NCG Strategic Marketing

Digital Marketing for Attorneys & Accountants

Social Media

NCG’s Phil Nugent Speaks on “Lawyers, Ethics and Social Media” at CLE International’s 18th Ethics Conference

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There are many critical – and often misunderstood – ethical considerations relating to attorneys and their use of social media.

Lawyers throughout the country continue to provide us with many examples of how not to act on social media. Their stories, disciplinary hearings, and resulting news coverage are a strong reminder that what gets posted on the Web in an impulsive act can have significant and long-lasting ramifications in the real-world.

On December 9, 2013, Phil Nugent, J.D., M.B.A., managing director of NCG Strategic Marketing, presented “Lawyers, Ethics and Social Media: Sense and Sensibility for 21st Century Attorneys” at CLE International‘s 18th Annual Ethics Conference in Denver.

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Five Years on Twitter, Part I: Five Reasons Why Lawyers Should Tweet

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It recently dawned on me that I’ve been on Twitter for over five years. Yes, as @PhilNugent, I’ve been tweeting since August 2008. While that’s an achievement shared by more than a few in the Twitterverse, it came as a bit of a shock. Has it really been that long?

In the bigger picture, I find it interesting that as much as Twitter has become part of our business culture and social fabric in the last few years, there are still many who think of it as a somewhat alien and frivolous activity that could have no possible value for their business and professional success.

With that in mind, I thought this might be a good time to take stock of what I’ve learned about the value of Twitter. Perhaps these lessons might help some lawyers and other professionals realize that the social media platform – while no silver bullet – just might hold a good amount of potential for them as a marketing, branding and business development tool.

So, here in Part I of Five Years on Twitter, I’ll take a high-level view of the platform, focusing on five reasons why skeptics may want to rethink their Twitter abstinence. Looking ahead, in Part II of this post I’ll describe best practices for attorneys who want to be successfulTwitter logo on Twitter.

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The Digital Lawyer: ‘Topics in Digital Law Practice’ Course Offered Online to Attorneys; Classes in Document Automation, Virtual Law Practice & More

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Are you still practicing law the way they did back in the 20th century, or are you taking advantage of all the changes in technology that have been sweeping the profession? Would you call Digital Lawyeryourself a digital lawyer, or an analog attorney in a digital world?

From document automation to the use of technology in the courtroom, to the rise of virtual law offices, the practice of law has been changing dramatically over the last few years. If you’re one of the many who feel as if it’s been impossible to keep up with many of these changes, you might be interested in an upcoming online course offered by CALI, the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction.

CALI is a nonprofit that’s been helping law students for 30 years, and they have put together a nine-week introduction to the many ways in which technology is changing the profession. Entitled Topics in Digital Law Practice, the web course starts on February 10 and will feature a different guest lecturer on Fridays at 2:00 Eastern time. Each class is just an hour, and if students are unable to make it to a particular class, a recording will be available later on the website. While the course is primarily geared to law students and law professors, all interested parties are invited to register. And while there is homework, there are no final exams, grades or CLE credits. Oh, and by the way, it’s free. [Read more…] about The Digital Lawyer: ‘Topics in Digital Law Practice’ Course Offered Online to Attorneys; Classes in Document Automation, Virtual Law Practice & More

The New Rules of Marketing & PR: The Hard, Honest Work of Earning the Public’s Attention

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Why is it that the arena of online marketing and PR often reminds me of one of those old-time carnivals? It’s almost impossible to navigate along the online midway enjoying your cotton candy without falling prey to the multitudes of self-proclaimed “gurus” and “leaders” in your path, all of them promising that there’s nothing easier than to follow their advice, knock over the three milk bottles and win the biggest prize.

David Meerman Scott
David Meerman Scott

And yet, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some legitimate leaders in our brave new world of marketing and PR, and I’m able to say with confidence that David Meerman Scott is one of the few. Over the course of a successful career in corporate marketing and public relations, David saw that the traditional practices that had long been used in these two disciplines were being discarded for a new set of rules, and he saw this long before many of his fellow practitioners were convinced. Based on what he saw happening, three years ago David wrote what became a phenomenally successful book, The New Rules of Marketing & PR.

 

In a field that sees countless new titles on a continual basis, this work was the bestselling public relations book on Amazon for nearly two years, has sold hundreds of thousands of copies and has been translated into 24 languages. And it’s telling that the term “social media” didn’t even make it into the first edition, which was published less than three years ago, in June 2007. When David was writing the book in 2006, Facebook was still only for those with an .edu email address and Twitter had barely caused a ripple.

So, it’s an indicator of just how fast social media has become the 800-pound gorilla in marketing and PR that the newly-released second edition prominently features “social media” in the revised subtitle, “How to Use Social Media, Blogs, News Releases, Online Video, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly.”

51jgmp8Ly7L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_Yet, the main message of the book hasn’t changed. And therein lies the beauty of it. The New Rules of Marketing & PR has been successful for many reasons, but here’s a big one: Instead of focusing on numbers (e.g., how many people are on your email list, tips and tricks for improving your Web site’s SEO or getting your press release into as many hands as possible), David knows that content is still king. His sine qua non of online content is that it must be customer-focused and compelling. This theme is found in one of his favorite mantras: You must earn the attention of the public.

I like that word, “earn.” It implies honesty and integrity. But it sounds kind of like work, doesn’t it? It means that you need to focus on creating authentic, compelling content that will: 1) appeal to your prospective clients and customers, 2) provide them with something of value, and 3) keep them coming back for more.

In our unbelievably busy, fragmented and distracted world, that’s not easy to do. How do you get yourself heard above the noise? How do you get people to watch your show more than once? This isn’t just work, it’s hard work. This is knowing what your prospective customers are interested in, addressing their needs and interests, and putting yours on ice. This is being a journalist and a thought leader. This is the opposite of spending your time figuring out how to game Google.

Does this mean that David is not a believer in the importance of SEO? No, that’s not a fair criticism, for he fully understands how useful SEO can be in helping your customers find you and your site. And that’s quite important, given all the noise and distractions out there.

But on a recent podcast, David put search engine optimization in its place.  He emphasized that if he were making a recommendation to a company that wanted to increase visitors to its site – and the firm had a budget to hire someone to help – he would suggest hiring an SEO expert only after first hiring someone who had experience as a professional journalist.  (He even suggested that after the journalist was on board, he’d hire a copywriter next, before hiring an SEO expert.)

Why is that? Because it’s all about having engaging content, and there’s not much use in driving traffic to your site if there’s nothing there to engage your visitors.

So, focus on your customers. Address their interests, not yours. And you will earn their attention.

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Change or Die: The BBC Orders its Reporters to Use Social Media

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Do you still think that writing blogs is just for people with either an axe to grind or too much time on their hands? And that Twitter is just an inane waste of time with absolutely no possible positive ROI?

As Kevin O’Keefe describes in a post this week, Peter Horrocks, the newly appointed director of BBC Global News, recently told his news reporters that they should use social media as a primary source of information. You read that right: BBC reporters are now required to use social media.

And you also read this correctly: we’re talking about the British Broadcasting Corporation. For the record, the company was founded in 1922 and it’s safe to say that the BBC has never been known as a group of impulsive kids randomly jumping on the latest fad. No, this is the ever-so-reliable, familiar and comfortable “Beeb,” as its devoted fans across the world have fondly referred to it for decades. But perhaps this really says it all: the BBC is an 88-year-old British institution with its own coat of arms.

The takeaway here is that perhaps you should give a good listen to what the BBC Global News director has to say about social media. In an internal newsletter earlier this month, Horrocks said, “This isn’t just a kind of fad from someone who’s an enthusiast of technology. I’m afraid you’re not doing your job if you can’t do those things. It’s not discretionary.” And he later says, “If you don’t like it, if you think that level of change or that different way of working isn’t right for [you], then go and do something else, because it’s going to happen. You’re not going to be able to stop it.”

So, erase that image in your head of the doddering old Beeb, for we see that the BBC is actually wide awake and energized in these Twitter-infused times. In fact, the organization is operating with a keen understanding of the truly revolutionary changes that have occurred in how information is aggregated and disseminated.

And what does this mean for you?

Well, John Schwartz, the National Legal Correspondent for the New York Times, recently spoke to O’Keefe about just how popular RSS readers have become with reporters everywhere. These reporters use RSS to follow particular blogs, in addition to following keywords and key phrases in Google Blog Search. The great thing for you about that last point is that these keyword searches can lead them to new blogs that they hadn’t known about, including, perhaps, yours.

O’Keefe, who as the founder of LexBlog, Inc. has helped nearly 3,000 attorneys build their blogs, continues:

If you’re covering timely legal issues in your blog, you’ll get seen by reporters. Reporters aren’t stupid and looking to waste their time Googling search terms looking for an old article or even being sillier yet, waiting for your PR person to turn them on to experts at your law firm.

The point he’s making is that you’ll likely mention cases, regulations, and companies in your law blog, and when one of those subjects becomes newsworthy, your blog post will be instantly picked up by the RSS readers of reporters covering that subject. Ultimately, there is a good probability that you could get a reporter’s call, or that something you wrote may be cited in a reporter’s article. Either one would be fine with you, right?

The only problem is that neither of these great things will happen unless you do the work to put yourself out there in the blogosphere. The good news is that there’s still time to catch the train. But you’re going to have to run.

I hear you say that you weren’t born to blog or tweet. Fair enough; none of us were. And none of us has the time to do it, either. But I’m pretty sure I heard Horrocks say to his reporters, “Change or die.” It’s being said a lot these days. In fact, in a small, flat world, it’s the new mantra.

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