Are High” Featuring Karen Friedman

Posted by Amanda Walsh Please join the Philadelphia Bar Association Bar-News Media Committee, chaired by our very own Gina F. Rubel, Esq., and the Law Practice Management Committee on Thursday, March 24, 2011 at 12 p.m. for “Shut Up and Say Something: Conversing with the Media When the Stakes are High” featuring Karen Friedman, President of Karen Friedman Enterprises, Inc. In this eye opening one of a kind session, international communications coach and author of "Shut Up and Say Something: Business Communication Strategies to Overcome Challenges and Influence Listeners" (Praeger 2010), Karen Friedman will show attendees how to harness the power of the media to your advantage. A former award winning television news reporter, Friedman will help attendees understand how to work more effectively with reporters to influence stories and make the media work with them. The meeting will be held at the Philadelphia Bar Association at 1101 Market Street, 11th Floor Conference Center in Philadelphia, Pa. Lunch is available for $8.00 for members of the Philadelphia Bar Association and $9.50 for non-members. For more information and to register for the event: http://www.philadelphiabar.org/page/EventDetails?appNum=4&eventID=NEWS324.

Friday, March 04, 2011

Mobile Technology Conference Recap

Posted by Amanda Walsh

The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce (GPCC) hosted an insightful program this morning on Mobile Technology at the Hub in Center City, Philadelphia. Andy Zimmerman, Managing Director of Mobility at Accenture, gave an overview of mobile technology and outlined six trends that he identified while attending the Mobile World Congress Event earlier this year in Barcelona, Spain.

* Everything is getting connected. Zimmerman touched on new products like a WIFI piano that could have music downloaded and sent to it to play wirelessly. The iPill is in protype phase. It is a pill that can be tracked in the body to see where the medicine is going and if it's effective. Some out of the box thinking is pushing innovation.

* Products are transforming into services. Wireless devices are changing the customer relationship. The point of sale is just the beginning. Now, businesses can follow up, cross-sell, up-sell, provide downloads and upgrades.

* Traditional and alternative audiences are converging. Smartphone sales and usage are on the rise in the developing world. For example, many are using smartphones to make payments. Your phone can now provide businesses with the opportunity to see who you are and where you are.

* Location-based advertising is about to take off. If you are getting coffee, the business can detect you are there and offer a coupon for $1 off. Loyalty/points programs will gain popularity. For example, consumers can redeem points for other products.

* "Fabric of mobility" is starting to take shape. This is the idea of having digital spaces with WIFI and interactive capabilities - towns, cities, building, highway, stores, workplaces, etc. With wearable (GPS watches) and portable wireless devices (laptops,cameras), the ability to research and learn about a product is in the hands of the consumer. Studies have shown that many prefer to receive information about products via their smart devices rather than speak with an employee!

* Now is the time of the Chief Mobile Officer (CMO). The question that needs to be asked is how to enhance the consumer experience using mobile.

In addition to Zimmerman's overview, the keynote of the event was the Chief Information Officer for the United States, Vivek Kundra. Vivek shared some insights into how the government is moving to keep up with the emerging trends in mobile technology.

To wrap up the event, there was a knowledgeable panel of local representatives from Comcast, Anexinet, University of Pennsylvania and IDC to participate in an interactive discussion with the audience. They all hope to capitalize on opportunities right here in Philadelphia to harness city WIFI and wireless technology to improve daily life.

Mobile technology is evolving rapidly. There will be some exciting changes in upcoming months for businesseses to effectively reach target audiences where they can easily be found, even if it's in line at the local coffee shop!

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Vice President Of Marketing, Laura Powers, To Present At Local Career Expo

Laura Powers to present at Bucks County Career and Opportunities Expo on March 15, 2011 at Bucks County Community College - Lower Bucks Campus. The Expo is free of charge and open to the public from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Laura will be joining experts on a panel to discuss "Creating Your Own Job Security – Are You Ready to Start a Business?" The panel presentation is sponsored by the County of Bucks Department of Community & Business Development. Join our inspirational panelists who have successfully started their own business and hear their motivational stories on the risks and rewards of being an entrepreneur. Learn the 5 key ingredients you need to identify before starting a business: Finances, Branding & Self-Promotion, Time Management, Support Network, Licenses & Regulations.
Laura Powers is a marketing strategist with a history of developing award-winning campaigns that create continuity of brand, Web, print, promotions and public relations. She understands how design and image components fit within comprehensive marketing and public relations programs in order to build brands and their affinities. As Vice President of Marketing, Laura works with Furia Rubel clients to strategically identify the messages that are theirs alone and helps them deliver those messages creatively, effectively and across all lines of their communications. In 1996, she founded HG Marketing Group, LLC, a strategic affiliate to Furia Rubel until their merger in 2010.