Legal Marketing

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photo-1457528877294-b48235bdaa68We continue to delve into the characteristics that will make up the most successful lawyers of the future. Last week, it was curiosity, innovation, open-mindedness, and a willingness to learn, which all really overlap. Today, we’ll look at what two more of the leaders in HighQ’s book on SmartLaw had  to say in answer to the question:

What do you believe lawyers and law firms need to do to prepare for the future of legal services?”

Continue Reading The Law Firm of the Future Will Need a Perfect Storm

photo-1447433865958-f402f562b843A couple of weeks ago, I shared HighQ’s eBook on Smart Law, addressing the question “What do you believe lawyers and law firms need to do to prepare for the future of legal services?” My response to their question is that firms need flexibility, and today and over the next few months, I want to look at what some of the other contributors consider to be essential to the future of the legal industry.

As I’m sure we all have our own thoughts on where the industry is headed and why, don’t be shy about sharing your answers to HighQ’s question in the comments, and responding to what the other contributors had to say as well! 
Continue Reading The Right Way to be a Lawyer of the Future

photo-1469013078550-305e63b7c8f7Back in February, we talked about how lawyers can use Instagram to get noticed. Instagram still continues to dominate when it comes to social media, and whether you’re using it yourself, or you just want to have a better understanding of how it works because your clients are using it, it’s a great tool. That being said, I still stand by what I said at the end of my last post:

In summary, while I doubt that Instagram is going to bring lawyers new business, it’s another tool to have in your arsenal, and one you should know how to use, especially with the staggering usage statistics that we see, and the new account-switching feature that will make it immensely easier for brands to use.”

Instagram continues to roll out new features to stay competitive with other social media tools, and one of those features is what we’re focused on today!
Continue Reading How Lawyers Can Embrace Instagram Stories

photo-1452690700222-8a2a1a109f4cToday, I’m bringing you a guest post from my friend, Lance Godard, a Business Development Manager at Fisher & Philips. I know that “cross-selling” is often a hot (maybe too hot!) topic, and Lance delves into some candid reasons for why it may not be working – if you really want to make it work for you, take a look at his thoughts on the subject.

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Whether you call it cross-marketing or cross-targeting or some other variation on the theme, cross-selling is not a new concept for most lawyers and firms. And it’s not particularly complicated to do: align the work you actually provide a client with the services they need, and implement a program for connecting their needs with your practices. Easy-peasy, right?
Continue Reading Are Your Cross-Selling Efforts Stalling? Maybe You’re Doing It Wrong…

Young woman loking at virtual graphics in futuristic background

A few months ago, I was contacted about SmartLaw.

SmartLaw is the idea that there are three keys to a law firm’s success – their clients, their culture and the intelligent use of technology (this is per HighQ, a technology company who provides enterprise collaboration, file sharing & content publishing solutions to leading law firms, corporate legal teams, and banks). About SmartLaw, they said:

It’s no longer news that the business of law is changing. Business structures, billing models, and even client expectations are very different than they were just a few short years ago.

The way firms compete and who they compete with; the staff they employ, or choose to outsource, and where in the world they’re located; and the importance of business analytics and big data are all relatively new concerns in law.

No matter where your firm is at now, SmartLaw is about mastering the fundamentals to make sure you stay competitive in the future.”

We know that the business of law has been, and is changing – though there’s still some disagreement about whether there’s total “disruption” or just a gradual shift. But either way, most of us can agree that things are different today than they were 10 years ago. Even five years ago. 
Continue Reading Are You Ready for the Future of Legal Services?

photo-1460400408855-36abd76648b9Now that it’s starting to be the dog days of summer, and many of you are out on vacation (me included – I wrote this post in advance!), it can be easy to let your content slide a little bit. “Nothing is going on,” “Everyone is away,” “I’m too busy,” “I don’t feel like it” – do any of those excuses sound familiar to you?

But the warm weather is no reason to let your content slide. If you stick to your editorial calendar, not only will you continue the momentum that you’ve started this year with strong, substantive work, but you’ll also stand out in a sea of people who are letting their content slack in the summer.

But it doesn’t mean that you always have to be coming up with something new and fresh – sometimes, you can revisit some of your old content, freshen that up a little bit, and repackage it in a way that doesn’t require you to invest too much time away from the pool or the beach, but still maximizes your efforts. Let’s look at two ways you can liven up old content this summer. 
Continue Reading Two Ways to Liven Up Old Content

photo-1458724338480-79bc7a8352e4If you produce content – for example, you write a blog, author articles, post tweets, create videos, write LinkedIn posts, etc. – you’ve probably heard or read at some point that it’s a good idea to connect with “influencers” in your industry to extend the reach of your content. “Influencers” are those who are perceived as leaders within your industry, and as such, have the power to affect what others are reading, watching, and talking about. In talking about what’s called “influencer marketing,” Andrea Lehr of the Content Marketing Institute tells us that

Influencers work hard to cultivate relationships and maintain their position as a leader within their niche. Partnering with influencers in your industry helps get your message in front of the right audience and accelerates conversions.”

Sounds great, right?

But how do you figure out who those influencers are?

In her article, Lehr talks about two pieces of advice, and a note of caution, to help you to identify the influencers in your area of expertise. She and her team focused on marketing when they undertook this exercise, but it will work for your area of expertise as well – note that where you focus will be impacted by what your content marketing goals are. So, for example, if your goal is to reach more clients and potential clients, then you’ll want to focus on the client profile when looking for influencers – if you’re a corporate lawyer who helps entrepreneurs, your influencers will be found among the entrepreneur community, not other corporate lawyers. But if your goal is to become a respected thought leader among corporate lawyers who help entrepreneurs, then your influencers will be found among other corporate lawyers. The more specific your goals are, the easier it will be to define your potential influencer pool.
Continue Reading Two Tips for Identifying Influencers in Your Niche

13332904_10154279719942792_2649109038483551548_nLet’s face it: networking can be hard. Unless you’re someone who thrives on meeting other people (and many of us don’t, including yours truly), networking is something that we consider to be a chore, albeit a necessary one.

So why not pair it with something that you already like doing?

For example, I’ve been a runner on and off for about the last seven years – mostly off (you may remember when I mentioned that running is like content marketing). Over the past year, I’ve really committed to it, and even ran my first half marathon in April. As I’ve posted about my runs on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, I’ve found a community of runners among my existing network – including of my own lawyers. It turns out that quite a few of my lawyers are runners themselves.
Continue Reading Networking Tip: Find Your Niche

photo-1460804198264-011ca89eaa43Last week, we talked about two steps to bring the WOW factor back to your content marketing. Continuing with that theme, and the post that inspired it, we’re going to look at two more actions that those of us producing content for law firms should be taking to make sure that we’re wow-ing with our email content.

Step One: Give More Attention to Your Client Alerts

In his post, Pulizzi says:

Give more time and attention to your newsletter. Is it truly amazing or is it something your customers consider ‘salesy’ or spam? Of all the subscription options we have with our customers, including all social channels, email is where we have the most control over messaging.”

While he’s talking about newsletters (and you can certainly apply this advice to any newsletters you’re producing as well), I’d like to concentrate on the client alert, as it’s something that continues to get attention. Why is that? 
Continue Reading Two Steps to Bring the WOW Factor To Your Email Marketing

bag-and-handsI love bringing guest voices to Zen to share some wisdom with you, and today, I am fortunate to introduce a legal marketer and friend of mine, Jennifer Simpson Carr. Jenn has led business development and communications efforts at national law firms for nearly ten years.  She has a passion for strategic communications and recently earned a Mini-MBA in Digital Marketing from Rutgers Business School.

I got to know Jenn when she was working with ILN member firm, Davis & Gilbert, in New York, and we’ve stayed in touch as her career and family have taken her all over the country. This is her first foray into blogging, offering an excellent recap of the roundtable session she led during last week’s Law Firm Marketing & Business Development Forum, with some important takeaways on creating a digital strategy across your firm. Let’s give her a warm welcome! 
Continue Reading Creating a Cohesive Digital Strategy Across Your Firm