Top 10 blog mistakes by law firms and law firm marketing professionals
A chief marketing officer for a large law firm back East asked me today for a quick top 10 mistakes law firms make when it comes to law blogs.
As with writing a letter, I didn't have time to write a short one so I wrote a long list.
- Launch blog without longstanding first hand experience blogging or support from someone who does
- Unlike websites, your audience will find your blog right away
- Mark Twain: ‘Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.’
- Can easily embarrass firm without knowing it
- Largest law firms in country have done so on repeated basis
- Multiple ways to do so
- Not understanding difference between blog and website
- Blogs allow one to enter into a conversation with thought leaders
- Blogs are a networking tool
- Blogs are not just an easy to use web publishing platform
- Tech team does not regularly work with blogs in professional atmosphere
- Blog software is supported by eclectic fragmented development community
- Software regularly needs enhancements/plug-ins developed by people familiar with blog software
- Blog design doesn’t incorporate components customarily expected by consumers of blog content
- Sophisticated audience consumes content:
- 75% of reporters use blogs and RSS to locate experts and get insight on stories
- Executives and in-house counsel
- Subject of blog lacks focus
- Blog design doesn’t include proper navigation for:
- Categories
- Promotional copy
- No understanding how blogs are marketed
- Much different than traditional PR and marketing
- Traditional marketing & PR may negatively impact blog’s perception
- Entering into conversation is key
- Use of social media, including LinkedIn, and online news sites is key
- Failure to understand RSS and news readers
- How content is being consumed by your target audience
- How you use RSS feeds to identify existing thought leaders and leading discussion topics
- No search engine optimization
- Law firms traditionally do poor job on SEO
- No reason to publish if cannot be found
- No law firm department/personnel staying up to speed on latest developments to provide ongoing training & support
So when going it alone on a law blog where your butt and the reputation of your law firm is on the line ask yourself one question. 'Do you feel lucky?'
Read through and enter the discussion with the form at the end
