Jaffe PR's Marketing Tips for October 21, 2009

November 5, 2009
Classic PR Tip

Submission Requirements of Certain Rankings Require Careful Consideration

Kathy O'Brien
As mentioned in a prior Marketing Tip, US News & World Report is teaming up with Best Lawyers to produce two new rankings for Fall 2010 in US News’ flagship publication, which could translate to valuable marketing opportunities for law firms.  As with other lists, it is critical to know the submission requirements as you decide on your participation.  This survey, like Chambers, asks for the holy grail of information--client references.  With most firms currently in the midst of their Chambers submissions, the thought of approaching a client for yet another reference may be somewhat uncomfortable.

So is this latest survey worth your time and that of your clients?  To determine that, review a listing of all the firm’s rankings that require client references and prioritize them in order of greatest importance to your firm.  For those rankings at the top, it makes sense to approach a client again.  As you make your way further down the firm’s rankings hierarchy, you may decide to just submit work highlights or arrange attorney interviews.  There is no doubt that approaching clients for yet another favor is a difficult decision, but in some cases - when there is national recognition at stake - it might be the right one.
PR 2.0 Tip

An Accolades Page is All the Rage

Michelle King

While LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and the growing list of social networking sites provide valuable real estate to showcase attorney and firm recognition, it’s easy to overlook the value of your own firm’s Web site.  Savvy law firm marketers can harness the power of those hard-earned rankings by doing more than updating the site’s attorney bios - a trend we are seeing is the compelling, eye-catching “accolades page.”

An accolades page is like the firm’s highlight reel, providing at-a-glance information on recent successes.  This information resonates with clients, potential clients, referral sources and new hires, making it clear that the firm’s high caliber client work has achieved broad recognition.  The accolades page also gives unique visitors a glimpse into the firm’s work environment, diversity make-up and practice area strengths.  In short, it is another low-cost opportunity to market the firm and build the brand. 

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