Edelman CEO begins blog

PR Week reports Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, one the world’s leading PR firms, has launched his own blog yesterday, titled 6 am.

“This is the first shot at blogging by this CEO,” he wrote in his first post on September 29. “My intention is share trends in communications, the issues, lessons and insights I gather from traveling and managing this firm.” He also wrote: “Why 6 am? — because I wake up early and hope to get you some useful insights as you come in to work.” Plans are for the blog to be updated weekly.

Edelman told PRWeek that if the firm was targeting with peer-to-peer communications, “I should walk the talk.” He said the website would still feature his other communications, like his speeches, but “I don’t have to wait to give a speech to have a point of view.”

Edelman gets the concept of blogging. He told PR week he expects the blog to feature less news about the firm and more about the future of communications. “I hope I can continue to provide intellectual capital,” he said.

Law firms can learn a lot from Edeleman. First, these guys are one of the heavy weights in PR – they would not be using blogging as a marketing tool if they did not believe it would be an effective way to extend the reach of their brand and grow their business.

Second, like Edelman says, blogging is a about “providing intellectual capital,” as opposed to reporting about the law firm. Lawyers are full of intellectual capital – that’s the edge a talented lawyer with years of experience has on other lawyers.

Law firm marketing professionals need to leverage this intellectual capital beyond traditional speaking and writing engagements. Sure those mediums are okay but the Internet is now the ‘go to’ place for information where information can be published and streamed to your target audience without delay.

A lawyer’s intellectual capital needs to be effectively presented on the Internet. A blog like Edelman’s is the answer.