joegratz.net

I’m liveblogging from Blog Law and Blogging for Lawyers, presented by Law Seminars International.

Kevin O’Keefe:

Blogs are “back to the future” for lawyer marketing. Lawyers shun advertising because it doesn’t feel comfortable, since legal advertising itself is pretty new.

If you publish good content in your own words that’s targeted to a narrow audience, you won’t be able to keep your target audience away.

A blog is not a journal, from a professional marketing standpoint. (Denise Howell is an exception.)

They’re not archived by calendar, but by topic. They’re not a mishmash of other topics with the legal analysis. Appreciate the trust people have placed in you by giving you an attention slice.

[He discusses how he started out on blogs using TypePad after selling an internet marketing business to Lexis.]

The vast majority of lawyers will have blogs by 2010.

[He shows the same Technorati numbers that were noted by Mary Hodder and Jodi Baumann.]

Law is information-intensive, so blogging is a good medium for us to use. There’s a golden opportunity! Are you going to blog, or are you going to sit back and try to get work through the old handshake mechanisms?

Blogs should be complementary to law firm sites. The blog is an “educational magazine” published by the firm. [Shouldn’t an effective blog be much more interactive than a magazine?] I get lots of press coverage and am considered an expert because of my blog, which outdraws most law firm sites.

A blog is a networking tool. A blog is substantive; a lawfirm website is promotional. Your website is static; your blog is a discussion. blogs are a real voice; firm sites are PR. A website is not an “internet presence”; a blog is. An internet presence allows the company to interact with the internet community. It’s OK for the firm’s website to be a brochure.

Blogs enhance the reputation of lawyers as trusted and reliable authorities. Law firms get branded based on expertise. Blogs are tasteful marketing. And it costs less than PDF or print newsletters.

[He quotes Bill Gates on blogs and their inevitable importance as a part of corporate communication.] [Um, Bill Gates doesn’t have a blog.]

Begin with the end in mind. What is the niche, audience, and perception sought? “Figure out the work that you want, because you’re going to get that work!”

Focus on niche. Less is more.

Q: How often does a lawyer need to blog to be successful? A: One guy blogs once every month or so and gets plenty of contacts. Harvard Business Review says once a week. If you do it the right way, it doesn’t take that long. [Recounts some anecdotes of successful legal marketing blogs.] “Why wouldn’t it work?”

Q: Do you need comments? A: Yes. But screen them ahead of time. You won’t get too many. But it makes it look like you’re open.

You can write poorly, but only for so long.

The focus is on getting cited.

Blogs should be easy to find, descriptive of their content, and should say what you do so readers can hire you.

Some firms do a case database. They blog new cases, but also fill in the past. The difference between this and a flat website is RSS feeds and search engine optimization.

You could have a portal, where you’re “scraping” content.

Blogs used to look different than they do now. Now they’re more like magazines.

“63% of consumer product marketers use or plan to use RSS within 12 months.” [Why would a person subscribe to a RSS feed marketing products to them?]

Q: Please comment on the word “blog”. Will we always be using that term, or will it seem passe? A: “Blog” will be accepted like “email” and “website”. It’s here to stay. We may get to know things as “feeds”. We’re moving from a “search and browse” society to a “search, browse, and subscribe” society. That’s how you will watch TV.

Q: How about social networking. Is that a fad? A: It’s going to have to be a part of professional networking. All these kids are using MySpace, and they’re not going to stop using such services.