Progressive Marketing

Social Media Planning - Thanks!

2010-01-29T10:57:00.000-08:00

I want to thank Leigh George for running a terrific show yesterday at the Webinar jointly sponsored by the LMA Capital Chapter together with the MD/DC/DE Chapter of the Association for Accounting Marketing and the Marketing Directors Support Group. My fellow presenters included Kelly Hoey of 85 Broads and Andrea Stimmel from Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP, and Leigh, all fine ladies and great thinkers on the social media world.

We were fortunate to have almost 200 people attending and a active Twitter hashtag, #ISMC. For the beneift of everyone, here is the complete thread. The earliest tweet is at the bottom, the last at the top.

nadenlean: RT @moebes123: looking for samples of client surveys - #MPF #LMA #ISMC #AAM -> Survey maven is Rachel Gold http://bit.ly/rachelisgold
sergeysek: RT @Russ23229: Social media works best when it fits the culture of your firm #ISMC
moebes123: looking for samples of client surveys - before, during and after work with a client, survey of past clients. #MPF, #LMA, #ISMC
nadenlean: RT @jkhoey: For all those who listened in on #ISMC program today - follow @bigtentdonna @bigtentgroups
jkhoey: For all those who listened in on #ISMC program today - follow @bigtentdonna @bigtentgroups
jkhoey: If you have questions on online alumni programs/voluntary communities after #ISMC today, you know where to find me!
jkhoey: @Ginger_Lewis I hope everyone had FUN too! #ISMC
MoireMarketing: Thanks to everyone who joined in our great discussion on social media campaigns today and made it such a wonderful event! #ISMC
LeighGeorge: Thanks to everyone who joined in our great discussion on social media campaigns today and made it such a wonderful event!
rebeccawissler: Great presentation 2day. Thank u! RT @jkhoey: So fun to co-present today w @leighgeorge @Russ23229 (Andrea! Where are you out here?) #ISMC
tinamills: RT @wisaleiss: Email signatures shld include links 2 yr profile on LinkedIn, twitter, yr blog - EVERYTHING! 4 Business cards include profile links #ISMC
ShannonMayforth: RT @JessicaLevin: RT @moebes123: Russell - "a little recognition goes a long way in between paychecks. " #ISMC, #LMA
CarenRodriguez: RT @Ginger_Lewis: Thanks for a great presentation on Integrated SM. ALSO @nadenlean for organizing! #ismc Our local group enjoyed it.
Ginger_Lewis: Thanks @leighgeorge @Russ23229 @jkhoey and @andreastimmel for a great presentation on Integrated SM. ALSO @nadenlean for organizing! #ismc
nadenlean: RT @jkhoey: So glad you found the SM program useful!!! @knappmarketing #LMA #ISMC - It was AWESOME!
jkhoey: So glad you found the SM program useful!!! @knappmarketing #LMA #ISMC
jkhoey: So fun to co-present today w @leighgeorge @Russ23229 (Andrea! Where are you out here????) #ISMC
nancymyrland: Diff between direct mktg & #SocialMedia..u have 2 earn the right 2 promote by 1st developing relationships. #ISMC #LMA
knappmarketing: @leighgeorge @jkhoey Excellent job on the SM presentation today. Very professional, informative and a great panel. #LMA #ISMC
passport_health: great idea- keeps you accountable 2fans RT @nadenlean: LinkedIn and Twitter accounts printed on bus. cards? Thoughts? #ISMC #AAM #MDSG #LMA
VHenderson3: RT @KatieTolin: RT @moebes123: social media helps "bring the voice of the firm out" #ISMC
JessicaLevin: @nadenlean I love Google Wave. #ISMC #AAM #MDSG #LMA
moebes123: Thank you to all ISMC participants. And thanks to all those tweeting and retweeting comments. #LMA, #ISMC
ishade: RT @wisaleiss: Email signatures shld include links 2 yr profile on LinkedIn, twitter, yr blog - EVERYTHING! 4 Business cards include profile links #ISMC
TGP4CPAs: RT @wisaleiss: Email signatures shld include links 2 yr profile on LinkedIn, twitter, yr blog - EVERYTHING! 4 Business cards include profile links #ISMC
caroleheiss: Great presentation and conversation today! #ISMC Thanks Much @LeighGeorge @nadenlean #MDSG Everyone
moebes123: Next in social media - russell - hopes to see management tool for all social media. #LMA, #ISMC
ishade: RT @clunk6: Add "visit the firm blog or Twitter account" to your out of office message. #ismc
TGP4CPAs: RT @clunk6: Add "visit the firm blog or Twitter account" to your out of office message. #ismc
michellegolden: Additionally, I”d go so far as to say most PSF sites are ALREADY extremely light. :( #ISMC
edkless: RT @michellegolden: I feel pretty strongly that a blog that doesn’t allow comments isn’t truly a blog. It’s merely a platform. #ISMC
LeighGeorge: Thanks so much! RT @michellegolden: #ISMC really nice job Leigh, Andrea, Russell & Kelly!!
nadenlean: RT @michellegolden: #ISMC really nice job Leigh, Andrea, Russell & Kelly!! - totally agree!!
moebes123: Next in sm? ISMC says direct mktg replaced by social media. Need to learn do/don’t from direct marketing + apply to sm. #ISMC, #LMA
michellegolden: #ISMC really nice job Leigh, Andrea, Russell & Kelly!!
BluffsCPA: RT @michellegolden: I feel pretty strongly that a blog that doesn’t allow comments isn’t truly a blog. It’s merely a platform. #ISMC
michellegolden: @susangorham said it better: Prediction #ISMC: Websites to become very "light" while rich, valuable content is on blogs and other SM sites.
JessicaLevin: RT @spardata: Big ideas from #ISMC webinar: Add LinkedIn prof link 2 yr email sig, include twttr/LI/FBook on biz cards, remove fax number.
nadenlean: RT @clunk6: Add "visit the firm blog or Twitter account" to your out of office message. #ismc
ProfJonathan: I agree w/@nancymyrland, @coreygarver-- Just got my new cards with my Skype & Twitter IDs: http://twitpic.com/106ovi #ISMC #AAM #MDSG #LMA
KatieTolin: RT @susangorham: Prediction from #ISMC: Web sites will become very "light" while rich, valuable content will be on blogs and other SM sites.
KatieTolin: RT @clunk6: Add "visit the firm blog or Twitter account" to your out of office message. #ismc
moebes123: RT @spardata: Big ideas from #ISMC webinar: Add LinkedIn prof link to your email sig, include Twitter/LI/FBook on biz cards, remove fax number.
HeatherLynn11: #ISMC Sometimes it’s hard to connect on LI becuase u don’t have their e-mail address...Can you put your name followed by email to mk easier?
moebes123: RT @susangorham: Prediction from #ISMC: Web sites will become very "light" while rich, valuable content will be on blogs and other SM sites.
wisaleiss: Email signatures shld include links 2 yr profile on LinkedIn, twitter, yr blog - EVERYTHING! 4 Business cards include profile links #ISMC
spardata: Big ideas from #ISMC webinar: Add LinkedIn prof link to your email sig, include Twitter/LI/FBook on biz cards, remove fax number.
michellegolden: At what stage is your website currently? Andrea Stimmel Predicts actual PSF websites get lighter on content as SM grows. #ISMC
nadenlean: RT @michellegolden: Some cheesballs out there have 10K+ followers. Organic, quality growth best. #ISMC - chuckle - cheeseballs....
susangorham: Prediction from #ISMC: Web sites will become very "light" while rich, valuable content will be on blogs and other SM sites.
wisaleiss: RT @nadenlean: Excited about the Integrated Social Media panel discussion today http://bit.ly/IntSoMe #AAM #LMA #MDSG #ISMC - listening now
moebes123: RT @michellegolden: Measuring success: followers alone = misleading metric! Some cheesballs out there have 10K+ followers. Organic, quality growth best. #ISMC
valuecave: RT @nadenlean: Thoughts? 1000 Business Cards Full Color 4/4 only $19.99 http://is.gd/6gPHM #ISMC #AAM #MDSG #LMA
coreygarver: @LeighGeorge any thoughts for/against "practice specifc" SM profiles vs 1"firm-wide" account? thinking abt varying target audiences #ISMC
JeffreyMorganCA: RT @jillhartman: Just added LinkedIn address to my electronic address with emails #ismc #aam be sure to add your twitter address as well!
susangorham: RT @michellegolden: Measuring success: followers alone = misleading metric! Some cheesballs out there have 10K+ followers. Organic, quality growth best. #ISMC
michellegolden: Measuring success: followers alone = misleading metric! Some cheesballs out there have 10K+ followers. Organic, quality growth best. #ISMC
jillhartman: Just added LinkedIn address to my electronic address with emails #ismc #aam
moebes123: RT @Russ23229: RT @michellegolden: YAY law firms dropping fax number from biz cards! #ISMC
Russ23229: RT @michellegolden: YAY law firms dropping fax number from biz cards! #ISMC
lindsayweb: Yes, as long as you’re active! RT @coreygarver: Great question! RT @nadenlean LinkedIn and Twitter accounts printed on biz cards? #ISMC
michellegolden: YAY law firms dropping fax number from biz cards! #ISMC
cascade_alan: RT @moebes123: Russell - "a little recognition goes a long way in between paychecks. " #ISMC, #LMA (via @JessicaLevin)
caroleheiss: Ops @nadenlean agre Printing the LinkedIn account on business card drives more people online and to a company website. #ISMC #AAM #MDSG #LMA
caroleheiss: Printing the LinkedIn account on business card drives more people online and to a company website. #ISMC #AAM #MDSG #LMA
michellegolden: @nadenlean absolutely (re printing Twitter/LI addys on biz cards) - the more you promote, the more you grow #ISMC
nancymyrland: YES! RT @coreygarver: Grt question! RT @ nadenlean LinkedIn &Twitter accounts printed on business cards? Thoughts? #ISMC #AAM #MDSG #LMA
LeighGeorge: At the top of my list I’ll get 2 it nxt RT @nadenlean: LinkedIn & twttr accounts printed on business cards? Thoughts? #ISMC #AAM #MDSG #LMA
clunk6: RT @nadenlean: LinkedIn and Twitter accounts printed on business cards? Thoughts? #ISMC #AAM #MDSG #LMA
nancymyrland: I agree. RT @SeanMcGinnis: RT @michellegolden: ... a blog that dsnt allow comments isn’t truly a blog-merely a platform. #ISMC #LMA
coreygarver: Great question! RT @ nadenlean LinkedIn and Twitter accounts printed on business cards? Thoughts? #ISMC #AAM #MDSG #LMA
nadenlean: LinkedIn and Twitter accounts printed on business cards? Thoughts? #ISMC #AAM #MDSG #LMA
HeatherLynn11: RT @moebes123: Russell - "believe in google analytics to provide measurement of info channels." #ISMC, #LMA
moebes123: Russell - "believe in google analytics to provide measurement of info channels." #ISMC, #LMA
moebes123: measure of success is through # of followers, connections, etc. #ISMC, #LMA
nadenlean: RT @michellegolden: RT @moebes123: Manage updates through separate email account - avoid constant email interruptions at work. #ISMC, #LMA
michellegolden: RT @moebes123: Manage updates through separate email account - avoid constant email interruptions at work. #ISMC, #LMA
michellegolden: #ISMC re law blog: U control comments to show-disclaimer clarifies comments don’t imply atty/client rel. It’s no diff from a seminar Q!
SeanMcGinnis: RT @michellegolden: I feel pretty strongly that a blog that doesn’t allow comments isn’t truly a blog. It’s merely a platform. #ISMC
nadenlean: RT @moebes123: Russell - "a little recognition goes a long way in between paychecks. " #ISMC, #LMA #AAM #MDSG - agreed
caroleheiss: Thanks for all the follows from #ISMC seminar. @michellegolden @jessicalevin @HeatherLynn11 @melaniegreen
JessicaLevin: RT @moebes123: Russell - "a little recognition goes a long way in between paychecks. " #ISMC, #LMA
moebes123: Russell - "a little recognition goes a long way in between paychecks. " #ISMC, #LMA
rebeccawissler: Participating in an Integrated Social Media Campaign webinar through Legal Marketing Association. #ISMC
moebes123: Manage updates through separate email account - avoid constant email interruptions at work. #ISMC, #LMA
JessicaLevin: @michellegolden My nana told me that other day that "Adults use facebook." I might have to monitor her settings. She can be bold. #ISMC
bc04: Thanks @nadenlean: #ISMC How to add custom tabs to facebook page: http://bit.ly/customfbtabs #AAM #MDSG #LMA
rebeccawissler: AGREED. RT @michellegolden: I feel pretty strongly that a blog that doesn’t allow comments isn’t truly a blog. It’s merely a platform. #ISMC
HeatherLynn11: How do you find the time for Social Media? "Treat it like an exercise program" Get dedicated! #ISMC
JessicaLevin: RT @rebeccawissler: gr8 POINT: When SM relationship is taken offline, the person is the same person represented online. So important. #ISMC
michellegolden: @JessicaLevin Agree! Still ask "would I want grandma/client/clergy to see this?" My mom’s pretty bold, so I have to go further! :) #ISMC
CarenRodriguez: Wow, 100 followers reached during the #ISMC #AAM #LMA presentation. Thanks everyone for the follows.
JessicaLevin: RT @michellegolden: I feel pretty strongly that a blog that doesn’t allow comments isn’t truly a blog. It’s merely a platform. #ISMC
spardata: RT @nadenlean: #ISMC How to add custom tabs to facebook page: http://bit.ly/customfbtabs #AAM #MDSG #LMA
caroleheiss: RT @moebes123: Social media is about listening to others and initiating conversation/relationships. Provides another door to firm. #ISMC, #LMA
michellegolden: I feel pretty strongly that a blog that doesn’t allow comments isn’t truly a blog. It’s merely a platform. #ISMC
RT @rebeccawissler: GREAT POINT: When social media relationship is taken offline, the person is the same person represented online. So important. #ISMC
moebes123: Social media is about listening to others and initiating conversation/relationships. Provides another door to firm. #ISMC, #LMA
rebeccawissler: GREAT POINT: When social media relationship is taken offline, the person is the same person represented online. So important. #ISMC
Ginger_Lewis: RT @nadenlean: #ISMC How to add custom tabs to facebook page: http://bit.ly/customfbtabs #AAM #MDSG #LMA
moebes123: RT @JessicaLevin: RT @KatieTolin: RT @nadenlean: #ISMC How to add custom tabs to facebook page: http://bit.ly/customfbtabs #AAM #MDSG #LMA
JessicaLevin: RT @KatieTolin: #ISMC Match social media tools & individual personality. sum ppl don’t wnt comments/connections so isn’t rt tool 4 them.
michellegolden: RT @nadenlean: #ISMC How to add custom tabs to facebook page: http://bit.ly/customfbtabs #AAM #MDSG #LMA
HeatherLynn11: RT @nadenlean: #ISMC How to add custom tabs to facebook page: http://bit.ly/customfbtabs #AAM #MDSG #LMA
moebes123: social media (twitter) can ease someone into networking if they are not as comfortable with face-to-face networking. #ISMC, #LMA
JessicaLevin: RT @KatieTolin: RT @nadenlean: #ISMC How to add custom tabs to facebook page: http://bit.ly/customfbtabs #AAM #MDSG #LMA
KatieTolin: RT @nadenlean: #ISMC How to add custom tabs to facebook page: http://bit.ly/customfbtabs #AAM #MDSG #LMA
KatieTolin: #ISMC Match social media tools and individual personality. Some people don’t want comments/connections so isn’t right tool for them.
nadenlean: #ISMC How to add custom tabs to facebook page: http://bit.ly/customfbtabs #AAM #MDSG #LMA
JessicaLevin: @michellegolden Yes. Sometimes it is hard to keep it PG, but we are people and that is why we connect and do biz. #ISMC
JessicaLevin: @moebes123 Never post anything on the internet that U wouldnt want your mom, boss or client to see. #ISMC #LMA #AAM
moebes123: attitude -anything you post - stays on youtube! NEVER post anything that wouldn’t want public. Anything I do represents firm. #ISMC, #LMA
JessicaLevin: @michellegolden Would you agree that sharing "PG" personal info strengthens Biz bonds on FB? #ISMC
rebeccawissler: @SandsAnderson #ISMC Does Curtis’s Oman blog allow comments? I don’t see them (speaking of conversations initiated by social media).
michellegolden: I bet that’s low! RT @KatieTolin #ISMC, Curtis Oman gets 10% Web traffic from blog & other social media. Wow
JessicaLevin: RT @KatieTolin: #ISMC, Curtis Oman gets 10% of Web traffic coming from blog and other social media. Wow
clunk6: RT @michellegolden: Not usually advantageous to hit FB, LI and Twitter w/every post! fans on all 3 will be annoyed & view U as lazy #ISMC
KatieTolin: #ISMC, Curtis Oman gets 10% of Web traffic coming from blog and other social media. Wow
JessicaLevin: @michellegolden Amen to that. be selective about where and when you post. #ISMC
michellegolden: @moebes123 not ez 2 separate biz & pers, but FB has GR8 privacy controls & that’s the forum most at risk of uncomfortable overlap #ISMC
JessicaLevin: RT @michellegolden: its not usually advantageous 2 hit FB, LI & twttr w/every post! fans on all 3 will B annoyed & view U as lazy #ISMC
moebes123: RT @SandsAnderson: Curstis’s Oman blog http://curtisoman.blogspot.com is a terrific example of niche conversations getting the most attention #ISMC
SandsAnderson: Curstis’s Oman blog http://curtisoman.blogspot.com is a terrific example of niche conversations getting the most attention #ISMC
JessicaLevin: @moebes123 I cannot make a distinction bt personal and professional. It can be done, but not as effective. #LMA #ISMC
michellegolden: @Frizzera_Ink It is not usually advantageous to hit FB, LI and Twitter w/every post! fans on all 3 will be annoyed & view U as lazy #ISMC
charleenmcmanus: #ISMC Paper is a thing of the past. *here here*
moebes123: With social media - can you really make a distinction between personal/professional life? #LMA, #ISMC
CarenRodriguez: #ISMC Hootsuite for me. But we have a tweedeck user on board, too.
michellegolden: RT @JessicaLevin: Russell seems to understand that social media is NOT about technology, but about communication. #ISMC
JessicaLevin: Tweetdeck and Hootsuite can both be used and have different capabilities. #ISMC
spardata: Take note: your LinkedIn profile is only effective when it’s complete. Yes, that means summary, photo, etc. #ISMC
moebes123: RT @JessicaLevin: Russell seems to undersatnd that social media is NOT about technology, but about communication. #ISMC
nadenlean: RT @moebes123: Tweetdeck! #LMA, #ISMC - Ditto - #AAM #MDSG
JessicaLevin: Russell seems to understand that social media is NOT about technology, but about communication. #ISMC
JessicaLevin: Russell seems to undersatnd that social media is NOT about technology, but about communication. #ISMC
JessicaLevin: @amykoehler These (especially FB) really is a business tool. There is still fun involved, but it is RELATIONSHIPS either way. #ISMC
HeatherLynn11: RT @spardata: RT @JessicaLevin: Social media is not just for "kids". The fastest growing demo on FB is 35-54 Year Old Users/ #ISMC
Frizzera_Ink: #ISMC so how do I link Fbk Twt and Linkedin so one post shows up on all 3? http://myloc.me/3hLwE
moebes123: Tweetdeck! #LMA, #ISMC
moebes123: don’t just create LinkedIn site - create full profile. Make it easy for people to find & choose you. #ISMC, #LMA
JessicaLevin: @nadenlean Awesome. Thanks. #ISMC
JessicaLevin: RT @moebes123: establish firm rules and policies then let people use, learn and adapt. #LMA, #ISMC
nadenlean: RT @Frizzera_Ink: #ISMC Learning new strategies about social media from real pros http://bit.ly/b4DuV2 - good to see you John.
nadenlean: RT @JessicaLevin: @nadenlean Can you share the customized tabs with the group so we all don’t have to email for it? #ISMC - sure thing.
moebes123: establish firm rules and policies then let people use, learn and adapt. #LMA, #ISMC
spardata: RT @JessicaLevin: Social media is not just for "kids". The fastest growing demo on FB is 35-54 Year Old Users/ #ISMC
JessicaLevin: @nadenlean Can you share the customized tabs with the group so we all don’t have to email for it? #ISMC
JessicaLevin: @phototakeouter It’s a webinar for Accouting and law marketers on social media #ISMC
amykoehler: phew! I’m in the right category for a change! rt @JessicaLevin ...The fastest growing demo on FB is 35-54 Year Old Users/ #ISMC
Frizzera_Ink: #ISMC Learning new strategies about social media from real pros http://myloc.me/3hL5k
moebes123: customize tabs on back-end; when you create #ISMC, #LMA
charleenmcmanus: #ISMC ?? How much time are y’all spending on the firm’s social media - is it a full time job yet?
rebeccawissler: Looks fantastic. RT @clunk6: Love it! RT @nadenlean: Whoa! How did you customize the tabs on the Facebook page? #ISMC
phototakeouter: @JessicaLevin what is #ISMC?
moebes123: RT @JessicaLevin: Social media is not just for "kids" (I prefer young/new professionals). The fastest growing demo on FB is 35-54 Year Old Users/ #ISMC
JessicaLevin: Social media is not just for "kids" (I prefer young/new professionals). The fastest growing demo on FB is 35-54 Year Old Users/ #ISMC
moebes123: blogs, pr, updates on links fed through webpage #ISMC, #LMA
JessicaLevin: Social media is not just for "kids" (I perfer young/new professionals). The fastest growing demo on FB is 35-54 Year Old Users/ #ISMC
clunk6: Love it! RT @nadenlean: Whoa! How did you customize the tabs on the Facebook page? #ISMC
rebeccawissler: @Russ23229 Nice talk, Russell! I’m working on firm buy-in and your feedback is very useful. #ISMC
nadenlean: Whoa! How did you customize the tabs on the Facebook page? #ISMC
HeatherLynn11: Finally off phone with customer service...listening in on #ISMC conference-video conference is full!
starzskymoon: @Ginger_Lewis I used to work for SEK&Co in Htown office. Now I work for CHP and am finishing up an audit for Jack. #ISMC
MichaelPizzo: #ISMC Anyone observed quantifiable results using Twitter lists? Increase in referrals, site traffic other metrics? Worth the time or not.
moebes123: RT @Russ23229: Social media works best when it fits the culture of youirm #ISMC
SandsAnderson: RT @JessicaLevin: Having a user-driven social culture makes sense for social media. (that’s why we call it SOCIAL) #ISMC
moebes123: include links in email signature. #ISMC, #LMA
Russ23229: Social media works best when it fits the culture of your firm #ISMC
JessicaLevin: Having a user-drivern social culture makes sense for social media. (that’s why we call it SOCIAL) #ISMC
moebes123: what is most valuable to client to drive them to connect? Survey and live by the results. #ISMC, #LMA
nadenlean: RT @clunk6: Why is my screen frozen?!! #ISMC - there are some tech difficulties. I’ll try and get a slidedeck later.
HeatherLynn11: RT @moebes123: social media helps "bring the voice of the firm out" #ISMC
susangorham: Take the time to observe & understand how your audiences are connecting with each other through social media #ISMC
Ginger_Lewis: RT @JessicaLevin: @charleenmcmanus Tweetdeck is so much better than Twitter site. #ISMC - I agree especially with multiple accounts
clunk6: RT @moebes123: social media helps "bring the voice of the firm out" #ISMC #AAM
KatieTolin: RT @moebes123: social media helps "bring the voice of the firm out" #ISMC
Ginger_Lewis: RT @rebeccawissler: #ISMC Russell does a monthly internal newsletter...what about the rest of you? SEK&Co does 6x/year 1 day ago from TweetDeck
nadenlean: RT @rebeccawissler: #ISMC Russell does a monthly internal newsletter...what about the rest of you? -> 1/4ly electronic from Hertzbach
starzskymoon: @rebeccawissler we do a monthly internal newsletter as well #ISMC
JessicaLevin: @charleenmcmanus I find people get discouraged with Twitter.com and really embrace it when they use Tweetdeck. #ISMC
MichaelPizzo: I agree with @starzskymoon Word Press is the way to go. WP MU is ever evolving and makes blogging scaleable. @charleenmcmanus #ISMC
moebes123: social media helps "bring the voice of the firm out" #ISMC
rebeccawissler: #ISMC Russell does a monthly internal newsletter...what about the rest of you? I’m very interested in frequency.
JessicaLevin: @charleenmcmanus Anecdotal tracking is huge. However, tools like Hootsuite can help with solid tracking of hits, etc. #ISMC
moebes123: blogs feed info and connect back to firm webpage, twitter, Linked In, cross post with others #ISMC
starzskymoon: @charleenmcmanus WP is a great blogging platform, and as @JessicaLevin proclaimed, their mobile app is great #ISMC
charleenmcmanus: #ISMC - more questions! What kind of tracking is Russell using to track and measure trending and success?
rebeccawissler: RT @moebes123: not marketing nagging attorney to do; becomes peer 2 peer #ISMC
JessicaLevin: @charleenmcmanus Tweetdeck is so much better than Twitter site. #ISMC
CarenRodriguez: @leighgeorge #ISMC our group is interested in your comment that you received a RFP from Twitter. Can you tell us about that ex. in the Q&A?
charleenmcmanus: #ISMC Is Russell encouraging attorneys to use TweetDeck , other tool or just the straight up twitter site?
moebes123: not marketing nagging attorney to do; becomes peer 2 peer #ISMC
TBlinkedin: RT @KatieTolin: #ISMC webinar...Linkedin and Facebook are more popular social media tools for attendees, followed by Twitter and YouTube
JessicaLevin: RT @rebeccawissler: Well said by @RusselLawson: social media helps "bring the voice of the firm out." #ISMC
JessicaLevin: @charleenmcmanus I am a fan of Wordpress, easy to use once it is designed. Now has mobile app. #ISMC
GreatJakes: RT @rebeccawissler: Well said by @RusselLawson: social media helps "bring the voice of the firm out." #ISMC
charleenmcmanus: #ISMC Which blog tool is SAMM using? He keeps referring to it as easy. Lexblog , Blogger, WordPress ..... ?
rebeccawissler: Well said by @RusselLawson: social media helps "bring the voice of the firm out." #ISMC
JessicaLevin: Amazing to hear an attorney talking about how easy twitter is to use! Yay!!!! #ISMC
ishade: Sample policy for CPA firms here: http://beta.ishade.com/member/signup/ RT @nadenlean: Social media 101 - develop a firmwide policy. #ISMC
TGP4CPAs: Sample policy for CPA firms here: http://beta.ishade.com/member/signup/ RT @nadenlean: Social media 101 - develop a firmwide policy. #ISMC
rebeccawissler: Do you feel we need to hire outside #socialmedia consultants for these campaigns? #ISMC
nadenlean: Social media 101 - develop a firmwide policy. #ISMC
bc04: Listening to the Integrated Social Media panel discussion right now! http://bit.ly/IntSoMe #MDSG #ISMC

Legal Blog Watch Loses Ambrogi

2010-01-29T10:41:00.000-08:00

Bob Ambrogi, one of the most insightful and inquisitive minds in the legal blogsphere, is bidding adieu to his spot on Legal Blog Watch. This has been for four years one of my most important daily reads and when Bob and Carolyn Elefant were authoring the daily posts, there was no brighter, more intellectually stimulating or entertaining set of observations.

They both have now exited, and I suspect it is actually due, as Bob has said today, to it becoming a more daunting task to keep up with the expanding universe since the big blog bang of 2007. This blogger will miss them both. Hasta la vista, baby.

Social Seminar Tomorrow

2010-01-27T11:28:00.000-08:00

Hope you all will participate by listening, asking questions, Tweeting and commenting when Leigh George of Moire Marketing leads the online social networking panel Webinar for the Capital Chapter of the Legal Marketing Association.

The webinar is Thursday January 28, 11:30am-2pm. To register, please email Kelly Ernest at kernest@tydingslaw.com. MX2CZTXK6YPR

Should be fun!

Feeling Social?

2010-01-06T10:26:00.000-08:00

I'm delighted that Leigh George of Moire Marketing asked me to help out with a panel on Social Media in connection with the Capital Chapter of the Legal Marketing Association. Turns out that this will be a free Webinar, which helps everyone. Here are a few details:

Leigh will moderate the panel on successful integrated social media campaigns at law firms. The event is jointly sponsored by the LMA Capital Chapter together with the MD/DC/DE Chapter of the Association for Accounting Marketing and the Marketing Directors Support Group. Presenters include Kelly Hoey, Andrea Stimmel from Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP and me.

The panel will look at the firms’ fan pages, linked in profiles, blogs, Twitter feeds, etc. in real time so attendees will be able too see what these users are doing in social media and how they are doing it. The program is described in detail here.

Follow the hastag #ISMC on Twitter to get updates and chat with others who will be participating.

The webinar is Thursday January 28, 11:30am-2pm. To register, please email Kelly Ernest at kernest@tydingslaw.com.

In the DC metro area, a law firm, two accounting firms, a university and a think tank are hosting viewing/listening parties., and members of AAM have already been encouraged to set up their own events too. Gather with your peers to participate in the discussion. It’s a great opportunity to network and contribute to the dialogue. Tweet about your gathering, post it on your Facebook firm fan page, put it up on LinkedIn as an event, etc...

If you're heading to Denver for the Legal Marketing Association's annual conference (see icon to the right), awesome Jayne Navarre and stellar Heather Milligan have allowed me to join them on the dais for "Playing in the Online Sandbox." Hope to see you there.

Markets of One, part three.

2009-12-15T05:20:00.000-08:00

I am a science fiction fan, have been since adolescence. It's one of the early foundations on which my personality, world view and personal creativity was built. Nurturing wacky and imaginative iterations of known science fueled my fantasies, doodles and conversations. I've even collected a number of books of science fiction art in addition to the hardback and paperback books that still overflow my shelves and storage. I love this stuff!!

It was no revelation to me, therefore, when about ten years ago the marketing world was agog at the possibilities of data mining. Science fiction writers had been dealing with the potentials of individualized communications technology and messaging since the 1900's. Now, after some fits and starts, largely at the long term expense of the owners and developers of database technologies, we are apparently at the dawn of the actuality of markets of one. My marker of this is Google's announcement on their blog of the new default of personalized search results (here's a bit of explanation at MarketingPilgrim.com and the Google video.)

One of my favorite science fiction fantasies is expressed in a scene from the movie "Minority Report" where Tom Cruise's character is escaping through a retail space and the kiosks and billboards start bellowing out his name and pitching him with products that might appeal to his demo-, psycho- and sociographics. If the search engine Google can be compared to this metaphorically, we might all be experiencing the same thing already.

I was listening to APM's Markeplace about a month go and heard an interview with Professor Andreas Weigend, Amazon.com's former "chief scientist" (I LOVE the way Jeff Bezos celebrates the obvious), now a professor of data mining at Stanford. He was describing the conceptual social framework for one of the retail world's most powerful personalization concepts: Amazon's recommendations engine. This amazing enterprise has been monitoring us Amazon.com customers for years (just like many varied data harvesters and manipulators throughout our social and economic environments). My personal experience is that I have definitely upped my consumption of music based on the recommendations fed to me through email notices and while I am online shopping at Amazon. Dr. Weigend points out that Amazon's contribution to the use of data was its ability to design incentives for users to volunteer information about themselves.

Google's got it right (although there's widespread disagreement over whether the search engine user will perceive Google's record-keeping and results-ranking system to be in their interest). For much of the past decade, the focus of software developers and data mining consultants has been on selling this terribly expensive set of features and services to single companies under the principle that increased customer data will inevitably lead to increased understanding. According to the sales manifesto, that understanding would then make the customer more visible and vulnerable to company influence in their purchasing patterns.

I never believed the sifting of this data within a single silo's confines would be all that illuminating. Even the financial world, where transactional data gave a much broader view of consumer buying behavior, could never completely uncover the buyer's motivations. These data became a sort of marketing Holy Grail, with attendant histrionics about their evil power, just like sociologist Vance Packard had written in his "exposes" in the 1950's such as The Hidden Persuaders. Manipulating responses were one thing. Predicting behavior is an entirely different one.

This is what, in my mind, makes both Amazon and Google's expressions of their data collections so powerful. Both are geared to suggestive direction, not overt or secret manipulation. And the addition in Amazon of the editorial commentary of buyer reviews and in Google of its reputation for a scrupulous integrity both contribute to the validity and utility of the results of their systems. No one is forcing the consumer's behavior to a particular end, but rather is organizing information in a way consumers use and internalize data. These systems are more "human" in their expression, more like word of mouth, making them truly marketing to just one person.

Just because I'm shipping gifts...

2009-12-11T06:39:00.000-08:00

I live in the home town of Interpublic's Martin Agency, which has the ubiquitous UPS creative director Andy Azula, parodied below on Saturday Night Live.

P.S. Martin has recently lost the UPS account and gains a new creative leader (from Europe) next year.

Convergence Collapses Markets to One

2009-12-08T05:08:00.000-08:00

The worlds of commerce and most other distributable assets are becoming markets of one. Markets of one are the antithesis of the selling platforms on which most consumer and business transactions have been (and mainly still are) reliant. To understand the driving forces behind this upheaval, I thank XPLANE VISUAL THINKING for the following video, which preceeded the October 2009 Media Convergence Forum. Enjoy!

B2C Discovers What B2B Already Knows

2009-11-20T05:50:00.000-08:00

Ad Age magazine reported recently on a sweeping demographic study they conducted in anticipation of the 2010 census (White Paper is for sale @ $249!) that discovered that there may no longer be any consumer group called the "Average American." In other words, the market has become so fragmented that no one group dominates.

Big wOOt! If you've been in business to business marketing in the last decade, you've already found that there is no mass market. The fact that consumer marketing has lost its "average" mass consumer market is just confirmation of the continuing devolution to markets of one. In legal marketing, for example, panel after panel of general counsel continue to describe circumstances and needs that differ dramatically from client to client.

While expectations of professional services providers continue to revolve around the unhappy experiences of clients ("Don't" needs, rather than "Do" needs), one common observation is that providers need to be intimate with the client's industry and business structure in order to anticipate required services, rather than to react as "order takers" to assignments based on client demands.

I had the pleasure of hearing Bill Flannery speak just this week on this exact topic. Bill's WJF Institute is renowned in the professional services field for its insight and innovation in business development training and programs. As a former IBMer (decades ago, as IBM transformed itself from a hardware to a services business), Bill was privy to many of the business innovations that kept IBM a market leader, and still do. The lessons Bill conveys to his clients, surprisingly, have remained essentially the same since the late 80's, and they are lessons that the legal industry, sadly, has not yet the wisdom to adopt.

Clients for professional services are markets of one. Regardless of the foundation of business issues and services needs that are common between them, each application of the intelligence and instruments are different every time. Clarity of these unique needs is essential to client satisfaction. Bill's admonition to the firms that hire him is they can get this market intelligence through a simple tool: "Ask the client." Yet, many firms, especially in the legal space, have significant call reluctance in this area.

One way to get around the individual practitioner's psychic barriers is through a team process, which Bill advocates. The Legal Marketing Association's white paper on "Client Service: Differentiating Your Firm One Client At A Time" covers much of the recent research and tactical application of this principle (full disclosure: I wrote this paper). There is an array of excellent consultants in addition to Bill's firm (Wicker Park Group, Hildebrandt Institute, Altman Weil, etc.) that can assist law firms and other professional services providers to implement such a process.

The fact that there is no "average" consumer may be a new recognition in the consumer market, but it has been this way for a long time in the professional services industries where I've worked my entire career. Are there other trends in consumer marketing that we in the professional services space can illuminate for our marketing brethren?

Bound by Tradition

2009-11-03T08:17:00.000-08:00

Traditionalists in marketing have poo-pooed social media as a flash in the pan, worthless in the pursuit of awareness and clients. Taken as a tactic, that may very well be true. After all, if you bought radio spots and used the time for messages that were unsupportive of your brand and identity, they would not work to your benefit either.

So, today I was happy to discover on Social Media Today this presentation by Jason Baer that gives good guidance on the integration of social media into marketing strategy, because he recognizes that online social media must be part of the mix of ingredients in cooking up a full marketing plan.

5 Ways to Integrate Social Media in Your Marketing

View more presentations from Jason Baer.

What are you doing this week to integrate online social media into your overall marketing plan?

Lawyer Ratings: What's the Big Deal?

2009-10-12T12:53:00.000-07:00

Perhaps there are other marketing people in the legal space who, like me, wonder as sites and sources that purport to offer rating schemes for lawyers and firms proliferate whether this is much ado about nothing. I mean, isn't this still a relationship business?

Well, of course. That said, there is a fundamental in human nature where we each ask ourselves, after making a judgment, "did I make the right choice?" And there is a concept in compliance studies called "social proof" that addresses this introspection. Simply put, we look around at what others are doing and saying for demonstration that our choice was appropriate.

Testimonials remain one of the most persuasive types of marketing. As "word of mouth", they produce and maintain the "referral" channel. As the voice of a "satisfied user", the Wall Street Journal reports today they are becoming more important in consumer culture for marketing, so important that many product and service companies are building systems to facilitate, collect and reflect the view of users as a marketing program, in and of itself. Even bad reviews can accellerate sales.

In the law industry, just one system is currently deep and wide: the Martindale Hubbell Peer Review Ratings system. Around for over 70 years, it reflects the accumulated reputational capital of individual attorneys by assessment of their experience and integrity from other similar lawyers. Even this system suffers from the rapid growth of the ranks of lawyers over the last 30 years, as it depends on the individual personal awareness of the lawyers for rankings, and with so many more lawyers, it is both hard to know and hard to get known. Martindale recognizes the limitation and is working on the system. They are adding the "consumer" voice to rankings, as well, especially on their lawyers.com site, where a variety of schemes are being considered for displaying and explaining numerical rank. (At Martindale's invitation, I was able to see a few of these choices briefly last week. Fascinating. And law firm ratings are coming...)

I've already whined about the poor communication that I experienced as MH converts their letter grades to a points system. Still, the change does reflect the recognition that users of legal services want and respond to more meaningful information on the opinion of experienced customers regarding the skills, honesty and accessibility of lawyers.

Research reported years ago in the Harvard Business Review confirms that one significant predictor of buying behavior is the willingness of a buyer to recommend a product or service to an acquaintance. To understand more, you should buy and absorb reprints of "Loyalty Rules! How Today’s Leaders Build Lasting Relationships," Harvard Business School Press, 2001, and "The Loyalty Effect", Harvard Business School Press, 1996 and the HBR-On Point called "Recalculating the Loyalty/Profitability Equation" (product 1421). This notion has become so entrenched that I often receive surveys from places where I shop or use services that consist of that one simple question about how likely I am to recommend the product or service to a friend.

While I am not of the belief that you can boil lifetime value of a customer down into this single query, it does infer that reputational strength and customer experience combine in a way that is economically powerful. What are you doing to support, improve and monetize your customers' experience and voice?

There is a Point to Martindale

2009-09-23T07:12:00.000-07:00

Amid the brohaha that surrounds the utility and cost of the Martindale Hubbell Legal Directory, the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, Martindale.com, Lawyers.com and so on, I think a number of us have missed the point, so to speak.

There's no denying that LexisNexis has its hands full integrating the various sectors of the Martindale service array into a seamless promotional package. There are functionality and pricing issues, billing snafus, communications stumbles, vision impairment and foot-in-the-mouth disease rampant. Each contributes to the marginalization of Martindale Hubbell benefits because frustration in dealing with the problems makes the entire system suspect.

In the realm of indisputable, however, the first evidence of Martindale's continuing value is from our own Web sites. Our firm's logs consistently rank Martindale.com pages as one of the top three (depending on the month) source of visitors to our pages, after search engines. This is better than our own online blogs, ads and inbound-links, which represent significant expense in time and money for most firms.

The second is research by Altman Weil and Brand Research showing more than 8 out of 10 corporate counsel and 9 out of 10 law firm lawyers refer to Martindale to confirm reputation and skills (this from the early 2000's, but remember how hard it is to change entrenched behavior). At the very least, this leaves a residue of awareness that makes Martindale a permanent inclusion among every lawyer's evoked set of reference sources.

Views of our Martindale pages is my third measure of value, and the firm where I work has almost a thousand a month with about a 10% click through to the Web site (see metric #1). Here the firm's Martindale strategy of multiple content pages (not only attorney profiles, but dozens of practice and office profiles, and regular submission of articles) gives us a wide array of content options for someone looking for information on our skills and personnel. These pages index well in the search world, as well.

Needless to say, I consider the exit from Martindale inevitable for many firms due to reasons I've identified before. Even so, on my firm's behalf, that simply reduces the competition for attention and notice, and provides even more value to the promotional products our firm purchases from Martindale.

As to the future of our own Martindale participation, I expect we will judge that based on the factors above, but we also must consider the partnerships and features that benefit our social media strategy: LinkedIn and Connected.

I think the jury's still out on Connected and will be until it exits BETA and has some time to become robust. Even so, it already leads LegalOnRamp in participant numbers (over 17,000 yesterday) and anecdotes about successful business development within the Connected network are starting to circulate.

Don't you see my point? Martindale still has one.

Is This Planning?

2009-09-16T08:25:00.000-07:00

Aha! So, I posted to the Martindale.com Connected network at my Progressive Marketing blog there, and pointed out the same stuff as below. Got a comment back from "Ezza" with the Martindale team that the Ratings department had in fact reached out to marketing people. Sorry, not me...

Today, the above letter comes, with a date the same as the blog post heralding the change. and this after I've been deluged with questions from the 40+ attorneys at the firm who got E-MAIL last Friday. Does somebody at Martindale not realize that email is faster than USPS? Might want to factor that into the next plan. Before the egg-on-your-face thing. This is "marketing", people.

Ratings Slump for Lawyers

2009-09-14T11:29:00.000-07:00

Last week, Martindale Hubbell revised their Peer Review Ratings system in a massive overhaul that includes eliminating the first (lowest) category of rating (CV) and adds numerical averaging to the other two (BV and AV), plus displaying details of the ratings by peers (although not by name). This was covered in their blog.

We found out at our firm Friday when ratings messages began arriving in the inboxes of attorneys at the firm:

Subject: Important message regarding the Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ changed methodology
Please add the domain @email.lexisnexismail.com to your address book.
**********************************************************************
Changes to the Martindale-Hubbell(R) Peer Review Ratings(TM) methodology provide greater depth, making ratings more valuable and understandable for all buyers of legal services
Dear [attorney],
We have facilitated the Martindale-Hubbell(R) Peer Review Ratings(TM) for more than a century to enable buyers and referrers of legal services to benefit from candid and objective lawyer peer-to-peer feedback. As the needs of those evaluating legal services evolve, the demand for comprehensive lawyer ratings is increasing.
Based on extensive research and feedback from the legal community, and to provide greater depth and specificity, we have changed the methodology by which Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings are determined, and there are some important changes of which you should be aware.
-----
About the changed methodology
Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings continue to reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the Bar and the Judiciary and attest to a lawyer's professional ethics and legal ability.
The General Ethical Standards Rating still denotes adherence to professional standards of conduct and ethics, reliability, diligence and other criteria relevant to the discharge of professional responsibilities.
For lawyers rated with the changed methodology, Legal Ability Ratings will now indicate professional ability within a specific area of practice. Legal Ability Ratings will be based on performance in five key areas, rated on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest). These key areas are Legal Knowledge, Analytical Capabilities, Judgment, Communication Ability and Legal Experience.
A combination of the Very High General Ethical Standards Rating and a Legal Ability Rating determines the Peer Review Rating, which includes an average numeric rating, a rating term and may include a certification mark:
AV(R) Preeminent(TM) (4.5 - 5.0)
BV(R) Distinguished(TM) (3.0 - 4.4)
Rated (1.0 - 2.9)
The changed Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings methodology also allows reviewers to provide additional feedback on the lawyer under review, contributing qualitative depth and personality to the rating.
To showcase a lawyer's sphere of influence with his/her peers, we also now aggregate and display reviewers' basic demographics, including general position and geographic location.
-----
What do the changes mean for my Peer Review Rating?
Effective the week of September 7, 2009, lawyers rated AV under the existing Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings methodology will be converted to AV Preeminent 5.0, the highest numeric rating within the changed AV rating category.
-----
Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings--Existing >> XX(R) Peer Review Rated
Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings--Changed >> XX(R)
Preeminent(TM) 5.0 out of 5 Peer Review Rated
-----
Request to be re-reviewed
A lawyer's converted rating will remain in effect until we complete a re-review of the lawyer using the changed methodology, to be scheduled by random selection within the next 10 years. However, we encourage you to request an expedited re-review so that you can take advantage of the benefits of the changed methodology--including area of practice specificity and peer feedback--as soon as possible.
-----
Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings are a comprehensive and trusted source
Participating in the Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings program provides a comprehensive and reliable indicator of your expertise, through a trusted source that helps reinforce and validate what your firm's lawyers say about themselves. Leverage sound Martindale-Hubbell(R) methodology to promote your ratings, and ensure your firm and its lawyers are highly visible, as buyers of legal services increasingly rely on Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings.
In order to expedite your re-review, please contact your firm administrator for the LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell Client Service Center (CSC). Your administrator can assist with nominating references to participate in Peer Review. For more detailed information on the changed ratings methodology, visit http://email.lexisnexismail.com/cgi-bin8/DM/y/el610IqVbp0LQj0z4ea0Ed
Sincerely,
Carlton Dyce
Vice President, Peer Review Ratings and Client Review Services
**********************************************************************

Now, I don't know Mr. Dyce, he may be a fine fellow, but changing your ratings, then going public, then notifying rated attorneys, then advising the lawyer to contact their firm ratings administrator, without a word to the firm ratings administrator seems, well, exactly a**-backwards, if you ask me. The net effect is to make the folks in marketing who are supportive of the Martindale Ratings process appear completely uninformed because...they are. To the uninformed, it may appear this is Martindale's attempt to make their system more relevent and "granular" in detail, to retain their own importance versus Avvo and other ratings sites.

A number of our attorneys gripe "One downside of this change is that folks like me, with a new rating under the new methodology, will have an actual avg score, while folks ranked under the old system will have an automatic top score until they are re-rated in the next 10 years! (Why would anyone want to have an expedited re-review when the default is the highest rating?)" It's hard for this process to appear fair at the point of revision, but over time, will it be more accurate? meaningful? Your guess is as good as mine.

Pity the Law School Graduate? Bah, humbug.

2009-08-27T05:10:00.000-07:00

The Wall Street Journal Law Blog asked a question of its readers yesterday using Julia Figurelli as an example concerning job hunting strategies for recent graduates now that intake through large law firms has shrunk to a trickle. These are interesting questions.

The Journal blog takes as its starting point the New York Times article covering the job market decline. My good friend Heather Milligan has covered this situation in previous Legal Water Cooler posts here and here. Heather has compassion and empathy among her many gifts. Me? Not so much in this situation.

Despite law schools attempting to seize upon the profligate materialism in the Gen X, Gen Y and Gen Z, despite the frequent hiring excesses of law firms desperate to grow per-partner-profits, despite every sign that economies cycle from low growth to high growth, these graduates as well as the classes following them are publicly bemoaning their "unfair" fates and "desperate" straits as if they were completely surprised at this turn of events. Exactly what world were they living in?

I find these young men and women who I encounter in my work to be uniformly smart, driven and peculiarly detached from reality. There is no one spot to point the finger of blame for this. Is it the feeling of entitlement that causes them to expect to land these well-paying jobs? Is it the parents exhorting them to ever higher levels of achievement? Is it the law firm recruiters spreading widely the fables of success and remuneration in order to attract the best performing students to interviews? Is it the law school admissions offices (and the financial industry that lends the money) with visions of clear paths to employment and self-actualization?

I think these factors created a system that, similar to the housing industry, mortgaged escalating earnings against an unsustainable employment market. These days, it looks to me as if there are a lot of looming foreclosures and many graduates and to-be-graduates are going to have to walk away from their planned futures. How does it look to you?

Does Martindale Have A Point Anymore?

2009-08-10T05:55:00.000-07:00

One of the original marketing tactics for U.S. lawyers, once the spread of business operations "went national" in the mid-1800's, was James Martindale's directory, a printed listing of bank, real estate office and lawyer names, addresses and biographies, that went to businesses such as lawyers, bankers, wholesale merchants, manufacturers and real estate agents. Recognizing the expansion driven by the growing rail system that put business operations in new geographies across the country, Martindale was also aware that there would be a need for "reliable" services across state lines, where a pastiche of local land, legal and business practices would require a knowledgeable practitioner in each jurisdiction.

For 100 years, Martindale, which eventually absorbed its competitor Hubbell Legal Directory in the '30s during the economic contraction, made the market in legal information exchange. And, as a printed vehicle, it uniformly based its charges on the number of lines required for each lawyer's and law firm's advertisement in the form of a listing. A century of growth fueled by the increasing number of lawyers and businesses who needed them made Martindale Hubbell the dominant force in legal marketing. Its directories were the gold standard and its ratings, rendered by lawyers' peers, were coveted like the Holy Grail.

Neither the advent of radio nor broadcast television disturbed this closed system. Remember, until 1979, lawyers were effectively prevented from advertising in most other media by local Bar rules. After the Bates v. Arizona State Bar Supreme Court decision, broader media could be considered, but their mass audience and large costs created too much waste for most law firms to employ these in a practical way to become better known, especially on the national scale that the printed directory represented. Printed ads in business publications were about the only vehicle that made sense, and in the early days of legal advertising, these were universally ignored, excepting the infrequent newspaper "tombstone" announcing a lawyer's arrival or a particular legal event.

The first challenge to Martindale-Hubbell's dynasty was the advent of cable television. With these narrow-cast local networks open to advertisers for smaller investments, inexpensive and targeted ads and sponsorships made sense, even for smaller law firms. As business programming became better developed, the niche audiences were ripe for exposure to law firm names and ads.

Just 15 years after Bates, the commercialization of the Internet became a reality. While it took about the same amount of time afterwards for law firms to capitalize on this, early adopters in the mid-90's foreshadowed the dissolution of the Martindale advantage. Once available only for the line-by-line expense of the directory, the attention of businesses and other lawyers across the globe was now available for the price of a PC, Internet connection and Web site host.

Martindale was not swift to recognize this C-change. "Head in the sand" might be a better description of their approach. In fact, it was not until about the year 2002 that a viable version of Martindale.com occupied the Internet. Seven years later, LexisNexis now owns the vehicle, and new products roll into the market almost regularly. Still, each one seems reactive, rather than proactive, and Martindale's strategists seem bent on waiting for new ideas to coalesce into trends before following them.

Recent figures I've seen suggest that about one out of three of the AmLaw 200 have now left Martindale. The larger the firm, the more likely it is to have reconsidered advertising with the directory. Some are at a minimum participation, keeping only a firm listing and, occasionally, supporting Peer Rated attorneys by keeping their names in play.

Perhaps it makes little sense for a national or international firm with a large census, broad geographic distribution and solid reputation to use Martindale. Those firms are much more interested in internal referrals that in outside help. Their office locations and large body of professionals create more opportunities than Martindale can, ever, by virtue of their personal relationships.

Even mid-sized firms now question the value of an extensive Martindale presence. A group that includes our firm has been having spirited discussions for almost three years over the value, or non-value, of Martindale to the marketing function. This is the final threat to Martindale's effectiveness and survival. Will they be able to address it? Are there still good reasons for firms to use Martindale, and to what extent?

Thanks for Sharing!

2009-07-17T11:33:00.000-07:00

My friend, Heather Milligan, posts at the Legal Water Coooler today an incredible collection of bookmarks, blogs and links to tools and experts that should help direct law firms in need of resources.

She names her collaborators for the lists, so I won't re-state those, but I am grateful for the collective work that went into the post. In fact, I believe it is a perfect example of one of online social media's key attributes: investing one's knowledge in the improvement of knowledge for the benefit of everyone.

None of us will have to go to a seminar to collect this list among the handouts, though, God knows, there are plenty of them around. (Jayne Navarre tweeted today her own frustration at the volume of these notices through her Inbox @jaynenavarre.) We won't have to do the research ourselves over two or three hours that wouldn't fit comfortably in a busy, busy month. We won't have to wait for the article in our professional journal.

No, one of our connections (even if you don't have the delightful pleasure of knowing Heather personally, her blog's ubiquitous and well-respected) has done the work and solicited the contributions of knowledge from other experts, and it's now out here on the Web so we can all reap the benefits.

Thanks for sharing!

Marketing and Trust

2009-07-01T08:19:00.000-07:00

Today, the ABA Journal reported the recently conducted annual Altman Weil study among Chief Legal Officers has turned up a lack of belief among corporate counsel about the sincerity of talk about transformation in the legal industry. And, the way I read it, this isn't just the typical cynicism that accompanies thoughts about lawyers.

The study is not perfect, mind you, as it has a respondent bias: the responses totalled about 15% of the total surveys sent and respondents were not quotaed or otherwise synchronized with a particular representative or target respondent distribution. However, it is clear that there is among the responders significant doubt as to the willingness and ability of law firms and their lawyer owners to make any profound changes in their business model or service mechanics.

Given the major effort that the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) has put into its Value Challenge, it's a curiosity that no law firm has had the wisdom and courage to proclaim its unqualified support. About the best I've seen, personally, is Womble Carlyle's statement of support, which -- while not a complete endorsement - does attempt to address some of the expressed objectives of the ACC.

The Altman news release quotes their spokesman as calling the study findings "a dramatic vote of no confidence" in the commitment of law firms to change. In fact, while 62% of respondents rated the pressure on law firms to change at 5 or above on a 10 point scale, fully 75% rated law firm's seriousness about change at 4 or less on the same scale.

I fear that Altman Weil's study suggests there is little hope that we will lift the veil of negativity and doubt from the relationship of general counsel and their outside lawyers. If we can't convince our clients that we hear what they want and are ready to conduct business according to their specifications, how happy will they ever be with our services? How willing a buyer?

Lawyers May Love This Little Black Book

2009-06-15T06:59:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite business development books for years has been Jim Hassett's Legal Business Development. This simple and direct outline of a marketing process for lawyers is going to have some company on the bookshelf from now on.

I've just finished Paula Black's latest "The Little Black Book: A Lawyer's Guide to Creating a Marketing Habit in 21 Days." Paula has a couple of "Little Black Books" already in print and has gotten wide notice and some kudos for her earlier work. The new one is the ultimate quick read, perfect for busy lawyers who have plenty of reasons to say their lives are too packed to develop a marketing habit.

Spanning the stated 21 days are Paula's 21 steps into a regular personal marketing habit. Each day, starting with the first Monday of the first week of the period, has a single word to start the day, couple of sentences to direct the lawyer's thinking about the step, an action to take that specific day and a tip that anticipates the need for a couple of words that will increase the effectiveness of the action.

There's no magic knowledge here, just pragmatic direction and advice that breaks down resistance to developing the marketing habit by enabling the lawyer to make incremental yet speedy progress and keeps the workload manageable. Paula's contribution is to recognize that each day must build upon the previous steps and yet be an complete element unto itself.

I think this might just work for both lawyers who cannot get started because the work of personal marketing seems too overwhelming in the whole and lawyers who claim there is just not time to attend to the mechanics. Paula's book gives them both something to do (but not too much to do) in an attractive and readable format. For the next 48 hours, she's giving away almost 40 gifts with each book order, so check it out at her Web site.

Should Marketing Be Expected Of Young Attorneys?

2009-06-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

For all of those among the law firm ranks who think that marketing needs to be the province of the experienced and that it takes more than just excellent legal work to win the attention of potential clients, I recommend this post yesterday by Carolyn Elefant at the Legal Blog Watch.

Even we, the long of tooth and true believers of bizdev, can be impressed by the genuine rewards being reaped from good works done well. No matter how much you might discuss the nature of the issue, the timing and character of the representation, the results speak for themselves.

Do any of us have any doubt about this young lawyer's bright future as a rainmaker?

One Blog Says Blogs Can't Be Trusted

2009-06-04T07:02:00.000-07:00

I ran across a very interesting piece at Forrester Research last week, thanks to an article by Josh Bernoff in the American Marketing Association's Marketing News of May 15. He reported on research that found blogs were the least trusted source of information among consumers.

Guess I should sign off now. But, wait, there's more.

One out of six consumers say they trust company blogs. These same people are generally more trusting of all media. Making them what? Gullible? Prescient?

One should really read Berhoff's Groundswell blog for the full story, but the Reader's Digest version (did I just date myself?) is that blogs that are entirely company information-oriented to a self-serving level (the reasons our dishwasher pellets simply work better and are environmentally pure) provoke a cynical mistrust in most consumers. Maybe that's to be expected.

Berhoff does report that there are very good ways to make a blog more trustworthy:

Cover customer problems.
Reach and incite comments from fans.
Explore core community issues...the community of readers and consumers.
Tout your celebrity (that's why I blog!).
Showcase your employees (as authors and heros).
Expand your content and channel, if you're a medium.
Have a voice in the conversation that's already about you and your interests.

Why do you blog? What blogs do you trust?

Firms Require Guides To Conduct Online

2009-05-19T18:07:00.000-07:00

Bob Ambrogi at Legal Blog Watch calls our attention to a vital piece of legal marketing practice today, that of the need for law firms to take charge of their own online social destiny and protect their fragile reputations by giving thorough guidance to their lawyers and staff about using social utilities. His post last week Rules of Conduct for Social Networking steps off from a set of guidelines given out at the Wall Street Journal about social media.

Just today, I introduced Swati Agrawal of Firmseek at the Legal Marketing Association Virginias Chapter, and she hit this subject, too, in connection with a talk on law firm marketing technology in times when firms are cutting back budgets and leaning even more heavily on demonstrated ROI. Along with suggestions to make more of what firms already have in place and work their own networks for knowledge was her endorsement of free tools such as Facebook and Twitter. Her caution: don't do anything without first deciding what you want to get out of it and how it should be employed, and beware the user with a bone to pick. She had a few interesting real-life tales to make her points. (Hat tip to Swati, who taught me the term "social utility" today.)

It remains to be seen whether there is a positive business development path through these new areas, but there is most certainly a negative one: the loss of a law firm's good name through the misuse of the media by its own people, or those it offends. I have noted the potential loss of control of a firm's reputation pointed out in this telling post on Kara Smith's blog.

The first significant area of liability to address is state Bars. Our own firm's code of participation is largely informed by the Rules active in the states where we practice and I recommend that for every firm. If only that were sufficient.

The Bar may govern the behavior and ethics of a lawyer, but firms also will find their positive reputation depends on the good and ethical online behavior of their staff and that is not a Bar concern except to the extent it may affect client representation. That's why our code also suggests appropriate use for these new media by non-attorneys, too.

As a third leg to stabilize this social networking platform, we have retained a firm of online social networking specialists (http://crt-tanaka.com/ and @crttanaka) to help chart our course. Still, the reason to build this platform is singular: once upon a time, firms used to control their message, but the online social media world is a conversation and participation may give you influence, but you will never have complete control.

Yet, what does a firm possess of value to clients but reputation? This is akin to the business accounting concept of goodwill. Even Bars believe that lawyers have clients, firms do not. The Rules are built to govern the behavior of lawyers, not firms. The collection of lawyers that is a law firm possess only the record of representation that inur to these lawyers. Clients hire firms with highly successful records. This reputation is now widely dependent on the online world. Today, a post from Legal Blog Watch points out the growing influence of the online world on winning business. And who hasn't Googled their firm name and discovered data they didn't expect?

How many of our law firms are leaving their online reputation up for grabs?

Social Life Now at the Bar

2009-05-06T13:14:00.001-07:00

Online social life, that is. Bar rules, that is. Both in Philadelphia and in Connecticut, opinion and advice have surfaced dealing with the use of online social networks in the legal industry. Hat tips to my two favorite daily reads: Legal Blog Watch from incisive media (that's the way THEY spell it) and ABA Journal Daily Newsletter.

From the former, I learn that A Connecticut Law Blog author Ryan McKeen had received a confusing missive from his state Bar when he asked for guidance on Web 2.0 communications. As he points out, the lack of foresight by the Bar has left the user adrift in Rules designed for paper, phone and fax. I fear this is the norm.

But there is hope. In today's ABA newsletter, I learn that in Philadelphia, as reported by Doug Cornelius on Social Media Today , the local Bar Association has ventured the advice that "friending" someone on Facebook through a third party meets the "misleading" standard that govern attorney communications. I'm so glad someone asked.

We've been discussing online social media with a passion for weeks. No stranger to these pages, Twitter, blogs, Facebook and LinkedIn have enraptured attorney audiences in our offices and out of town. I was glad to meet Wendy Nemitz of Ingenuity Marketing, Kristen Campbell of Jennings, Strouss & Salmon, Steve Baird of Winthrop & Weinstine and DuetsBlog, Larry James, Jr., of Dickenson, Mackaman, Tyles & Hagan and Mark Krueger of Minnesota Lawyers Mutual Insurance for a spirited discussion in Minneapolis last weekend.

Stay tuned as Bars tune in to this new world.

Confusing Times for Law Firm Advisors?

2009-04-30T05:51:00.000-07:00

The stress and financial turmoil roiling through law firms must make marketing very difficult for established consultancies such as Altman Weil and Hildebrandt. Let me give you one personal example.

This week, I will attend a meeting where we'll hear from Ward Bower of A-W on "Opportunities for Mid-Sized Firms in the Current Economy." Many of my friends at places like the Legal Water Cooler, Law Firm CI and folks I've seen speaking recently have been referring to the compression in legal budgets among corporations as a chance for mid-sized and boutique firms (read: less costly) to make some inroads in a market that has been dominated by large "safe bets" among the AmLaw 100.

I listened avidly at the Legal Marketing Association Conference the first of this month to Tom Clay of the same firm detail their recent "Legal Transformation Study" that used scenario planning to posit the possible fields of play in 2020, about a decade away. When the researchers asked a wide group of law firm managers and partners which of the four scenarios were most likely to be reality in 2020, there was almost an even divide among them. By this we see clearly there is no agreement among law firms on the likelihood of a particular end point for the legal industry.

So, we'll hear Mr. Bower opine on the kinds of opportunities firms like the one I work at might salivate over and, frankly, need to keep growing.

Then, in my email yesterday, comes a missive from Pam Woldow, a "Ramper" at LegalOnRamp.com, and a consultant at...Altman Weil. In this lengthy opinion, largely designed, it seems, to show the benefits of LegalOnRamp.com membership and participation, Ms. Woldow says:

"Dear General Counsel or Chief Legal Officer:
If you feel like you are in a classic double bind these days, you are not alone. I have spoken with dozens of GCs in the last few months, and Altman Weil has surveyed hundreds more, many of whom report themselves on the horns of a risky dilemma.
They say they are inclined to join the cost-saving trend to move "down market" (their term) to midsized and boutique firms that have lower costs bases, but are afraid the move will put them in hot water, no matter what the cost savings."

Later, after a long description of the process by which a corporate general counsel might put the squeeze on its current BigLaw vendors and use LegalOnRamp.com as the big stick to "help firm XYZ convert to your religion", she continues:

"The bottom line in law is that quality is quality. Cost is not quality. Risk-reduction is not quality. In every instance the highest quality firm will be the lowest cost, but that means you have to think about quality in terms of outcomes, not inputs - or even likelihood of substandard performance by outside counsel. Once you start focusing on true quality to the client - that's you and your company - you'll see a variety of ways to reduce costs. You'll also find that lots of firms, including, ultimately, your incumbent service providers, will be willing to play ball according to the new rules of the legal game."

Oh, oh, oh. I wonder how these consultants reconcile their various messages. Which opportunities do the corporate clients hear, the large providers get told about and which are left to the mid-size and boutiques? Are they talking among themselves about this? At Altman Weil, the evidence is that they are not. This double-speak may eventually trip them up and a fall could be disastrous in this economy.

Would you hire a consultant from a company that pitches your possible clients and competitors on a way to prevent your success?

Tweets Out Amazon

2009-04-13T16:36:00.000-07:00

OMG! Twitter bitch-slapped Amazon over the weekend and it will leave a bruise. Check out http://tinyurl.com/ddhpghl. Demonstrating once again, Twitter is the word-of-mouth of the online world.

I can't comment on the rumored anti-gay/bi attitude that may lay beneath the delisting of certain books with specific content (or at least specific content categories) on Amazon. It reminds me of the disputes that some school libraries have experienced in years past about the inclusion of seditious titles like "Catcher in the Rye" and "Lady Chatterly's Lover." Still, the sequence of explanations sound a bit disingenuous, or at least suggest that Amazon has lost control of a portion of its catalog indexing.

Still, the fact that the Twitter hashtag has mounted an effective attack on a policy at the world's largest bookseller gets my attention. Where now, Twitterville? Politics?

Hat tip to NPR's Monkey See blog for the news.

What's the LMA Buzz? Social life!

2009-04-09T06:39:00.000-07:00

I've been away at the Legal Marketing Association Annual Conference held at the Gaylord Resort in National Harbor, Maryland. It was great to see so many friends! Here are my top lines today:

Shout out to Nancy Myrland (http://twitter.com/nancynyrland) for organizing a Tweetup and giving out the cool lapel pins. It was sweet to tweet face-to-face and that's something I'd like to continue doing.

Thompson Reuters and incisive media were collecting videos of participants, and I've posted four below of some of my favorite opinion leaders. Give 'em a hand!

Jennifer Manton on LMA's Most Powerful Attribute

Heather Milligan on Opportunities in Law Firm Marketing

Jayne Navarre on Online Social Media

Lance Godard on Business Development from Twitter

Finally, social media was really rocking, with a couple of powerful presentations (and one slightly underwhelming one from LexisNexis Counsel-to-Counsel - can you say "missed the boat?"). My fave was Jay Berkowitz. More on that next time.

What's your recent social life highlight?