4 Ways to Make your Law Blog Stand Out from the Crowd

There’s nothing worse than cooking for an empty dinner table and similarly, blogging without followers can seem a little futile. There’s nothing worse than flogging a dead horse so banish the blogger blues, increase your follower list and make your publication stand out from the crowd in 5 simple steps.

Lights, Camera, ACTION

Just as you wouldn’t spend weeks rehearsing for a play withoutadvertising tickets to see the show, blogging without promotion is a fruitless pursuit. Even before publishing your first blog post, start building a twitter account and hone your unique voice ready for launch.

Twitter is the best social platform for lawyers as it allows you to engage with the law community, share tips and advice, retweet and gather inspiration from like-minded professionals.

Ensure that you have share buttons installed on your blog and that they are clearly visible. Also it’s worth bearing in mind that for every piece of content written, it’s advisable to spend just as much time promoting it whether it’s through social interaction, legal PR distribution or email marketing.

Groundhog Day

One thing which is certain to repel potential followers is the same old bland content written over and over. Readers will see straightthrough a blog written for the sole purpose of endorsing a product or service, so avoid this approach like the plague.

Do some research, identify your target market and create a content calendar based on what your audience are looking for. Look at what your competitors and don’t just copy them, find a gap in the market and strike while the iron is hot.

Not from Concentrate Copy

The first rule of quality content is quality copy. Without a talented wordsmith you’re probably going to end up on the dung heap, and in a saturated market concentrated copy just isn’t going to cut the mustard. If you don’t have a way with words yourself, invest in a copywriter who can drive the business forward through the power of language.

Keeping up Appearances

Is there anyone in this world who doesn’t make a quick first impression based on appearance? Sadly, even with the very best intentions, blogs need to look good to be engaging and gain attention. That doesn’t mean you need to take out a loan and hire the best graphic designer in town, just be smart about it.

Blogger and Wordpress platforms offer a large variety of free templates which you can install yourself and customise to suit your needs. Learn some basic HTML to layout your content and imagery correctly and a good looking blog can easily be yours.

Author Note: Byfield Consultancy is a team of reputable management consultants who know a thing or two about Legal PR. Based in London and proficient in all things PR, this established firm work behind the scenes to raise the profile of businesses using a variety of cutting-edge techniques. Take a look at their website to find out more or to make an enquiry call 0207 092 3999.

Image source: anniemole

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

@MEKowalski: 'Law Schools’ Fear of Social Media Is a Disservice to Students'

Canadian lawyer Mitch Kowalski (@MEKowalski) explained that law students are failing to use social media with their career in mind because of law schools’ fear of the social networks and online space. http://t.co/Fkf9gsfuCX 

I've written about this many times before including on this blog here: http://thetweetinglawyer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/kevin-o-perils-of-being-law-firm-social.html?m=1 

And on Defero law more recently I explained my Digital Law Student series:

"I wanted to then tell that story through the Digital Law Student series. Especially because, as Brian Inkster, Pat Ellis and Kevin O’Keefe have said (here, here and here respectively), law students and young lawyers are absolutely not using social media with their career in mind.

In fact the blowback is breath-taking. At the recent Bar Conference in Northern Ireland, not a single barrister was using Twitter and all the new pupils were fanatical adherents to the totally out-dated legal doctrine of no risk, no comment, no change.

As Richard Susskind says, this is “irrational rejectionism.”It’s“institutional bewilderment”. To that I simply cite Gary Slapper (@garyslapper) who said“LAWYERS MUST CHANGE” and John Cooper QC who said that lawyers who were once snobbish and dismissive of Twitter are now active tweeters. Oh and Karl Chapman of Riverview Law who said that the days of the legal technocrat are over. Oh! And how they told Richard Susskind he was mad in the 1990s when he suggested that lawyers would us email (see here)!

http://www.deferolaw.com/m/blogpost?id=5999820%3ABlogPost%3A63415

Karl Chapman - The Days of the Legal Technocrat are Over

Karl Chapman of Riverview Law, the non-law firm legal services provider and star performer at the FT Innovative Lawyers 2013 spoke with Legal Cheek about the need for law students and young lawyers to radically shift their plane of regard and perception of how legal services should be delivered. Here's some excerpts:

"Some of the big themes from business and commerce that are most relevant to future lawyers have nothing to do with law, but they have everything to do with the successful practice of law in the new market emerging. They are common-sense principles that have been applied in most other sectors of the economy, excluding much of the public sector, for decades. The future will see legal businesses and large organisations pay a premium for pragmatic, IT literate, numerate and commercially aware advisers who can communicate succinctly, play as part of a team and problem solve…oh, and who just happen to have a legal qualification (not necessarily achieved via university!). The skills they will need include: 

1. An ability to be proactive and pre-emptive:

lawyers tend to be reactive, responding to client requirements. But increasingly they will need to take the initiative too, demonstrating that their input pre-empts future risks and costs.

 2. IT and social media savviness:

Legal businesses and in-house functions will need to invest significantly in automation if they’re to drive efficiency, improve processes and transform their relationships with their customers.

3. Management information capabilities:

Lawyers will need to be able to capture, interpret and apply data and trend analysis to their clients benefit. Customers take it as read that lawyers know the law, so lawyers need to ask themselves what other value-add can they bring.

4. A customer service ethos: 

Lawyers really will need to pay more than lip service to building customer-focused service delivery and pricing models."

Very similar to what Forbes Magazine said here that, "The days of when students need just MS Word are long gone." Karl Chapman then spoke on the specific need for young lawyers to raw an active on social media:

"Returning to the 1980s for a moment: I really wish I’d known that many of my friends would end up as senior and managing partners in law firms. Given what we’re doing now I’d have kept in even closer contact with them than I have. Which brings me to one further really big point of advice for aspiring and young lawyers: even in a fast moving, social media-enabled world, never ever underestimate the power of relationships and personal networks. It’s amazing how often these come into play and, with hindsight, I wish I’d invested more time in maintaining my legal network."

In full here.