PR for Law Firms: Automation Domination
The relationship-based “earned media” activities that once formed the core of PR for law firms — media placements, media training, contributed stories — have morphed to fit the way we live now. It’s no longer about who your PR manager or agency knows in the media. Instead, it’s about what you know and what you do to get influencers to like and share your content.
Instead of vague measurements based on “media impressions” — the estimated number of people who might have seen a story or read an article — our brave new digital world enables us to track the elusive who, what, where, when, why (and how) of marketing.
Media Relations
Then..
- Identify target media and contacts (newspapers, magazines, TV stations)
- Craft 1:1 pitch emails and follow-up calls; cultivate 1:1 relationships with journalists
- Track the number of mentions and multiply by circulation/audience share numbers to measure ROI
Now…
- Identify target influencers everywhere they are (blogs, social media, podcasts, YouTube)
- Friend, follow & comment; craft 1-to-many messages and engage in ongoing conversations/debates
- Track shares and likes across social media platforms
Media Training
Then…
- Construct soundbites for your key messages
- Master bridging, hooking and flagging, techniques that will land your talking points and avoid questions you don’t want to answer during a media interview
Now…
- Save your money. Media interviews are basically irrelevant to your marketing efforts unless you are a politician, sports figure or pop culture celebrity.
- Rehearsed and canned interviews are usually called out for being inauthentic. The new expectation is to speak extemporaneously — or at least look like it
Thought Leadership
Then…
- Significant time, effort and money spent on pitching contributed articles
Now…
- One word: Blog
Speaking Engagements
Then…
- Research conferences
- Create speaking proposals
- Pitch your topics and speakers to conference organizers
Now…
- Build your own CLE package; host your own events
- Create your own YouTube channel
- Connect with conference organizers through social media
Nominations
Then…
- Submit to every legal directory available
Now…
- Monitor and manage comments on ratings and reviews sites
Moral of the Story: Friends Don’t Let Friends Hire Law Firm PR Firms
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