iStock_000016503756XSmallLast week, we talked about the importance of looking at your own metrics to tell you what content people are consuming, in order to further optimize what you’re producing.

But there’s more to metrics than your own content. While it’s immensely important to measure what you’re doing to ensure that it’s effective against the goals that you’ve set, there are two other areas that you want to look at in order to make your content truly effective.

Area One: Your Competitors

Last week, we looked at two areas that are important in reviewing your own content – social sharing and impact metrics. Using BuzzSumo and either a service like Impactana or a mixture of your content platform analytics and Google analytics, you can track and extract data and subsequent meaning from shares, likes, backlinks, views, downloads and more.  Continue Reading More Metrics: Beyond Navel Gazing

iStock_000000865752MediumI’m thrilled to announce that the second edition of our Corporate Group’s “Establishing a Business Entity: An International Guide” is being released today!

This collaborative electronic guide offers a summary of key corporate law principles in 25 countries across the globe, serving as a quick, practical reference for those establishing an entity in these jurisdictions.  This latest edition now includes 25 countries, an expansion of the 18 featured in our original publication. We’ve added chapters in seven additional countries, including the Baltics, Eastern Europe, the UK and Asia. The ILN looks forward to the regular revision and growth of this comprehensive guide to make sure we are providing the most up-to-date information for our firms and their clients.

To view the guide, please click here: http://bit.ly/ILNCorp2ndEdition

You can also regularly see more of what our Corporate Group is publishing on our ILN LinkedIn showcase page here.

Co-Chaired by Charles Cowper of Gadens Lawyers in Sydney, Australia and Charles Wander of Fladgate LLP in London, the Corporate Group provides a platform for discussion among ILN members of Corporate Law matters in an international context, including mergers and acquisitions, commercial contracts and corporate governance, for a range of clients. The Corporate Group meets regularly at all ILN Annual and Regional Meetings and discusses issues of interest via their collaborative listserv.

We’re looking forward to subsequent editions of the guide and more discussion among our members!

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SCANDAL – ABC’s “Scandal” stars Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope. (ABC/Craig Sjodin)

Yesterday, I had the privilege of moderating an LMA webinar with Lance Godard, the Client Relationship Manager for Fisher & Phillips, and Mark Elliott, the Director of Business Development & Human Resources at Eastman & Smith on “Reputation Management and Social Media.”

I consider myself a fairly savvy social media user, and a regular, responsible manager of my online reputation, but I learned quite a bit of new information during yesterday’s session, which I want to pass along to Zen readers for your benefit as well!

There are two sides to reputation management that you’re probably thinking of – one of those is crisis management, and this is what to do when someone does or says something damaging to the firm or their personal reputation online. That wasn’t the subject of yesterday’s session, but is also something you want to be conscious and aware of (there’s lots of resources for you out there on how to manage that).  Continue Reading It’s Handled: How Confident Are You in Your Social Media Reputation?

Photo by Kris Van de Sande
Photo by Kris Van de Sande

Lawyers and law firms often think of content marketing as a solo activity. While you may have a strategy that is firm or practice-wide, in general, you’re thinking of the producers of the content for that strategy as individuals.

But what about co-creating content?

I read a great piece today on 9 Free Tools to Co-Create Content, which not only included some great resources, but also some excellent inspiration on this Two for Tuesdays for ways we can be better content collaborators.

Before we get into the HOW, let’s talk about the WHY.

The article’s author, Ann Smarty, tells us that co-creating content can help you to achieve the following goals:

  • Build relationships with niche influencers (with whom you co-create content)
  • Create more diverse and in-depth content (easier to find more angles and discover more marketing channels)
  • Produce more content (collaboration improves your productivity)
  • Build more exposure (co-writers and co-editors more willing to promote the piece since they participated)”

Continue Reading Stop…Collaborate…And Content Market

A fisheye image of a confused geeky-looking woman.

A few weeks ago, I read an interesting piece over on the Content Marketing Institute by Carla Johnson, and I’ve been mulling it over in my mind ever since. Johnson asks whether we’re missing the most important audience for our content marketing – and with a hook like that for the title, you can bet I was going to click to read more.

I’m sure you’re wracking your brains as I was to identify who it is you’re missing – clients, potential clients, referral sources, journalists, conference organizers, influencers, amplifiers…the list goes on. But there is one important group you may be overlooking.

The internal audience at your firm.

The point being that everyone at your firm is a brand ambassador for the firm and its members – everyone, from the receptionist who greets people as they walk in the door and is the first to answer the phone right up to the managing partner of the firm who makes key decisions about strategy and direction, as well as his or her own practice. Every one of those people is telling the story of the firm every time they interact with someone else, whether it’s on purpose or not – that’s just how marketing works.  Continue Reading Content Marketing – Are You Forgetting Someone?

September/October 2015

The ILN is proud to announce our latest firm of the month, Miller Samuel LLP – Glasgow, Scotland!

The firm was established in 1973 with the aim of providing high quality, fast and comprehensive legal service to commercial clients at competitive rates and in a straightforward practical manner. The firm is departmentalized. The Commercial Department acts mainly in property related matters and has notable expertise in property development, investment and leasing. The Litigation Department acts in all commerical matters including insurance, personal injury, environmental, landlord and tenant litigation and employment law. It also handles debt recovery and family law matters. Private client services include advice on the administration of estates, tax planning, charities and wills and the purchase and sale of residential property. Continue Reading Firm of the Month – Miller Samuel LLP, Scotland!

photo-1427434948077-29d1f1a67f32Instagram.

You’ve probably heard of it, and you’re wondering, what does that have to do with lawyers and law firms? There’s no WAY that can be used for professional services marketing, right?

Think again!

If you’re not familiar with Instagram, it’s a photo-sharing social network that is available only on your mobile device (you can access it on your desktop, but you can’t actually post to it from your desktop). I’m a photographer as well as a legal industry professional (surprise!), so I have a soft spot for Instagram.

But that’s not the only reason it’s important. The statistics tell us that this social network is NOT to be ignored.

  • 300 million monthly active users
  • 70%  people outside of the US
  • 30 billion photos shared (yes, that’s BILLION)
  • 2.5 billion daily likes (again, BILLION)
  • 70 million photos, on average, posted daily

Continue Reading The Best Instagram Advice You’re Not Taking

Ahhhhhhh!!My mom hates the word “sucks,” but I’m using it in my title for effect – “what, Lindsay thinks networking sucks?”

Sure, sometimes. And I’m sure everyone else does too. Who doesn’t get fed up with all of the things we’re “supposed” to be doing every once in a while?

We go to events, and we’re supposed to be flashing a bright smile, asking about other people, handing out business cards, never missing a meeting or a meal – it’s exhausting. And you can get burned out.

Fast Company had a post on this by Lisa Evans last January, prime time for networking burnout, she says.

But I’d argue that the fall is just as easy to see burnout as any other time of the year. Everyone is back from their holidays, school is ramping up for the kids, work has gotten busy again for the rest of us with new projects, clients back in the office, and more demands on our time. Yes, we may start out the month of September feeling fresh and with the best intentions to network our hearts out, but who really wants to fit that into their busy schedule as well?  Continue Reading Networking SUCKS. Now what?

iStock_000019798838XSmall“Content marketing” is a huge and meaty topic, and it’s one that there are many, many facets to. We could talk about it for years (and I’ve already spent lots of Two for Tuesdays’ posts dissecting various aspects of it).

Today, I’d like to get a little bit back to basics, and look at three questions you probably have about content marketing, based on things I’ve wondered myself, things I’ve been asked, and conversations I’ve had with other legal marketers. Definitely add to the conversation on this one with additional questions you may have in the comments!

What IS content marketing?

We hear this term bandied about a LOT. It sounds fancy and it sounds very marketer-y, so I’m sure lawyers think “Yep, not for me!” and marketers think “Oh please, not something else I’m responsible for!” But the good news for law firms is that they’ve LONG been producers of content, and now we just need to refine the strategy and process a little bit to make it even more effective. Whew!  Continue Reading 3 Questions You Probably Have About Content Marketing