LMA needs press coverage of annual conferences
There's a wealth of knowledge in the legal marketing community that's being shared this week at the Legal Marketing Association's (LMA) Annual Conference in Orlando. What strikes me about the conference is the lack of media coverage.
There are LMA members who are doing some blogging from the conference. There is also a steady stream of tweets, some better than others, on the hashtag #LMA11. But there is no one that I can see that has a press pass covering the conference.
I am not differentiating between bloggers and traditional media. Both can serve the role of journalists and reporters when it comes to covering many things, including conferences. In some cases bloggers run laps around traditional reporters in their coverage.
At the ABA Annual Meeting, ALM's LegalTech Show & Conference, ABA TechShow, and many other conferences, press credentials are issued to those covering the conference. There is no differentiation between bloggers and traditional journalists. Both are issued press credentials to get in and cover speakers as well as exhibitors.
Like other conferences, the LMA Annual brings some of the leading minds in the industry together, from law firm CMO's, other in-firm legal marketing professionals to companies to serving the law firms. These folks are not pitching half baked marketing schemes. They're talking about sound legal work, excellent client service, relationships, and word of mouth being the keys to business development.
The LMA and its annual conference committee ought to consider issuing press credentials next year to show case the ideas being shared.
- Speakers and vendors will receive broader coverage by being interviewed for print and video stories.
- Attendees will benefit from seeing coverage of the things they could not attend.
- Buzz for the conference will be created to draw higher attendance for future years.
- LMA will generate greater good will and be viewed as an innovative organization chockfull of talented members and leaders so as to drive membership numbers.
I know what the LMA Conference committee may be thinking. Not more work.
But this can be a real plus without a lot of work. Media and press relations don't need to be a lot of work for conference committees.
'Open Source' media with the advent of bloggers and freelance journalists being hired by companies like LexBlog who are not in the media business full time can get you great coverage.
After LexBlog covered ABA TechShow a couple years ago on our LexConference site, some vendors said they got more leads from the video interviews we did (that spread virally) than they did from their actual booths at the conference.
Increase media coverage of future LMA Annual Conferences. Issue press credentials.
You'll have increased attendance, growing membership, speakers loving the increased exposure, and vendors happy about the high costs of exhibiting because of increase leads.
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