The PR Lawyer

In-House Counsel Speaks – Tips from "A Client Roundtable"

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Powers) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Posted by Laura Powers

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a Delaware Valley Law Firm Marketing Group event, “A Client Roundtable.” The panel was moderated by James Allison, General Counsel at Murray Devine, a financial advisory firm with an office in Philadelphia. Participating on the panel were Steve Winnie, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Counsel for CampusDoor, a technology-based education finance company; Angela Jones, Counsel at Comcast Interactive Media; and Natalie Abbott, Senior Employment Counsel for North America at Saint-Gobain Corporation, the world’s largest building materials company.

Thanks to Stacy Clark, Esq. and Mary Beth Pratt for putting together this great panel.

The panel discussed how to successfully market to, and build relationships with, in-house counsel. There were some terrific, specific tips provided, such as:

When selecting outside counsel, competence, cost and responsiveness are three key concerns as well as the ability to provide blended rates and/or creative fee arrangements.

Outside counsel should think of themselves as a business partner to the company and work on building a relationship over time.

Understanding the client's industry is key. Demonstrating this understanding will be a real differentiator in your marketing and outreach efforts.

Don’t underestimate associates. Many cases can be successfully staffed by well-trained associates who are attentive and cost-conscious.

After an engagement is complete, one of the ways that outside counsel can stay top-of-mind is with brief post-engagement follow-ups. This could involve a 30-minute meeting to discuss performance overall and ways to serve the client in the future or a quick e-mail sharing a relevant article of interest.

On invoices, let the client know if you've adjusted your fees or found other ways to save them money. They want to know this information for reporting and appreciate it.

For more information on upcoming events, visit www.dvlawmarketing.org.

Pinterest: The Visual Phenomenon Of The Internet

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Walsh) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:41:00 +0000

Posted by Amanda Walsh

Pinterest is an online visual bulletin or pin board that allows users to gather or "pin" images on the Internet to categorized boards thus organizing them together on a themed page. The images retain the original URL of the web page from which the user pulled the “pin” creating a visual bookmark for future reference. Other users can “repin” or "like" your images to their boards then share them to Twitter or Facebook, which creates a viral link-sharing environment.

The invite-only website began in March 2010, as a way to manage or curate an inventory of images on the Internet. First growing popular with Etsy crafters, mom bloggers and designers, the website’s popularity has grown to 421 million page views according to Mashable.

Some popular pin board categories include wedding ideas, home decoration, crafts, recipes and fitness tips. I started using Pinterest a few months ago and quickly became addicted to the visual sharing aspect of it, as well as the bookmarking capability. It can be a great go-to when in need of ideas or creative ways to do just about anything.

Brands have begun to jump on board for the SEO and viral link-sharing advantages as well. Three examples of brands using Pinterest include:

- Zales: The jewelry store has some interesting boards of what else? Jewelry! The company also switches it up a bit with a board for “Favorite Quotes” and another of love songs called “Sounds like Love." Not only is the company advertising their own products, but they are adding value by sharing romantic visuals that could be associated with jewelry.

- Whole Foods Market: The grocery store known for organic and natural food products, has 493 pins of seasonal recipes for different times of the year, along with dinner or dessert ideas. Additionally, the company’s boards reflect edible art displays from around the world, recycling ideas and pins of Whole Planet Foundation. According to Whole Foods’ website, Whole Planet Foundation “is a private, nonprofit organization established by Whole Foods Market.” The Foundation funds “grants to microfinance institutions in Latin America, Africa and Asia who in turn develop and offer microenterprise loan programs, training and other financial services to the self-employed poor.” This is an example of how Whole Foods uses Pinterest to not only share recipes using products from their stores, but also to spread the mission of their nonprofit foundation.

- Cabot Cheese: Run by Cabot Creamery, a family-owned farm cooperative located in the hills of Vermont produces all-natural cheeses. On their Pinterest boards, the company pays homage to farmers and farms, their state of Vermont and the cows that produce the milk to make their cheese. To me, this helps to tell a brand’s story and humanize the everyday production for consumers.

Other ways businesses can utilize Pinterest include, adding the “Pin It” widget to their website so users can easily pin website images and/or follow a company-branded board.

Gina Rubel has done an excellent job of adding value by pinning relevant infographics for PR and communications professionals, as well as link sharing of events that she supports. Check out her boards here: http://pinterest.com/ginarubel/social-media-and-marketing/.

Resources to learn more include:

Photo courtesy of http://www.women2.org.

Optimizing Company Websites For Mobile Screens And Tablets - The Time Is Now

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Powers) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:02:00 +0000

Businesses need to prepare now for the next major trend in web design and development which will be the majority of internet users browsing a company's website on small-screen cell phones and tablets.

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, more American adults own cell phones than own desktops or laptops. It has been predicted (and is entirely expected) that by 2014, browsing the Internet on mobile devices will become more frequent than browsing the internet on a desktop computer or laptop.

Well-developed professional service company websites are traditionally designed and programmed to reach the company's target audience. That audience is typically thought of as sitting at work or at home using a conventional computer with one of the popular browsers - Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome. Over the next 24 months, the audiences that businesses need to reach most (clients, new business leads, referral sources, job candidates, etc.) will continue to move away from their desktop and laptop browsers to more convenient devices - mobile and tablet. The browsers they will be using are Opera, Andriod browser, Safari, BlackBerry browser, Internet Explorer Mobile and more.

If your website is using Google Analytics to monitor and measure site traffic, take a look at the "Devices" report under Audience > Mobile. The report provides a list of the various devices that visitors are using to view your site. This should be used as a starting point for prioritizing your next steps for website mobile / tablet optimization. You can also use today's data from the device report as a benchmark as you watch the predictions come true about the incredible growth of mobile and tablet usage through 2014.

Google Search Coming To Your World

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Walsh) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:17:00 +0000

Posted by Amanda Walsh

Today, Google announced that its search results has a new feature “Search plus Your World” which lets users find Google+ posts and Picasa photos through the main search site. Now, you can gather information from people that you are actually connected to through the posts that they have shared publicly or with you in a limited group. This new feature will be rolled out to those users searching the Google site in English and signed into a Google account.

Google Fellow, Amit Singhal provides some practical examples of how the new feature works on the Google Blog. For example, his childhood dog was called Chikoo, named after a sweet fruit found in parts of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. When Amit was signed into his Google account and plugged in a search query for Chikoo, his results were a blend of Picasa photos and Google+ posts (even those he shared with a limited circle) about his dog, as well as his favorite fruit.

This screen capture below (courtesy of Google) shows the Chikoo results and shows the other features of “Search plus Your World.” Google provides a handy toggle bar (indicated by the green arrow) for those people who don’t want a blend of personal and public results with the “Search Plus Your World” feature. The red arrow indicates how to search only within your personal Google+ and Picasa results.

Through the “Search plus Your World” feature, Google profiles and contacts will now be easily searchable and will populate the search box automatically through autocomplete. This new feature makes looking for a specific person easier. Additionally, if you are logged into Google, you can automatically add that person to a Google+ Circle directly from the search results. Amit gives the example of searching for his friend Ben Smith. Google populates Ben’s name automatically in the search box and directs Amit to his friend Ben’s Google+ profile. Instead of giving Amit all the search results for many Ben Smiths on the Internet, his search is personalized for his network on Google+.

When signed into Google, the blend of search results and private content is protected automatically by SSL (secure sockets layer) for the highest encryption and security. The personal search results, whether they are from you or your connections, are clearly labeled “public,” “limited,” or “only you” depending upon how the content was originally shared via Google+ or Picasa.

What is interesting about the "Search plus Your World" feature is that you don’t need a Google+ profile to see the personal results. This is just the first concerted step towards integrating more Google products into search results and I’m sure it won’t be the last bit of news coming from Google this year. This could be a new strategy for PR people to connect with new media sources and journalists, as well as a way to “crowd source” opinions from your connections. How do you envision this change to Google search affecting your industry?

Some other helpful resources can be found here: Google Blog, Mashable, Cnet

Please Don’t Ask To Pick My Brain

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Walsh) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:38:00 +0000

Written by Gina Rubel

Amanda Walsh from our office shared a great article with me from Forbes.com. No, You Can’t Pick My Brain. It Costs Too Much by Adrienne Graham hits the nail on the head. (That’s two clichés in one sentence – I’m on a roll.)

My office mates have heard me say time and time again how much I dislike when people ask if they can “pick my brain.” It is by far one of the most unappealing requests one can make. Think about the visuals: a monkey grooming its young, a chicken pecking for grub, or a surgeon performing a cranial exam. The images are endless – none of which are pleasant.

But the truth of the matter is that it does cost money when someone wants to “pick your brain.” Time is money.

Graham provides a few tips for maintaining boundaries so as to not give it all away for free. In a nutshell, she advises:

• Believe that what you know is valuable.
• Create a fee schedule
• Decline lunch/coffee invitations unless they are strictly non-business.
• Keep it light.
• Prominently post that there are no freebies.
• Exchange for equal value.
• Refer them to your “free” resources (referring to blogs, articles, podcasts, etc.).
• Don’t be afraid to send them to Google.
• Ask them for a paying referral.
• Don’t back down.

If you are an expert at what you do: a lawyer, accountant, financial advisor, doctor, marketer, publicist, and the list goes on, remember, your knowledge has value. Be sure to read Graham’s article and remember that people know that they get what they pay for (there’s another cliché) – and will usually ante-up.

Images courtesy of Gina Rubel.

Twitter and Facebook Changes In Time for the Holidays - Avvo Blog Post

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Walsh) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:53:00 +0000

Just when you thought you “got it” – Twitter and Facebook have announced major changes to their platforms.

To read more of Gina's blog post on Avvo.com, click here.

Foot-in-Mouth Media Interviews By Clients In High-Profile Cases - The Legal Intelligencer Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Walsh) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:33:00 +0000

Check out Gina Rubel's latest blog post for The Legal Intelligencer Blog discussing high profile cases in the media.

Thank You PRSA Philadelphia For The 2011 Pepperpot For Montgomery Mall Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Furia Rubel) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 13:02:00 +0000

Twitter Jargon You Need To Know

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Walsh) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:55:00 +0000

Posted by Amanda Walsh

The other day we received a client question about how to retweet with a comment using the third-party application, Hootsuite. After helping the client with the inquiry, I began thinking about some abbreviations on Twitter that I only recently learned about and wanted to share some resources with The PR Lawyer readership.

Some of the most useful abbreviations on Twitter include:

• MT: Modified tweet. This means the tweet is a paraphrase of a tweet originally written by someone else.

• RT: Retweet. The tweet was forwarded by another user.

• DM: Direct message. A direct-message is a message only you and the person who sent it can read. Important to note: To DM someone all you need to type is D username message.

• PRT: Partial retweet. The tweet you're looking at is the truncated version of someone else's tweet.

• HT: Hat tip. This is a way of sharing a link, but also thanking the Twitter user who originally shared it. You can also use “via” and include the other person’s Twitter handle.

• CC: Carbon-copy. Works the same way as email.

• IMHO: In my humble opinion.

• OH: Overheard.

• IRL: In real life

• FWIW: For what it's worth.

• QOTD: Quote of the day

• BTW: By the way

• AFAIK: As far as I know

• TY: Thank you

• YW: You're welcome

Read more on Business Insider here: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2010-08-02/tech/30060587_1_tweet-abbreviations-twitter-user#ixzz1ffeSQHCM

Some other helpful resources for those who use Hootsuite or prefer Twitter.com:

• http://help.hootsuite.com/entries/123905-how-to-send-a-reply-retweet-or-direct-mention

• http://mashable.com/2009/04/16/retweet-guide/

photo credit: twitter.com

Giving Thanks All Year Long

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Walsh) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:41:00 +0000

Posted by Gina F. Rubel, Esq.

I received about 15 e-cards and two print cards saying thank you and wishing me and the Furia Rubel team a Happy Thanksgiving. All of this started me thinking – what is the corporate Thanksgiving all about? When you say thank you to your clients and customers and others that you do business or communicate with, do you really mean it or are you trying to beat the holiday rush with your message to stand out. Are you letting them know what you are thankful for? And do you say thank you all along the corporate trail?

Of the 15 e-cards I received this week, very few were personalized and many said “Thank You and by the way, check out our website…..” Is that how we say thank you today? I am a full believer in electronic messages – but the “thanks” are lost when they’re followed with a marketing message.

Of the two printed cards I received, one included a personal message starting with “Dear …”, including a handwritten message and a John Hancock. Of course, that card was my favorite. The other was a stock, unbranded, mass-printed card which include my name on the outside of the envelope. Without being too specific, thank you, Joanne for your lovely personalized note and branded Thanksgiving card. Your card stood out.

There are so many opportunities in the business cycle to give thanks. Here are just a few key touch points when you can thank your clients, customers and other target audiences professionally and with integrity:

- Immediately following the first meeting or correspondence
- When a prospect becomes a client
- After an in-person meeting
- When someone responds to a request in a timely manner
- At the end of each client matter or project
- When someone refers you business, connects you with another or sends you a testimonial
- When you’ve closed a piece of business that was referred, thank the referrer again
- Randomly throughout the year – just because

I’m sure there are many more times in the business cycle that we can say thank you. Feel free to add to this list by leaving a comment.

And yes, THANK YOU, for reading our blog. We enjoy sharing thoughts and information with those who are interested and truly appreciate the time you take to read and respond to us.

Raising A Few Eyebrows: Law Firms Deal With Gray Area In Employee Social Media Conduct

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Walsh) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:22:00 +0000

Posted by Amanda Walsh

There were a few giggles going around the office when this article, The Tweet that Roared: Lawyers and Law Firms Navigate Social Media Landmines, hit our inboxes recently. The story did bring to light an important question regarding law firm social media policies and lawyers' personal social media use outside of the office.

A recent social media firestorm began over a tweet from law firm Kramer Levein Naftalis & Frankel litigation associate Jill Filipovic. Returning from a recent trip, Filipovic tweeted a photo of a note left by the TSA in her luggage. The security tag had “GET YOUR FREAK ON GIRL” written on one side and Filipovic explained, “Guess they discovered a ‘personal item’ in my bag. Wow.”

Needless to say, the tweet about a vibrator, spread through social networks like wildfire. The TSA responded and reprimanded the agent. In the meantime, Filipovic was doing her best to forget about the incident while worrying about losing her job. Fortunately for her though, her employer Kramer Levein Naftalis & Frankel had a policy in place and stood by Filipovic, responding that to their knowledge, “policies have not been violated.”

However, the article author Sara Randazzo, notes that this incident raises a good question, “Should a lawyer at a large law firm ever tweet about vibrators, or anything else of such a personal nature, even when doing so doesn’t grab widespread attention?” Law firms are contending with issues like these more and more since many attorneys are active on sites like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Furia Rubel strongly encourages law firms to put a social media policy in place in order to proactively face any issues that could arise from employee engagement on social media. Typically, social media policies prohibit online discussion of firm business or clients, however personal sharing crosses into a gray area. More and more, law firms are grappling with lawyers’ social media conduct outside the office that may not directly violate the policy, but could raise a few eyebrows.

Some lawyers have been reprimanded for racy comments online, while others have been able to strike a good balance between personal and business use of social networks. According to New York lawyer, and Sullivan & Cromwell corporate partner, Frank Aquila, “The key from my perspective is that lawyers should not be tweeting or saying anything in social media or blogs that they wouldn't otherwise be saying or writing in any other environment."

We couldn't agree with him more. This is also a rule of thumb that we at Furia Rubel try to emphasize when advising clients: what goes online stays online for an infinite amount of time; so if you have to second guess posting a tweet or comment, then you know it probably isn't a good idea!

To read more, http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202524814192&slreturn=1

photo credit: insure.com

Join Gina Rubel at "GENerate Performance! The Impact of a Multigenerational Workforce on Business Today" Event on 11/15

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Walsh) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 19:48:00 +0000

On Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011, Gina F. Rubel, Esq. will participate in “GENerate Performance! The Impact of a Multigenerational Workforce on Business Today” at the Independence Visitor Center in Philadelphia from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., sponsored by the Philadelphia Human Resource Planning Society. Other participants include moderator Kim Huggins, President of K HR Solutions; Dina A. Galeotafiore, Senior V.P., Human Resources for NBCUniversal, Inc.; Jason Conrad, HR Business Partner, IMS Consulting Group and Marty Lutz, V.P.; Sales for Endo Pharmaceutical. To learn more about the event or to register: GENerate Performance.

Google+ Business Pages Now Live

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Walsh) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:49:00 +0000

Posted by Amanda Walsh

The long awaited Google+ Business Page functionality is now available for companies. We wasted no time and have gotten Furia Rubel’s Page up and running. Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments below.

The HubSpot Blog gives 5 easy steps to setting up your business page.

1. Visit the website http://plus.google.com/pages/create or click the icon at the bottom right-hand side of your Google+ profile.

2. Create a public profile by picking a category and following the set-up wizard steps.

3. Promote the page using the "Spread the Word" button at the bottom right-hand side of the Page.

4. Post photos, videos, comments and share news and events with your circles.

Google+ is already working on transfer of account and multi-admin capabilities as well as page analytics according to Dennis Troper, member of the Google+ team. So far, it seems user-friendly and easy to set up a Company Page, although I had some difficulty adding people into the Furia Rubel Page Circles. Apparently, you can only add profiles to Page Circles for those who have already added your page to their Circles. I referenced this article on Google+ Help that was useful.

Are you planning on using Google+ Business Pages for your company?

The Value Of A Facebook "Like"

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Walsh) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 20:43:00 +0000

Posted by Amanda Walsh

A frequently asked question we get here at Furia Rubel is, “what is the value of a Like on Facebook?” So, I did some research on the benefits of a brand being “Liked” on Facebook and the benefits of “Liking “content that is shared on the social network.

The most recent article I found is on Ragan.com and examines a report from ExactTarget called “The Meaning of Like.” Author Kyle Lacy shares some interesting statistics from the report.

The first statistic Lacy points out is that only 42 percent of active Facebook users feel that marketers should take a Facebook “Like” to equal brand loyalty. Another finding was 52 percent click a Facebook “Like” button on another site. As Lacey notes, this is why all brands should incorporate onto their sites the easy-to-use Facebook tools for sharing. Lastly, consumers typically see a "Like" of a page on Facebook as a way of bookmarking content and sharing information with friends—not a form of consent for marketing. This is a clear change in thinking in relation to permission based marketing. Users don’t view a “Like” as permission to receive information from the brand on Facebook which is different from email marketing when users opt-in to receive an e-newsletter.

A note posted on the Facebook + Media page, called “The Value of a Liker” shared that the average “Liker” has 2.4x the amount of friends than that of a typical Facebook user. These “Likers” also click on 5.3x more links to external sites. As publishers work to identify the best ways to reach a younger, “always on” audience, the note revealed some interesting tips to raise engagement and traffic to your Facebook page.

Some ways to reach this constantly-connected audience are to:

• Create a social plug-in for your website so when users “Like” a news story or article on your website, the plug-in publishes to their personal profile and shares with their network of friends.
• Put the “Like” button in a visually-appealing place on your website
• Emotional and provocative status updates and stories from a Facebook page increase “on-Page engagement by 1.3-3x”)

Facebook + Media page also notes that publishers like ABC News, Gawker and NBA.com have reported results and commented that “people on their sites are more engaged and stay longer when their real identity and real friends are driving the experience through social plug-ins.” To read more, go to: Facebook + Media.

photo courtesy of kontera.com

“The Role Of Lawyers In The Media: The Editors' Perspective”

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Walsh) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:08:00 +0000

Posted by Amanda Walsh

Join Gina F. Rubel, Esq. and the Bar-News Media Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011 for “The Role of Lawyers in the Media: The Editors' Perspective” panel at noon at the Philadelphia Bar Association.Panel experts include Craig Ey, Editor, Philadelphia Business Journal; Hank Grezlak, Editor-in-Chief, The Legal Intelligencer; Karen Araiza, Managing Editor, NBC10; and Gar Joseph, City Editor, The Daily News and Sarah Blazucki, Editor, Philadelphia Gay News. Gina Rubel will serve as a moderator.

Panelists will share their experiences and challenges reporting on law-related issues and provide insight into how attorneys can become better resources to the news media. The program will also include discussion about local news coverage of legal issues and its intersection with the practice of law. Lunch is available for $8.00 for members of the Philadelphia Bar Association and $9.50 for non-members. To register, visit: https://www.philadelphiabar.org/page/EventDetails?appNum=1&eventID=NEWS1110

Helpful SEO Website Resources

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Walsh) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:35:00 +0000

Photo courtesy of SimplyZesty.com

Posted by Amanda Walsh

To follow a recent post about SERPs and Eye Tracking Research, I thought I would share some go-to resources for the latest news in the SEO arena. Furia Rubel's Vice President of Marketing, Laura Powers, helped to pull the list together. These are some of the websites that we visit frequently to learn more about Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and other best practices, news and trends.

Search Engine Watch
Some interesting links on Search Engine Watch are: Most U.S. Moms on Facebook, But May Be a Tough Crowd for Marketers [Study] and Google Opens Dynamic Search Ads Program

SEOmoz Blog
This post includes a video: How Big is Your Long Tail? – Whiteboard Friday

ClickZ Search Section
A few resources on ClickZ are: Google+ and +1 and Just Because They Liked You, Doesn't Mean They'll Convert

Media Post’s Search Marketing Daily
This article on Media Post discusses industry news regarding Google+ and Microsoft's Bing: Why Google Has To 'Get' Platforms: It's The Future Of Search

Website Magazine SEO / SEM Resources

Search Engine Land

Did we miss an important resource? Feel free to leave a comment below with the URL for additional SEO / SEM news outlets. Have a great weekend!

Planning An Event On A Budget

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Walsh) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 21:16:00 +0000

Guest Post by Kara Sarvey

Planning an extravagant event on an unlimited budget is both a fun and simple task, however, planning a business-related event on a strict budget may present more challenges. Business events are intended to allow employees to socialize, reinforce existing relationships between the business and clients, and foster new relationships for future business. The following tips can be utilized by a company or a person organizing an event on a limited budget.

Plan ahead. Plan the event six months ahead in order to lock in prices and find deals in advance. Waiting until the last minute does not leave any time for negotiation.

Decide on the budget, and stick to it. This is very important if this is a business event and not your money to spend freely. Make sure to consider all the various expenditures, projected expenses and miscellaneous items such as tips and taxes.

Find a partner. If you are hosting something such as a client appreciation event, think of a few local businesses that could use the exposure and work together. Find coffee shops, salons, and restaurants willing to donate gift certificates for their place of business to use as gifts or door prizes at the event.

Get ready to bargain! Work on your negotiating skills because as long as you’re willing to ask, you can get discounts and deals on many aspects of a big event. Will the caterer lower their price if you use paper goods instead of renting their china? Can you supply the alcohol for the bar? It can’t hurt to ask any of those questions or ask for a better rate.

Become friendly with a local caterer. If you would like food at your event, and events in the future, set up meetings with a few caterers. Catering companies are likely to give discounts to companies that hold a lot of events and will need their services in the future. Create a relationship with the catering companies and use one or two exclusively.

Save a tree, time and money with paperless invitations. Today, everyone has an e-mail address so there’s no need to waste the paper or money on sending out invitations for informal events. E-vite has free e-card invitations for everything from birthdays to fundraisers and professional events. E-vite will even remind invitees of the event the day before.

Save money on food and drinks. Instead of a full sit-down dinner, perhaps have a cocktail party with appetizers and light desserts. At the bar, the event coordinators can save money by limiting the drink options to beer, wine and a signature cocktail.

Utilize the wonders of (free!) social networking. If the event is open to the public, tweet the details to your followers, and send out reminders the day before and the day of the event. Update your status on profiles such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Google+. Create an event page on Facebook and cross-post it on the company’s Facebook page. The event organizer can also encourage others to update their own Facebook pages with information about the event. Before beginning any social media outreach, be sure to check your company’s social media policy for appropriate guidelines.

Businesses that frequently host events can easily combine the promotion of their events with their marketing and public relations tactics. Social media simplifies that process because while promoting the company on a platform, it can also be a forum to post events the company is hosting. By employing these simple tips, a seminar, client appreciation event or business luncheon can be an affordable and stress-free event that will benefit your company.

This post was written by Kara Sarvey, a graduate from West Chester University with a B.A. in Communications Studies. Sarvey is currently interning with the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce events department while searching for her next full-time opportunity. Kara can be reached at KaraSarvey@Comcast.net or via her LinkedIn profile here.

HARO Will Get New Features In Paid Subscriptions

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Walsh) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:24:00 +0000

Posted by Amanda Walsh

Yesterday afternoon I listened in on a Help a Reporter Out (HARO) webinar about some new features offered through paid subscriptions that Vocus will be offering. The webinar hosted by Peter Shankman, the founder of HARO, focused on explaining the upcoming changes to the email service. HARO is a free email service that sends e-blasts of journalist inquiries out to experts who are signed up to receive them. Many PR professionals utilize the service on behalf of their clients.

HARO will be offering paid subscriptions at three tier levels – $19, $49 and $149 – with a variety of new features including:

Search by using keywords – instead of getting the entire list of HARO queries, you can focus in on only the keywords you want to see.
Build a profile – Journalists can see your profile (or a client’s profile) with a list of areas of expertise and topics you (or your client) can speak to that may be newsworthy.
Search the entire database of journalists’ queries – research past queries from a journalist to see what their beat is and what they like to cover.
Headstart – Paid versions will receive queries before the entire free “Master” list so those who subscribe to a paid version get extra time to craft a pitch and send it in to the query.
Agencies can get unlimited alerts and profiles through the Premium. They suggest setting up profiles for every client.

To learn more check out helpareporter.com or follow the hashtags #vocus or #HARO on Twitter.

Breaking: PA Supreme Court To Tweet Rulings

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Furia Rubel) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 21:15:00 +0000

I just heard that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is going to tweet its rulings. Check out the details provided by the Associated Press for The Legal Intelligencer. The handle to follow is http://twitter.com/#!/SupremeCtofPA

I find this very interesting considering I just presented at the Philadelphia Bar Association Bench Bar Conference on Social Media and Litigation. One of the recommendations I made is that every law firm and judiciary should adopt a social media policy. I was told that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is looking into just that -- and I was happy to hear it.

In August, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court announced that they will allow the Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN) to cover oral arguments. In a press release, Chief Justice Castille said, "My colleagues and I are pleased to open our courtroom to PCN’s statewide audience so they can see how our court operates and follow arguments in cases affecting every citizen of Pennsylvania."

How the times have changed.

Gina Rubel To Serve As Judge At Own It Ventures Fall Conference & Expo

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Walsh) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 17:45:00 +0000

On Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011 at the Hyatt Morristown, N. J., Own It Ventures presents their Fall Conference and Expo, where small business owners will have the opportunity to pitch investors, the media and retail buyers. Entrepreneurs can come together and get one-on-one advice and learn from expert speakers. Furia Rubel’s CEO Gina Rubel will be one of the judges in the competition.

Judges will select the top five companies ready to enter the Sharkette Tank where they will pitch to a room of angel investors. New investors, buyers representing QVC, TeleBrands - As Seen On TV, Basil Bandwagon, Clinton Business Products and media reps including Natural Awakenings have been added to The Sharkette Tank.

In the past, products have been selected at previous conferences by Whole Foods Market and QVC. Attendees have been featured on NJNEWS12, Fox News 5, Liz Hamburg, WOR Radio, Steve Adubato’s Cable News Show, New Jersey Monthly Magazine and more.

Own It Ventures is a community-based, business ecosystem created by two women entrepreneurs for women entrepreneurs and business owners. The Own It Ventures Community addresses major challenges women face specifically, access to capital funding, the media, retail buyers, customers and a strong innovative network.

To register for the conference, check out the website at http://www.ownitventures.net. The blog has many helpful resources to prepare for the conference: http://blog.nj.com/new_jersey_women_in_business/index.html.
Photo credit: OwnItVentures.net

LinkedIn Allows Users To Update Company Status Pages

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Walsh) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 21:15:00 +0000

Posted by Amanda Walsh

Steve Olenski, writer at SocialMediaToday.com, recently shared news about LinkedIn’s recent updates to its Company pages. Admin users of Company pages will now be able to post status updates! This is a huge change for marketers and will create more opportunities to connect with a wider audience on the professional social media platform. Now it is important for marketers and communications professionals to integrate all platforms – Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to ensure the best way to reach an audience.

Olenski makes a great point, “Your followers will have the option to Like, Share or Comment on your status update and in turn, this "engagement" will also be seen by all of your followers' respective networks, providing your company and your brand with a whole new and expanded audience.”

Some important points to note:
• Share status updates with your Company's Followers, via your Company Page Overview tab. To turn this feature on, you must first designate an admin or admins responsible for managing the company page.
• There will certainly be a rise in interaction on the Company page especially in terms of likes, comments and shares. LinkedIn has provided analytics tools to determine benchmarks with interaction on LinkedIn.
• There will be a 500 character limit (including spaces).
• LinkedIn reserves the right to review Company pages that post excessively.

LinkedIn’s video to announce the update:

Eye Tracking SERPs

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Walsh) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:54:00 +0000

Posted by Amanda Walsh

When I came across this article, Eye-Tracking Google SERPs - 5 Tales of Pizza, on the website SEOmoz this morning, I shared it with the Furia Rubel team. “SERPs” stands for search engine results pages. There has been a plethora of research done on the way a user’s eyes track over the page. The F-shaped pattern describes the shape that a user’s eyes make while they navigate a webpage. The first two hits that come up on a SERP are typically the most popular and the eye is drawn across the link and description and later skims the page in an F shape.

Laura Powers, Furia Rubel’s Vice President of Marketing, provided me with additional notes and resources regarding eye tracking online. All of the articles got me thinking more about this area of integrated communications.

This post should serve as a resource on how to write Web content based on the F-shaped pattern of viewers eyes on a website. A great post dating back to 2006 gives some great tips for writing Web copy that caters to this F-pattern. Many of the points are still relevant today.

• Users won't read your text thoroughly in a word-by-word way. Who has the time or attention span anymore? Rarely will a prospective client or customer read every single word on an entire webpage. Useit.com also notes that users spend 4.4 seconds for every extra 100 words on a page.

• The most important information must be in the first two paragraphs.With emphasis being on the first paragraph. As public relations professionals we’re used to writing succinctly to get our point across. This is vital especially when crafting Web copy because there is a small window of time to capture someone’s attention.

• Start subheads, paragraphs, and bullet points with information-carrying words. Visitors will notice these words while skimming down the left side of the page in the last part of the F-pattern.

In terms of Web design there are similar must do’s when catering to the F-pattern:
• Navigation at the top of the page works best – not vertical navigation
• Ad placement (for publishing sites or consumer / retail sites) works best in the upper right
• Small paragraphs encourage reading and headlines will draw the eyes first, so they should be descriptive, accurate and short

Some resources to learn more include:
http://www.e-junkie.info/2010/09/f-shaped-reading-pattern.html

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/eye-tracking-studies-more-than-meets.html

Using Facebook Productively

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Walsh) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 23:21:00 +0000

Guest Post by Neen James

Following my recent article on how to use LinkedIn more productively, I thought this week we can focus on Facebook.

I see it all the time; my clients complain about it, has it happened to you? On a daily basis, highly intelligent adults find themselves wasting valuable time (our most precious resource) glued to their computer, accepting friend requests, instant messaging, updating status, checking out photos, commenting on things they usually wouldn’t spend time on… how do I know all this? I too was initially sucked into Facebook (FB)!

Facebook is a brilliant online social media tool that can help you reconnect with colleagues and associates, deepen existing relationships, share resources and manage your communications. Facebook can make you more productive however you need to apply these strategies to avoid the productivity trap:

Determine purpose – can you articulate why you have a FB account? Do you want to update people on your firm’s pro bono work? Do you want to share interesting articles or blogs you have read? Do you want to look cool to your teenagers? Do you want to reconnect in a cheaper, faster, more efficient way? Whatever your reason, be clear about what you want to use it for.

Go on a Facebook diet – just like you allocate a certain number of meals or calories per day, limit your time on FB. You might determine that 60 minutes per day will work for you (30 in the morning and 30 at night). I spend no more than 15 minutes in the morning and then occasionally I will check it at night. My business requires significant travel so I also enjoy FB when I am waiting at airports. Determine how many minutes per day you will invest.

Use Positive Language – always ensure your status updates, items posted and photos are all positive. If you don’t want grandma seeing those photos – don’t post them!

We don’t care what you ate for dinner – stop providing status updates on what you just ate – your ‘friends’ don’t care. Use the status updates to share a bit of yourself, your opportunities, your client’s successes - that is productive. What you ate for dinner… not productive.

Repost great stories and ideas – share resources, recommended articles, photos, posts, and blog entries of your colleagues, clients and friends. It helps them and adds value to your page. Gina Rubel from Furia Rubel is very good at this – she is one of the best using Facebook (www.furiarubel.com)

Turn off sounds and online status – change your settings to remove all bells, whistles, chimes when messages come into your FB page. Also change your online status if you don’t want people instant messaging you when they can see you are online.

Clear inbox regularly – just like you read your email inbox daily, clear your FB inbox too.

Make friend suggestions – if you see someone new to FB or you connect with someone new, take a few minutes to make friend suggestions to help them expand their FB friends list too.

Comment on status updates – encourage and support other users, their posts and share them with your groups. Michael Port recently suggested a great referral program for small business using Facebook (www.bookyourselfsolid.com )

Create groups – allocate ‘friends’ to groups and categories to target your communications and resource sharing.

Facebook is a great tool for personal and professional use. It is initially addictive but you can put yourself on a FB diet and boost your productivity today.

Neen James, MBA CSP, is an International Productivity Expert: by looking at how attorneys spend their time and energy – and where they focus their attention – Neen helps them rocket-charge their productivity and performance. A dynamic speaker and author, Neen demonstrates how boosting your productivity can help you achieve amazing results. With her unique voice (Aussie accent), sense of fun and common-sense, Neen delivers a powerful lesson in productivity. Find out more and subscribe to Neen’s monthly e-zine at http://neenjames.com.

Google+ Prepares For Business Profiles

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Walsh) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 20:46:00 +0000

Posted by Amanda Walsh

Advertising Age recently published an article about the emergence of business profiles on Google+. Companies the world over questioned when they could join Google+ after the social networking platform rolled out nearly three months ago.

Rupal Parekh notes that at Ad Age’s Digital West 2011 conference, Christian Oestlien, group product manager for social advertising at Google, announced that business profiles for Google+ are close to making a debut. Originally, Oestlien urged businesses to refrain from creating profiles on the platform but those he did not heed his advice were removed from Google+ in the early roll-out stages.

Due to Google putting the brakes on business profiles, Parekh notes that ‘digital squatters’ have already taken up real estate on Google+ using brand names like Starbucks, Kraft or Burger King. Only two companies so far have received a green light in setting up company profiles with a beta testing caveat – Ford and General Motors.

Another article, “Your Google+ Strategy Calculator,” by David Berkowitz highlights some challenges that marketers will face with the advent of Google+ brand pages. He notes the increased interaction between SEO managers and community managers working internally to capitalize on posts. The departments will need to work in tandem to effectively utilize Google+. There needs to be a balance however, so that the focus on posts and updates is not solely on building +1’s, but also takes into account the essence of building a community and creating relationships.

Berkowitz also notes the importance of Circles on Google+ and how marketers will need to strategically use this feature to personalize outreach with clients. As Google+ continues to develop, Berkowitz also encourages agencies and users to find out what exactly a +1 means for your business and community.

Are you planning on setting up a business profile on Google+? Let us know your Google+ feedback in the comments below.

Gina Rubel To Present At Bench-Bar Annual Conference In Atlantic City, N.J.

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Walsh) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:40:00 +0000

Posted by Amanda Walsh

On Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011, Gina F. Rubel will moderate a Bench-Bar Annual Conference Program, “Social Media and Litigation: Wrangling the Wild West” from 11 a.m. to noon at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City. The CLE panelists include Carolyn M. Chopko with Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock & Dodig LLP, Wesley R. Payne IV and Sean R. Sullivan with Curtin & Heefner LLP. To learn more, go to Bench-Bar. To register, check out Philadelphia Bar Association.

Follow along on Twitter using the hashtag #BenchBar11 or tweeting to @PhilaBar.