5 Reasons Why Attorneys New to Marketing and Business Development Need the Blogosphere

By Kipp Lanham, Senior Account Executive, Media & Communications Strategies, Inc.

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As the lawyer David Lee on the CBS drama The Good Wife mentions in the above meme, sometimes attorneys want to be left alone by the direction of technology, or in some cases, marketing trends. I ran into this roadblock recently with an attorney looking to grow their profile and client base. We have all been there before but it is always a good moment to pause and reassess. This attorney was skeptical of the benefits of entering the blogosphere. What could it provide that cannot be provided using traditional marketing and PR tools elsewhere?

 

  1. Attorneys that only have their biography on the law firm website and a LinkedIn profile might think that their marketing work is done. But the truth is, you can never brand yourself enough. “Look, my expertise and experience are on display! Just give me a call or shoot me an email.” These items are static without the utilization of active bloggers who need sources with such offerings to flesh out their content in front of legal and other relevant industries that the attorney could benefit from for possible buzz and business referrals. We are always curious about where clients get their leads for our attorneys, and one such place has been blog posts.
  2. Using the blogosphere adds to branding the attorney as an incisive source for comment on matters relevant to their practice or industry sector. The attorney’s insights might be the main focus of the content and when reporters/other bloggers are researching such a topic or looking for sources of comment, they might be looking specifically for your attorney.
  3. Any content your firm shares has the potential to “go viral in the blogosphere through social media shares. Viral means material is shared and discussed across social media platforms and catches the attention of reporters and bloggers. The comments and other contributions that attorneys provide bloggers can catch fire if connected to pivotal industry news or other breaking news. These comments of course need a prescient perspective that positions the attorney and its firm on the client’s side in the face of a challenge from regulators or whoever the opponent might be.
  4. Google search still rules the roost and having the attorney’s name pop up on key search terms relevant to their practice can correspond with blogs where the attorney has commented. Google now gives more weight to web sites and text that are more mobile search friendly, and Google even penalizes web sites that are not over 60 percent of searches come from mobile devises these days and the trend is growing.. Some content has higher readership while others are more niche, but still build awareness in search results for the attorney’s name and firm.
  5. Bloggers also benefit from having attorneys comment. It builds blogger’s credibility for consumable content and as a destination for insights on an industry or topic. Social and cultural topics in particular that have been getting attention within and without the industry always provide an opportunity to have a distinctive point of view. The attorney can receive referrals on the blogger’s blog roll as well and be sought after for comment elsewhere, crossing over into mainstream news or trade publications.

 

The next time an attorney who is new to the marketing and business development areas declines to write or comment for an opportunity in the blogosphere, it is time to push back and give them the added value they would be missing by saying, “pass.” It could very well go to the competition and become an opportunity that they wished they’d said yes to instead!