March 31, 2008 by Kevin

6 reasons a lawyer should turn their website into a blog

Lawyers ask me all the time, 'blog or website?' I also hear 'I have a website, but it's not getting me any clients.'

From Darren Rowse at Problogger, with my added commentary, here's 6 reasons to replace a website with a blog.

  1. Blogs give individuals, companies and brands 'voice.' Professional services providers, lawyers included, build their brand by getting out and talking - sharing their intellectual capital and showcasing their philosophy.
  2. Blogs are conversational - both in the style of writing, the way they interact with one another and the way that they are designed with comments at their heart blogs are all about the conversation. Interaction also ensues from citing other thought leaders and them citing you.
  3. Blogs build Trust - as a result of being a relational/conversational medium a blogger can build trust with their audience. Is there a profession that could benefit more from trust building than the law?
  4. Blogs build profile - looking to become an 'expert' (or at least be perceived as an expert) in your field. Blogs have the ability to showcase your expertise and help you become the 'go to' person in your field. LexBlog's clients are seen as the 'go to' person on issues ranging from Connecticut Employment to California biotech law to Maryland IP law.
  5. Blogs are immediate - blogs are a great way to communicate with people because they are so quick to use. Have a thought, write it down, hit publish and within minutes it can be being read and commented upon by your readers. Impossible with law firm newsletters and articles.
  6. Blogs are a doorway to search engines and social media - one of the great things about blogs is that they are indexed so well by search engines which love sites that are focused upon a topic, updated regularly etc. Social media sites (particularly bookmarking ones) also love blogs.

Of course there's reasons a blog is not a right for everyone. Darren even goes through a number of them in his post.

And in the case of a large firm, or a firm with diverse practice areas, a niche focused blog cannot replace a law firm website.

But for solo's and small firms with a focused practice area, a blog has it all over a website.

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March 9, 2008 by Kevin

Law firm video on websites : Immediately irrelevant

Immediate irrelevance. That's an accurate description of 90% plus of the video's law firms will run on their websites.

And that's not my characterization of law firm video. This from a marketing technology person at one of the largest firms in the country commenting on the mounting evidence that blogging really does work (nice coincidence).

As pressures increase, whether from competition or clients, the need to differentiate and offer value to clients becomes important. Rather than spending $75K on a video for your Web site, try a professional blog. Not only is it substantially less expensive, with one post per week it offers continuing relevancy.

A couple months ago Martindale-Hubbell and their public relations company, Ogilvy PR, announced Martindale's new video on law firm websites service saying in part:

Lawyers are increasingly embracing new ways to differentiate themselves and attract new business while consumers and small business professionals are eager to learn more about a lawyer or firm's philosophy and demeanor prior to hiring the firm.

Take a look at the video on this law firm website (believe its one of the Martindale ones). Does anyone really think a video of lawyers standing around talking at each other, a framed certificate of admission to the Supreme Court, what looks to be an yellow page ad, and some newspaper headlines is going to incent clients to call them?

Martindale is not alone in selling this type of video as 'Web 2.0' technology that law firms are ready for. Look at the video on this law firm website. The theory is that paying a few grand for a video of lawyers talking about the things they do in front of courthouse pillars gets people to stay on the website longer than another website that does not include video.

So what? People staying to watch a TV ad on the Internet. What's the value to prospective clients and people looking for legal information?

Video yes. But let's offer something of value. How about lawyers answering legal questions in their niche? What about doing that on a weekly basis? That's value. That's a real differentiator - lawyers showing they care by taking the time to help people for free.

Those type of video's will also have a viral marketing effect being talked about online, passed to friends, and even displayed on other websites and blogs if archived at YouTube.

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