Media & Communications Corner: Legal Brand Journalism

Legal Brand Journalism does not replace media relations, but rather complements it. Although everyone can be a creator and consumer of news, the role of the reporter and his or her commitment to the journalistic process is still relevant today and for the immediate future. There is, however, a convergence underway between marketing and public reputation functions, where brand journalism is driving public reputation management.

Now, PR functions as a subset of a comprehensive Legal Brand Journalism plan, which also includes content marketing, SEO and social media. At the very least, reporters will serve as guides on this digital roadmap and will be partially instrumental in defining the new role of public relations. Social influencers are going to become the new credibility sources and endorsers, but they won't entirely replace journalists ' at least not in the near future.

What results can you expect from Legal Brand Journalism? It enhances firm and attorney visibility, not only making them a more likely (and valuable) source for reporters, but also rapidly growing their spheres of influence. It allows law firms to create and curate their own journalistic-styled content and then publish and distribute that content directly to their audiences. Once the audience engages, this direct connection with the audience creates a two-way conversation, which further solidifies the relationship between the firm and its clients ' and prospective clients. The comments section on a blog is an example of such a device that can facilitate interactions.

Content Creation and Curation

Content must be a mix of written and visual, both original and curated. Stories must be substantive, reliable, engaging and consistent. Brands must be brave enough to tell straightforward truths in a totally “unpuffy” manner. Today's savvy audiences are capable of distinguishing between self-serving promotional content and honest non-biased content. Failure to listen, engage and respond effectively will be to the detriment of the organization. For those brands that communicate honestly, the rewards will be high.

Great content is king; fluff content lacking relevancy and honesty is worthless, as are pieces mucked up by legalese. And not only is poor content worthless, but it's professionally damaging and slowly destroys your credibility with readers. There are lots of interesting things to read online on every topic imaginable. You are competing for your readers' time. If you consistently create and share content for content's sake and are not keeping the reader in mind, you'll eventually end up being completely ignored or, worse, remembered for not living up to your own hype.

You should also be curating content. Find worthwhile resources (industry influencers, reporters, magazines and blogs) to follow, summarize their content (with full attribution, of course) and share it with your readers. Being “in the know” means not only creating relevant pieces, but also sorting through the noise for your readers and sharing the best of the best.

Legal Brand Journalism has to go far beyond new partner announcements and winning verdict announcements to telling stories about a law firm's practices, what went into those winning verdicts, industry focus, leaders, clients and communities, including challenges faced. You have to treat the news appropriately ' as a starting point ' but the underlying strategy is to find and tell bits of the story, not just in press releases, but in blogs, social networks and other innovative digital tools that clearly show what the firm is about and what's coming next. This integrated communication strategy, primarily centered on your firm website, produces results.

Implementation

To make the most of this new world, determine how Legal Brand Journalism fits into your overall marketing and PR strategy. This will dictate what topics and forms of content you will create and curate; which publishing avenues you'll use; and how your content will be distributed and shared. Clearly define your goals and expectations so you can measure your results. And then appoint someone, or even a small team, to manage your Legal Brand Journalism efforts. One thing is for certain: This cannot be a passing concern with random staff conducting half-hearted efforts.

You may already have many of the tools necessary to execute brand journalism: a website, social media accounts, writers and bloggers, and creative resources. It's just a matter of putting the pieces together in a strategic framework. And remember: Skipping a step may get you out there faster, but it won't make you better than the competition ' and that is what truly matters here. So take the time to survey the landscape, implement in stages, measure, reevaluate, adjust and start over as needed! You're much better off starting over early than forging ahead with a flawed strategy that is difficult to recover from. In this sense, learning from mistakes has never been more valuable!

Measuring Results

Any media efforts must be measured so you know what's working and what needs tweaking. When measuring results, it's important to keep sight of your overall goals. Determine which metrics you want to evaluate. For instance, if one of your goals is to position a practice area head as a recognized leader in his or her industry, you may consider creating a practice-specific blog, authored by that attorney. Evaluate visitor traffic to the blog, quantity and quality of blog comments, how blogs are shared across the Internet, and, ultimately, how much new business comes in the door as a result of the connections made from the blog. If you deem the number of comments to be low, consider ramping up your social media sharing strategies. Engagement tends to follow social media sharing.

Smart law firms know that a well-written or -spoken news pitch or news release still gets traction and creates buzz, often starting at professional blogs and then moving to newspaper stories. They understand that social media is part of the bigger picture, but have to struggle to keep up with it. The new PR firm with a Legal Brand Journalism orientation sees the “keeping up with it” part as what they have to do to effectively support their clients.

Ongoing Strategy

People today are so inundated with advertising and marketing language and spin that they carry a filter with them at all times. If something looks at all like self-promotional fluff, they tune it out. If your message can't get through this filter, your Legal Brand Journalism effort is doomed to fail.

Firms that embrace brand journalism will face additional challenges, certainly ' from hiring the right people to retraining folks to equipping them with more versatile skill sets ' and these challenges will be significant initially. Creating original content that is engaging will be a constant struggle, as will keeping up with the demand for regular, thought-provoking content. Companies that develop solid professional development plans and editorial guidelines will ultimately come out on top. The time to start planning and producing is now. Are you ready?

Jay M. Jaffe, a member of this newsletter's Board of Editors, is President and CEO of Jaffe PR, a totally virtual PR firm serving only the legal profession. He can be reached at [email protected].

Legal Brand Journalism' is the mechanism that allows thought leadership to happen. With the proliferation of social media and digital tools, an emerging trend ' not a fad ' finds companies and law firms eager to communicate directly with their audiences. Legal Brand Journalism is a solution that meets this need and promises to revolutionize law firm marketing and business development.

In a nutshell, the concept involves rethinking how to use media strategically across specific digital and traditional platforms to support your brand. More specifically, it requires law firm marketers and attorneys to step outside of their comfort zones and take every available tactic they've either been using or have considered using ' publishing articles, blogging, creating videos, hosting webinars and podcasting, among other tactics ' and elevating these efforts to the next level. It means creating and adopting a strategy that revolves around consistent content creation and curation, and proactively distributing and publishing it yourself. It also means freeing yourself from traditional publishing scenarios.

Legal Brand Journalism vs. Media Relations?

Legal Brand Journalism does not replace media relations, but rather complements it. Although everyone can be a creator and consumer of news, the role of the reporter and his or her commitment to the journalistic process is still relevant today and for the immediate future. There is, however, a convergence underway between marketing and public reputation functions, where brand journalism is driving public reputation management.

Now, PR functions as a subset of a comprehensive Legal Brand Journalism plan, which also includes content marketing, SEO and social media. At the very least, reporters will serve as guides on this digital roadmap and will be partially instrumental in defining the new role of public relations. Social influencers are going to become the new credibility sources and endorsers, but they won't entirely replace journalists ' at least not in the near future.

What results can you expect from Legal Brand Journalism? It enhances firm and attorney visibility, not only making them a more likely (and valuable) source for reporters, but also rapidly growing their spheres of influence. It allows law firms to create and curate their own journalistic-styled content and then publish and distribute that content directly to their audiences. Once the audience engages, this direct connection with the audience creates a two-way conversation, which further solidifies the relationship between the firm and its clients ' and prospective clients. The comments section on a blog is an example of such a device that can facilitate interactions.

Content Creation and Curation

Content must be a mix of written and visual, both original and curated. Stories must be substantive, reliable, engaging and consistent. Brands must be brave enough to tell straightforward truths in a totally “unpuffy” manner. Today's savvy audiences are capable of distinguishing between self-serving promotional content and honest non-biased content. Failure to listen, engage and respond effectively will be to the detriment of the organization. For those brands that communicate honestly, the rewards will be high.

Great content is king; fluff content lacking relevancy and honesty is worthless, as are pieces mucked up by legalese. And not only is poor content worthless, but it's professionally damaging and slowly destroys your credibility with readers. There are lots of interesting things to read online on every topic imaginable. You are competing for your readers' time. If you consistently create and share content for content's sake and are not keeping the reader in mind, you'll eventually end up being completely ignored or, worse, remembered for not living up to your own hype.

You should also be curating content. Find worthwhile resources (industry influencers, reporters, magazines and blogs) to follow, summarize their content (with full attribution, of course) and share it with your readers. Being “in the know” means not only creating relevant pieces, but also sorting through the noise for your readers and sharing the best of the best.

Legal Brand Journalism has to go far beyond new partner announcements and winning verdict announcements to telling stories about a law firm's practices, what went into those winning verdicts, industry focus, leaders, clients and communities, including challenges faced. You have to treat the news appropriately ' as a starting point ' but the underlying strategy is to find and tell bits of the story, not just in press releases, but in blogs, social networks and other innovative digital tools that clearly show what the firm is about and what's coming next. This integrated communication strategy, primarily centered on your firm website, produces results.

Implementation

To make the most of this new world, determine how Legal Brand Journalism fits into your overall marketing and PR strategy. This will dictate what topics and forms of content you will create and curate; which publishing avenues you'll use; and how your content will be distributed and shared. Clearly define your goals and expectations so you can measure your results. And then appoint someone, or even a small team, to manage your Legal Brand Journalism efforts. One thing is for certain: This cannot be a passing concern with random staff conducting half-hearted efforts.

You may already have many of the tools necessary to execute brand journalism: a website, social media accounts, writers and bloggers, and creative resources. It's just a matter of putting the pieces together in a strategic framework. And remember: Skipping a step may get you out there faster, but it won't make you better than the competition ' and that is what truly matters here. So take the time to survey the landscape, implement in stages, measure, reevaluate, adjust and start over as needed! You're much better off starting over early than forging ahead with a flawed strategy that is difficult to recover from. In this sense, learning from mistakes has never been more valuable!

Measuring Results

Any media efforts must be measured so you know what's working and what needs tweaking. When measuring results, it's important to keep sight of your overall goals. Determine which metrics you want to evaluate. For instance, if one of your goals is to position a practice area head as a recognized leader in his or her industry, you may consider creating a practice-specific blog, authored by that attorney. Evaluate visitor traffic to the blog, quantity and quality of blog comments, how blogs are shared across the Internet, and, ultimately, how much new business comes in the door as a result of the connections made from the blog. If you deem the number of comments to be low, consider ramping up your social media sharing strategies. Engagement tends to follow social media sharing.

Smart law firms know that a well-written or -spoken news pitch or news release still gets traction and creates buzz, often starting at professional blogs and then moving to newspaper stories. They understand that social media is part of the bigger picture, but have to struggle to keep up with it. The new PR firm with a Legal Brand Journalism orientation sees the “keeping up with it” part as what they have to do to effectively support their clients.

Ongoing Strategy

People today are so inundated with advertising and marketing language and spin that they carry a filter with them at all times. If something looks at all like self-promotional fluff, they tune it out. If your message can't get through this filter, your Legal Brand Journalism effort is doomed to fail.

Firms that embrace brand journalism will face additional challenges, certainly ' from hiring the right people to retraining folks to equipping them with more versatile skill sets ' and these challenges will be significant initially. Creating original content that is engaging will be a constant struggle, as will keeping up with the demand for regular, thought-provoking content. Companies that develop solid professional development plans and editorial guidelines will ultimately come out on top. The time to start planning and producing is now. Are you ready?

Jay M. Jaffe, a member of this newsletter's Board of Editors, is President and CEO of Jaffe PR, a totally virtual PR firm serving only the legal profession. He can be reached at [email protected].