How to Create an Effective Call to Action

By Karen Preston-Loeb

One of the most important elements in advertising and marketing is the call to action, or CTA. This tells the consumer what you want them to do.

A solid call to action will grab the user’s attention and direct them to take a desired action, whether it be to purchase an item or click through to a website. The call to action can boost conversions; it is the difference between a user bouncing away from a website and a reader becoming a customer by signing up to receive blog posts, reading your website, requesting a free trial, or even purchasing a product.

Good CTAs need to be compelling. Here are some tips to create an effective call to action:

Be direct
Tell your target audience exactly what you want them to do, and use a strong command verb. Text should be short and to the point, enabling the reader to grasp exactly what you want them to do at first glance, while also creating a sense of urgency. The CTA is your sales clincher, so be persuasive.

Make it stand out
The CTA can be a button or a clickable line of text, but if it is not easily found, it is not going be effective. Make sure your CTA stands out on your ad. Place the CTA in an expected logical position. Use graphic elements of color, size, and surrounding white space to visually direct users to the correct spot. And remember to size the CTA appropriately for mobile devices. It is always a good idea to test different graphic elements to see what works best for your customer.

Get creative
Keep your content fresh. The call to action text is part of your advertising copy and should be treated as such. Use engaging copy that ties into your ad and gets your customer to act. Steer clear of bland words like “submit” and use friendly dialogue. Using the voice of the customer in a personalized approach such as “Show me my plan,” or “Yes! Take me there!” can be effective. Readers should understand the copy and be able to relate to it without too much technical jargon. Be clever while staying clear in your message.

Entice your customers with a unique selling point
Make sure your call to action gives your customers a reason to click through. A unique selling point (USP) is a factor that differentiates a product from its competitors. This could be a lower cost, a complimentary consultation, a free trial, or even a blog post that would benefit the user to read. The unique selling point differentiates the resulting product from its competitors.

Offer instant gratification
While we have heard the notion that good things come to those who wait, in marketing, waiting can result in a high bounce rate. People want instant satisfaction. When persuading a user with a call to action, it is important not to delay giving them what they want, as this can affect your conversion rate. Reward the user immediately, and use action words such as “now.”

An effective call to action that customers cannot resist will boost traffic, improve click-through rates and convert prospects into customers. An effective call to action also can vary according to the target audience. Be sure to test yours to see what works for your company.

5 Dos and Don’ts for Buying Stock Photographs

By Heather Truitt

Over the last 15 years or so, along with the growth of the internet, stock photography has become wildly popular. The availability of a wide range of images, from landscapes to cityscapes and more, offers a more cost-effective alternative to doing a custom photo shoot to produce content to use on your website or in marketing pieces.

Whether you are using the purchased images for a blog, a website, social media platforms, or promotional materials, below are some tips to keep in mind when purchasing stock images.

1. If you are purchasing images on a regular basis, DO buy a subscription. This will ensure that you are getting the most for your money.
2. DO research usage licenses, because the differences are important. Do you know the difference between royalty free images and rights managed images?
• Royalty free means that the purchaser is free to use the image for whatever purpose they like, with a few exceptions, and for an unlimited amount of usage. So, let’s say I wanted to use one image for an advertisement in both print and digital forms. I would need to buy a royalty free image only one time and would be able to use it repeatedly without any extra cost.
• Rights Managed images requires users to specify exactly what the image will be used for, and additional uses would carry additional cost. Let’s say I found a great image that I wanted to use for an advertisement. I would have to select the type of publication in which the advertisement will be placed (ex. Magazine, newspaper, event program etc.) and specify the circulation of the magazine, the start date, and how long I would like to use the image. As you can imagine, this type of usage arrangement can drive the price of your stock photo from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars.
3. Remember your audience. If you are trying to reach a diverse audience, DON’T purchase images that do not reflect diversity.
4. DO examine images with a critical eye. Let’s say I wanted to purchase an image for a personal injury law firm blog post that talked about being injured in a car accident. When I’m looking for a suitable image, I want to be aware of all of the parts of the image. Sometimes, you will find a great photo, but then realize that, say, all the police officers are dressed in European uniforms, or the ambulance does not have the look that your users would expect.
5. Some stock photography websites allow you to search by image popularity. DON’T pick the most popular images, unless they best fit your specific image criteria. The chances of another competitor using that image or a similar one is likely, especially if you are using popular stock photo websites. You want to make sure you are differentiating yourself from competitors through the use of different images, whenever possible.

These tips should help you make better choices when purchasing stock photography for your company or yourself. One of the most important tips to reinforce is making sure you are looking at the correct license for your use. Few things are worse than finding that PERFECT stock photo to fit your needs, only to discover that it is rights managed and will cost a few thousand dollars to use it every time you need it.

Below is a list of some of the most popular stock photography websites; I highly recommend iStockphoto.com and Getty Images.

• iStockphoto.com – Royalty Free Stock Images
• Gettyimages.com – Royalty and Rights Managed Images
• Shutterstock.com – Royalty Free Stock Images
• Stock.adobe.com – Royalty Free Stock Images
• Vectorstock.com – Royalty Free Vector Illustrations

Tips to Keep Your Projects on Schedule

By Karen Preston-Loeb

Being organized in the workplace is an integral component of a company’s productivity and profitability. Missed deadlines irritate clients which can result in loss of business. Late work makes a company appear overwhelmed and incapable. However, keeping a streamlined process in place to deliver projects on time and within budget satisfies both clients and employees. Below are some project management tips to improve efficiency in your company.

Utilize a project management software system:

Various platforms exist that provide companies with job tracking, reporting capabilities, timesheets, and even invoicing, and most are accessible through the internet to allow for remote working. The system best suited for a company varies depending on the functionality desired. At Furia Rubel Communications we use Basecamp for all of our marketing, public relations, crisis communications, graphic design and website development projects. Every project is created and named, and a calendar is generated to schedule the milestones for each job. Milestones for every task that need to be completed are assigned a date and team member. Once each task is finished it is checked off and, as long as each agency representative completes work on time, the project stays on schedule.

Create a project naming system:

Keeping the workplace organized is more than filing cabinets and inboxes. With work being done on the cloud and remotely via the internet, organizing has taken a digital turn and a naming system is essential. Clearly labelling jobs allows every team member to be on the same page and easily access a project in the future. Oftentimes project management software systems will help organize this process by numbering jobs or prompting a job name field. Still, the company needs to determine a naming convention to be used internally. Acronyms for clients work well along with project titles and dates created. For instance, a 300 x 250 web banner created for ABC Corporation’s August website might be labeled: ABC_300x250WebBanner_8_2016. This would then be filed alphabetically by the client on a server. In two years, if the client wanted to re-run that web banner, it could easily be found.

Break out a project into tasks:

Looking at a large campaign or assignment can be overwhelming, but organizing the job into tasks that can be completed and checked off gives a feeling of accomplishment along the way. A builder who undertakes an addition onto a house doesn’t just dive in. The builder begins with a plan that may begin with blueprints, then demolition and removal of debris, followed by each individual step that needs to occur from adding plumbing to final coats of paint. Whether laid out on paper or in the experienced mind of the builder, a job has a sequence of events that occurs. The same holds true at any company. Every project has a succession of tasks that can be mapped out and completed by one or various team members. In a marketing and public relations firm, for instance, we might break out an e-Newsletter into steps from drafting content, editing, or proofreading, to obtaining client approval, adding web links, and scheduling distribution. These project tasks can also be added to your project management software as templates which leads to greater efficiencies and productivity.

Maintain Schedules:

How happy would a client be if a firm did excellent work but missed its deadlines? A press release announcing an event that gets distributed too late is no good to the client no matter how well-written. Staying on schedule is imperative to the long-term success of a company. Work backwards from the final due date and break the job into tasks. Each task should fill the calendar up to the final due date (and be sure to give your team some leeway whenever possible). Assign these tasks and due dates to appropriate team members, and track any missed deadlines. Once a milestone is overdue, the schedule needs to be adjusted appropriately to ensure the job stays on track.

Organization is essential to project workflow. Keeping jobs on track not only maintains client satisfaction that can lead to referrals and future business, but also promotes a healthy workplace of employees who feel proud to have accomplished goals and be a part of the company’s success.

Furia Rubel Roundup: What We’re Reading This Month

By Gina F. Rubel

As professionals, we are constantly learning and growing – and reading. We read a lot, and we love to share with one another articles that have caught our eye.

Here is another roundup of interesting articles that we thought our readers might enjoy.

On leadership and management

A Harvard psychologist says people judge you based on two criteria when they first meet you. In her new book, “Presence,” Amy Cuddy says people quickly judge you based on whether they think they can trust you and whether they can respect you.

On social media and the internet

You may not be a fan of Snapchat, but a new generation of professionals is on it every day. Bloomberg reported that 10 billion videos now are viewed daily on the app that is in direct competition with Facebook which continues to enhance its video capabilities. 

LinkedIn membership is on the rise, says Venturebeat.com, as is its revenue. Up to 433 million users and $861 million in revenue, LinkedIn remains a strong social media tool for business professionals.

SEO is an industry term that, for millennial marketers, is something that has been engrained in them. But for many, every solicitous email that says they can get your company on the first page of Google, cause the older generation of business owners to wonder, “can they?” The short answer is that SEO no longer works that way without a major investment in advertising dollars. However, there are things companies can do to search engine optimize their online content to rank better organically. Search Engine Watch recently published an article, How to write meta descriptions for SEO (with good and bad examples). If you’re sharing content on websites and blogs, this is a must read.

On litigation, legal marketing and the law

New Jersey lawyers beware: Attorney advertising containing “Super Lawyers,” “Best Lawyers” and similar designations must include the source of the declaration and an explanation of how the publication it arrived at that determination. When a title contains a superlative such as "super" or "best," the advertising can say the lawyer was included in that list but can't suggest that the attorney actually boasts that attribute.

On public relations, crisis communications and the media

In many respects, public relations and marketing are one and the same. There are granular differences, but at the end of the day, it’s all integrated. When a company issues a press release (PR), they first write it with search engine optimization (SEO) in mind (marketing), then they add it to their website (marketing) and share it via social media (PR and marketing), include it in their company newsletters (marketing), add the information to social media profiles (PR and marketing), and so on.

In addition to marketing and public relations, all companies must know how to handle a crisis. There are many ways to deal with a crisis but the best way is to have a plan in place before a crisis hits. Crisis planning requires a great deal of thought and investment, but like insurance, it’s well worth it. Forbes Communications Council interviewed six executives who share their tips for managing a crisis.

On marketing, branding and graphic design

Colors, colors and more colors. There are endless variations of colors. When considering a branding, rebranding, or brand refresh, color must play into the decisions just as much as font and imagery. Entrepreneur magazine talks about what the color of your logo says about your company. We caution you to take this article with a grain of salt, as reaction to color is dependent on many factors including age, gender, socioeconomic background, culture, life experience, etc.

What have you read lately that has helped you do business better? We’d love to hear about it. Share in the comments.

Getting to Know Office Administrator Rose Strong

Our office administrator, Rose Strong, has been with Furia Rubel for four years. In observance of that anniversary, we sat down and asked her a few questions to find out how she keeps our office functioning smoothly, lessons she’s learned in the workplace, and – most importantly – what's top on her phone’s playlist.

What role do you play in the Furia Rubel team? 

I am told that I’m the glue that holds it all together here. Not sure if that’s really it, but I’m the go-to-gal for most non-client questions such as, “Do we have any more yellow ink cartridges?” or “Did you know the half and half is sour?” or “Did the mail come?” Not only do I perform the office support role, but I also keep calendars, answer phones, proofread much of the content written in-house, share content on our social media, and write up our monthly newsletter content. I’m the one who keeps tabs on everyone else, which helps to feed my curious nature by knowing what’s going on all around me.

What is the most annoying phone call you’ve received?

Me: Good morning, Furia Rubel, this is Rose.
Caller: Hi. Uhhhhh. I’m wondering if you can help me out with promoting my business.
Me: Well, first, can I get your name?
Caller: I’d rather not tell you that right now.
Me: Okay. Can you tell me what the business is that you need help with?
Caller: Ummmm, I’m not sure it’s the right time to tell you that.

After about 15 minutes of trying to wrestle some basic information such as a phone number (Caller: I only have a throw-away phone) or email (Caller: I have a gmail address, but don’t use it much), the caller then proceeded to share with me a barrage of thoughts that had little to do with PR or marketing.

What has been the most rewarding project you’ve worked on?

We recently created a book for a client that works with an elderly population, to showcase the award-winning senior art programs the client runs. As a freelance reporter for a local weekly newspaper for the past dozen years, I was asked to interview some of the seniors who participated in the art projects, in order to get quotes and information for the book. The folks I interviewed were forthcoming with their thoughts, absolutely delightful to talk to, and enlightening. The project is still in the works, but I look forward to seeing it completed.

Can you describe a challenge you’ve faced in the workplace and share what you’ve learned from it? 

I used to work at a large, national health insurance company, answering phones. The company trained their employees for three months on customer service procedures and their systems, the insurance industry, health care policy, insurance plans and even medical terminology. Then they put you on the phones and expected you to answer 80 to 100 calls per day.

Mixing health care and money can be extremely volatile, and calls could be tremendously difficult on all of us. It was brutal some days, and morale was often low. After several years, I became good enough at the job to be what they called a senior customer service professional. I took the tough calls from my colleagues when things got out of hand and a caller asked for a supervisor. I also helped to train people. It was all that and the glamour, too!

I’m a lover of the Christmas holidays and started sending out an email to my colleagues with a trivia question about holiday TV shows. People had fun seeing who could give the right answer first. The first year, it was just to create a little fun. The second year, I named my effort The 12 Days of Christmas Trivia and went to the dollar store, bought a dozen crazy prizes and went for it! The team loved it. It was the highlight of the days leading up to Christmas. I even threw in a few Hanukkah questions to give our non-Christmas celebrants the chance to win, as well.

Every day, I would send out the question at a random time and wait for folks to answer. They were so excited to see what the prizes were. My email filled up fast. I handed out things like Vienna sausages, a tiny ratchet set, a dollar-store pregnancy test, plastic dog bowls, anything you can think of from a dollar store! It was a hoot, and to celebrate at the end, we had a food day.

It takes so little, sometimes, to bring up morale in a workplace and make it fun. In this case, it wasn’t my job to do it – I wasn’t really a supervisor or manager or team lead – but just to get out of the rut we all felt we were in, it helped bring smiles and laughter and a sense of bonding between people all trying to do the same difficult job.

Do you have any favorite quotes?

I have three:

“A human mind, once stretched to a new idea, never returns to its former dimensions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

“Act like you have all day to do something and it will take you 15 minutes, act like you have 15 minutes and it will take you all day.” – Monty Roberts, from The Man Who Listens To Horses

"Everything you do with or for a client today gives them incentive to remember or forget you tomorrow." – Me

What is something you’ve learned in the past week?

A new way to manage client media clips to make my job more efficient.

Is there something at your desk that represents you very well?

My pencil sharpener. Not only do I like having sharp pencils, but I like keeping a sharp mind. Doesn’t always work, but I always make the effort.

What are your favorite applications on your phone?

Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and shopping sites are by far my favorite time-users. However, I’m a news junkie and listen to NPR via the app, Tune-In Radio. And I enjoy the NYTimes and CNN apps.

What do you like to do when you’re not at work?

I was an art major in college, as was my wife, so we both enjoy spending our time doing most anything creative, from cooking and gardening to photography, writing, and making or viewing art. Making something can help refresh my spirit. I also enjoy spending time with my four-legged and feathered family of animals.

What is the most played song on your phone/iPod?

Probably the Indigo Girls’ Closer to Fine.

Furia Rubel Roundup What We’re Reading This Month

By Gina F. Rubel

As professionals, we are constantly learning and growing – and reading. We read a lot, and we love to share with one another articles that have caught our eye.

Here is a roundup of articles we’ve shared recently.

On leadership and management

Deloitte has great marketing and management systems in place to help its employees and customers be successful, including 10 Questions You Should Be Asking to embrace risk and lead confidently in a volatile world.

On social media and the internet

Social media is not all about the numbers of likes or followers. Once a social media influencer reaches a critical mass of followers, audience engagement actually begins to decrease. The rise of micro-influencers on Instagram.

Do you write comments on blogs and news websites? Do you read the comments? Some observers now believe that comments have failed on news media websites.

One analysis concluded that proper link placement in a tweet is about 15 to 25 percent of the way through the post. That way, it will generate more readership and engagement.

On litigation, legal marketing and the law

If you are aware that someone is driving, texting a distracted driver could now bring liability. Think before you text.

On public relations, crisis communications and the media

The marketing platform Hubspot recently was criticized by a former employee in a tell-all book, but the potential public relations nightmare may have been lessened by many of the company’s customers who spoke out on its behalf.

Social media sharing has changed the face of PR, especially the rise in visual communications. Clare Lane tells Ragan’s PR Daily why a picture is really worth a thousand words.

And an AP poll reinforces how important it is for the media to get the facts right in America. In fact, it is the key to gaining trust. 

Getting to Know Senior Graphic Designer Heather Truitt

Our Senior Graphic Designer, Heather Truitt, recently marked her first year here at Furia Rubel. Here, she answers eight questions to help you get to know her a bit better.

What’s your favorite color?
I’m a designer, so I don’t think I can name just one color!

What is the most rewarding project you’ve worked on?
The branding for the unification of First Savings Bank of Perkasie and First Federal of Bucks County to become Penn Community Bank is one of the most rewarding projects I’ve worked on, not only in the last year, but in my career. So many variables went into designing the brand. It was a great project to work on, and it’s so rewarding to see the new signage and branded materials throughout Bucks County.

What is your favorite genre of movies?
I like to watch comedies, horror, sci-fi, and thrillers.

Is there something at your desk that represents you very well?
I have a photo of myself with my husband and our son at Disney World last year, dressed up in penguin Halloween costumes with Mickey Mouse. I think this picture represents the fact that I will do almost anything for my family.

What is something that no one would be able to guess about you?
I’m not sure if it’s something that nobody would be able to guess, but I’ve been to hundreds of live concerts. I went to see my first concert when I was 15, and since then, I’ve seen almost every band I could have ever wanted to see perform. When I was 17, my friends and I followed a band up and down the East Coast – I’ve seen that band perform probably 25 times. There is nothing like seeing one of your favorite bands live in concert.

What is your favorite app on your phone?
TimeHop is by far my favorite app. I like looking through the memories of the last seven or so years that I have been on Facebook and had a smart phone. Seeing how much my life has changed in the last few years is amazing, and being able to look back through various stages of my son’s life has been really awesome.

What has been your favorite weekend day trip?
I really love New York City. It’s my favorite city. I used to go almost monthly just to explore the city with friends. It’s such a great place and every time is a different experience.

Any upcoming fun vacations?
In October, we are going to Disney World. We had such an amazing time last year, we can’t wait to go back!

Thank you, Heather, for your hard work at Furia Rubel Communications. Congratulations on your first anniversary!

The Importance of Color Selection in Website Artwork

By Heather Truitt

How important is the color of the artwork you select for your website or your blog? It is critical in ensuring that your viewers see a harmony between your overall brand, your website and the images used on the site and on any associated social media channels.

Color powerfully conveys emotion. And it doesn’t have to be heavy-handed; some of the best websites reflect a brand designed with a minimal palette of colors.

After the color palette for your brand has been developed, you want to make sure that you stick to that palette when creating any website art – even the thumbnail art you may create to use to anchor blog posts. From graphics, to buttons, to infographics, it is important that all elements used on your blog or website keep within the chosen palette of colors in order to reinforce consistency and brand awareness.

For example, what colors come to mind when you think of the following brands?

• Target
• CVS
• Walmart
• Gap
• Starbucks

Red, red, blue, blue, and green.

Target uses red for everything on their website design; from the logo, menu bars, and “add to cart” button, everything is consistently colored an identical red.

The same can be said for Walmart, Starbucks, CVS, Best Buy, and the list could go on to encompass the majority of major retailers.

You associate each of these companies with the colors of their brand. In fact, sometimes the association between the company and the logo in combination with its color can be so strong that companies have taken their name off of their signage. Target, for example, will often use only the red bullseye, and Starbucks often will use only its siren logo.

Maintaining color consistency of images and graphics placed on your website or blog is vital, not only for major retailers, but for small companies, too. Keeping your brand consistent throughout all mediums and platforms reinforces customer recognition and retention and strengthens your brand.

How do you use color in your website artwork? Let us know in the comments.

6 Tips on Working With Professional Focus Group Providers

By Laura Powers

When it comes to launching new marketing initiatives, many businesses don't guess at what their target customers want, need or desire - they ask them directly, through the use of focus groups.

A focus group is a specific group of people brought together to elicit feedback on a particular product, service, message or tactic. Just about anything can be evaluated by a focus-group: advertising campaigns, product innovations, positioning statements, brand designs or even simply logo colors.

Working with focus groups is a good way to gather data on how the marketplace is likely to react to a new offering or a change in approach. As effective as they can be, however, there are a few critical steps to keep in mind:

• Research local focus group providers to ensure that their facilities and participant solicitation process meet high standards.

• Schedule a meeting or call with the focus group facilitator(s) to ensure that they understand the objectives and strategies behind the campaign, product, positioning, etc.

• Review the participant solicitation criteria to ensure that the assembled group will reflect the desired audience.

• Ensure that the meeting date(s) and time(s) are convenient for all company team members that should be in attendance.

• Review and edit the focus group facilitator's meeting script to ensure that questions and clarifying questions will garner in-depth responses that meet your team's objectives.

• Clarify the details and specifics for the post-meeting report and negotiate the date for report receipt.

Deciding to engage a focus group is an important decision. If your company invests the budgetary resources required to contract with a professional focus group facility and meeting facilitator, ensure that that money is well spent by keeping close watch on the process using the above tips.

Has your organization used a focus group in the past? Share your own tips and lessons learned in the comments below.

3 Things J.K. Rowling Taught us About Marketing

By Megan Quinn

You may have heard of books and movies about a boy who finds out he is a wizard and a celebrity in the wizarding world after surviving an attack on his family by a dark sorcerer. Did I give too much away? The author of the seven-book Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling, has become quite the marketer since the success of her books, with a fan base that extends further than most books. Here are three things we can learn about marketing from Rowling’s success.

Loyal to readers

Rowling adores her fans and appreciates their input and better yet…she responds to them. She loves to give her fans mysteries to solve and plenty of clues to help solve them, much like a massive online scavenger hunt. And the fans have learned to keep a watchful eye for any tidbit of new information from the world of Harry Potter that she so generously shares. She even launched a fan website called Pottermore in 2009 as a place for her readers to keep the online discussions going, leading to a steady stream of viewers and readership.

Content marketing

“Muggles” (non-magical folks) go crazy any time Rowling releases new content. And most of her new stories can be read for free. Her readers have fallen in love with the fictional world of Harry Potter and love any companion pieces from the wizarding world. One way to keep interested readers coming back is to give them more and more rich content from the same vein, not only in the form of books, but also in the form of free content.

This can take many forms. Free short stories on a website or on Amazon. Blogs, Tumblr posts, Facebook updates, podcasts, or even tweets. Anything that expands and enriches already established content with a loyal following can serve as unique material for content marketing.

Growing a community of readers

Rowling is an extremely gracious author when it comes to her vast community of fans. She is thankful for the loyalty of her fans and doesn’t hesitate to tell them how much she appreciates them. It also helps that she is a maternal figure to actors Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) and Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) for example.

Rowling’s community of fans offers a sense of belonging and friendship to those who share common interests. If more and more people enjoy a book while feeling like they belong “in the community,” they will recommend the content to others and anticipate the next publication, creating a self-sustaining cycle of demand.

It’s important not to become complacent and keep the writing streak going strong. After all, the point of content marketing is to grow your business and ultimately create a few conversions. The larger your audience, eventually, the larger your business will grow.

Rowling may have been successful from her fictional works, but non-fiction can be just as effective. We each have the ability to grow an online presence, but consistency and rewarding fan loyalty is key. Start an informative blog about something that interests you and start reaping the benefits of online readership.

6 Things Google Analytics Can Tell You About Your Marketing

By Kim Tarasiewicz

At Furia Rubel, we build many of our clients' websites and also provide hosting on a dedicated server. Part of our website services involve checking Google Analytics to see how those sites are performing. An analytics program can provide a bird's eye view of how many visitors are using your site each month, among other things. By defining your parameters in detail, you can even see how many visitors go to a certain page each day, month or quarter. When used properly, Google Analytics can provide crucial information on your customers/clients that can be used in the marketing process throughout the year.

Several of the key metrics we look for when compiling data to share with clients are outlined below. Depending on your marketing and advertising needs, different reports may be more or less important to your business. You will need access to your company's analytics account associated with your website to view your reports.

The traffic report shows the number of visitors to your site, this number should increase or at least remain consistent if your site is performing well. When using analytics properly, you should be able to increase the number of visitors to your site by reviewing behavior on your site and making edits to pages as needed. For example, by checking the "Organic Search Traffic page", you will see the number of visitors that used a search engine and which keywords they used to find the site. You can then incorporate additional related keywords into the site which should increase traffic.

The channel report image above provides a perfect overview to HOW visitors arrived at the site. This area can be used to develop or tweak your marketing plan. If your business determines that they want to increase their social media leads to the website, you can review the current social media number which in this case is very low (0.27%) and after running a social media campaign, check back to see if your percentages have increased, hopefully giving your campaign validation.

Referral traffic is important to evaluate as it shows which outside websites are sending online traffic to your company's website. This could be in the form of a news story that links to your website as part of the story, or it could be a partner company that has a link to your website on their site for referral traffic. It is important to follow-up on these resources, grow your network connections, and promote your company, in order to increase online visitors.


The device overview report will show you from what type of device your clients are accessing your website. On the report example above, 88.49% of these website users are using a desktop computer, perhaps visiting the site as they work. As the number of people accessing your site from a mobile device increase, you should consider building a mobile, responsive version of your website to provide those mobile visitors with content that is optimized to display on small screens.

Reviewing the pages report will show you which pages have the most traffic and have created the most interest. This will give you an idea of what your readers are looking for and allow you to add additional material such as blogs or media stories around that subject, with the goal of increasing traffic to your site.

If your marketing plan is to target certain geographic areas, you may want to review the location report to see what country or which state your viewers are coming from. This report can be narrowed down by clicking on the country, then the state which will eventually show the local towns visitors are in when viewing your site.

Google Analytics can be customized by day and date, locations, new and returning visitors etc. and can be an ideal tool to use in measuring your marketing tactics. Before your team sits down to create next year's goals and plan, do a little research in analytics and give your team cutting edge information to increase opportunities for a successful year.

Keeping It S.I.P.S.

By Megan Quinn

What do you do for a living?

If you answered by naming your company or your title or your general field, you just missed out on a golden business opportunity – to create interest in what you do and open the door for further interest.

That was the main takeaway from a recent conference, LMA Metro Philadelphia’s Half-Day Educational Conference, presented by the HUB City View. The July 16 conference was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about legal marketing from local and visiting marketing experts and it was interesting to switch over to the marketing side for a day and shift my mind out of the PR gear.

The breakout session 2 program, “Wildfire: Creating Interest in Your Practice With Everyone You Meet,” really struck a chord with me. It was presented by Steve Hughes, president of Missouri-based company Hit Your Stride, LLC. The main theme was, how can we brainstorm new ways to market our profession or help our clients to do the same when networking?

For example, when asked at a cocktail party or event, “What do you do for a living?” it’s easy to just state your profession or company name outright. “I’m a lawyer,” “I work in public relations,” or “I work at Furia Rubel Communications in Doylestown.”

That’s all well and good, but there’s no hint of mystery to it. If we aren’t proactive about coming up with new ways to explain our jobs in a fun, interesting way, does that make us sound disinterested in what we do?

For tax attorneys, Hughes recommends saying this: “I’m Uncle Sam’s biggest nightmare” or “I help add to the national debt.” For estate planning attorneys, try “I work with dead people” or real estate attorneys can say “I play with dirt all day and get paid for it.”

The point is to make our explanations S.I.P.S. (short, intriguing, pithy and simple). If we can succeed in doing this, we can engage our audience in a way that presents opportunities for follow-up questions. Don’t give it all away at once; leave them guessing!

I often have a hard time explaining my job to friends and family, as I wrote about in a previous blog post, so this is a way to explore how we view our clients and their impact on the world. So, what do I do? For my job, I came up with, “I help law firms and banks look human.”

How would you explain your profession to others?

Making Amends: Retaining Customers When You Have to Say You’re Sorry

By Rose Strong

Being in business, no matter what product or service you offer, you’re bound to make a mistake with a client or customer at some point. Whether you are a waitperson in a diner, a haberdasher selling top-of-the-line handmade suits, or a consultant offering professional services, there is a chance to make an error - and to have to fix it. When that happens, how you try to make amends makes a big difference.

Of course, each situation is unique, but here are a few recommendations:

1. Tell your boss. If you’ve made a mistake that could be detrimental to a client relationship, the first person you should tell is your supervisor. It’s bound to come out and keeping the boss in the loop is probably very wise.
2. Don’t blame others; don’t make excuses. Even if all the explanations are true or others were at fault, neither your boss nor your client cares. The focus should be on fixing the mistake, not explaining it away.
3. Be transparent about the error. Admit it clearly and outright as soon as you know it has happened. Even if the client doesn’t know about it, call them and tell them – or work with your supervisor to tell them together. Honesty goes a long way to maintaining trust.
4. Come up with a solution. When you come clean about the mistake, let your boss know you have a possible solution. It makes the sting a bit less painful knowing you’ve taken responsibility on managing the mistake and saving the client relationship. This article on Forbes.com explains that fixing isn’t always enough, but it’s a start.
5. Apologize to the client and anyone else affected. Although this seems like a no-brainer, too many businesses never actually apologize for an error. When you do apologize, do so sincerely. A genuine expression of regret may be all your customer is seeking.

Part of life is to know that you’re going to make mistakes. Being prepared and having a game plan to handle tricky situations before they happen is part of crisis management, whether the crisis is huge or small. As this article from 99u.com explains, delivering authenticity in your apology to your clients is the key to de-escalating the situation and keeping a mistake from becoming a full-blown crisis.

10 Post-Event Tips to Get the Most Out of Conference Attendance

By Gina F. Rubel

What do you do to follow up with people you met and things you learned about at a meeting or conference? Do you just take the business cards that you received and stuff them in a drawer or do you do something with them? Do you take the conference materials and put them on a shelf?

This past week, I spent several days in San Diego at the Legal Marketing Association International Conference (#LMA15) where I had the opportunity to both teach and to learn. I co-presented a program with three other experienced legal marketers: Roy Sexton of Trott & Trott (Ann Arbor), Heather Morse Geller of Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger (Los Angeles) and Megan McKeon of Katten Muchin Rosenman (Chicago). We discussed collaboration and coexistence among marketers and lawyers, touching on law firm culture, the generations in the workplace, how to communicate effectively with lawyers, and much more.

After a long, cross-country journey and time reconnecting with old friends and making new ones, I took time upon my return (that I had set aside) to follow up and process information I had acquired. Here are some of the things that I do to get the most out of the conference after attending:

1) Connect with everyone that I met for the first time on LinkedIn and follow them on Twitter.
2) Send hand-written notes to people with whom I want to follow up.
3) Add select individuals to my personal contact database and CRM system and update contact information for those who are with new companies.
4) Download all important materials and review them for a second time.
5) Share conference take-aways with my marketing and public relations teams.
6) Make notes on the restaurants we visited (and perhaps rate them on TripAdvisor) in the event we end up back in the same city for a future conference or meetings.
7) Capture the Twitter stream using TweetArchivist.com (assuming I remembered to set one up pre-conference) and review it for trends and nuggets of important information.
8) Send thank you notes to anyone who took the time to do something special such as invite me to dinner or pay for a taxi.
9) Download and begin using valuable apps that I learned about at the conference.
10) Follow up and schedule meetings with people who I said I would follow up with.

While these 10 post-event tips to get the most out of conference attendance seem simple, it takes hours to complete them and most people say they are simply “too busy” to do anything once they return to their offices. Take the time to capitalize on all of the great relationships you developed and information you learned. Otherwise, it all just falls on deaf ears.

The Dreaded LinkedIn Profile Photo

By Rose Strong

Did you know that the likelihood of your LinkedIn profile being viewed is 11 times higher if you have a profile photograph of yourself than if you don’t?

In today’s technological business world, it’s been said that a website is a company’s front door. If that’s the case, then LinkedIn must be the window through which we are seen as employees, employers, recruitment managers, and business networking opportunities.

By the end of 2014, the social network had 347 million members, according to Statista.com, The Statistics Portal. 

According to the marketing site, ExpandedRamblings.com, LinkedIn reaches more than 200 countries and territories and is available in more than 20 languages. The site draws about 187 million unique visitors and more than 40 percent of them log onto the site each day.

With that widespread influence in mind, let’s get back to the photo. Don’t like to have your picture taken? A bit squeamish in front of the lens? Or do you fall the other way and turn into a ham or have a few crazy shots of yourself drinking from the keg hose at the frat party? Having a photo is important, but using the right ones and knowing the damage the wrongs ones can cause is imperative (take that frat party picture down ASAP) to you being taken seriously in the business world.

Just recently, I sent an invite to connect with someone on LinkedIn and suddenly got a screen of headshots or silhouettes of people I might know and may wish to connect with. I caught myself ignoring the blank ones and focusing only on the ones with photos. I’m not a career coach or hiring manager, but some of the photos I saw were clearly not advantageous to the folks’ professional profiles.

One was a selfie taken on a plane. Really? In plain view were the overhead luggage compartment and the head rests of the seats behind the person staring out at me.

Several profile photos were of people being interviewed or filmed by local media or even a cover shot of a magazine. I know it may seem impressive, but all the viewer sees is the distraction of the news people, camera or microphone or the magazine cover.

Pets in photos, yea or nay? There were more than a few of these. If you’re the executive director of the city humane society or president of the region’s farm animal rescue,  a tasteful photograph with a relaxed animal may be appropriate. However, cuddling your Bearded Dragon lizard or Asian Box Turtle or letting Polly your Rainbow Lorikeet sit on your shoulder may not be quite the image you wish to project.

Spouses in the same photograph won’t do anything to showcase your individuality and strengths. Although you may love one another and work together, you’re not joined at the hip; you each have something to offer the world. Stand out on your own, with an individual profile and a photo.

Glam shots in your wedding dress, gazing pensively out the window or your long, flowing hair covering one eye with your head tilted just so, aren't the shots of someone moving up the corporate ladder.

If you’re trying to do something different, that’s okay, but you want to stand out and be the center of the viewer’s attention, not a distraction. Your credentials may be stellar, but that view of your photograph can make or break what someone thinks in those first few seconds.

The old cliché that you only have one chance to make a first impression rings true even on social media. For more guidance on choosing the appropriate image, this article by Tommy Landry for Business2Community.com gives some excellent tips on how to make the most of your LinkedIn profile photograph.

Social Network Sites: How do they Work for you Personally?

By Rose Strong

What started out in 2004 as a small network at Harvard has grown into something much, much bigger than just a group of students using “the facebook” to connect with one another on a Massachusetts campus. Besides giving us the ability to keep up with friends and family, social networking sites became the go-to space by which business connected with their audiences / clients / customers.

In PR and marketing we know what it’s used for: pushing out product information, connecting with customers, seeking new business leads and the like. But, how do you make use of sites such as Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook for your personal connections that have nothing to do with business?

How do you use social media personally?

A few weeks ago, my wife had a medical emergency just after we had eaten dinner. After heading to the emergency room and sitting there for hours on end amidst a sea of flu-stricken adults and toddlers, I kept my friends and family updated through Facebook’s Messenger app. When texts wouldn’t go through, the Messenger app, posting directly on Facebook or sending a picture through Instagram worked!

The best thing about using social networking sites during an emergency like we experienced was that my friends, several of which are insomniacs or in different time zones, were there and supported me through a very long and intense night.

This is just one example of how these sites also have given us ways to get information out en masse to those we wanted informed.

How’d we do it back then?

In the olden days – she said very sarcastically – I would have had to wait until I returned home to make many phone calls to family and friends. It would have been exhausting. By the time things were stabilized at the hospital and I was able to go home at 6:45 a.m., I only had to make a few personal calls and take a much-needed nap.

According to a survey done by PewInternet.org, Facebook remains the most popular social networking site today, although its growth has slowed somewhat. Other popular sites, meanwhile, are making headway and seeing growth.

From the highlights of PewInternet.org survey, I found the following pretty fascinating:

• Social networking sites are increasingly used to keep up with close social ties
• The average user of a social networking site has more close ties and is half as likely to be socially isolated as the average American
• Facebook users are more trusting than others
• Facebook users have more close relationships
• Internet users get more support from their social ties and Facebook users get the most support

I know it may sound strange, but I’ll admit that I have friends online whom I’ve never met but who still mean a lot to me. I belong to several closed Facebook special interest groups. The people in these groups share my interests and we often speak beyond our interests either online in the group or through email or instant messaging, becoming distant participants in each other’s lives simply through social networking.

We share our lives with each other. And only what we want to share. Several people have lost husbands or wives, some long-time members have passed on, family members of the group associates have become sick, graduated school, seen the births of their first grandbabies, and lost pets or adopted new ones, been in car accidents, won awards, traveled around the world, been laid off, fired or found new jobs. In each instance, members of the group rally, be it with tears, kind words, encouragement or congrats.

Without these folks from all over my social network sites, I don’t know what I’d have done to get through such a long and arduous night in the emergency department. I found it a godsend to be able to keep my friends and family updated and gain their support back as I needed it.

Survey Says…Business Executives Love Email Newsletters

By Laura Powers

At Furia Rubel, we spend a fair amount of time creating monthly and bimonthly email newsletters for our clients. We were intrigued by a recent survey performed by digital news outlet, Quartz, confirming that newsletters can be one of the most effective tools to maintain client relationships or keep colleagues informed. If done right, your newsletters could develop an engaging subscriber foundation, and potentially cultivate suitable leads and customers.

Email newsletters as a primary news source

Quartz’s survey states that 60 percent of business executives interviewed say email newsletters are one of the first three news sources they read in the morning. For keeping up on the latest industry news, 56 percent of executives said an email newsletter is their primary source of information. 75 percent of executives surveyed said they spend at least 30 minutes a day consuming the news. Why not spend a few of those minutes looking at business newsletters?

Sharing newsletter content among peers

The survey documented the changing ways, people ranging from managing directors to c-level executives, consume and share content – despite the widespread use of mobile devices. Content sharing of relevant news items that allow the original distributor access to and ease of sharing is important. So important – that 91 percent of business executives surveyed say they would share work-related news with others.

Understanding your audience is the key to relevant content

One of the biggest problems with email newsletters is that they are often disorganized and nonspecific because they are featuring news from every aspect of your business. PR stories or blog posts could be going next to random upcoming events – what a mess! Find a strategic solution for content placement by brainstorming ways to balance the content of your newsletter to be 90 percent informative and at least 10 percent promotional.

People are on a tight schedule; meaning everything they see has to be concise with such limited time on their hands. While they may want to hear from you, there is only so much information they’ll want to read before tuning out. Unless you actually have interesting news about your product, service, or company, leave out as much as you can of the self-promotional aspects and instead:

• Offer something different from those of your competitors
• Provide high quality content relevant to your audience
• Include positive events in which the company participates 
• Reflect on recent happenings in your industry

Where to promote a company newsletter 

Not sure where to advertise your email newsletter? Below are a few placement hacks we recommend:

• During client communication 
• Announce the arrival of the next newsletter on your website
• At trade / industry events
• Introduce the newsletter to new business contacts
• Position a link to the most recent newsletter in your email signature

Please feel free to share your thoughts on email newsletters with us in the comments section below. Does your company use them? What do you feel is valuable to include in company newsletters?

To Rebrand or Not to Rebrand, That is the Question

By Megan Quinn

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It’s funny how a new look can change the entire feel of a company. Sometimes a business wants a change – whether it is a flashy or subtle one. Starbucks made a slight change to their logo in 2011, but it’s barely noticeable (in my opinion). They opted to keep their signature mermaid symbol, while making some updates to it, and removing the words “Starbucks Coffee” from their logo. In short – their company name in the logo was unnecessary because their brand is internationally recognizable.

Sometimes logo changes are not enough. That was the case with Hotmail. Launched in 1996, this email service has been around for almost 20 years and was one of the first web-based email services. However, Microsoft decided to reinvent Hotmail during the summer of 2013 to become Outlook.com. Hotmail users still got to keep the “@hotmail.com” address, plus their contacts and passwords, but significant external changes took place.

“Today, we’re excited to announce that we’ve completed upgrading all Hotmail customers to Outlook.com. Coupled with the growing organic excitement for Outlook.com, this has pushed us to over 400 million active Outlook.com accounts, including 125 million that are accessing email, calendar and contacts on a mobile device using Exchange ActiveSync,” Microsoft said in a blog post on the day it finished the upgrade. The Outlook.com integration process took only six weeks and was completed on May 2, 2013.

Not only did Microsoft’s Hotmail rebrand, but they also backed up their decision with plenty of ways to keep their customers happy and loyal while gaining new ones. Sounds like rebranding and updating was their key to success.

Not every company needs to rebrand. Sometimes it only requires a surface change. In this case, Microsoft’s Hotmail was due for a huge upgrade – and the company delivered.

Another lesser known success story is that of Burberry, the clothing, scarf and handbag brand. Their infamous checkered pattern actually was digging them into a deep hole. The pattern had become associated with hooligans in the UK who acted violently at soccer matches. A pattern that was once seen as a status symbol was now outlawed, so to speak.

Burberry was in serious need of a rebranding effort to keep their customers. They decided to hire young celebrities to endorse their products and also revamped their trench coats. By staying in the loop and realizing their brand was being connected with the wrong crowd, they kept their successful name.

Sometimes rebranding doesn’t fit in with the company's ultimate needs and goals, or maybe it’s just not necessary, if customers are so accustomed to the old logo. Business won’t exactly improve or could stay the same. There are currently some new brand logos out there that I’m not too fond of, but I still give those brands business because I like their products or services.

Are there any new rebranding efforts you feel made a critical difference for companies? Are there any branding schemes you wish had never changed? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Diary of a Bull$hit Explainer

By Gina F. Rubel

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How often do you have to explain something to a client, family member, colleague or friend that you know is bullshit? Please forgive the language, but there really is no other term for it. It is what it is, as they say!

Today, I actually thought to add “bullshit explainer” to my bio. It disgusts me that there are so many marketing scams and schemes out there, run by people and companies who are just trolling for victims. In fact, Snopes.com has dedicated a whole section of its website to Marketing 101 urban legends.

As a result, I’ve decided to keep a diary this week of bullshit that we come across regularly, that otherwise would victimize the unsuspecting.

Those “fake” Yellow Page listings: Every few months, we receive a letter in the mail that says it’s time to renew our Yellow Page listings. If you get one of these, be suspicious.

The big dogs in Yellow Page advertising, both print and online, have thousands of well-trained sales representatives who call on their clients annually for renewal. Sales reps often are compensated based on new or increased sales and renewals, so they don’t simply rely on snail mail. If you get one of those letters, question it. Don’t just put it in your bookkeeper’s “to pay” file. That is exactly what bullshit companies are hoping you’ll do.

Google’s latest unsolicited analytics, “Your personalized Analytics report”: This week, we received an unsolicited email from “Google” which provided us with analytics for our blog, ThePRLawyer.com. The analytics were so nebulous that we couldn’t help but deduct that they are being distributed simply to increase ad word sales.

There is no time frame for the analytics. They use terms like “bounce rate” in bold as a scare tactic. In fact, when you read the fine print, “bounce rate” means “how many people leave your site without visiting any other pages on your site.” For a blog, that’s not necessarily bad. If you are driving traffic to a particular story that interests the reader and they read it and move on, you have accomplished your goal.

Here, bounce rate is not synonymous with the “bounce rate” of electronic newsletters. Couldn’t they come up with a better descriptive phrase? They came up with the name “Google,” didn’t they?

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Bogus online listing about to expire: Almost weekly, our clients get emails stating that their “listing is about to expire.” When you investigate further, there was never any listing to begin with.

The most recent notice received by one of our clients was from a low-quality website where our client had not been listed in the first place. Scamming companies such as these hope that people, such as our clients, will click on those listings which will, in turn, boost the flow of internet traffic to their website. If the visitor then creates an actual listing for her company on that website, the scammer has benefitted in two ways.

Feel free to add your bullshit marketing stories here, too. I’m sure there’s more where these came from.

How Does Your Advertising Message Hit Their Screens?

By Kim Tarasiewicz
Advertising Message is the “meat” of advertising or a commercial that attempts to convey what the advertiser intends through words and/or pictures.

That definition would have seemed simple 10 years ago, but with today’s ever-changing technology, advertising message can get lost in the clutter of emails, text messages, and other “device” campaigns. In advertising, one size does not fit all and finding the right message is as important as finding the right mix of media. Many consumers will have several screens open at their office or home at any given time during the day, so it may take sending the right message several times to build on your impact.

Initially, it’s important to clearly define your customer or client and then determine how they receive their messages. It may take some research to get the correct information, but this time spent will benefit the advertising dollars you will spend during the year. Consider a different format when serving your message to suit the needs of your customer. For example, a webinar or seminar will provide educational opportunities for the customer while allowing additional time spent with them to get your marketing message out there. While creative ads are fun, some industries call for a more formal approach, so know your customers and be consistent when communicating with them.

Google Analytics can be a great resource for determining how your customers read your text messages or which search engine they use most. When developing a campaign, add in a tracking mechanism such as unique phone numbers or website addresses and continue to check and re-check what is working and adjust for what is not. If using a software platform in your marketing, be sure it is one with the ability to adjust as you narrow down your customer focus. This will allow you to see what works for future decisions and advertising budgets.

How many Monday mornings do you open email and save it saying “I will read that later?” Your consumer is doing the same thing, which makes it important to get your message out quickly so as they scroll through messages during the day, your message stands out as most important. We found a great advertisement that captures the attention of everyone in the subway of Sweden. Now, while most companies won’t be able to go to these extremes; it shows the importance of an attention-grabbing campaign. When sending a message, quickly identify your company, be focused on the information you wish to portray, and give your customer something of value or make them feel special. If done properly, you have enticed them to visit your website, so be sure to keep current items on the site and be available to customers by checking your contact information regularly.

Whether using one of many new technologies, a billboard on the side of a highway, or a good old printed brochure, successful marketing relies on targeting your message by knowing your customer and their preferences and then giving them easy ways to contact you.

What has been your most creative way of finding your target audience?