Making the Most of Google Analytics

Posted on by Danielle Courter
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Google Analytics can lead to two things: either a wealth of information, or complete information overload. The Search Engine Watch article, “Sixteen Secret Google Analytic Segments Worth Their Weight in Gold,” gives insight from sixteen web analytics professionals on the best-kept secrets of Google Analytics and how to make them work for you.

Here are a few tidbits we found most helpful:

  • Screens Under 600 Pixels Wide – This allows you to single out handheld device users. You can see how much of your traffic is from these devices and which pages are most important to have function well on a mobile platform.
  • Blog Bounce Remover – This filters out those who visited your blog, looked at one page, and then clicked away. It helps you discover top landing pages and how your blog is directing traffic.
  • Brand Interest – This counts visits to brand pages such as “Info,” “About,” or “Testimonials.” It shows visitors’ level of interest in your brand and how they are interacting with it.
  • Q&A Keyword Monitoring – This analyzes what visitors search for on your site to help you tailor your Q&A page to their needs. It studies visitor queries, which include indicating words such as “how” and “what,” so you can see if you are answering their most common and important questions.
  • Geographic Brand Ripples – This lets you compare traffic from a city level to a regional level to a state level. It shows your brand’s ripple effect across a micro, local and regional scale.

There are so many advanced systems in Google Analytics that choosing the most helpful tools for you, and passing on the others, is vital. Implementing systems with the most potential impact allows you to look through the jumble of raw numbers and find your best overall web strategy.

How Do You Say Your Name Again?

Posted on by Danielle Courter
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In elementary school I had a teacher named Mr. Arapostathis. Parents and students alike blundered this Greek tongue twister so much that we eventually all gave up and called him “Mr. A.”  Luckily, he was easygoing. While this worked fine in my third grade classroom, it is less acceptable and often embarrassing to mispronounce names professionally.

Audioname.com came up with a clever way to avoid this confusion. The website allows you to create an audio recording of your name’s proper pronunciation. The recording is then linked to an icon which you can add to the signature at the bottom of your emails, next to your name on the bio page of your website, or even on your social media profile.

This tool is especially helpful if you have a lengthy name or unique spelling, and can be used for tricky company names as well. Audioname was mentioned by the ABA Journal as one of the top websites that lawyers love.

Nothing is worse than trying to avoid uttering a name for fear of butchering it. This gives clients and colleagues a sense of ease in knowing they can skip the embarrassment the next time they mention you, shake your hand or dial your number.  Are you listening, Mr. A?

New Media Survey: Importance, Implications and Glimpse of the Future

Posted on by Danielle Courter
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Drum roll, please…new media is officially mainstreamed. According to the 2013 In-House Counsel New Media Engagement Survey by Greentarget, InsideCounsel and Zeughauser Group, 2013 is the year lawyers NOT using new media tools are hard to find. The survey polls corporate in-house counsel nationwide and gives insight into where marketers should focus their new media efforts.

The results show:

  • Shrinking Gap: The popularity of social media is so high that only 27% (down from 43% in 2010) of respondents are not using it. There is still an age gap, albeit a shrinking one, with younger counsel accessing social media more frequently than their more senior peers.
  • LinkedIn Leader: Facebook is the most commonly used social media site for personal interactions, but it (along with Twitter) lags far behind LinkedIn on the professional side. The survey shows two-thirds of counsel accessed LinkedIn within the past week for professional reasons.
  • Room to Grow: “I would best be described as lurking,” claims one respondent about their online presence. Currently most social media users are “invisible users,” consuming great amounts of content but never producing any. Most in-house counsel do not need to do much self-promotion, which accounts for part of the trend, but it also suggests there is still plenty of room for newcomers. Only 3.35 blogs exist per AmLaw 200 firm. New blogs, which are well written, well researched and strategic at attention grabbing, have ample opportunity for high readership.
  • The Score: Major legitimacy points are awarded to Wikipedia, which is now a frequently used professional tool; and a few are docked from peer driven ranking systems, which are seldom factored into the hiring process.
  • The Future: Perhaps the most fascinating aspect is the largely untapped video realm. Videos on law firm websites and YouTube channels are very seldom accessed. On the other hand, much less video content exists to BE accessed. The survey considers video a possible new frontier and suggests there is plenty of opportunity for firms who produce high quality and informative videos (if you build it, they will come?).

The 2013 In-House Counsel New Media Engagement Survey is helpful to any marketers or professionals looking to stay one step ahead of the new media curve. The complete report delves deeper into how to best guide your marketing strategy in the expanding new media marketplace. It is full of insight and worth taking a look. Go to insidecounselsurvey.com.

Leading by Example

Posted on by Elonide Semmes
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As brand experts, we always cite the mantra, “Live the Brand.” I had an opportunity to see a company, DaVita, which takes this mantra so totally to heart it is awe-inspiring.

DaVita cares for people with kidney problems and much more. My family is very much a part of the healthcare community, so I know their stellar reputation. They run dialysis centers around the world, and they run them with soul. Named one of Fortune’s Most Admired Healthcare Companies, DaVita ranks #3 overall and #1 in innovation and quality of products in the Health Care Medical Facilities category.

Yesterday, I got a glimpse of the culture that drives the DaVita experience by visiting their Denver headquarters; compliments of our commercial real estate client, CRESA. Thank you Phillip Infelise and Karen Galvin for the opportunity.

DaVita’s leadership teaches us to embed the firm’s mission and values everywhere, and not to make it boring. They channel the Three Musketeers and their mantra, “One for all and All for One,” to capture what they believe.

Take notice of how their values are not inwardly focused, but are about how DaVita fits into our community at the highest level:

  • Building a Community
  • To Build the Greatest Healthcare Community the World Has Ever Seen
  • Being a Role Model for American Health Care
  • Sending Forth Ripples of Citizen Leadership

DaVita’s work is serious and life saving, but they inject joy into the workplace. Everyone responsible for leading a company or managing a brand would do well to study DaVita’s approach and track record.

How Far Have We Come

Posted on by Elonide Semmes
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Some years ago I gave a tongue and cheek speech at a law firm retreat on the history of legal marketing as seen by those of us in the trenches. Recently when a new legal marketer seemed frustrated about partners not willing to be on LinkedIn, I assured her that we’ve actually made progress. So we’ve decided to actually pull out the time capsule and share our 30-years of war stories from here at Right Hat. So stay tuned for the Right Hat documentary!

1980 I can’t believe they want us to carry a business card? Everyone at my country club knows who I am and what I do.
1984 Clients push back on phone and fax charges
1986 Firm brochure just published crisp A-Z (antitrust – zoning) 60 pages
1989 Logo for a law firm?? You won’t see Cravath stooping that low.
1995 Web page – cost $10,000 but buried it as IT expense.

And that is just the start…..