For our purposes, the gatekeepers of these stories are reporters. Whether you have a public relations agency, consultant or are doing it yourself, your job is to build lasting relationships with reporters from targeted publications and/or become “The Trusted Advisor.”
Case history: Tax planning and estates attorney embarked on a public relations campaign several years ago. With help of public relations professional he sent media kit to a personal finance reporter nationally and locally. One of those reporters was with Bloomberg News. With the permission of reporter every couple of months he sent the reporter story ideas. Part of his due diligence included phoning the reporter and asking if she was still open to his pitches. When President Bush passed the tax cuts of 2003, Guess whom the reporter called? The reporter had kept his file on record.
Lesson: The attorney had planted the seeds several years in advance. During that time he became a source for the press in his neck of the woods. He gained a fair amount of exposure on local television stations. Both his practice has grown and he charges significantly higher fees.
Note: this was not an attorney from a big law firm or from New York! He was from a small town outside of Chicago.
This case demonstrates a good media relations plan:
1 Shows the attorney with the help of pr agency was clear on which reporters to contact.
2. Knew who the reporters that covered his subject matter.
3. Crafted story ideas and sent them regularly to reporters.
4. Offered to be resource and help them anyway he could
5. Didn’t forget common courtesy.
Internal Audit: First thing you need to do is to conduct an internal audit of your clients:
Where does your target market get their news, local radio or evening broadcast?
Knowing the answers to these questions will guide your choices of the publications to target, whether they are local dailies, weeklies, magazines, trade/professional journals. Being quoted in the New York Times, while prestigious is meaningless, if your target market doesn’t read the publication. There are attorneys who want media exposure for personal reasons often this is in direct conflict to the targeted media relations campaign.
Full Disclosure: this blog post is part of a tele-seminar: "How To Grow Your Law Practice On A Shoestring Budget," I gave with Allison C Shields of LegalEase Consulting.
In an increasing fast paced 24/7 world, receiving requests from foreign media should no longer be a surprise, even though outreach to foreign press may not be part of law firm public relations plans.
Journalists from foreign media require certain cultural sensitivities since interactions with them are different than those with domestic journalists. Michael Morley, who has penned a "Foreign Media Relations Guide" for Business for Diplomatic Action suggests the following:Golden rule take a proactive step and be familiar with the time zones. Its pretty standard that everyone knows the time difference between Britain and US. Make sure you aware of times zones in India and China.
2. Be alert to language and cultural nuances.
Avoid slang and local jargon, like "full-court press" or "runaway best-seller" or "blow them out of the water." Best to keep the language simple, clear and concise.
3. Pictures speak louder than words.
Photos tell a story oftentimes they are compelling than words, especially when communicating with a journalist for whom English is a second language. Cardinal rule here it to make everything as easy as possible for the reporter.
4. Get to know key media.
Just as PR professionals use media contacts as "currency" in the field, so, too, should they familiarize themselves with foreign reporters, bureau editors and correspondents. With foreign journalists, just like domestic ones, it’s all about the relationship. And the more journalists – foreign and domestic – whom the law firm gets to know , the more value that will be bought to the table.
Finally on a personal note, I've always found just knowing how to say hello in the reporter's language makes a big difference in breaking the ice.
1. Give 'Em What They Want: When crafting your headline and release, it's important to think like a reporter. They want something new and different. Tell 'em something new. But have the facts to back it up.
2. Emphasize Your Most Important Keywords: Once you have some quality keywords to choose from, pick the most important ones and focus your headline on those and use them throughout the body of the release. Keep the release short.
3. Keep The Release Brief: Google generally displays only the first 63 characters (letters and spaces) of release headlines in search results, so make sure to get your key information across as concisely as possible.
As with all marketing tactics, the trick is to pick a couple of things and then consistently implement them. Far too often people follow the latest marketing and are often disappointed with they don't reap the results.
Conferences and workshops are one the best ways of meeting potential clients, forge strong relationships and of course if you are speaking a great opportunity to showcase expertise.
Here's a couple of tips to get you started to maximize your return on investments:
Finally apologies for to those who read my blog regularly. There's been a bit of lapse since my last blog post back in early October. Its been quite the year and I will keep you updated on the changes/developments as I get back into the swing of posting regularly. Finally a big heartfelt THANK YOU to all of you who read the blog regularly.
Getting articles published in trade publications, magazines and
newspapers have long been considered important benchmarks for building
reputations as thought leaders and experts in specific markets for all
businesses. Bar associations' newsletters often have volunteer
editorial positions, whether you'd like to write or edit. These
opportunities will lead to getting to know other lawyers of all
professional levels and from other firms. Used strategically, this can
often provide gateways to jobs in law firms.
Where you can be published:
There is a perception out in the legal word that press releases and lawyer's becoming partners in law firms is somehow newsworthy. Both of these are necessary in a law firm's overall communications program but don't necessarily require contacting the press. It is Important to remember that journalists are inundated with emails and story ideas every day. Many of these story suggestions are not are not relevant to what the reporter covers. In such circumstances not only do you risk alienating the reporter but they will not be responsive to your pitch next time.
Last week I asked Cynthia Cotts from Bloomberg News best way for firms (lawyers doing their own pr, office management staff wearing several hats) to approach Bloomberg Media. Here's a part of the q/a. The rest is available only to SCG Legal PR Network Diamond members.
1. Top 3 faux pas legal media folks commit when approaching legal/general reporters at Bloomberg news?
CC: DON'T:
2. Do you only work/quote big law? Do you talk to lawyers from small to medium sized law firms. Or is this just a case of which firm/lawyer is best prepared and responsive in a very timely manner.
CC: Bloomberg has traditionally focused on big law. However, because of the ongoing economic changes in the industry, I'm interested in lawyers from small and medium sized firms who can tell me a story, with concrete details, about how they got work that previously would have gone to a big law firm. Sample subjects: billing models, strategic focus on a single practice, ability to recruit talent that would otherwise have gone to big firms, better culture, etc. Any lawyer that can put me in touch with a satisfied client is someone I
want to talk to.
The rest of this q/a will be available to SCG Legal PR Network Diamond Members only.
A very heartfelt thanks to Cynthia Cotts for taking the time to answer my questions.