Four 2020 legal marketing trends we’re watching

January 7, 2020

Four 2020 legal marketing trends we’re watching

It’s hard to fathom that it’s 2020. Where the heck did a decade go? I guess it’s true — time flies when you’re having rum (maybe that’s just me). 

Four 2020 legal marketing trends we’re watching

And, yes, we know you’re just now recovering from the holiday season, which can be a blur of budget planning and executing holiday marketing ideas. But, as we jump start this new decade, it’s time to get ready for what’s next. 

For 2020 there are four trends that have caught our attention: the growth of niche marketing, an emphasis on consistency, the rebirth of LinkedIn and the continued dominance of email as an essential content channel. 

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Spread the cheer! How to do holiday marketing the right way for B2B and professional services

November 20, 2019

Spread the cheer! How to do holiday marketing the right way for B2B and professional services

Ah, the holidays. A time when we’re surrounded by warm wishes, those we love — and a never-ending sales pitch to get us to spend, spend, spend. The holiday fervor seems to start earlier every year, too (I swear I saw toy Santas alongside the American flags in one store this past July 4th). 

This is the noisiest time of year in consumer marketing, with brands of all kinds clamoring for attention. So why would B2B companies and professional services firms — which have much different sales cycles — choose to enter that fray? Wouldn’t it be best to just lie low and go big in January?

Unfortunately, that would mean disappearing from view for weeks, maybe even a couple of months. In today’s connected environment, that can be a death blow when you’re trying to maintain a consistent brand. 

Done tactfully and in line with the spirit of the season, holiday marketing for B2B companies and professional services firms can help you maintain awareness while leaving a warm feeling behind that clients and prospects will remember all year long. 

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From blah to ah-ha! How to write law firm case studies that win new business

September 24, 2019

From Blah to Ah-Ha! How to Write Law Firm Case Studies That Win New Business

This post was first published on Law Journal Newsletters.

Visit any law firm’s website and you’ll find bulleted lists of representative matters and deals that look like this:

  • Represented leading international retailer and several of its officers and directors in securities class action and shareholder derivative suits.
  • Represented an investment fund in connection with a $500 million secured credit facility.

This might be the most wasted opportunity in the land of wasted opportunities called Law Firm Marketing. While laundry lists of every single matter an attorney has ever touched may be helpful on a resume, it’s much less effective for law firm marketing goals. 

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13 blogs legal marketers should follow

July 2, 2019

13 blogs legal marketers should follow

I love a good Stephen King book — and not just because I’m into spooky stories and horror movies. The man can write. He knows how to develop characters, build suspense and illuminate intricacies of the human condition.

Like a lot of things in life, great writing comes with practice and learning from others.

King’s advice? “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”

So, if you want to be a better legal marketer and produce results that get noticed by your supervising attorneys, don’t stop learning. Stay current by following thought leaders and reading blogs that share what’s new and what’s next in legal marketing.

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The hidden costs of cutting your legal marketing budget

June 19, 2019

The Hidden Costs of Cutting your Legal Marketing Budget

Note: This post was first published on the Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute blog

It’s the classic chicken-and-egg problem: You don’t have money to invest in marketing, but you need marketing to grow. And while there are plenty of studies clearly demonstrating a direct link between law firms’ marketing investment and financial growth, many firms still choose to cut back on marketing when money gets tight.

This was one of the findings from a recent study by the Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute. In the 2018 Dynamic Law Firms Survey, law firms categorized as “static” (no growth or contraction) reduced their marketing spend by 1.7% in 2017. That’s a 5% point difference from “dynamic” (high-growth) firms, which grew their marketing spend by 3.4%.

So why do many law firms still axe the marketing budget first when looking to save money? My guess is that there’s a lack of understanding surrounding the many hidden costs of cutting marketing. Below are seven of these tangible, day-to-day losses and how they impact a law firm long after the financial crunch is over.

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Marketers: It’s time to push back on your bosses’ bad ideas

November 20, 2018

Marketers: It’s time to push back on your bosses’ bad ideas

“Behind every bad idea is an executive who asked for it.”

I can feel all the marketers internally shouting “YAAAASSSSS.” I hear you, friend, I hear you.

The above quote — from a recent MarketingProfs webinar by Michael Brenner (best-selling author of The Content Formula and CEO of Marketing Insider Group) — made me stop in my tracks. I thought of the numerous times I’ve witnessed a C-suite executive ask a marketer to do something that I knew wasn’t the right course of action, yet the marketer did it anyway. Heck, I’ve been the one who did it anyway. I’ve always thought, “That’s just the way it is.”

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4 reasons marketers must shift toward a ‘knowledge extraction’ mindset

May 2, 2018

RepInk-blog-Extraction

Marketers… if you had to describe your most important role in one or two words, what would you say? My gut tells me that many would say “promotion,” “brand building” or “thought leadership.” I doubt many would say “knowledge extraction.” And that must change.

Knowledge extraction is basically that — extracting knowledge from your subject-matter experts (SMEs). It’s a specialized skill when done right, and it’s imperative for effective business-to-business and professional services marketing. Here’s why:

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7 ways to overcome content marketing’s biggest challenge: just getting it done

April 24, 2018

RepInk-blog-7waysChallenge

We’ve all heard it before:

“I just can’t get my subject-matter experts to give me the information I need.”

“We would do content marketing, but we can never find the time — we’re too busy focused on billable work.”

I get it. Content marketing takes time. It’s the reason I have a viable business, after all.

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Legal marketers: Here’s how to get general counsel’s attention, straight from the horse’s mouth

April 17, 2018

Four marketing strategies are particularly effective, says panel of GCs at Legal Marketing Association conference

Law firm marketers: Want to know what works to get the attention of general counsel (GC)?

Here’s the short answer: high-quality, relevant and timely thought leadership content, in the form of client alerts, helpful articles vendita piscina gonfiabile con scivolo and speeches. In addition, well-written case studies help GCs understand your firm’s experience in solving specific problems (that they may be facing themselves).

Five GCs sat down for a panel discussion at last week’s Legal Marketing Association national conference and laid bare how they choose outside counsel, what gets their attention and how to cut through the clutter in today’s information-saturated environment.

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#INBOUND16: Top Takeaways from HubSpot’s INBOUND 2016 Conference

November 15, 2016

#INBOUND16: Top Takeaways from HubSpot’s INBOUND 2016 Conference

It was a whirlwind of a week for the Reputation Ink team, and no, unlike everyone on your Facebook feed, we’re not talking about the election. (You’re going to get enough of that at Thanksgiving, anyway.)

We’re here to talk about #INBOUND16, folks.
Our team spent last week in Boston for the annual conference hosted by HubSpot, and we picked up A LOT of good stuff along the way, from inspiring content strategy tips to buttery lobster rolls. Here are some of the key takeaways that got us thinking (and tweeting).

 
 

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