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A Furia Rubel colleague and International Productivity Expert, Neen James, will be sharing real-life systems and strategies to increase your firm’s bottom line at the Pro-Networking™: Productive Practice Development Luncheon hosted by the Philadelphia Bar Association on May 28 from Noon to 2pm.
This high energy and interactive program will:
- Establish systems to increase productivity
- Leverage everyday communication tools
- Demonstrate strategies to grow your book of business
- Communicate how to build a productive practice development action plan.
This workshop is valuable for attorneys wanting to increase their practice development activities. For more information or to register on-line, go to www.philadelphiabar.org.
Here is a recap of the last Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers Weekly Tip:
Writing an authoritative article to garner positive publicity: Writing authoritative articles is one of the easiest and most effective ways to garner valuable publicity—especially if you like to write. When an article is published and you haven’t paid for the space (as opposed to placing an advertisement), you immediately establish credibility with your target audiences. It positions you as an expert without you saying, “Hey, look at me, I’m an expert on this topic.” When you read Chapter 11 on ethics, you will see that calling an attorney an expert can get you into hot water.
And now here are some quick tips for crafting effective article language that is clear and concise:
- Define legal and technical jargon in easy-to-understand language
- Your readers would rather read a short, to-the-point piece than a long, drawn-out piece
- Paragraph length is among the most important, if your paragraphs are too thick, the information looks slow and uninviting
For more important tips to understand when crafting article language, read Chapter 4 in Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers. Excerpt from Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers, Copyright 2007. Furia Rubel Communications, Inc. To purchase the book, click here.
Tom Kane's post, Which is Better: Advertising or Public Relations?, on LegalMarketingBlog.com hits the nail on the head.
I couldn't agree with Tom more when he says, "until a firm has done the basics involving strategic marketing planning, [advertising, public relations,] or both could be a total waste of money."
He is so right.
I regularly encourter law firms who still take an ad hoc approach to their marketing efforts. They advertise in the XYZ magazine supplement because they're getting a "discount" or at least a perceived discount. They hire a consultant or service to "issue a press release" and then don't leverage the value of the news or coverage. They purchase a directory listing upgrade because the sales person said they should. And the list goes on.
The bottom line is that law firms need to approach their communications the same way big businesses have for decades. It's about strategic planning. They need to identify what their trying to accomplish, who they're trying to reach, the messages they want to deliver, the time-frame within which they need to act, the best vehicles for success (advertising, marketing, interactive technologies or public relations) and how they will measure the success of their efforts.
In a Law.com article titled, Legal Directories: Valuable Resource or Waste of Time?, Michelle Madsen of Legal Week looks the corporate counsel’s view of directories. Do in-house attorneys use directories such as Chambers and Partners, the Legal 500 and Lawdragon or are they “a self-perpetuating marketing arena for law firms, or a useful tool for clients?”
Madsen concludes that “A sensible attitude to the directories would seem to be to regard them as a resource, a tool to be drawn upon and, compared with other sources of information, not as a substitute to personal contact or knowledge. As such, they need to be judged critically but, on balance, it would seem they have earned their place on the shelves of most general counsel.”
In my latest book, Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers, I provide a short list of such directories which also includes:
• American Lawyer AMLaw 200
• Best Lawyers in America
• Euromoney Expert Guides
• Global 100
• Leading Lawyers
• Legal Experts
• Martindale-Hubbell
• Multicultural Law Top 100
• National Law Journal 250
• Of Counsel 700
• PLC Which Lawyer? Yearbook
• SuperLawyers
• The Vault
• Who’s Who Legal
You can find more comprehensive lists in Leigh Dance’s Global Guide to Law Firm and Lawyer Directories and the companion book compiled by Deborah McMurray, North American Guide to Law Firm and Lawyer Directories.
Chapter 4 - Tip One
Writing an authoritative article to garner positive publicity:
Writing authoritative articles is one of the easiest and most effective ways to garner valuable publicity—especially if you like to write. When an article is published and you haven’t paid for the space (as opposed to placing an advertisement), you immediately establish credibility with your target audiences. It positions you as an expert without you saying, “Hey, look at me, I’m an expert on this topic.”
Keep tuned for more information on how to garner positive publicity along with rules of ethics where you will see that calling an attorney an expert can get you into hot water.
We have posted several articles on the benefits of utilizing on-line networks such as LinkedIn. You may have checked it out, or even signed up for an account, but have you capitalized on any of the opportunities of networking on social media sites?
If not, here is an informational article to jump-start your on-line networking capabilities, Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn. The author, Guy Kawasaki, is a managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm and a columnist for Forbes.com.
In this article, Kawasaki provides the following “how to” tips on on-line networking:
- Improve your connectability
- Increase your visibility
- Perform blind, “reverse,” and company reference checks
- Gauge the health of an industry
For more information, check out this article on-line.
What does “pitching” the media consist of:
“Pitching” a reporter or producer in public relations is akin to throwing a ball to the batter to see if she’s going to hit it and, if so, how far. Even though the commonly known terminology is “pitching,” think of it more as the art of communicating and having a conversation. There is no single way to pitch the media. Understanding some of the nuances of the media will help you become a better communicator in the long run.
An important aspect to consider when reaching out to the media:
Be memorable – Reporters receive hundreds of calls, phone calls, e-mails and faxes every week, so it is important that your story stands out from the rest. Be familiar with articles that the reporter has written in the past and, if you can, tie one of them in with your pitch. Be specific and brief—this will show the reporter that you are not wasting her time.
For more important tips to understand when reaching out to the media, read Chapter 3 in Everyday PR for Lawyers. Excerpt from Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers, Copyright 2007. Furia Rubel Communications, Inc. To purchase the book, click here.
I recently met Mark Beese through the Legal Marketing Association and LinkedIn. He is the "marketing guy at Holland & Hart, a law firm in the Rocky Mountain West (www.hollandhart.com)." He maintains a blog focused on helping lawyers become better leaders at http://www.leadershipforlawyers.typepad.com/. He has great content on his blog - I highly suggest reading it!
To recap on why we encourage every firm, no matter how big or small, to have a written media policy, is because law firms and their attorneys can and should control all messages provided to the media. Several reasons include managing your messages, ethics and, in the cases of trial publicity, to protect the clients’ best interests.
The following media policy tips are issues that your firm’s media policy should address:
- How you handle calls about specific firm clients and/or cases
- How you handle calls for third-party commentary on specific cases or legal issues
- Crisis communications procedures
- The ethics of dealing with the media
For more tips and advice from the Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers guide, stay tuned!
I encourage every firm, no matter how big or small, to have a written media policy. Simply put, law firms and their attorneys can and should control all messages provided to the media for reasons of message management, ethics and, in the cases of trial publicity, to protect the clients’ best interests.
Your firm’s media policy should address: part 1
• Who may speak with the media on the firm’s behalf
• The procedures that members of your firm must follow when the media calls
• Record-keeping procedures for media calls and interviews
Thank you, Cole Silver for the wonderful accolades on my book, Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers, which by the way, is now available via direct order, PayPal or via Amazon.
Cole says, "Gina Furia Rubel, Esquire, one of the nation's most distinquished PR experts for lawyers and law firms has just written a electrifying book entitled "Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers", which is absolutely wonderful and packed full of great advice and powerful ideas to promote your firm and practice
in a highly effective and cost efficient manner. If you want to build a
brand, create the visibility you deserve, and not spend an arm and a leg on
traditional advertising...you have got to get her book, which can be found
at: http://www.furiarubel.com/
I've also had the opportunity to read Cole's book: How
to Create Wealth and Freedom in your Law Practice, 101 Powerful Client
Development & Retention Strategies for Attorneys. It's a compendium of
information that no attorney should be without.
Earlier this week, Kevin O'Keefe notes in a post that Law firm Internet marketing to grow in 2008 : Warning to large law marketing & PR heads. He says:
"In 2008, it'll be up to you employed in large firms and PR agencies advising large law to assess whether you really know what you are doing when marketing via social networking. If not, it's time to get some help rather than dismissing marketing mediums you don't understand. Dismissing innovation only hurts the law firm and is ultimately going to cost you your job."
Kevin makes a good point. It is so important to work with experts who know what they're doing in every area of marketing whether it's direct marketing, social media, public relations or trade advertising. But first, law firms need to assess their communications plans and make sure their plans have solid and measurable goals and objectives. Once they know what they want to accomplish, then, and only then, should they determine which tactics will be best to reach their target audiences effectively and efficiently.
Cole Silver, the Legal Marketing Secrets blogger, announced today that they will be launching an expert audio series through http://www.findcareersuccess.com/. He says the audio series will feature
interviews from world renowned experts and advisors that will provide you profitable and incisive information, secrets, and tactics that will help you create the legal career you desire.
The line up includes: • Dan Janel, member of the public relations team that launched America Online. • Harry Beckwith, one of the world's most respected marketers and author of What Clients Love. • Gerry Riskin, world renowned expert in law firm management and rainmaking. • Jim Hassett, founder of LegalBizDev and author of seven books and more than 70 articles on legal marketing. • Margaret Grisdela, the author of "Courting Your Clients: The Essential Guide to Legal Marketing”. • Trey Rider, one of the country’s premier legal marketing experts. • Hindi Greenberg, author of the best selling, The Lawyer's Career Change Handbook. • YOURS TRULY . . . Gina Furia Rubel, Esquire, a communications expert, attorney and publicist, is the owner of Furia Rubel Communications (We'll be talking about the advice in my book, Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers, due out mid-December) • Mike Schultz, Principal of the Wellesley Hill Group and Publisher of RainToday.com. I'll keep you posted about my audio interview. Be sure to check out Cole's blog too!
There's a great viral campaign online called Make My Logo Bigger. The video is a hoot. All marketers must check it out. It's long but it's great for a laugh!
Sacha Pfeiffer of the Boston Globe reported in Beat the clock – that the Boston law firm of the Shepherd Law Group says no to billing by the hour, and its clients say they are pleased.
According to the article, The Shepherd Law Group has abandoned the billable hour all together. Pfeiffer reports that,
Shepherd, a five-lawyer firm that specializes in employment law, charges its
clients a flat annual fee or flat price per task. Clients can call the firm as
often as they want to discuss legal issues, although some services, such as
training and litigation, cost extra. The new approach helps clients determine
legal costs in advance and often prevents legal problems from escalating because
clients are no longer reluctant to seek advice out of fear of incurring a hefty
bill, said Jay Shepherd, the firm's founder.
The abandonment of billable hours has a small following in the U.S. with law firms and public relations agencies alike. It’s a refreshing shift but is it “the answer?” I don’t believe the answer lies in determining “which form of billing is better” as a standard of practice – rather, “which form of billing is better in the individual situation and which will help deliver the best services to the client.” Clients do need options and as a recovering attorney, I agree with Pfeiffer that most people don’t like the billable hour but the key in that term is “most.” “Most” does not equal “all.” I do find it both amusing and refreshing that Shepherd’s PR agent is quoted in the article since many firms are making the shift as part of their public relations and marketing strategy. The bottom line: law firms and public relations agencies should offer options to their clients. When you entertain, it’s customary to offer coffee and tea.
Dionne Searcey of The Wall Street Journal reported in her article Bulky Yellow Phone Books Turn the Page to Online Video that yellow page companies across the country are offering video advertisement as editions to Web listings.
My colleague, Kevin O’Keefe, commented that he believes this is a “gimmick meant to serve outmoded yellow pages business models” and that yellow page sales reps “don’t give a darn” how their customers’ ads look.
I disagree.
Studies indicate that consumers still turn to yellow pages ads first for their local buying needs.
My husband was a sales rep with Yellow Book USA and although he’s since moved into a management role, I’ve witnessed the depth and breadth of his commitment along with that of the countless other sales reps I’ve worked with and become acquainted with over the years. It’s their job to care – if an ad doesn’t produce a solid ROI and the advertiser cancels, it’s money out of their pockets.
According to eMarketer, August 2007, “Video's high engagement factor combined with the Internet's tracking and targeting capabilities, potentially offers (advertisers) a highly accountable method to sway the hearts and minds of their target audience.”
I love the idea of Plaintiffs’ firms adding video ads to their yellow page listings online. For firms that already produce commercials, this is a no-brainer. The cost of the Internet ad is going to be exponentially less than reaching their target audiences on television.
I’m not crazy about the idea of having any ads produced by directory-owned production. It’s not that the sales reps or their production assistants “don’t care.” Rather, I believe law firms would be better served by spending the money it takes to produce top-notch branded video ads that fit within their brand strategy, are targeted to the most important audiences, set them apart from their competition, and comply with the rules of ethics that are mandatory for all law firms in the U.S.
Bottom line: these ads are valuable tools to increase a firms business if done right.
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