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Law firms that are new to media communications frequently make the same mistakes. They tend to talk about their own big cases or important laterals arriving at their firms, and they have unrealistic expectations of what will interest journalists and actually appear in print.
This naivete is so pervasive that many in-house media professionals and outside media consultants would prefer to "go second," that is, work with a law firm after its has had an unhappy relationship with another media professional.
To minimize their own frustration and the unhappiness of the media professionals they hire, law firms new to formal media initiatives should consider some fundamental rules that will help get them off to a more successful start.
- Media training is critical. It will create better interviewees, lead to more news coverage and mean savvier partners who will understand better the needs of journalists and will help educate other partners on the importance of media and marketing as an integral part of their business development efforts.
- Talk about the next thing, not the last thing. Partners traditionally desire to focus on "what they just did," while reporters want to write stories about the "next big thing," which also is what clients and prospects want to read about. The firms that have raised most successfully and rapidly their profiles did so by focusing on issues of concern to clients and prospects, not just on what some partners initially wanted to talk about.
- Swallow the difficult pills. Law firms new to the media frequently want to do things the way they always have. Firms that have been successful with the media, however, have understood that it requires some controlled risk. Jones Day Reavis & Pogue was willing to be one of the first firms to host international round-table discussions. Shaw Pittman publicly focused on a single practice area in order to increase the profile of the firm as a whole in London. These were bold steps. Law firms that successfully and rapidly raise their profiles incorporate a specific media strategy as part of their business development effort, and that often includes doing something "first."
The focus itself almost doesn't matter. Law firms new to proactive media often take too much time trying to decide what they want to talk about and far less time talking about it. Pick a few partners and a few practice areas and get some press coverage, even if these ultimately will not be the focus of your efforts. Why? Because it will help raise the firm's profile while simultaneously institutionalizing media as part of what key partners do. The more intricate strategies and "branding" approaches will develop naturally thereafter.
- Emphasize practice areas before the firm itself. Most firms want press coverage about themselves. While this is possible, focusing on media coverage of the firm always leads to frustration. Firm news is just not that interesting or unique, despite what people at the firm might feel. By contrast, practice groups provide a rich resource for news stories on substantive issues that legal buyers care about.
- Differentiate the firm logically. Too often, law firms study what other law firms do in their marketing strategies and then try to do the same thing, "only differently." Do study other firms' marketing techniques, but always address the basic question: "From the client's perspective, what makes our practice different?" Then focus your media efforts on stories that emphasize those differentiating factors.
- Extend the Story. Too often, law firms merge or win a big matter, obtain press and then wait until the next time they have a media event to contact the media. This approach is tantamount to Ford only marketing on the first day of its model year. When one national firm merged with a British firm, they focused not only on the merger but on the merger's value to its clients, focusing extensively on telecommunications. Firms that do not pursue this important follow-up step are only generating one-day stories. They're almost not worth the effort.
- Build to the Feature. When asked what media success will look like, virtually every partner will answer - a feature in The Wall Street Journal. Forget it. It may happen, but with only four law firm features in four years, it is unlikely to happen to you. Build to feature coverage by starting with industry trade publications, out-of-market newspapers, Internet news sites and other less competitive media. In time, these placements influence the reporters you are targeting and will get you the coverage that you thought other lawyers had gotten overnight.
- Answer the call. If you don't return a reporter's call on a story in which you don't want to be included, you won't get the calls for the stories in which you do want to be included. Every call is an opportunity to build a relationship with a reporter - the gatekeeper to your clients - even if all you say is that you cannot go on the record for the particular story.
- Media is like oxygen. Seldom does one story make or break a career. Think about how you are influenced in your purchasing decisions. Is it through a single advertisement or article? Rather, it is through the reach and repetition of multiple marketing activities. Only over time does one develop a sense of a product or service.
Remember that your prospects do not read every word in a story, and they remember even less. All you should hope that the media will do, over time, is to give clients and prospects a sense of your firm as a safe buying decision.
Richard S. Levick is president of Levick Strategic Communications and can be reached at rlevick@levick.com.
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