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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How to build a following on your law firm’s LinkedIn company page (part 2 of 2)

February 8, 2022
How to build a following on your law firm’s LinkedIn company page (part 2 of 2)

This is the second installment in a two-part series focused on improving engagement for company pages on LinkedIn. Click here to read the first part of the series.

By now, you’ve got a solid understanding of LinkedIn’s picky algorithm and you’re laying the groundwork for a robust employee advocacy plan. But if you want to become a true LinkedIn master, you need to understand how to optimize your content on the platform.

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Reprint Rights 101: How AEC firms can promote media hits without getting sued

January 27, 2022
Reprint Rights 101: How AEC firms can promote media hits without getting sued

Great news! You or one of your architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) subject matter experts published an article or got quoted in an industry trade magazine, and you want everyone to know — particularly potential clients. So, you post the full text of the article to your company’s website, send it to your email lists and schedule some social media posts that link to it for good measure.

Good marketing, right?

While promoting your media coverage is important (and kudos to you for recognizing that), unfortunately you’ve left yourself open to legal action from the media outlet because you’ve just violated their copyright. 

The good news is that there are ways to leverage your media hits while staying on the right side of the law — and in the good books of the media outlets that cover your projects.

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How to build a following on your law firm’s LinkedIn company page (part 1 of 2)

January 6, 2022
How to build a following on your law firm’s LinkedIn company page (part 1 of 2)

The importance of a strong presence on LinkedIn for law firms can’t be understated. Almost anyone who has a job, is looking for a job, needs to hire someone for a job or is going to school to qualify for a job, is on LinkedIn. The career-oriented social media network boasts more than 774 million members, with over 57 million companies and thousands of job opportunities on every continent — including Antarctica

While LinkedIn is a great place for hiring and job-searching, it’s also a gold mine for law firms and lawyers who are looking to establish themselves as thought leaders and build their brands. According to SalesIntel, LinkedIn is responsible for 80% of all business-to-business (B2B) leads from social media. 

However, organically building a following via a LinkedIn company page isn’t easy. It’s much easier via personal pages, as people want to connect with people, not companies. 

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The importance of email service providers (ESPs): Why you should never send mass emails with Outlook or Gmail

July 8, 2021
The importance of email service providers (ESPs): Why you should never send mass emails with Outlook or Gmail

Email marketing is the most profitable marketing channel, garnering an ROI of $42 for every $1 spent. However, if you try to start a mass marketing email campaign through your Gmail or Outlook account, you’re going to be hampered by send limits and you could even end up having your personal email or your entire organization’s domain blacklisted (more on that in a moment).

So how do firms manage to conduct email marketing campaigns that send hundreds or thousands of emails and still hang on to their online reputation? Email marketing services or email service providers (ESPs) are third-party services that handle mass marketing email sends. ESPs take a number of measures to ensure they remain whitelisted and retain agreements with internet service providers (ISPs) that allow them to send emails in bulk. 

You might be asking yourself, “Why do I need to pay extra to send emails when that’s what I do all day, every day? Why not just send each marketing email individually from my individual email address?”

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Why podcasting is an introverted lawyer’s dream networking tool

May 30, 2021
Why Podcasting Is an Introverted Lawyer’s Dream Networking Tool

The last time I went to a networking event (over a year ago thanks to COVID-19), I remember sitting in my car and giving myself a pep talk. “This is a party. Go inside and enjoy it. This is a party. Go inside and enjoy it,” I repeated over and over again to myself. 

While I’m the life of a party when I’m with my friends, I loathe networking events and dread small talk. Instead, I enjoy substantive conversations and don’t know how to achieve meaty, engaging discussions with people I don’t know very well. Thus, the topics stay in the weather and cute-things-my-dog-did-today categories. I inevitably go home exhausted and dreading the next time I have to discuss the weather with strangers while snacking on a charcuterie board. 

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The end of ‘done for you’ marketing: why attorneys must partner with marketers on knowledge extraction

February 19, 2021

Thought leadership is a critical marketing strategy for business law firms. Today’s legal buyers expect their lawyers to be at the forefront of issues that matter to them. They are seeking a trusted advisor — an attorney (and a firm) who they can trust with sensitive and high-stakes matters. 

Demonstrating expertise through content such as blog posts, bylined articles, in-depth reports, videos, podcasts and webinars is the most effective way to build a reputation as a trusted advisor (beyond actually serving as one to an existing client).

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How to write better client alerts: 10 of the best tips

February 1, 2021

Client alerts are a staple of law firm marketing. These short news bulletins — generally written by attorneys and edited, formatted and distributed by marketers — inform clients of recent developments in the law and provide analysis on how these changes will impact their business.

And while client alerts play a critical role in a firm’s marketing efforts, they are renowned in the industry for their lack of readability, substance and timeliness.

This poor quality isn’t due to a lack of guidance on how to use this marketing tool effectively. Numerous articles by seasoned legal marketing pros provide excellent advice on how to write better client alerts. In this post, I’ve cherry picked the best advice out there and put it all in one place for you. If you’re looking to improve your firm’s client alerts, look no further. 

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Reprint Rights 101: How law firms can promote media hits without getting sued

August 18, 2020

Reprint Rights 101: How law firms can promote media hits without getting sued

You get a solid quote in a key publication, or publish an insightful article in a legal trade magazine, and you want everyone to know (particularly potential clients). So, you post the full text of the article to your firm’s website, send it to your email list and put out some social media posts linking to it for good measure. 

Good marketing, right? 

While promoting your media coverage is important (and kudos to you for recognizing that), unfortunately you’ve left yourself open to legal action from the media outlet because you’ve just violated their copyright. 

Don’t feel too badly. This happens fairly often, and we’ve found that lawyers and law firms are among some of the worst offenders. Which is more than a little ironic, because, you know, laws…

The good news is that there are ways to leverage your media hits while staying on the right side of the law — and in the good books of the media outlets that cover you. 

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