Profiting With Public Relations

Best Practices For Small Law Firms: How to Become A Source For the Press

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:

• Who are my clients?
  
• What do they read? 
• Do they read online publications? 
• Are there any industry publications that they read? 
• Are these publications local or national?

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. 

What Lawyers As Sources Can Do For The Press

1.    A source gives short, concise quotes; responds quickly to all media requests; and does not wait until one “suits” them. 

2.    Although they may not have all the answers, a source will take the initiative and time and look into their network to help the reporter out.

3.    A source is someone who is very familiar with the reporter's beat and regularly sends story ideas and developments in that area.

It is important to remember that most reporters cover several different areas and constantly require help in understanding the intricacies and complexities of different stories.  Sources are their bloodlines when under tight deadlines.

For more information on us visit SCG Legal PR Network

Faux Pas Committed by Law Firms When Approaching Reporters

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:

• Pitch a story exclusively focused on one firm or lawyer without connecting it to a general industry trend and/or an upcoming news hook.
• Call reporters on the phone -- we definitely prefer email.
  
• Send long e-mails when first trying to gauge interest. Better to start with a quick e-mail pitch identifying names, facts and the trend or news hook, and then, if the reporter is interested, send the back-up info.

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.

What To Do With Firm News

A couple of reminders of how to leverage firm news:

• Transactions and cases - While it may not hit the New York Times, it is however, news for the client.  Create a one paragraph summary of the activity and publish it on the firm's website.
• Firm news, such as new hires, leadership changes both in the firm and in the community, awards, gifts and other hallmark events. In essence this is news that your target community should be aware of. Its also news that demonstrates your commitment as a member of that particular community. This is important information to have on the firms website. Remember Google, journalists are always Googling.
• News that relates to the firm, such as sponsorships, seminars, presentations-they should be on the website under the news and/or events section. When giving presentation pay attention to the questions asked by audience. Those questions may trigger story ideas that the public relations folks can use to pitch to reporters

If you're looking to transform your legal practice, get known, liked and trusted  in your target market, try out  SCG Legal PR Network free for month and start creating visibility.

Five Rules Of Telephone Pitching to Reporters

First of all make sure you have done your homework when pitching to reporters:

1. Make sure you have all the background information at your fingertips.

2. Make your first pitch a good one. First impressions count.

3. Do your due diligence. Get the reporters/writers name right.

4. Make sure you know when the reporter's deadline is.

5. Be concise with your telephone pitch. Don't leave long voice mails.

3 Tools Lawyers Can Use to Communicate With the Press

There are vast array of tools that law firms can use when communicating with the press. The story/pitch must be newsworthy for the reporter to write about it. Below are three tools you can use to garner media interest:

1. Fact Sheets: these provide reporters with the data they need to support their story.

2. Press Release/News Release: these should announce something new, a piece of legislation, something that is going to have an impact on the community. Always ask yourself "tell me, something I don't know." Keep it short.

3. Media Advisories: Typically they can be used to alert reporters what legal experts are available to talk to the press on specific issues.

Stepping into a Reporter's Shoes

Given todays belt tightening climate, its no surprise many lawyers are doing or making an effort to do their own public relations. What they fail to understand is like every other discipline, public relations has its own set of rules. Its important to understand the rules, otherwise you are shut out.

Key to  public relations success is understanding a journalists needs and schedule. When this is done correctly, lawyers and  law firm marketing professionals have a much better chance of getting their firm's news some ink.

All journalists have varying needs, concerns, objectives and personal style. In this day and age of social networking, most of them are likely to follow others on Twitter,  read a dozen or so bloggers as well as going through the wires and dailies.  Knowing these things requires  some effort, but will be worth it,because it gives you a sense of what they are thinking and what is on their mind,  otherwise your media relations efforts will be inconsistent.

Are Lawyers Putting 'Relation' Back Into Their Business Plans?

Too many attorneys fail to understand how public relations work. They think an advertisement promoting their firm counts or that ONLY high-profilelitigation cases receive media attention. Nothing could be further from thetruth. Every day hundreds of small and medium-sized law firms are quoted inwidely-read publications, ranging from top tier press to local community press, raising awareness of their firm and gaining credibility as experts in the marketplace. Firms that don’t realize this and don't incorporate it as part of their business development plans  suffer from missed clients.

The truth of the matter is that a solid public relations  plan MUST be is at the heart of every good marketing plan for ALL law firms. After all, public relations is all about building 'relations' with the right groups.

Common reasons cited by lawyers for not incorporating public relations are: not having enough time, a lack of understanding of its role, or the dearth of resources to make public relations part of their business development plans.

Couple  with long held stereotypes of the press, such as reporters’ interest lying with big law firm news or reporter's only wanting the drama and not the facts, and the cynicism reporters have towards attorneys, it’s no surprise that media relations is frequently relegated to the bottom of business development activities,  particularly if the firm has already achieved some “visibility” that did not result in new clients.

The irony of course, is that both groups need each other for their work. Reporters are continually seeking sources for their stories, and attorneys need to get more than their qualifications, out in the market place in other words, they need to get known, liked and trusted in their target market.

How To Take Advantage of Editorial Calendars.

What Is An Editorial Calendar?

Often referred to as "ed cal" for short, shows the major  editorial features that are planned for upcoming magazine issues and newspaper issues.

These calendars are an indispensable part of all public relations strategy. They are used by marketing professionals to decide strategically which issues to place their advertisements in, and pr professionals to increase their chances of coverage by positioning stories and tips.

It is a wise policy to review editorial opportunities at the beginning of the year and write these opportunities in your calendar.

What next?

Review calendars frequently. Contact your target editor or editorial assistant a few months in advance of publication of an issue. First, find out if its an appropriate time to talk. The editor may be on deadline, ask when it would be suitable to call them, after all, you want the editor to be receptive to your ideas.

Once you have established he/she has a few minutes, share your pitch (story idea) being sure to mention that you would love to have them review it for the specific editorial opportunity you are focusing on.  Be sure to ask editor for more information about this opportunity if you don't have the specifics, and also get their email address so you can send them all the information they need instead of tying up their time on the phone.

Try our membership of SCG Legal PR Network.

Community PR For Lawyers

A common question asked by attorneys located outside the big urban centers is: will   getting press in local community papers build my credibility  Here me loud and clear the answer is YES, especially if that community is your target market.  Reporters with communities papers are sources to build relationships and get known in that area. Don't forget these reporters are plugged into those communities and are very well-connected.

So what if you don't have big city  marketing/public relations budget where do you start?

Here's a couple of pointers:

 Community news outlets (radio, community tv and print)  primary focus is  local concerns. That means localizing your message. Without that local  perspective, I can guarantee no-one will return your telephone call.

Create content with a shelf life, consider the hot topics of today. Its pretty certain that after the US Presidential Election the focus of the press is going to be the economy.

Weekly papers, in particular, are interested in well written, common-sense lifestyle, financial, real estate,  how-to and other service features, which aren't as time-sensitive as straight news announcements.

Remember many of these small papers are part of weeklies with circulation of 100,000+. If your news is of wide enough interest, it has a better chance of making it into the common pages that go into all of the chain's outlets, thereby maximizing exposure in that geographic market.

So its worthwhile spending some time researching what issues the papers are covering and developing story ideas with shelf life. For a consultation please contact me directly at pmahli@suncommunicationsgroup.com and for other articles on media visit our website.