Capulet Communications

We're not a web design company, but we regularly end up contributing our two cents worth to how a client's site looks. We know our way around SEO, design theory, analytics and so forth, and we're generally nosy parkers, so we often make recommendations. This is doubly true when we're helping clients with their CPC campaigns.

It's surprising how many websites we encounter that don't follow best practices with regards to converting site visitors into 'users' (where 'users' might mean buyers, petition signers, subscribers and so forth). It's not rocket science, but it seems like many organizers (or their design agencies) emphasize other, less important design aspects in lieu of optimizing their conversion rates.

When discussing this with clients, I often refer to our Big Dumb Button theory. That is, ensure that you've got a big, obvious button that features your call to action. The Mozilla Foundation offers a good example of the Big Dumb Button theory in action. No fuss, no muss and no ambiguity--just a big green button.

It's also important to have the same call to action linked in the text, because studies have shown that some users will skip the graphical content altogether, and focus on the words.

I was reminded of this topic by an excellent article on Boagworld:

Having an effective call to action is an essential part of any website. A call to action is not just limited to ecommerce sites. Every website should have an objective it wants users to complete whether it is filling in a contact form, signup for a newsletter or volunteering their time.

It has an ugly cover, but I'd definitely recommend Call to Action by Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg. It has tons of practical, tactical advice for anybody in charge of an organization's web presence.

I don't feel the same way about Twitter as I do about my blog. If I don't get a chance to, uh, tweet for a couple of days, I don't feel an itch to get back at it. I'm in Twitter because, as my colleague once put it, "it's an excellent lens for focusing attention". These days, I can't not be in Twitter. In a year, I'll be saying that about some other tool, no doubt.

That said, Twitter sure is handy for solving tiny, localized problems. For example, today I asked my tweeps (and don't get me started on the language around Twitter) three questions, and each one was well-answered:

1. What's your preferred local ISP? I got two quick votes for Retrix.
2. Where, aside from Future Shop, could I order an external hard drive online from a Canadian Vendor? I probably got ten responses, and most of them were for NCIX. They're reputable, but pretty geeky.
3. What's up with the live, online feed for the Canucks game? I had some browser troubleshooting to do there--others verified on Twitter that it was "working for them".

We need to continue to be skeptical about the value and distraction effect of these always-on and always-connected tools. Still, they can prove handy if you've got a problem (and particularly a geeky problem) to solve.

This comes as no surprise to anyone who's lived through the last fifty years, but humans in the modern world love lists. If it's not American Bandstand, it's Letterman's top ten schtick. 

Bloggers of all stripes understand the power of the list, and exploit them all the time. I was reminded of this courtesy of popurls. Check out what the list of top items for del.icio.us--seven of the ten are lists:

James Mirtle points to this story in the Washington Times about the Washington Capitals' aggressive blogger relations program. The team has struggled on the ice, and that's been reflected in poor attendance over the past few years. In the face of diminishing coverage from the mainstream media, they've been inviting bloggers into the press box:

"I was watching the traditional coverage, both broadcast and print, and was remarkably underwhelmed," Keeley said of his decision to begin blogging last year. "The first thing I wrote was a general sense of being frustrated — well, really more than frustrated. Really angry. I started from this premise that Washington is not a sports town, but there's nothing innate that says it can't be. But the old media don't do anything to change that perception. In fact, they perpetuate, in my opinion. So we started this blog, the idea that if you're interested in hockey and want more coverage, come here."

Capitals owner and AOL magnate Ted Leonsis is really drinking the Koolaid. He's got his own blog, and posted a thoughtful response to the article yesterday:

Also, I do question some of the mainstream media and its programming choices and how it creates self-fulfilling prophecies in how it allocates its dwindling resources on some matters and ignores others. I also wonder - if you are programming one traditional way and you are shrinking, then why don't you try something different? What do you have to lose as an enterprise if what you are doing today isn't working? Embrace change. The NHL has and so have the Washington Capitals. Change is good.

Few CEOs blog, and fewer still would include an emoticon in their post. I'll forgive him that idiosyncrasy, but I can't forgive him for not accurately citing the Great One's most famous quote (or, possibly, the Great One's dad).

For the last few years, local (local to Vancouver, that is) PR guru (and, tangentially, our client) James Hoggan has been publishing weekly PR tips in the Vancouver Sun. They're pretty elementary , but still useful reminders of what to do and what not to do in the thorny world of public relations.

As it turns out, they've got over two years worth of tips on their website. Here are a couple of samples:

If You Can’t Fix it, Don’t Ask About it - A critical step in any consultation comes in conceiving the questions that you put to your audience. If you start asking for feedback on issues that you can’t – or won’t – change, you are setting them up for disappointment and yourself up for a heap of grief. So, define the parameters carefully and whatever questions you ultimately ask, be prepared to treat the answers seriously.

Public Speaking: The Risks and Rewards of Winging It - Most people have been impressed at some point in their lives by a speaker who could be scintillating off the cuff, who just seemed to grab one great idea after the other out of the air. So it’s tempting, as a presenter, to want to emulate that style. And in rare cases it could be the right thing to do if you have easy command of the material and if the risks of an error are negligible. But if the stakes are high – and you’re not completely confident – work up a prepared text. Even if you memorize it and only refer to it for prompts, the discipline may save you from making a serious mistake.

That's a big schwack of tidbits. Some are less useful than others (do we really need tips on 'a winning wardrobe'?) but the majority are worth reading. Especially, as Glenn Kelman recently recommended, if you want to do your PR DIY-style.