Ginger Reichl

The Florida Bar has thrown a monkey wrench into legal marketing once again. Web sites have been treated as ‘information upon request’ for years, but the Supreme Court has decided that they must now comply with the advertising rules. Recognizing some of the confusion the new rule has caused, the Bar requested a six month moratorium on enforcement.

So what does it mean? For most firms, it simply means that any statements about results or client testimonials must either be removed, or put in an area where a visitor must read a page or pop-up that explains the type of information they’ll be viewing. If it includes verdicts or testimonials, the page must include a ‘past results are not necessarily representative of future results’ disclaimer.

To help with the transition, the bar has prepared these guidelines and a sample disclaimer.

Thank goodness the public is now safe from reading information that might actually help them select a good attorney.

The Florida Bar Association surprises me on a regular basis… but rarely in a good way. Over the last couple years, there has been a lot of discussion in the legal marketing community about client testimonials - those that appear in directories like Avvo and social networks like LinkedIn.

The rules on advertising prohibit testimonials, statements of past results, and commentary on the quality of service. However, by nature, the directories and social networking sites collect unsolicited comments by clients with little or no control by the lawyer.

Here comes the shocker. Today, the Florida Bar agreed to exempt those sites from the rules and are considering the content ‘information upon request.’ This is very good news for lawyers, as online client-generated content, reviews and recommendations begin to supplement the traditional referral.

I’m not anticipating a flood of new LinkedIn profiles from lawyers, but this decision finally removes the doubt and confusion associated with its use.

Now I can focus on training them how to use the tools effectively!

Last night, I was honored to be named one of the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s 2009 ‘Up & Comers’.  Reviewing the list of winners, I am humbled by the recognition.

With winners’ ages spanning two decades (20 to 39), I was also struck by the fact that my days as a “young professional” or “up and comer” are quickly coming to an end!  Nothing like sliding into an awards category at the last minute!

The last several years have been a whirlwind with the growth and success of the agency, and I know that none of these awards would be possible without my wonderful husband and my hard working and supremely creative teammates. They make me look good on a daily basis.

It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of Broadway musicals, so I consider myself so lucky to live in an area that boasts one of the nation’s best theaters with annual seasons full of Tony winners.

And who is responsible for promoting these shows and all of the fantastic entertainment at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center?  Michael Kilgore!

Read more about him on Examiner.

PS - My favorite shows?
1 - Kiss of the Spider Woman
2 - Wicked
3 - Phantom of the Opera
4 - My Fair Lady
5 - Les Miserables
6 -  The Lion King
7 - Rent
8 - Mamma Mia!
9 - Fiddler on the Roof
10 - Thoroughly Modern Millie

There are some kinds of businesses that are a part of their customers’ weekly, if not daily routine—grocery stores, drycleaners, and gas stations to name a few. Other companies, such as clothing and hardware stores or even restaurants, also typically attract mostly repeat business. As long these operations offer competitive prices, good service and are conveniently located (with no new arrival in the market appearing significantly better on any of those points) customer loyalty should remain fairly strong.
But how can businesses instill loyalty when clients may need their services on an annual basis at best, or perhaps only a few times during an entire lifetime? This is the common situation for many professional service providers such as attorneys, CPAs, medical specialists, IT solution providers, or architects to name a few. An e-newsletter may be an economical and effective way to maintain top-of-mind awareness with prospective clients during those long stretches between having a need for the provider’s services.

Simple name recognition is good way to initially differentiate your business from others in your market. But more importantly, an e-newsletter emphasizes the expertise that’s available from professionals at your company.

The greatest challenge associated with producing any e-newsletter - one distributed via email - is getting an audience to read it. And even when a recipient originally made a conscious decision to request the newsletter, it’s not unusual for that person to soon find himself deleting the communication unread, marking it as spam, or taking the final step of asking to removed from the subscription list.

Here are few dos and don’ts that will help maintain reader interest in an e-newsletter from a professional service organization.

Do offer news the reader can use. For instance, attorneys might offer tips as to what to do when starting a business and accountants could point out frequently overlooked tax deductions. Make the articles memorable, pithy and to the point.

Don’t make the publication just another advertisement. In fact, it will enhance the credibility of your e-newsletter if you don’t overtly “sell” anything at all. While articles can address issues that readers may be facing as well as the available solutions, avoid talking about your own company’s specific offerings. Consumers are savvy. If they read about a problem in your newsletter, they’ll assume you have a product or service to meet their needs.

Do make it plain that you’re local. People are more open to information that comes from a “neighbor.” Work references to area landmarks or events into the various articles. As silly as it may seem, people enjoying saying to themselves, “I know where that is.” Referring to local places and events will make your business seem less abstract to potential customers.

Don’t pontificate. A “message” from the company president or CEO is generally bad enough as a reader turn-off, but it may be forgivable if that message offers the “news you can use” component mentioned earlier. Observations about the state of the union, environmental policy, what’s wrong with kids today, or any other topic outside of the author’s professional expertise however, is a definite no-no.

Do keep it brief. While you may have articles that link to your Web site for more additional (non sales) information, the amount of content visible at first glance, should not take up much more room than one screen length. The format should also make it easy for the reader to scan for topics of interest, and quickly glean the facts.

Don’t overload your readers. Make sure the people to whom you send your newsletter have a reasonable chance of being interested in the information you’re providing. And your total number of broadcast communications (the e-newsletter plus any other announcements, alerts, sales promotions, etc.) should appear in their inboxes no more frequently than twice a month. Once a month or once every three months is probably often enough for your newsletter to make an impact without becoming an unread annoyance.

Do encourage reader interactivity. Solicit and make it easy for your audience to provide feedback about your newsletter. Not only is this good PR but their ideas could very well have great merit and can enhance your publication. Also make it easy for audience members to introduce people they know to your newsletter. And finally, make it easy for readers to unsubscribe if they wish to do so.

Properly executed and written with your audience’s interests in mind, an e-newsletter can help keep your business in the minds of potential customers for that specific moment when they may need your services.

I’ve been doing a lot of presentations about social media, web 2.0 and online reputation management lately. After 50 minutes of running through the design of a social media strategy, policies and a variety of executions, I inevitably get the question, “How do you keep up with it all?”

The short answer is that we make time for those things that are important to us.

The long answer is more complicated.

You don’t have to tell me that you’re already overextended.  I know. I get it. I am too.  But when you see the power that social media has, and how it can change (or at least enhance) the conversation, you’ll understand.

For instance, when I use my social media tools as filters for ‘the good stuff’, it actually saves me time digging through all sorts of news outlets, blogs, and other meaningless posts.  I have the people that I trust to provide the best information, and those are the links I click. Those are the sites or posts I read.

This is a topic that I’ll continue to cover, but in the meantime, here is a post from Michael Gass‘ blog, Fuel Lines in which he discusses how he keeps up. And Amber Naslund just posted her plans for several posts about social media time management on SocialMediaToday. Becky McCray wrote Managing your social media time on MyVenturePad. All good resources

If you determine that social media marketing is important to you, you’ll find the time.

I had the good fortune of meeting Summer Taylor at Leadership Florida’s first Connect Florida meeting in Orlando several years ago. As the Lead Dog of Good Dog/Bad Dog Creative Design, Summer is incredibly talented and provides exceptional service to her clients. But it was her vision to create biz-e-chicks with fellow entrepreneur, Liz Bollinger, that truly makes her one to watch.

I’ve always called biz-e-chicks my “safe place,” where women entrepreneurs can celebrate their successes and ask for help with their challenges. It is lonely at the top, and this dynamic organization provides the support we need to know we’re not alone.

October is Women’s Small Business Month, so I selected Summer as the Tampa Bay Marketing Spotlight. Read more about her business and the wonderful work she does on Examiner.

I met Jennifer Malin a couple years ago when I re-joined the Legal Marketing Association (LMA) after the local city group came back to life. She immediately impressed me as a seasoned professional who has a firm grasp on the unique challenge of helping lawyers develop their practices.

As Marketing Director of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP, Jennifer was a natural choice for my first “Spotlight” feature on Examiner.

Learn more about Jennifer and her advice for marketers on Examiner.com