What to do when a thought leader leaves your AEC firm

October 28, 2022

Ascribing authorship of an industry topic to an employee at your architecture, engineering or construction (AEC) firm comes with one glaring risk. What if they leave? That happens. In fact, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, it happens often. The median tenure for architecture and engineering occupations is just 5.2 years, a little higher than the average wage and salary worker. 

While it may be tempting to publish thought leadership articles under your company’s name or a made-up moniker like “Construction Chip” to avoid the problem altogether, there is a benefit to having a visible expert. 

Clients trust original content presented by an individual more than they do information presented by a brand. In content marketing, specifically thought leadership, the idiom “put a face to the name” proves helpful, and companies benefit when their employees raise their own profile. However, if one of your company’s thought leaders decides to end that mutually beneficial relationship, don’t panic. Here’s what you should do instead:

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A legal tech professional’s guide to the media you must know: The bloggers and media outlets

September 30, 2022
Securing coverage in trusted media outlets will help build your case before notoriously selective lawyers and other legal tech purchasers.

It has never been a better time to be in legal technology. As the billable-hour model confronts continual client backlash, law firms and in-house counsel are more eager than ever to streamline their work with the right technology. Law firm partners are also seeking new ways to leverage technology to expedite discovery work, create compelling trial presentations and maximize profits.

Through legal transformation, the process of leveraging technology, outsourcing and other tools to “transform” the way legal tasks are done, companies and law firms have been able to realize cost savings across the board by automating traditionally manual processes — all while helping counsel both outside and in-house focus their legal acumen on more pressing, high-risk matters.

It does not matter if you’re an eDiscovery company, contract lifecycle management (CLM) provider, e-sign processor, or Web 3.0 application developer; there is space for your company to grow and compete in a rapidly growing niche that already sports several multibillion-dollar unicorns. However, companies and startups entering the legal field will find that the very lawyers they are targeting care about the same selling points: each company’s reputation and ability to create value. 

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Legal public relations: How to get covered by The Wall Street Journal

August 23, 2022

Getting featured or quoted in The Wall Street Journal can be a major coup for any lawyer whose practice intersects with the business world. With its reputation as the standard bearer of news for the financial community, the Journal has established itself as the leading news source for information about the markets, business developments and — most importantly for lawyers — the latest developments in corporate, M&A and securities law. 

Getting that flashy mention in a Journal feature can do wonders for a law firm. For reputation-building, lawyers get to showcase their knowledge on the ins and outs of emerging business and market issues to the global swath of CEOs, board members, broker-dealers, funds and banking institutions that pore over the Journal’s pages every day. 

For online marketing, one or more WSJ backlinks can do wonders for a firm’s SEO rankings, especially for uber-competitive keywords that CPC-centered law firms lurk around. Not to mention the nifty perk of having a Journal hedcut — which, like a Simpsons caricature, is the media world’s way of saying that a professional has arrived. 

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How to leverage your next event sponsorship

August 5, 2022
Here are some tips for before, during and after an event to make sure every penny you’ve invested in sponsorship counts.

Sponsoring an event — whether an event discussion, seminar or workshop — is a great way to promote your law firm or legal tech company. By sponsoring and/or putting on an event, you not only align yourself in the marketplace with other thought leaders but you can also demonstrate your knowledge regarding a pressing pain point for potential clients. Inviting speakers and eventists is also a great way to reward clients with a marketing boost or make connections with key influencers. (Flattery will get you very far sometimes…)

Event sponsorships don’t come cheap, however, and often cost thousands of dollars. There’s also your time to consider in setting it up, holding the event, etc… Given these investments, it makes sense to try and get the most marketing bang for your event sponsorship buck. (You’ll also reduce any objections from the firm’s beancounters if you can demonstrate a strategy for achieving the best possible ROI.)

Here are some tips for before, during and after the event to make sure every penny you’ve invested in sponsorship counts.

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Law360: Law firm submissions 101

July 25, 2022

There are more legal rankings and award opportunities than degrees on our summer thermostats.

And while some are legitimate recognitions for your law firm and attorneys, many are money grabs that give way more of an “aWaRdS” vibe — they aren’t worth your time and truly don’t serve to provide a distinction.

Now, we don’t want to come across as too negative. There are many legal awards we highly recommend for clients (Chambers, The Legal 500, Super Lawyers and The Best Lawyers are some of our favorites).  

Today we are exploring Law360 awards and rankings, and why we think they are worth the non-billable hours for your firm.

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Architecture public relations: 6 publications every architectural firm should target to showcase projects, expertise

June 28, 2022

When prestigious architectural publications showcase an architecture firm’s work, it gives that firm an invaluable stamp of approval that can play a key role in business development. 

While these publications are read by other architects — and not necessarily by clients — the coverage in these publications acts like a coveted referral from a trusted expert. It sends the message that your firm does quality work. 

While coverage in publications that clients read — like your local business journal or trade magazines such as Building Construction + Design, Medical Construction & Design and Hospitality Design (depending on your industry focus) — is also important, the strategy is different. These publications, while helping to establish your firm on your clients’ radar and demonstrate expertise in their industry, don’t provide the same cachet as publications like Architectural Record or Metropolis

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How to edit your law firm’s Wikipedia page: 3 golden rules

May 28, 2022

Just like death and taxes, if you’re a marketer, it’s inevitable that you’ll be asked to edit a Wikipedia page (or worse: create one).

It’s an understandable request given Wikipedia’s prominence on the web. The online encyclopedia continues to dominate search results due to its high-quality, up-to-date content on a vast swath of topics. Its pages are frequently referenced in links from other sites, one of Google’s predominant signals of authority. Google’s addition of snippets and knowledge graphs has further cemented Wikipedia in the top few results for nearly any given search. 

Unfortunately, errors are rampant on the site. Correcting inaccuracies, however, is not a simple matter. Any edits, especially those to business pages, have to follow certain rules in order to pass muster. If you do it wrong, there’s also a good chance you could get blacklisted permanently from the site. 

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The Legal 500: Law firm submissions 101

April 4, 2022

We love legal rankings. It’s true.

We love a lot of normal loveable things, like dogs and books and hot coffee. But we may be unique in our affinity for keeping tabs on the best legal rankings in the game and sharing that information with our clients. 

In the past, we’ve chatted in depth about Chambers and Partners, Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers

Today’s star is The Legal 500.

Warm up your coffee ’cause here we go!
(Note: We refreshed this blog post in November 2023 to reflect new insights from The Legal 500 and common questions they hear.)

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9 mistakes marketers should avoid when interviewing architects, engineers and construction pros for thought leadership content

March 10, 2022

So you read our guide on improving your subject-matter-expert interviewing skills and now you think you’re ready to rock your next thought leadership interview. If you follow our advice, you probably are. But even though you know what you should do, you also need to know what you should not do to get the best, juiciest, most innovative ideas and quotes from the architect, engineer or construction pro you’re speaking with.

A good interviewer knows how to get their subject talking without getting in their way. But there’s a lot more to being a good interviewer than just being a good listener. Do you think Oprah showed up to the vineyard to interview Meghan and Harry empty-handed? 

The answer is no: the queen of interviews definitely spent hours with her team arming herself with background information and a hefty list of questions designed to pull out those jaw-dropping soundbites that plastered headlines for weeks afterward.

I can’t teach you to be Oprah, but I can help you optimize your interviewing strategy by avoiding these nine mistakes.

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Super Lawyers: Law firm submissions 101

March 2, 2022

After a brief hiatus to cover all things LinkedIn company pages, we’re returning our focus to our “law firms submissions 101” series, where we review everything you need to know about the top legal rankings and awards programs. 

When we last left our heroes, we had just learned all about Chambers and the nitty-gritty details covering the lengthy submission process, as well as the ins and outs of Best Lawyers.

This month we are investigating (dramatic drum roll pleaseeeee) Super Lawyers!

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