Constant Content

"Self-broadcasting" in the world of social media

Janet Ellen Raasch — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:15:09 -0700

Here is part four of my article on broadcast journalism for lawyers and law firms:

Using the Internet, lawyers and law firms can bypass the traditional mainstream media entirely and self-broadcast their own video and audio – on their own Web sites or on sites that accept user-generated broadcast content.

When lawyers appear on television or radio, law firms can post links on their Web sites or blogs or even request the files for posting. In addition, using inexpensive equipment and applications, they can easily create their own video and audio podcasts for download from law firm Web sites. It helps to have a good video/audio editor on staff. In this day and age, no lawyer presentation should go unrecorded. Law firms can also “broadcast” these reputation-building podcasts to clients and prospects via email alerts.

Once created, law-firm-generated video and audio can also be posted on a wealth of online content sites, which provide automatic RSS feeds that attract search engines. (RSS should also be added to any of your own Web site content.)

The line between print, broadcast and online news has become increasingly blurred. Print publications host audio and video on the Web sites – some of it generated by professionals and some of it contributed by “citizen journalists.” Television and radio station Web sites also include text and photographs.

A law firm, for example, that cannot get the local TV station to cover the opening of its remodeled lobby can now make its own video and post in on the station’s well-optimized Web site.

All modern media sites host blogs by their reporters, which can include links to video and audio. All of them offer versions for mobile devices. All of them offer subscriptions via Facebook, Twitter, RSS, email or text. All of them accept user contributions.

Law-firm-produced video and audio can also be easily posted on a wide range of social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Martindale-Hubbell Connected. It can be added to social content sites like JDSupra, Legal OnRamp and HubStreet. Legal Talk Network is a “talk radio” vehicle for lawyers and law firms. Savvy lawyers and law firms are even posting their own videos (and broadcast ads) on YouTube.

Finally, use Twitter to send out a short notification and a link every time you appear in the traditional broadcast media or self-broadcast your own video and audio content.

Be that lawyer! By consistently and carefully pitching, catching and self-promoting -- using traditional and online broadcast media -- lawyers and law firms can optimize search engine results and successfully spread the word about their professional expertise.

Here is a link to the entire article:

Lawyers and law firms: Broadcast your expertise, build your reputation

"Catching" from the traditional broadcast media

Janet Ellen Raasch — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:50:31 -0700

Here is part three of my article on broadcast journalsim for lawyers and law firms:

In the case of a breaking news stories, news directors and reporters often come to you – looking for a comment (if you are directly involved in the story) or background (if you are an expert in a particular subject area).

If you are involved in a newsworthy event, understand that “no comment” is a terrible response to a media inquiry – especially if you are captured fleeing on camera with your hand in front of your face. If the case or matter is truly newsworthy, the story will appear with or without your input. Strategize with your client and, with the client’s permission, make sure that your client’s point of view is included in a dignified fashion in the report.

If you are asked to provide background on breaking news in which you have no direct involvement, it is usually because you have let the stations know ahead of time that you are an expert, are available to comment, and can speak coherently and intelligently in front of a camera or microphone. Do not be afraid to make this contact. Broadcast reporters are always interested in deepening their pool of qualified legal experts.

It never hurts to be on-site, either. When terror suspect Najibullah Zazi was inside the Denver Federal Courthouse, hundreds of reporters were waiting outside for hours in the frigid winter weather. Local lawyer and media commentator Craig Silverman was not sitting behind his desk waiting for the phone to ring. Instead, he braved the weather to circulate in the crowd of local, national and international reporters. As a result, his face and voice were all over the evening news.

Be aware of a major change in the way modern news directors and reporters “catch” their stories and expert commentators in the Internet age – Google and other search engines. According to recent reports, 85 percent of all reporters use Google on a daily basis. If you want the call to comment on a particular legal development, your name must show up in Google results for the keywords used by a researching reporter.

Here is a link to the complete article:

Lawyers and law firms: Broadcast your expertise, build your reputation

"Pitching" to the traditional broadcast media

Janet Ellen Raasch — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:27:52 -0700

“Pitching” to the traditional broadcast media

Here is part two of my article on broadcast journalism for lawyers and law firms:

When “pitching” news to the traditional broadcast media, remember that it has to be real news – and not self-promotion. News is information that a station’s viewers or listeners need to know in order to make good decisions about their personal and business lives. Always emphasize how your story will be of value to viewers or listeners.

In other words, news is important to people outside the law firm – not inside the firm. It often contains an additional element of new, first, best or most.

News that an associate has made partner, for example, is not likely to generate coverage. That happens all the time. News that the new partner is a deaf, orphaned, immigrant associate who worked his or her way through college and law school in the mail room at your firm might generate interest.

Make the story as easy as possible for the reporter. Never mail a press release. Call or email the right reporter with your story idea. If the reporter expresses interest, send additional information. New on the scene is the electronic press release, which includes not only background, but also direct email links to your experts as well as online links to photos, audio, video and other related news stories and Web sites. Imagine how helpful this material can be to a reporter rushing to complete a story on deadline!

Broadcast news directors and reporters like to produce exclusives – stories that none of the competitors can cover. Offer exclusives – and honor them.

Once the station has expressed interest in your pitch, time is of the essence. Broadcast news directors and reporters face multiple deadlines each and every day (with Internet publishing, the deadline has become “right now”), and are driven to feature their stories in a timely fashion – preferably sooner than anyone else. Make sure that you are actually available, at work or at home, in person or by phone (in the case of radio) to do the interview on deadline.

Think like a broadcast reporter. Television stations like stories that offer more than “talking heads.” They can be attracted to a story that includes a good visual setting, physical activity and interesting props. Radio stations find “value added” in stories with interesting sound effects (like an IP case involving recorded music).

Finally, know what you are going to say and who is going to say it – even before “pitching” the broadcast media. Practice in advance the 30-second “sound bites” you will use. Videotape and review them. Work with a media expert if necessary.

Here is a link to the complete article:

Lawyers and law firms: Broadcast your expertise, build your reputation

Lawyers and law firms: Broadcast your expertise

Janet Ellen Raasch — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:04:13 -0700

Recently, I posted an article on broadcast journalism in the Internet age. The article was based on a panel discussion and I felt, after I'd written it, that I wanted to expand the article to include points not made by the panelists. So I wrote another article on the subject of lawyers, law firms and broadcast journalism. Here is the introduction (the entire article will appear over the next few days):

“Hey, you’re that lawyer! The lawyer from the TV news about that case last night! The lawyer who was interviewed on public radio regarding that issue last week! The lawyer on the podcast about pending industry regulation that I downloaded and listened to last month! You’re obviously the expert. Let’s talk.”

Under national and state bar ethics rules, lawyers usually cannot call themselves experts in a given subject area. But they can use broadcast media to position themselves as experts in the eyes of consumers of legal services.

Until recently, it took a lot of work with a public relations expert for a lawyer to appear on television or radio as an expert. Broadcasters owned and controlled the airwaves, and access was limited.

Over the past ten years, with the advent of the Internet, the rules of the game have changed completely. Today, users own and control the Internet, and access is unlimited. There are many more opportunities to “broadcast” your expertise than ever before.

Upcoming sections include:

"Pitching" to the traditional broadcast media

"Catching" from the traditional broadcast media

"Self-broadcasting" in the world of social media

For the impatient, here's a link to the entire article:

Lawyers and law firms: Broadcast your expertise, build your reputation

More social media stats for law firms

Janet Ellen Raasch — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:03:27 -0700

When it comes to the latest developments in social media usage, Kevin O'Keefe of LexBlog is one of the best resources around. Go to his blog and subcribe to his feed! Just this weekend, he added two posts that are must-reads for anyone in the legal marketing profession.

And he's not afraid to evolve with the times and trends. Last year, O'Keefe advised his lawyer/clients to stick with the "big three" of blogging, Twitter and LinkedIn. On Saturday, based on the latest stats on the meteoric growth of Facebook, he noted that "more people are hanging out on Facebook than any other place on the net" and added Facebook to this list. "With the world going to Facebook, how can I ignore it and survive as a successul business leader?"

Today, O'Keefe reported on a recently released social media study from the Nielsen Company, which states that the time spent by Americans on social media sites increased 210 percent in 2009 (the increase was 82 percent for global users). The top U.S. social media sites are Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Classmates and LinkedIn.

O'Keefe concludes his post by questioning the fact that -- in spite of these statistics -- 45 percent of US law firms continue to block the use of social media and social networking sites.

I agree completely. Law firms need to trust their lawyers to act appropriately in "public." You don't ask them to stay home from "real world" business networking opportunities on the off chance that they'll say something inappropriate. Social networking sites are no different.

More data: Reporters rely on socia media

Janet Ellen Raasch — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 09:14:38 -0700

According to a post by Larry Bodine, an overwhelming majority of reporters and editors now depend on social media sources when researching their stories. Larry gets his data from a national survey conducted by Cision and Don Bates of George Washington University.

89 percent use blogs for story research

65 percent use social networks for story research

61 percent use Wikipedia for story research

52 percent use microblogs like Twitter for story research

Mainstream media have clearly hit a tipping point in their reliance on social media for research and reporting. What do reporters and editors find out about you when they search these sources while researching and writing an article?

Have you populated blogs, social networks, content sites, Wikis and Twitter with the kind of informative, useful content that positions you as a reputable source for a reporter or editor?

Create good content. Post it on sites that accept user-generated content.

Marketers spending more on content marketing

Janet Ellen Raasch — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:16:42 -0700

In 2008, spending on content marketing comprised 11 percent of marketing budgets; in 2009, this amount tripled to 33 percent. According to Joe Pulizzi, founder of Junta42, sixty percent of marketers plan to spend significantly more on their content marketing efforts in 2010. (Only 7 percent are planning to spend less.) A copy of this interesting survey of 259 marketing professionals can be downloaded from the Junta42 Web site.

The survey lists results (In decreasing order of use) for social media, e-newsletters, blogs, white papers, article marketing, case studies, online video, custom in--person events, microsites, traditional media, custom virtual events, ebooks, podcasts, print newsletters, digital magazines, custom print magazines and mobile content. All of which needs to be written.

Interesting stuff!

Lawyers and law firms: Broadcast journalism evolves in the Internet age

Janet Ellen Raasch — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:29:47 -0700

Thanks to the Internet, the line between print, radio and television news has become increasingly blurred.

Print publications host audio and video on their Web sites -- some of it generated by professionals and some of it by "citizen journalists." Radio and television station Web sites include not only audio and video podcasts, but also text and photographs.

All of these sites host blogs by their reporters, which can include links to audio and video. All of them offer versions for mobile devices. All of them offer subscriptions via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, RSS, email or text message. All of them accept user contributions.

Any lawyer, law firm or professional service provider can get into the broadcast game, publishing original audio and video content on their own Web sittes or on a wide variety of user-populated "content" sites like YouTube. To see the entire article:

Lawyers and law firms: Broadcast journalism in the Internet age

Query on ebooks for law firm (and other) marketing

Janet Ellen Raasch — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 10:09:47 -0700

Over the years, I have ghostwritten more than 15 comprehensive books on a wide range of legal and business subjects. I recently persuaded a new client to go the ebook (rather than hard copy) route. She liked the idea -- and now I must "walk the talk" by familiarizing myself with the process, including ebook compiler software. Based on preliminary research, it looks like folks write in Word, transfer to PDF and then upload to a compiler. Is this correct? Any recommendations on process as well as ebook compiler software would be welcome. Is there any software that lets you compose and publish in the same package?

Dr. Caitlin O'Connor and All Families Natural Health

Janet Ellen Raasch — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 08:58:11 -0700

As a rule, I try to keep my blog professional and my posts tightly focused on the subjects of content writing, lawyer and law-firm marketing, and the marketing uses of social media. This post falls under the "proud parent" exception to the rule!

My daughter, Caitlin Raasch O'Connor, is a Licensed Naturpathic Doctor and a Certified Professional Midwife. She graduated from Bastyr University, a five-year accredited program that included a two-year internship treating patients in the school's Seattle clinic, and recently completed an additional family practice residency at National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon.

Last month, after six years of school and residency, Dr. Caitlin O'Connor returned to her home base of Denver. She opened her own practice in the Highlands neighborhood and her own blog at All Families Natural Health. She focuses on women's, children's and general health. For more information about Dr. Caitlin O'Connor and/or naturopathic medicine, please visit All Families Natural Health.

TV show based on remarkable career of SCOTUS expert Tom Goldstein?

Janet Ellen Raasch — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:41:29 -0700

Any time I talk to a lawyer who questions the value (or the propriety) of social media marketing, I bring up the story of Tom Goldstein -- who went from solo to head of the Supreme Court practice at Akin Gump using social media like his SCOTUS Blog and SCOTUS Wiki to make a name for himself in this very exclusive area of the law. He has also made a number of non-self-important videos that he has posted on YouTube.

In today's Wall Street Journal Law blog, Ashby Jones reports on a Variety story that NBC is developing a TV show based on Goldstein's remarkable success story. The working title is Tommy Supreme -- "depicting a likeable guy in an unlikeable profession."

Now I have even more ammunition to use when attempting to persuade lawyers and law firms who think that social media are too undignified for the law or their particular practice! What is more dignified than a Supreme Court practice?

Your clients are using social media. Are you?

Janet Ellen Raasch — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:33:03 -0700

Kevin O'Keefe of LexBlog posts that social media are being used by nearly all Inc. 500 companies.

If you're a law firm not using social media, how are you to engage and network with corporations who are effectively using blogs, Twitter, Facebook and the like to build relationships? Aren't you going to be viewed as an outsider looking in? To leaders of America's fastest-growing companies, isn't your law firm going to look behind the times?

Amen, Kevin.

Hildebrandt interprets impact of economic crisis on legal industry

Janet Ellen Raasch — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:19:20 -0700

The recent economic crisis has had a significant impact on everyone -- including most law firms. The following article summarizes a presentation made Nov. 10 by Kristin Stark of Hildebrandt International to the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Legal Marketing Association. In this presentation, Stark presents and interprets third-quarter 2009 Hildebrant Peer Monitor index results. She also specifically addresses the impact that the economy has had on the marketing function at most law firms.

Hildebrandt interprets impact of economic crisis on legal industry (download)

Marketing forum on Mardindale-Hubbell Connected

Janet Ellen Raasch — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:08:40 -0700

Martindale-Hubbell recently launched a social network that includes both public and private groups for marketing professionals. This week, I am guest-hosting forum conversations on this site on the subject of the use of persuasive content marketing to position lawyers and law firms as experts on the Internet. So far, I've started threads on ghostblogging and attorney biographies/profiles. For those of you who are already members of MH Connected, check it out and join the conversation. If you have not yet joined, give it a try. You might have to wait a day or two to be approved.

LinkedIn: Lawyers and law firms can use social networks to develop new business

Janet Ellen Raasch — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:30:37 -0700

Although the number of lawyers on LinkedIn is steadily increasing, very few of them are taking full advantage of the site's potential as an inexpensive thought-leadership and business development tool. This article is a synopsis of a presentation on LinkedIn and other social networks made by John Reed of Jaffe Associates and Laura Hazen of Ireland Stapleton Pryor & Pasco.

LinkedIn: Lawyers and law firms can use social networks to develop new business

Using social media to engage with mainstream media

Janet Ellen Raasch — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:41:54 -0700

Reporters, editors and publishers from the mainstream media now rely on social media to learn about breaking news -- and to locate resources for the stories they write and publish. In this Sept. 24 Webinar, Kevin O'Keefe of Lexblog discusses how lawyers and law firms can use social media to create and nurture relationships with mainstream media.

In this Webinar, O'Keefe discusses how to use social media to listen -- to clients, prospective clients, referral sources and influencers (reporters, bloggers, associations and publishers).

Once you have listened carefully and know what interests these parties, you can use social media to create a relationship and give reporters, editors and publishers the information they need to know in order to do their jobs. If you've done your homework, they will appreciate your input.

In addition, O'Keefe discusses the correct way to cite and build upon the work of others in your own blog and in social networks -- and let them know how your efforts have increased their circulation. He also discusses the role played by Twitter in "getting out the news" about your practice or firm.

Good lawyers. Good leaders. Are they mutually exclusive?

Janet Ellen Raasch — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:43:29 -0700

Now more than ever, law firms of all sizes need good leadership in order to thrive. The characteristics that traditionally make a good practicing lawyer, however, are quite different from the characteristics that make a good leader -- or a good follower. It's time to change that tradition.

This article is a synopsis of a presentation made to the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Legal Marketing Association by Mark Beese of Leadership for Lawyers, who discusses the importance of leadership in law firms and how to transform good lawyers into good leaders as well.

Good lawyers. Good leaders. Are they mutually exclusive?

Lawyers embracing social media

Janet Ellen Raasch — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:54:13 -0700

According to research conducted for LexisNexis, 86 percent of lawyers under the age of 35 are members of social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook and MySpace. Among lawyers age 46 and older, a surprising 66 percent are members of social media. Obviously, the role of social networks in marketing a law practice cannot be ignored.

These stats were cited in an article that appeared in Sunday's The New York Times. The article has received a lot of attention because it discusses the situation of a lawyer who was reprimanded and fined by the Florida Bar Association for an intemperate blog post.

All of those lawyers -- younger and older -- who are now using social media would to well to remember that publishing is publishing. The ethics requirements governing the conduct of lawyers don't change just because you are online. Use social media -- but do not publish anything there that you would not publish in a magazine or newspaper.

News readers: Free, immediate and customized resource

Janet Ellen Raasch — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:17:27 -0700

To understand what a news reader is, it helps to know what a news reader was.

Back in the day, a news reader was a person who read a mountain of newspapers, magazines and journals on behalf of a client, clipped out relevant articles, and circulated the articles to those who needed to keep up with developments in a particular subject area. Sometimes this was done by an in-house person. (In fact, "news reader" was my first job out of college in support of more than 100 individuals at the League of Women Voters National Headquarters in Washington,D.C.) Sometimes news reading was done (for a hefty fee) by a PR firm or a clipping service.

By the time the article was written, printed and distributed by the publisher, and then read, clipped and circulated by a human news reader, the news could be many months old.

Times and tools have changed -- for the better.

Today, a news reader (or aggregator) is an Internet or desktop application that continuously searches the Internet (including blogs and other social media) for breaking news about a particular person, law firm, industry or subject area. It automatically collects all of this information in one place. It is a free, immediate and customized collection of the news and conversation essential to the success of any firm or professional services provider.

You can use a news reader to subscribe to the RSS feeds of resources like newspapers, blogs or courts. You can also use a news reader to subscribe to saved searches for certain keywords.

You can save a search, for example, for your law firm's name. If this name appears in the online version of a newspaper, magazine or journal; in a blog or comments to a blog; in a Twitter post; on a social network; or in RSS-enhanced content posted to any Web site (your own or others), that information will show up immediately in your reader -- where you can use it to support your daily professional and business decisions. Searches can also be created for individuals, clients, cases, competitors, industries and subject areas.

There are a variety of news readers out there. In the past, I have used Bloglines. Currently, I am using Google Reader. For a good tutorial on how to set up and use news readers, check out a recent Webinar presented by Kevin O'Keefe and the good folks at Lexblog.

What is the worth of a ghost-blogger?

Janet Ellen Raasch — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:51:22 -0700

The good news is, lawyers and law firms seem to be increasingly aware of the value of blogs and other social media when it comes to establishing themselves as thought-leaders within a given legal practice area -- and showing up well in search engine results for these keywords.

The bad news is, many lawyers are having a hard time creating and posting the amount of content they need in order to maximize social media.

As a result, I am getting a lot of requests lately to "ghost-blog" -- requests that go nowhere once the lawyers realize the cost of creating a steady stream of good blog posts. I counsel these would-be clients that it is almost always more time- and cost-effective for them to write and post their own blog posts. It is also, in the spirit of social media, much more authenic.

I'm not saying I won't do it if the right project comes along. I am just saying it won't be cheap.

Think of blog posts as poetry. Fiction writers like to say that writing novels is hard, writing short stories is harder, and writing poetry is hardest of all. I think that non-ficture writers would agree that writing books is hard, writing articles is harder, and writing good Web content is hardest of all.

To be a good ghost-blogger you have to be a good writer -- and know how to write for social media sites and search engines.

You have to take the time to know the client in order to "channel" his or her voice and values.

You have to work with the client to develop a list of topics that will resonate with a target audience.

You have to take the time to understand the subject matter and industry that the client is targeting.

You have to create an aggregator to follow experts in these subjects and industries online so that you can comment on and link to their posts in your own posts.

You have to create at least one (and preferably more) posts each week, gain approval from the "author," post the content (including Tweets and social network links announcing new content) and monitor the post for any comments.

That's a lot of work for what might end up being relatively few words. The traditional formula of charging "by the word" for books and articles falls apart when a writer is asked to come up with an estimate for ghost-blogging. Lawyers and law firms should not be taken aback.