April 30th 2008
Legal Marketing, Content Marketing, Stem Stuff, Brand Building
A quick note to mention our client JD Supra was featured in the New York Times this past Sunday.
The article, titled Lawyers Open Their File Cabinets for a Web Resource, also included a number of individuals from site’s growing community including Mitchell Matorin, Marc Stern, and Elena Garella. Keeping contributors front-and-centre has been a big part of the JD Supra approach, and often reflected by posts in the JD Scoop blog. … I was really happy to see that tone get carried forward in the story.
On a related note, I posted some thoughts yesterday on the benefits of work product sharing for legal consumers. Specifically, I cited:
- The ability to read these documents & become better informed;
- Increased reliability of documents where Lawyers take public ownership of them;
- Researching legal issues within a collection of vetted documents;
- Ability to identify a lawyer with rare experience (& not worth the lawyer’s effort to market);
- Ability to identify expertise by geographic region or practice area;
For the consumer, exposure to work product is valuable because it helps in making better decisions. It also offers a more complete digital picture of the lawyer in question. But the interesting part, and this is consistent with most forms of web marketing, is that this influence & judgement process takes place in the absence of the lawyer, and prior to the initial contact.
Think about this. Unlike giving a presentation, or a word-of-mouth referral, a significant portion of the sales process is taking place before the potential client engages - or even contacts - the lawyer. This is one of the fundamental differences in the way the web works. Great personalities don’t count unless the prospect picks up the phone or writes an email. And even the best web metrics software cannot tell you exactly how much consideration your services received.
The job of the legal web marketer is to see the many facets of this digital picture. To select pieces of the puzzle, evaluate the fit for the lawyer or firm, and then to frame-up an incredibly positive pre-contact image. Our job is also to increase exposure, but without a good accurate picture - we’re done.
My take: Sharing work product can be a big part of describing the multi-dimensional nature of legal practice. With other web offerings doing nothing more than commoditizing legal services ($139 incorporations?), sites like JD Supra should be embraced. Without a wide selection of digital tools to demonstrate the value of legal work… it’s a slippery slope, and a long way down. But that’s just my take. :)
April 24th 2008
Law Blogs
Here are some of the latest Canadian law blog additions to Lawblogs.ca:
Congrats to all on your recent launches!
April 22nd 2008
Legal Marketing, Stem Stuff, Brand Building
Michelle Golden has a great post up on the process of gathering client testimonials. Process being the key word.
Reminds me that Stem Legal could use another round of testimonials. Now that we’re off the launch pad, the time has come to let some of our clients speak to our services. Note to self… :)
April 14th 2008
Brand Building, Law Blogs
First up, the post title is just for fun. Read on, and I’ll try to explain.
Kevin O’Keefe’s got a post up about one of my favourite topics, the social side of blogging; which arose out of my 2nd Lexblog Q&A session (#1 was on SEO) published this past Friday. This time, the topic was Lawblogs.ca and the state of the Canadian legal blogosphere.
Now, I’m not sure I made the claim that Canadian legal bloggers were better at the social side of blogging, but I did state that it was something “we do well”. And mostly, I believe that to be true.
If you read through Kevin’s post, and follow-ups via Dan Hull and Scott Greenfield, you’ll see similarities. Lots of linking going on, and not much reciprocating discussion. I say discussion, and not reciprocal links, because you can’t fake this stuff. While links can be encouraged (some suggestions to follow), being authentic is equally important. It counts with readers, other bloggers, and especially perspective clients. And besides, as many experienced bloggers will tell you, it’s almost impossible to have a good blog-versation without linking!
My advice for creating a strong law blog presence has always been to mix authenticity with the social side (see my ‘you gotta say thanks post‘ for more thoughts). What do I mean by the social side? Mostly it’s about identifying your blog’s subject sphere(s) and regional position, and then creating tactics to connect with the appropriate communities - links, blog comments, trackbacks, blogrolls, private email, etc.
Going further, I decided to jot down a few thoughts, below, on what I think are important elements in becoming a good social blogger. Are they Canadian-esque? Sure. Why not?… :)
8 Tips on How to Blog Like a Hockey Loving Northerner:
- Read & Track Your Peers - Get an RSS Reader, and create a reading list. You’ll never know the true power of blogging if you treat it like a firm newsletter. The more bloggers you read, the more comfortable you’ll be knowing, commenting, linking, and eventually emailing your peers. I recommend following blogs both within your region, and with common subject interests. And never limit your reading by geography. I’m proud to have as many blogging peers in the UK as I do in Canada and US markets. Within my first year of blogging, I had contacts on every continent around the world. Having a global network is always a worthy investment for the future!
- Make A Blogging Buddy - Seriously, let’s call this ‘Step One’ in how to blog socially: Make a friend, and have their back. Track them closely, and whenever they post something notable, be sure to link them up! This only works if the other person gets it and reciprocates, but really, it’s just savvy blogging. Let me give you an example from my own experience - my blogging friendship with Connie Crosby. Connie knows if she’s got a post that needs extended play, all she needs to do is drop me a link via email. We don’t have a written pact, and we’ve never discussed this. Call it digital good will… or the golden rule with a blogger’s spin. :)
- Cover Prior Blog Discussion Before Adding Your Commentary - This is just a good habit to get into. Run your blog topic through Google Blog Search or Technorati before adding your own take. Be sure to quote relevant portions of the available commentary, and always link to (cite) the other bloggers involved.
- Welcome the New Guy! - It used to be… when someone new started blogging in your niche or region, and you’d write a ‘welcome to blogosphere’ post to help get them started. Simple acknowledgement. Perhaps the legal blogosphere is too big to do this now? That’s fine. But what about continuing this tradition on an intra-subject basis? or smaller regions? If the Canadian legal blogosphere is worth admiring, then perhaps each US State could adopt a similar approach?
- Cite your Post’s Inspiration -or- Tip Your Hat Please! - How do I say this politely? [in Canadian? ;) ] If another person’s blog post inspires you to write, EVEN if you don’t quote them or mention them, it’s good blogging etiquette to type the words [hat tip] or [source], and link back to their post as acknowledgement. Why do it? Well, it’s nice; but it’s also evident to other blog readers/writers what you’ve done. People who read blogs often follow 30-50 other blogs on the exact same subject. … Honestly, It stands out like a sore thumb. Just don’t do it.
- Link to Your Friends Business Homepage - While it’s great to link to your peer’s ideas, if you’re serious about building your personal network, nothing grabs attention like a link to their livelihood. Links are votes online, and helping a peer’s company rise up in the search results is a good will builder. (Are you sensing a ‘pay it forward’ theme yet?) And before I get comments about linking to one’s competitors… Yes, I believe it’s ok to do so, and yes, I believe the search engines reward it, if it supports the site’s subject relevancy. Still worried? Find your blogging friends out of state. :)
- Personal Profile Linkage - Adding a link to someone’s personal profile webpage is a wonderful gesture because it helps them rank for their name in Google. Do you know how many Steve Matthews there are out there? Economics Prof, Former Pro Football player… it’s rough I tell you! rough!
- Build, Build, Build that Network! - See tip number 2 (above). Close friends are key. And true, one blogging buddy isn’t going to cut it; but 500 facebook friends may not make an impact either. Online professional networks, in my opinion, are built around having a core group of strong close contacts. Identify your core group, and then seek strategies that a) get you closer, and b) expand the number trusted peers. Build it around subject expertise, or regional experience, but build it!
April 08th 2008
Uncategorized
Long time legal management blogger Rees Morrison announced yesterday that he has left Hidebrandt to start his own independent practice as a legal department consultant. His company will focus on working with in-house corporate counsel, advising on internal management issues, strategy and outside counsel relationships.
Contact information for Rees & his new company are located at ReesMorrison.com (new website is in the works…)
Congratulations Rees, and here’s to a prosperous new future!
April 03rd 2008
Legal Technology, Stem Stuff
A quick plug for the upcoming April 21st edition of Leg@al IT, Canada’s Premier Legal Technology Conference. For the second year running, Dominic Jaar has put together a stunning lineup of speakers for this event.
Unfortunately, I can’t be in attendance this year; but I have promised Dominic to fly out & join the fun for Leg@l IT 2009! I’m including some background info, below, taken from the site’s About page:
“Leg@l.IT, in collaboration with the Young Bar Association of Montreal (”YBAM”), the Canadian Bar Association and the Montreal Bar, is proud to present Leg@l.IT 2008, a conference on information technologies (”IT”) and law. This year, Leg@l.IT will take place on April 21st at the Mount Royal Centre in Montreal.
Every day, businesses, enterprises, people but also lawyers work with their computer, Internet, scanners, PDAs, etc. However, most lawyers are not aware of the impacts of IT on their work and on their professional obligations. Furthermore, they often do not realise how IT can help or harm them in their practice.
Last year, more than 130 people attended Leg@l.IT2007 and we expect this number to increase to over 200 in 2008 with the addition of partners and advertisers such as the Canadian Bar Association and the Montreal Bar! More sessions (3 tracks), world-class speakers, interesting and varied topics, etc.: a clear receipt for success!
The panellists and speakers are judges from different Courts, university teachers, lawyers, and IT specialists from Canada, the United States and Europe. The conference will attract members of the canadian, Quebec and Montreal bars, government employees, CIO, CLO, CTO, CEO, teachers, law and computer science students and teachers, computer technicians, records managers, etc. In other words, you should be there!”
Visit the online registration page for more information!
April 03rd 2008
Law Firm RSS, Law Blogs
There have been a couple of recent additions to the Florida Lawyers Blog Watch, the blog commentary tracking site I’ve been working on with Stem client and Florida criminal attorney Ron Chapman. These two bring the total to 38:
Also note worthy, I can see from the statistics that the RSS Feed for this site is being re-published by a number of law firms inside the firewall. Very smart… allowing lawyers in-house to scan the ongoing stream of blog posts without leaving the firm Intranet. That’s fantastic & creative usage from my perspective. What RSS can and should be used for! Well done.
My name is 
