Marketing for Today's Niche & Small Firms

Not sure if this fits my style of PR for Laughs, unless you find it to be shameless self-promotion.

This Friday, January 20, I will talk about Marketing for Today's Niche & Small Firms at the Chicago Bar Association.  

 

Information About the Event

Date: Friday, January 20 

Time: 2 pm to 5 pm

Location: The Chicago Bar Association, 321 South Plymouth Court, Chicago, IL 60604

Registration: No charge for CLE Members; $80 CBA Members; $160 Non Members

The seminar will cover the most important strategies in three fundamental areas necessary to increase your practice's business:

•        Expanding your network to increase the size of your audience and potential client base

•        Engaging public relations to become known in your industry/community and build credibility

•        Employing online technology to reinforce your offline efforts and stay connected with contacts

Get more information at the CBA website.

Lawyers Lie and Other Truths About Attorneys

Inside Counsel has an article called "37% of people say lawyers have 'very low' ethical standards" and the title really says it all: too many attorneys do not have a good reputation.

 The article gets that statistic from a Gallup poll that was conducted earlier this month, and even though we're almost at a new year, I don't think these statistics will improve much, unless some lawyers work on developing a better reputation.

When an attorney really is dishonest, he or she doesn't deserve to have a good reputation, so I'm not talking about that type of lawyer. Even though there are unethical people in every profession, I doubt that the number of unethical lawyers adds up to 37 percent.  

Which means that attorneys have a lot to fix if they want the public to trust them. Think of all the education they've gotten and all the hard work they've done, to only be greeted with disdain from the public. That's not good. 

What you should think about doing in the new year is planning to work against the negativity by offering good advice and help in the public square. There are many ways to improve your reputation and not get lumped in with the rotten attorneys. You can post helpful information on your own website, write an article, do an interview, be an expert in the media, make a speech at an organization, volunteer at your children's school, participate in community projects, and more. 

Maybe Gallup will do another poll, and by the end of 2012, attorneys' reputation stats will be better. Let's hope so. 

Would Jon Bon Jovi Be Better Off Dead?

Recently, to prove to people that he's not dead, Jon Bon Jovi posted a picture of himself online with the statement that “Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey”. I’m sure a lot of people think what he did is funny and are probably very happy to find out that he's really alive, after rumors of his death were all over the Internet. However, I’m not laughing. I don't consider myself a serious guy and I like to find humor wherever I can, but Bon Jovi is really making light of an eternal matter.

Newsflash to Bon Jovi: heaven isn't really New Jersey. I think it's arrogant to say that, and he never really died to find out where heaven really is. Plus, if he was right, how come no one has found John Lennon, Elvis, or Ray Charles there? 

Bon Jovi's joke is a way to think about how your reputation is on the line in whatever you do. It's important to not make light of serious matters when it comes to your own reputation management. What will people think of him from now on? Have you ever made a mistake by saying or doing something that was too frivolous for a serious situation? How did people respond? If you're thinking of saying something in public you know is questionable, then consider what kind of image you're putting out there. Everyone doesn't have the same sense of humor and doesn't see the world in the same way.

Don't Slip into the "Spin Zone "

There has been a lot of media coverage about what's going on at Penn State, which has resulted in thefiring of head coach Joe Paterno. Actually, Penn State didn't use the word "fire", but I am, because that's what happened. He was planning on retiring from that position, but they showed him the door. I'd say that's a firing, wouldn't you? 

A Wall Street Journal column I read called "A Four-Letter Word Schools Won't Use" says that Penn State isn't the only school that avoids that word; NCAA programs don't use it either when they get rid of a coach. Maybe they want to avoid lawsuits or don't want to sound harsh, but I think they should get out of the spin zone and be real about what's going on. If they choose to not really talk about what has happened, then the media and public will take over the message and create what they want out of it.

If the concern is a lawsuit, then a company or organization should focus on what's good and say as much as they can to control their image. It's a lot better than having the media, bloggers, and all sorts of people online and elsewhere fill in the blanks with their own theories and opinions. When that happens, even a simple Google search can make all kinds of negativity come up instead of what the organization wants people to see.

Even though I think that being open and honest is the best way to go, I doubt the schools will go that route because they seem to think that playing it safe is better than communicating honestly with the public. However, if they continue to do that, someone is going to take the image ball and run with it, and it might end up not being the best policy after all.

Facebook - A Hairy Liability for Lawyers Working with the Media?

I read some good advice on the Slaw blog about a partner of a law firm who was "friends" with a reporter on Facebook. The reporter wanted a good picture of the attorney, and dug through Facebook to find one. Luckily, the photo wasn't embarrassing, but can you imagine if it were? Not only would that be a public relations disaster, it could affect the firm and the attorney's own professional life.  

So let this be a lesson to be careful about what you do on Facebook, and who you friend there, because you never know how much people will do with what you post or where you're tagged.

If you're wondering if there's anything embarrassing about you on Facebook, do a search on Foupas, which is a Facebook search engine. Just do a search for your name, and try using quotes around it to see if you get different results. Some people forget what they've posted on Facebook, or didn't pay attention when a photo was taken, and voila...they end up in a photo they wish had never existed. 

If you feel like you've gone too far and done too much on Facebook that is making you feel uncomfortable, you can try deactiving your Facebook account to reassess your activities. Some people end up deleting their account and starting over, so that any tags or posts they're in are gone, and they can start fresh.

Whenever I think about posting anything on Facebook, I ask myself how it will affect my reputation, and even now, I feel like I'm pretty careful about what I post. But some people let their guards down and end up doing things that they don't want other people to see...such as posting photos on a network of reporters who might end up using an embarrassing picture of them! So you really have to be careful out there.

Learn from the Pig

When I was growing up, "pig" meant the source of bacon, sausage, a good ham for the holidays, and even a derogatory name for the police during protests. Who knew "pig" would end up meaning big profits?

People find lots of different uses for pigs, and even Business Week has taken notice of the the pork rind battle going on for dominant market share. It sounds silly that those companies are taking pork rinds so seriously because to some people, that part of the pig doesn't seem as important as the meat, but they're obviously making good money from that business because a lot of people like to eat the skins of pigs. 

When put that way, it doesn't sound appetizing, but anything we do can sound different as long as we present it in a way that people will take interest. 

Which brings me to our own publicity efforts. Like the pig industry, we can get a lot of different uses with our own content. For instance, if you write an article for a trade publication, it can also go on your blog, become a pitch for the media, be the basis of a video, and can even become an outline for a speech at a professional association. There are many ways you can use your content; just figure out which part of it people are interested in, and modify it to appeal to them the most. And it's important to remember that in addition to creating appealing content, you should offer information that can benefit people so that you're not just tooting your own horn. That way, you'll profit in various ways.

Immature or Savvy Legal Marketing?

A lot of men have bald or thinning hair, some have a potbelly, and others aren't thrilled about getting older. You can make money from that! Or at least from being bald. No, this isn't a sales pitch to grow your hair, but a way a lawyer is pitching himself to get new clients in his ads for Mybaldlawyer.com.

I read about it at the Legal Watch blog where they pointed out other examples of ways that lawyers stand out from the competition with garish or racy images. It's a great way to create buzz because it's controversial, but is it really appropriate for a professional? When promoting your firm, you should consider what kind of image you want people to walk away with. If you want to be smart, it's best to avoid such tactics.  

In some ways, doing whatever it takes to get more clients than other lawyers seems sophomoric and immature. I'm sure those attorneys who have billboards with half-dressed women to promote the benefits of divorce aren't lacking in clients and have made decent money from selling their merchandise, but what about their reputation? You don't have to cheapen yourself to make a good living. In the long run, behaving like a professional is better than making a flashy splash and being remembered for being silly.  

So it's something to think about: do you want to make lots of money at any cost, or do you want people to respect you by promoting your firm in a professional way? I'd take the latter.