June 3, 2025 Comments

Six tips for refreshing your website content

Organizations typically invest a lot of time and energy in their online communications, especially their websites. They may even spend sizable money to boost their search engine ranking and ensure they access every technical advantage they can: funneling visitors into automated communications silos or retargeting visitors with preplanned advertisements. But when we’re asked to give feedback on optimizing existing websites, we set aside algorithms and SEO boosters for the moment.

We start with content and the way that content is expressed. What voice is the website using? What is it saying to the visitor? What questions does it answer? What problem does it solve?

As we answer those questions, we can begin to see where the content of the website may need refreshing or revising. If we can’t answer the questions easily or clearly, or if the answers don’t align with the organization’s brand, intent, and audience, editing or rewriting may be necessary.

Basic content checklist

1. Put site visitors first. Whether that means clients, partners, or donors, let them know what’s in it for them. What problem does the organization solve? What does the site ask of your visitors? If you’d like the website to be an effective business development tool rather than a backgrounder, focus your content on visitors’ issues.

2. Differentiate quickly. Clearly identify your organization’s unique story early on. Don’t bury major points of differentiation too deep.

3. Show what it’s like to work with you. Who are you and how do you partner with those who work with you? If your services involve providing detailed data, show some detail; if you’ve developed a product that eases suffering, give some signs of relief; if you’re all about communication, create a website that tells stories in your style.

4. Meet standards. Ensure your site offers clean functionality, crisp content, a site index, a populated news and events section, working links, contact forms that respond…hit all the basics. Pro tip: Broken links turn visitors away.

5. Ensure that the visuals match the story. Stock images that don’t illustrate your story, don’t belong on your website. Lovely generic office photos have their purpose, but not as the primary image on your homepage unless you’re selling interior design…and perhaps not even then. Pro tip: Strive for synergy between copy and visuals.

6. Proofread. Everyone makes mistakes, but in business communications typos can kill confidence. Pro tip: If your goal is to work collegially to improve your organization’s online communication, you may not want to challenge anyone by pointing out typos and bad grammar in their website content, especially if they’ve written it. It’s tricky. It’s often easier to audit materials for strategic missteps rather than for typos. Getting the content on track strategically will give you the opportunity to smooth out any unintentional issues with tone, grammar, and typos that could otherwise undermine the message.

Following some basic communications guidelines should help you get more out of the process of refreshing your website’s content. For assistance auditing or refreshing your site, we’re just a stone’s throw away.

April 10, 2025 Comments

More successful partnerships?

No surprise – communication is key.

We’ve learned and relearned a couple of things. Honest, direct and informed feedback makes for a smoother, more efficient process. A smoother process often breeds mutual respect. And, with mutual respect, all partnerships can succeed.

Here are two-and-a-half tips to help build trust, foster innovation and achieve more in any successful partnership between you and your creative team, whether they’re in-house, an outside agency, or freelance contractors.

Define.

A professional creative team will guide you through the strategy-building process, but whether you’ve hired an agency, a freelance or an independent contractor, you may want to provide your own creative brief as well. A good creative brief or communications strategy will inform and direct the work at hand. It will answer questions about the project, its audiences, its purpose, its timing and its distribution or end use. Be clear and concise with your direction. Don’t just define the project – website content, print advertising, sales education iBook, inbound marketing; be clear about what you’d like the project to do for your company. Feel free to share the successes and shortcomings of previous projects and campaigns.

Trust.

Once you’ve clearly defined your objectives, explained your company’s vision and mission, and provided information about the intended audience’s culture, let your team employ its skills and talent to create on your behalf. When each conceptual draft meets the communications strategy, or answers the creative brief, you’ll know that you’re working with folks who get it; you’ll feel more confident trusting their professional expertise. And, when their insights and ideas gain your respect, you’ll have earned their tireless involvement and steadfast commitment.

Repeat.

Clearly, communication fosters confidence. When we gather good information, ask relevant questions, define where we’re going – together – and then deliver ideas, content and designs that reflect that conversation, we’ve created one of the keystones to a provable, successful partnership. We’ve heard each other, seen evidence of understanding, and trust that it can and will happen again.

Now, that bears repeating.

To help you communicate the details of your next project, contact us by email for a communications strategy worksheet.

“Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” Helen Keller

March 14, 2025 Comments

Revisiting your company identity

Clearing the way for growth

Who are you, personally? How do others get to know you?

Whether we like it or not, studies continue to show that many people make some immediate assumptions about us based on our physical appearance and our sense of style (especially our shoes, apparently).* They understand even more when they hear us speak and listen to what we say. They compare what they see and hear to our actions – how do we behave toward our families? The community? We each shape our personal identities, knowingly or unknowingly, fairly or unfairly, through the choices we make and what we show the world around us.

Similarly, your company’s identity – how it’s perceived by customers, vendors and the community – is in great part defined by its look (branding), its language (communications) and its actions (behavior). It should embody your company’s mission and values. It should also have a memorable visual component and a clear voice.

When you see your company’s logo, read its tagline and core messaging, and review its print and online content, does it all reflect your company well? If it’s no longer in sync with where your company stands today (or where you’d like it to be tomorrow), perhaps it’s time to refresh or recreate your company identity.

Begin with a review.

Take your company’s temperature. Are all your key team members on the same page? A fairly quick way to find out is to ask your team to describe the company’s identity. Then, ask your clients about their perceptions of your company. You can accomplish both tasks with a short electronic or printed survey. Then tally up the results. Where do things gel? (Does everyone see your company as a trusted industry thought-leader?) Where do you find disconnects? (Does the executive team see the firm as a fresh and responsive problem-solver, while a few core clients see the company as an aging, albeit wise, traditionalist?)

Define your company vision.

How long has it been since you went through this process? Talk with your team about your company culture, your motivators and your goals for the future. What business are you in, and why? We find that asking these questions during a workshop-style meeting can yield very good results. Whether we help you facilitate the meeting or not, talking about what defines your business typically uncovers hidden obstacles and new thinking, and can clear the way for more than a new logo – it can clear the way for growth.

Develop a communications strategy.

What’s your business’s history? Who are your clients? What do you do for your clients that no other provider does? Building a strategy begins with asking the right questions and being brutally honest with your answers.

Keep your customers in mind.

No matter where the process of recreating your company identity takes you, ensure that everything you do focuses on your clients and partners. Test your results by asking: Will our ideal client understand our message and tone – immediately?

Case study: New Jersey law firm

Working with a well-regarded, ninety-year-old law firm, Stone’s Throw was able to help guide the process of rebranding, beginning with garnering communications strategy planning feedback from each member of the executive team. We then distilled the team’s contributions into a communications strategy summary that was used to build consensus and set guidelines for the creative. With the strategy approved by the executive team, we worked with a smaller marketing committee to set priorities and keep things moving. In so doing we worked closely with the law firm’s marketing director to create a new company identity, including logo, stationery system and collateral materials (firm overview brochure, practice area brochures and more). We helped foster understanding and enthusiasm among the entire staff by writing and designing communications that clearly explained the new company identity, how it would be implemented and why. Making the link between a new company logo (the company’s public face) and the company’s evolved culture and attitude toward its clients enabled the staff to rally behind the new identity.

* Studies cite height, weight, posture, grooming and clothing as some of the first filters people use to assess someone’s competence and trustworthiness (among other qualities).

January 30, 2025 Comments

RFP go/no go

You’ve received an RFP. Great. Fantastic.

Oh, wait a minute…now what? While helping clients weigh their options, and determining the value of responding to RFPs ourselves, we’ve come up with a few guidelines that help make this process a bit less stressful.

1. Scan for response deadlines. Sometimes RFPs offer flexibility. Don’t allow scheduling conflicts to dictate an instant no thank you response. Before calling for extensions on deadlines or for alternate arrangements for pre-bid meetings, finish the Go/No Go decision process.

2. Scan for scope. Do the services requested fall within your company’s core strengths? If the majority of services requested are peripheral to your primary area of expertise, or would have to be outsourced, this contract may only be right for your company if the industry, or particular client, fulfill other business growth objectives.

3. Scan for contract value. If the services requested appear to be out of line with the contract budget, you may not be the only respondent to notice. If the scope of the contract otherwise appears to be aligned with your company’s core services, feel free to call the RFP contact (often the Contracting Officer) for confirmation of the facts presented. If your understanding is correct, you can choose either to decline or to modify the scope of services or the budget in your proposal. Including a succinct rationale for the revision in your proposal will underscore your professionalism and experience. It may also disqualify your proposal.

4. Scan for client industry, type and location. Do you have set parameters for appropriate clients? Audit current clients for industry, type and location. Edit the resulting list as a guide for business development. Add industries, business types and locations in which you’d like to grow business; delete industries, types and locations that have proven less desirable.

Okay, the RFP captured your interest. Should you respond? Can you respond well?

5. How did this prospective client learn about your company? Compare referrals from a trusted client to contacts made “blindly” through advertising or business directories. One of the comparison points should be the conversion rate (from proposal to signed contract to ongoing client relationship) of other companies contacting you in the same manner. Keep in mind that government agencies and some other organizations are required by law or institutional procedure to request bids from several resources.

6. Does the prospective client’s RFP process match your company’s standard process? How much customizing will the proposal require? What investment will you be required to make to deliver a quality proposal package consistent with your company’s image? (Employee time, resources, expenses, etc.)

From this point, you can either trust your instincts and your understanding of the project and its demands, or, if you’re still not convinced, use a simple rating process to help tip the scales.

Rate the following statements from 1 to 5 based on their accuracy. Award a 1 for statements that are not at all true and a 5 to those that are absolutely spot on.

__ The timing is right.

__ The services requested speak to your company’s core strengths.

__ The budget allows for the smooth and timely completion of all service requirements, advancing the client’s objectives, and providing positive revenue for your company.

__ The potential client requesting the proposal would be a good match with your company’s mission, culture, philosophy, industry focus, defining values, etc.

__ The RFP makes sense. It asks for information in a way that reveals good things about the potential client (intuitive, articulate, complete, industry-savvy, process-oriented, etc.)

__ Your company can follow its standard process for responding.

Once you’ve given each statement a rating, add ’em up.

A total of 24-30 means the RFP in question should likely get a green light. The client and scope of work sound like an excellent match for your company and its services. You should take the next step, which is to read the RFP thoroughly to ensure that the opportunity is as good as it appears at first blush.

A total of 20-23 may mean you need to dig a little deeper. RFPs that score in this middle zone may either require considerably more work to prepare, or require your company to make requests for alterations in budget, scheduling or approach. If alterations are not possible, or if they’d put your proposal at a disadvantage, RFPs with this score may not be a good match.

A total score of under 20 means there are too many red flags. These RFPs may not be worth pursuing unless special issues are at play. If you choose to say no thanks, be sure to decline by letter unless otherwise directed.

Let’s get good things done. Give us a call or drop us a line. We would love to hear from you.

January 22, 2025 Comments

In a world of overwhelm, be enough.

In conversation with Deanne Napurano, Creative Director, Writer, Editor

Perhaps I’m being a little too esoteric with this line, but that’s even part of the point. We are all inundated with information and data. News flows constantly. We can dip our toe in the news river or dive in head first just by looking at our phones or our watches. Wherever we get our stories, the newsfeed continuously scrolls from critical global events to celebrity fashion to laundry-folding hacks to cute puppy videos and back again. Some marketers’ ads look like they could be personal videos of a friend of a friend giving you earnest advice on vegetable storage bags, lash-lengthening gels, or gaming apps. As a marketer, how can you hope to be noticed in the midst of so very much? My thinking? Stay in your lane. Do you. Don’t meet the overwhelm. Know the problem you solve. Communicate it clearly, honestly. Know that your efforts represent something worthwhile for your optimal client…and tell that story. That’s enough. Be steady, authentic, and clear. In a world of overwhelm, being enough stands out.

January 8, 2025 Comments

As with all marketing communications, set goals for your social media efforts.

Over the course of planning, we learn from our own efforts. As we begin to articulate goals, we learn. We learn about the possible paths toward fulfilling those goals; we learn as we ask ourselves What will success look like? and How can that success be measured? Planning uncovers obstacles and opportunities. Planning teaches. Because it’s ongoing and subject to strategy shifts and market influences, it will always require navigational tweaks (and sometimes even U-turns). Here are a few notes to consider when beginning to plan your social media activity.

Set general goals for your social media activity.

Increase website traffic.
Grow an audience.
Increase engagement.
Build brand awareness.
Generate leads.

Set goals specific to your organization.

Increase contact us form submissions.
Increase whitepaper downloads.
Attract your target audience to a special event.
Increase registrants for a seminar or conference.
Garner more donations.
Attract more qualified applicants.
Earn new business.
Grow email list.
Leverage as a real-time channel for improving customer service.
Increase video viewership.

For each goal, use the SMART framework – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely – or another goal-setting framework to help determine, record, and track expectations and achievement in a document or a preferred software program.

What does success look like?

For each goal, identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics (measurements) that will help show when that goal is reached.

General goal examples:

For a goal of growing social media audience, we would look to metrics that include:

Follower count
Impressions
Post reach

For a goal of increasing website traffic, we would look to metrics that demonstrate conversion, like:

Website analytics for social media referrals
Link clicks from social media post to website and/or blog

Look for correlations; ask questions.

In the two examples above, we would watch the numbers associated with each metric and their relationship to each post on social media.

Do those numbers show more people have seen the post? Engaged positively or negatively with a particular post?
Was that a positive performance based on our goals?
Should we increase or decrease a certain type of post? At a certain time?

Watching the metrics assigned to these general goals tells us a lot. But increasing this kind of performance may not get customers, partners, or applicants close enough to the organization to begin the kind of conversation that leads to doing more of what your organization is built to do.

Specific goal example:

A goal of attracting more qualified applicants is an example of a social media goal designed to bring a segment of your audience closer to you, so close that you would be engaged in a transaction that supports your organization’s purpose. The metrics to measure the effectiveness of social media activity around this goal may include:

Determining the criteria for qualified submissions
Tracking the number of qualified applicants received daily and overlaying that with the timing of social media posts encouraging submission
Tracking website analytics, click-throughs/referrals, post link clicks, and post-engagement metrics

We have to go outside the metrics provided by social media platforms or social media management software to understand the full story.

Beyond metrics: Listening for voice-of-consumer (VoC) data

Social media metrics can help bolster decisions that have been made based on more traditional methods of collecting feedback from your audiences
- surveys
- feedback forms
- roundtable discussions
- interviews
- process-related comments
- content-related comments
Be wary of relying solely on social media metrics to change course in business or communications strategy
- does social media capture all of your optimal audience?
- does your optimal audience use social media exclusively for its news and communications?
Use social media to listen and learn beyond your own posts’ metrics
- audit social media posts for topics relevant to your organization’s offering
- audit your industry’s thought-leaders for their hot topics
Despite its popularity, social media may not reach all of your market

What are you learning from your social media efforts?

Common social media terms simplified

New to social media?

Considering advertising on social media?

December 3, 2024 Comments

Build a stronger brand with a painless audit and edit of your website.

If you’ve been putting off updates to your website or social media accounts because you sense it may be quicksand disguised as good intentions, we can help. (And, no, we don’t have to start from scratch.)

We’ll ask a few questions, ensure we understand where you are today and where you’d like to go, and then we’ll review your online communications to help you assess how well they meet your objectives. We’ll provide proposed edits in a Word doc that’s easy to follow and review. From there, we can update your site or provide detailed instruction to your programmer.

Meet 2025 with no quicksand in sight and a refreshed online presence that tells your story with greater clarity and resonance.

Email us today and let’s get good things done.

December 3, 2024 Comments

Are you missing key marketing pieces?

For your small to mid-size organization, you’re probably not going to invest in a sustained national television ad campaign; you’re going to TARGET your efforts to more likely potential clients, members, donors, or customers. Do you have the tools to do that?

Those tools may fall into three major categories:

Foundation: Tools that help you create a presence for your firm that appeals to your target audiences:

A revealing logo
A tagline
A CRM to track your customer and potential customer contact and contact information
A website and online presence

Outreach: Tools that provide support as you reach out to your target audiences:

Advertising
Email marketing
Direct mail
Press releases

Engagement: Tools that provide support as you build stronger relationships with clients:

Trade show or conference participation
Blog contribution or white papers
Social media and/or online communications
Capabilities materials, like PowerPoint presentations, a quick snapshot of your capabilities, a brochure – all the things that you might share with prospects as you have conversation about what would help solve their problems, make their process easier, or otherwise assist them in accomplishing their mission.

Do you see any obvious holes in your marketing toolbox? Missing any tools? If you want to reach members of a particular trade organization, have you joined the association? attended functions? sponsored events? taken advantage of member outreach? What tools do you need to support those efforts? You’ll need tools from each category. Once you’ve identified any disconnects in your messaging (see “ Are you avoiding a marketing audit?”) and any missing tools in your marketing toolbox, it’s time to develop a communications strategy. A communications strategy serves as a guidepost to ensure that your messaging stays on track and is exposed to the right audiences in order to help meet your organization’s objectives. Learn more about a simple and fun technique to get started. (See “What am I?”)

October 22, 2024 Comments

Plans for holiday marketing?

It’s that time of year again. Many seasonal celebrations dot the fourth quarter like the holes in Swiss cheese, making the coordination of schedules more challenging and finishing team projects less likely. Where many of us see this time as providing welcome breaks for refueling, some of us see it as an interruption in the momentum we’ve worked diligently to generate over the past nine months, or as a time to cram to meet the fading year’s goals and objectives. Where do you fall?

Whether traditional, national, or religious, holidays are a part of our shared experiences during the late autumn and early winter weeks. They also offer a built-in reason for business owners and marketers to reach out to clients and prospects. Is holiday marketing part of your business plan? Think about how a few holiday communications may meet your company’s marketing strategy.

Let’s get beyond the holiday card and email. (Although, let’s not forget them.) Will you count down to New Year’s Eve with a cool tip each day that you’ll post on social media? Will your business sponsor a charity’s year-end festivities or a community playhouse’s December performances?

If you haven’t already, start planning. And, if you need a bit of help, give us a call. Happy holiday season! Enjoy it all.

June 12, 2024 Comments

Starting out on social media?

Starting out, we at Stone’s Throw often coach clients with smaller and medium-sized businesses to use social media initially as a way to demonstrate vitality, interest, and enthusiasm by showing activity on social media platforms. Let the world see your public face – especially if your potential customers use social media. Ensure that your posts are consistent with your brand image and messaging, and please make sure that you have a system for post approvals, monitoring, and responding.

If social media advertising will indeed add value to your marketing efforts, there are a few terms you’ll want to know:

Awareness ads: Paid social media advertising is a way to create energy and push your posts into the newsfeeds of your selected audiences. These ads are often referred to as awareness ads; they boost awareness by allowing audiences to see your ad (“impression”). Awareness advertising is often the least expensive of social media placements.

Conversion ads: To encourage your audience to take some kind of action (visit your webpage, make a phone call, complete a form, etc.), social media ads have to work harder and typically cost more. They require the user to move from a passive audience member to someone who takes some kind of action. This is often referred to as conversion.

Engagement rate: Most social media platforms use metrics to describe the types of interaction your posts generate. Engagement rate refers to the number of likes, shares, and comments your posted content receives.

Hashtag: You can supercharge your posted content by tagging keywords with a hashtag (#) – what some of us used to call a pound sign. When a # precedes a word or phrase (without any word spaces), the social media platform sees the phrase as a searchable keyword. This can be especially helpful when looking for people talking about a particular marketing issue online. #smallbizmarketing

Should your business advertise on Facebook or LinkedIn? Here are a few things to consider.