Can law firms duplicate Derek Jeter’s digital media home run?
Digital media provides law firms an opportunity to leverage their brands and have their leading lawyers speak directly to their audience of clients, prospective clients, and the influencers of the two like never before.
No less than future hall of famer, Derek Jeter, provides a nice example of just how to do it.
James Rodgers (@jamesjrogers) of Fox News reports that Jeter may have hit a home run with the launch of The Players’ Tribune, a new media platform that will present the unfiltered voices of professional athletes.
Jeter, the former Yankees shortstop, is publisher and Super Bowl winning quarterback, Russell Wilson, is a contributing writer and one of the senior editors.
From Jeter, on the site:
I am working with other athletes, with editors and with producers to create a platform that gives us a chance to say what’s on our minds. My goal is for the site to ultimately transform how athletes and newsmakers share information, bringing fans closer than ever to the games they love.
Liza Horan (@lizahoran), principal of digital media strategy consultancy MediaMoxie, speaking to FoxNews, questioned going through traditional media anymore to get your message out.
I think it’s a fantastic test for both the sports business and digital media. Why would an athlete reveal news in an interview, when they can break news on ‘their own’ media property?
Vicki Michaelis (@VickiMichaelis), professor of sports media at the University of Georgia’s Grady College agrees:
I think it’s very powerful. This is definitely another step in the evolution of social media – the middle man, the media is being removed from the relationship with the fans.
Law firms spend a lot of money getting their message to the media. Why not leverage the brands they have and get their stars speaking directly to their audience? Law firms are dealing with the hottest issues in the world, your audience will come if you speak with them.
Law blogs and more expansive digital sites provide law firms an opportunity to leverage their brands and get their stars out front.
No brands? Hardly. Latham and Watkins, DLA, Baker & McKenzie, Sidley, Skadden. These brands carry a lot weight.
Not a household name in national corporate law? You may be in your hometown of 100,000. Build off it.
Rather than solely blogs built off practice areas written by lawyers who have yet to build a name, get your rockstars out front. Have them speak in a real and authentic way, no more legal summary pablum.
They’ve got the name. They’re the ones who have the ability to write for Forbes, Huffington Post, or Law.com. Have them write for your own digital property.
In time you’ll have other leaders, whether locally, nationally or in a niche, wanting to write for your digital media site.
Law firms are trying so hard to create content and get it distributed. They’re still spending a fortune on traditional PR and marketing.
Derek Jeter’s The Players Tribune is a nice example of how to leverage a law firm brand and have your leading lawyers speak directly to their audience.
Image courtesy of Flickr by Keith Allison