For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 1 - 28

Blogging became an effective tool for a variety of companies and
organizations to reach and engage with a wider range of audiences
and constituencies.
The same trend happened in the legal sector. Law firms
quickly saw the advantage of publishing thought leadership on
channels they controlled, and clients became comfortable with
firm-generated content as trusted resources for legal, industry,
and business information. Fast-forward to today's digitally driven
marketplace-blogs have become a well-regarded " inbound "
marketing technique, designed to attract, and keep the attention
of new and established clients by consistently offering valuable or
actionable information that meets their needs and hopefully fosters
long-term relationships.
The evolution of blogs from online journals to today's inbound
marketing destination continues to define and drive their format.
Blogs have simple architecture-short posts appearing in reverse
chronological order, found together in one place online-and focus
on a particular subject, market, or industry. Contrast this with the
news or insights areas on law firm websites, are designed to house a
collection of different kinds of content (client alerts and newsletters,
media mentions, firm news and announcements, awards, and such)
on a wide range of topics relevant to the firm as a whole.
It is undisputed that blogs can be an excellent marketing tool for
every stage of the " buyer's journey. " Blogs can generate awareness
with those who don't (yet) know you and haven't (yet) considered
hiring you, and provide valuable information and expert insights to
prospects and referral sources that would make them more likely to
hire or refer you. They can be a tool to nurture existing client and
referral relationships by being a trusted information resource.
But that doesn't completely answer the question: " Why a blog? "
When I ask that question, what I really want to know is whether
this content marketing tool is right for them and their law firm. The
answer depends on a lot of other considerations.
It Is Better Not To Blog Than To Blog And Fade Away
Unlike love (where some say it is better to have loved and lost
than never to have loved at all), or public relations (where some say
bad press is better than no press), I say it's better not to blog than to
start a blog that ends up with inconsistent, boring, or stale content,
or worse, fizzles before it can gain any traction.
Sporadic posts (lots of posts followed by no posts, and then
another deluge of posts) and long gaps with no updates (a couple
of weeks between posts is about as long as you should go); old or
outdated content, and abandoned blogs (the ultimate blogging sin,
in my opinion) will all seriously undermine efforts to have a blog be
considered a credible or reliable information resource.
Let's get down to brass tacks here: Are you up to the task of
generating fresh content on a consistent basis come hell, high
water, or your next trial? Sorry if that sounded a little rude. Here
Is why I ask.
28 For The Defense l Vol. 8, Issue 1
In the last several months, I have had discussions with lawyers and
marketing professionals who describe some version of the same
scenario. A crackerjack idea for a new blog! Hot topics to cover,
lawyers interested in writing for or having a byline on the blog,
technology infrastructure for hosting the blog, and an email list to
publicize it (more on that later), even a framework for developing
the content. So, they launch it, full steam ahead, with the promise
of an aggressive publication schedule. And then ...
Some blogs never make it out of the gate; they just can't get
past the planning stages. Some get a few months of great content
up, and then the folks responsible realize how challenging it is to
get all of that content developed, written, edited, approved, and
posted over and over and over again. In other cases, a disruption
to the otherwise steady flow of content-a busy trial schedule, the
departure of key lawyers in the group or practice, even something
as simple as summer or end-of-year holidays or vacations-stalls the
blog and it's hard to get it back on track.
Fortunately, there are some ways to make consistent blog content
development run more smoothly:
*
Create an editorial calendar to plan posts three to
six months out, making room for a variety of pieces:
evergreen content (content that revolves around topics
that are always relevant to your target audience),
event-related posts (bar and other association
meetings, for example), new developments, and
breaking news items.
*
Develop a library of content (evergreen pieces or ones
that can be quickly updated and posted) to deploy
when gaps in the content pipeline occur.
* Use a team approach to share the responsibility for
the content and perhaps the byline. The team can
include other members of your firm, " guest " bloggers
(referral sources, other professional services providers),
and outsourced resources who can collaborate on
research, writing, and editing content.
*
Find the friction in your content process and work
to eliminate it. Are posts not getting written, or is
the content getting stuck in the editing, approval,
proofing, or posting stage? Streamline as much as
possible to avoid multiple drafts, edits and rewrites.
*
Keep content short and informative. You can divide
bigger topics into sub-topics or break up a lengthy
piece into a " series " of related posts (labelling them
as part of a series can also incentivize readers to return
for the next installments). Consider using different
forms of content and other media types such as videos,
infographics, and interactive charts, for example.
* Curate content from other reliable and credible
sources. I am not suggesting direct copying, but rather
sharing or referring to other blogs or online articles
of interest including links and proper attribution and
adding your own comments and " spin " on the topic.
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 1
