Last week’s tip introduced you to, or made you aware of, the idea of Legal Brand Journalism™. Is creating your own content a new concept? Certainly not.
But the thought that everyone – anyone, really – can be a news producer may be a bit daunting to a lawyer who has his/her heart set on being interviewed on camera by ABC News or quoted in the Wall Street Journal. How can a law firm be its own news producer, in the traditional sense, providing credible and authoritative content? That, right there, is the crux of this technique. Firms rely too much on the idea that they need others to tell their news for them, when, in fact, it's perfectly acceptable and becoming the norm to tell your own story.
Even Yahoo! News is now evolving into a producer of news, moving away from being a news aggregator to developing its own content, as seen by the recent hire of a White House correspondent to beef up its political news division coverage. And couldn’t Facebook’s Timeline also be considered a way for a law firm/company/individual to produce news?
Legal Brand Journalism™ offers us a way to simply recognize what we already know and, in some sense, already are doing, by just turning it on its side and being strategic about it.
What are some ways that law firms can take ownership of their news and promote their brands?
- Create a position for an executive news producer, or editor-in-chief, who can manage, develop and package the firm’s news across multiple channels. Social media managers are on the rise, and business development managers are common; a news development manager is just on the horizon …
- Just about everyone has a smartphone with video capabilities these days. Gone are the days of hiring expensive video production crews for hours of shooting. It’s easier than ever to become a self-broadcaster of video and audio – just think of “Internet” instead of “television,” and “podcast” instead of “radio.”
- Lessen your dependence on others to tell your law firm’s news and shape public perception. Posting releases to your website and adding Twitter feeds are baby steps – today, law firms have the ability to control how their news reaches their target audiences. It’s just a matter of recognizing it and owning it.
For more information on how to recognize, develop and redirect your Legal Brand Journalism™ strategy, contact Vivian Hood, vhood@jaffepr.com or 904-220-1915.