Starting to create content for your law firm website, blog or social media pages? If so, you might be interested in this presentation, covering some of the most popular tools used by marketing pros to create great visual content:
I've used some of these tools to create images for blog posts and social media, others for presentations and other marketing materials. But this list includes some new tools I hadn't used before. I've bookmarked the presentation and the accompanying post to check out some of these new tools soon. I hope you find one or two on this list that can be useful to you.
LinkedIn’s publishing platform allows users to create longer form posts, similar to blog posts, within the LinkedIn platform. Originally only open to LinkedIn Influencers, LinkedIn began opening its publishing platform to other users in early 2014.
When you publish a post on LinkedIn’s publishing platform, your post can be seen on your Profile, and a Notification will be sent to your Network, advising them that a new post is available. LinkedIn users who are not connected to you can also follow your posts and get notified when you’ve posted something new.
The LinkedIn publishing platform is a great way to expand your influence and demonstrate your professional knowledge. It is particularly good for those who would like to get started with blogging but do not have their own blogs, or whose firms do not have blogs. LinkedIn is a huge platform with many members, and your LinkedIn posts may even get more exposure than posts on your own blog.
For those who already have a blog, LinkedIn may be a way to gain more exposure for your content: re-work, split up, or develop a new twist on existing blog content and re-publish it to LinkedIn's publishing platform.
There is no word limit to a long form post on the publishing platform, but LinkedIn recommends that these posts be more than three paragraphs in length for the best visibility. Adding an image to your post will make it more interesting, and may entice others to click on it from your Profile.
Noah Kagan of AppSumo offers some additional tips for maximizing your LinkedIn long form posts based on a study of successful posts on the LinkedIn publisher platform:
Titles between 40-49 characters in length get the most views
One image added to your post is great(especially at the top – it acts as a header image for the post), but those with 8 images gained the most attention
Adding multimedia elements such as videos or presentations may reduce your post’s visibility, based on Kagan’s study
How-to or list-style posts perform well, especially if the headline indicates that the post is a how-to or list post
Longer posts perform better than shorter ones
Posts should be easy to read (Kagan recommends 11 year old reading level)
Promote your long form LinkedIn posts on other social media channels
To get started using the Publishing platform, simply click in the LinkedIn Updates box and then click on the pencil icon:
Doing so will bring up a window that looks like any other word processing program. It’s easy to use, with a familiar interface.
LinkedIn will also provide analytics so you can see how much attention your posts are getting:
If you're looking for a place to begin content marketing and haven't established your own platform yet, LinkedIn's publishing platform may be just the place to start - it's easy to use, professional-looking, and is ready to go as soon as you write your first post.
January is traditionally a month of resolutions, of looking back over the past years at successes and failures, looking forward toward a new year, and deciding what changes could be made and what new initiatives could be implemented in order to improve your practice. One area many law firms examine at this time of year is marketing.
If you've never done it before, the beginning of the year is a good time to put some analytics in place to measure the effectiveness of your marketing. Amy Hrehovocik writes about Leveraging Analytics in Marketing and provides stories from experts that illustrate the effectiveness of good data.
In Cultivating Credibility, Brad Shepard talks about the impact of online profiles on legal marketing, and specifically on the ways in which in-house counsel research and choose outside counsel. According to Shepard, outside counsel are interested in whether online profiles demonstrate an attorney's expertise: with a particular legal issue, in a specific industry, or with similarly-sized companies, and whether that expertise is backed up by recommendations from other trusted sources.
Shepard also notes that clients want to see depth, rather than breadth, in online profiles. (Attorneys insistent on listing every case they've ever handled or every practice area they could possibly handle for a client, take heed!)
Another important take-away from the article:
...[M]any legal marketing teams focus on building firm-wide marketing umbrellas, while potential clients with new matters are looking for attorneys with specific subject matter expertise. These teams would be better served spending time and resources on creating awareness of the true value of the individual attorneys who bring in, or attract, the business - not a master firm brand.
In other words, clients hire lawyers, not law firms - at least initially - and therefore, marketing should be more focused on the lawyers, rather than the firms as a whole. One way to do that is by giving more attention to lawyers' online profiles, such as those on LinkedIn. (If you want to learn how to maximize your LinkedIn Profile, consider LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers).
There has been a lot of buzz recently about the commoditization of legal services, and Debra Bruce's article, Responding to the Commoditization of Legal Services, tackles this issue head-on, showing you how you can market your practice to differentiate yourself from others by adding value or unique offerings.
And how about social media? What platforms are actually effective, and how can you adopt them? Two articles in this issue address social media. First, Courtney Ward-Reichard provides a round-up showing you which platforms the well-known technology experts and Law Practice Division actives are using regularly and why in Social Media Marketing in Practice. The top answers were Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, and even the bloggers used social media to promote their blog content.
My Simple Steps column for this month also addresses social media. In A Simple But Effective Social Media Plan, I provide you with a basic plan for approaching social media activity which can be expanded or contracted based on your needs, keeping in mind that at its most effective, social media should be a networking, rather than a broadcasting platform.
As always, Law Practice also has other articles, not tied to the month's marketing theme (or at least not directly). These include:
Ken Callander's article on Value-Based Pricing Strategies, which, while not marketing per se, can certainly be a way to differentiate yourself from the competition and become a strong focus for your marketing and branding strategy.
In a case entitled Robert Rubenstein v. The Florida Bar, United States District Court Judge Beth Bloom of the Southern District of Florida ruled last week that it is unconstitutional for the Florida Bar to prevent a lawyer from using past results in advertising their services, saying that the Bar had the burden of establishing that the ban on the use of past results in attorney advertising supports the interests the Rules were designed to promote, and that they failed to meet that burden.
Robert Rubenstein's tv ads made claims that he had collected over $50 million for clients in the past year, and also noted that these were gross recovery amounts and that, "results in individual cases are based on the unique facts of each." The Florida Bar warned Rubenstein not to run the ads, and threatened disciplinary proceedings. Rubenstein responded by filing suit.
Notably, in 2013, the Florida Bar changed its rules to allow attorneys to include past results in their advertising if those results were objectively verifiable and accompanied by the appropriate disclaimers, so as to avoid misleading the public.
In 2014, the Bar’s Board of Governors issued new “Guidelines for Advertising Past Results.” The Guidelines note that "inclusion of past results in advertising carries a particularly high risk of being misleading," that additional information would be required to accompany such results, and that as such, billboards, radio and television advertisements were not appropriate forms of media for advertising past results. The Guidelines also contain specific restrictions and instructions regarding advertising specific dollar amounts or aggregating past results.
The Court's opinion reiterates that lawyer advertising is protected commercial speech under the First Amendment and concluded that the Florida Bar, while claiming that the inclusion of past results in tv and radio advertisements was inherently misleading, failed to provide any factual support for this claim. Indeed, surveys conducted by the Bar itself indicated that consumers felt that past results were an important piece of information when choosing a lawyer. In addition, the disparity in the rules and guidelines in allowing past results in other forms of advertising, but excluding it from billboards, television and radio ads, was troubling to the Court.
The Court concluded that, "The Bar has failed to demonstrate that its restrictions advance the governmental interests at play. For that reason alone, the Rules regarding the use of past results in attorney advertising as interpreted by the Guidelines are unconstitutional." But the analysis did not end there; the Court also held that, "The Bar has additionally failed to demonstrate that its subject restrictions on attorney speech are no broader than necessary to serve the interests they purport to advance."
But the Court went further than simply stating that the Bar's ban on Rubenstein's ads at issue in this particular case was unconstitutional. The opinion goes on to analyze the complete prohibition on attorney advertising referencing past results in indoor and outdoor display, television and radio media and to conclude that the blanket restriction is unconstitutional, stating,
The Bar can regulate attorney advertising. But, so long as it has not proven that its complete ban on advertising referring to past results in the specified media supports a substantial governmental interest, it is not justified in doing so as articulated in the Guidelines. The Bar may in the future seek to reconstitute the Guidelines by addressing and meeting its evidentiary burden, or may seek to introduce some sufficiently tailored variation of the Guidelines.
It remains to be seen whether Florida will attempt to modify the Guidelines.
It's that time of year again, and there's a holiday party practically every night. Sometimes they're fun, and other times, they may simply be an obligation that you can't avoid. But either way, holiday parties can be great networking opportunities - and you never know where the next great prospect will come from.
Several years ago, I wrote a series of posts about networking. Now might be a good time to revisit them.
In Holiday Networking Tips, I wrote about the 10 steps to effective networking. You can read the whole post for more details, but here's an overview of the 10 tips:
Have a purpose - Even when attending a holiday party, make a plan. Is there someone specific you would like to meet or talk to? Would you like to come away with three new contacts? Develop a goal for each event.
Focus on quality, not quantity - Don't just paper the place with your business cards. Make meaningful connections. Have memorable conversations. Even one good discussion or new contact can make an event successful.
Get involved with something you're passionate about - When you care, you're more genuine and engaging, and others respond to that. Many holiday networking events include collections for charity, and many organizations engage in charitable work during the holidays. If that's something that speaks to you, perhaps you'll want to volunteer to be more involved next year.
Listen - This may be the golden rule of networking. The more you listen, the more you get to know others, and the better you understand their goals and their problems and how you might be able to help them.
Be prepared - Know your audience. Who will be attending the event? What are they interested in? How can you talk about what you do in a way that will be interesting or helpful to them? Come prepared with some topics of conversation (they don't all have to be about business).
Seek out strategic alliances - Networking events can be places to meet others who can be of service to your clients, or who can refer business to you.
Make diverse contacts - Don't always stick with the same groups or spend time at networking events with people who are already in your circle. Broaden your horizons.
Follow up - One meeting does not a relationship make. If you meet a new contact or reconnect with an old one this holiday season, send a note, reach out on social media, or pick up the phone to keep the conversation going.
Be patient - Networking and building relationships takes time.
Keep track of networking contacts - Don't forget to enter those new business cards into your database, contacts or address book. You can't follow up effectively if you don't have accurate contact information.
Need more networking help? Consider yourself too shy for big holiday parties? My post on Networking for Shy People might help. Some of my favorite tips from that post are:
Arrive early. Instead of walking into a room full of people, arrive early so the room doesn't look so intimidating. This will likely also give you the opportunity to speak with the hosts before things get too busy.
Look for outsiders: Chances are that you aren't the only shy person at any event. Look for people who are alone or who look as lost as you feel. It will be easier than approaching a whole group of people.
Don't know what to say at networking events? Try reading Networking, What Do I Say?That post includes tips like:
Ask questions. Most people are happy to talk about themselves. If you don't know what to say, ask questions. If you don't want to talk about business, ask about holiday plans or favorite holiday activities.
Check out the local news. The news is usually an endless source of topics for conversation - but stay away from anything too controversial.
Talk about your surroundings. If all else fails, talk about the location of the event, the decorations, how crowded (or not) it is, how good (or not) the food is, how fabulous your companion's outfit is,etc.
The November 2014 issue of Law Practice Today is out, and as always, it is filled with interesting and thought-provoking articles designed to help you improve your marketing and your practice.
Here are five great ideas from this month's issue:
1. Prepare new associates for future success
One of the biggest challenges for small law firms arises when it's time to hire - and train - new associates as the firm grows. Susan Pitchford, a partner in a small intellectual property firm, shares her tips for - as she says, "raising your associate to be a good firm partner" - in Training of New Associates in Small Firms. Her tips include:
Inviting associates to observe everything
Teaching associates how to break bad news to clients
Asking new lawyers to prepare summaries of new opinions and present them to the firm
Setting a good example by continuing your own legal education
Allowing new lawyers to participate (even a little) in court
Discussing the business of the firm with associates
Encouraging new lawyers to join bar and other legal organizations
Take a look at the full article to see all of Pitchford's tips and get her insight on why they are important.
2. Set (and reach) goals
In Becoming a Real Goal-Getter: 5 Tips for Setting and Reaching Goals, Holly Miller demonstrates why it's so important to set goals, and how to do so effectively. Her tips include taking time to take stock of where you are now and your past successes and failures, developing not only the goals themselves, but also a timeline for completing them, and ensuring that your goals are measurable so that you can determine whether or not you've met them. Read the full article to get all of her goal-setting tips.
As we approach the beginning of another new year, planning and goal-setting are activities that should be a priority, to ensure the best 2015 possible. For some of my planning tips, see my Simple Steps column in this month's Law Practice Magazine, entitled, "Simple Steps. Developing Daily and Weekly Plans."
3. Hone your business development and client retention skills
In her article, How to Win and Cultivate New Clients, Sarah Freeman discusses four factors that help to earn the trust of potential clients at an initial consultation:
Knowing yourself
Projecting confidence
Taking time to explain the process
Listening and asking questions
But getting the client to sign on the dotted line is only the beginning of the relationship. As Freeman says, "After we have won a client, we need to cultivate that relationship, keep that client satisfied, and lay the groundwork for future business and referrals. A happy client will talk about us and recommend us when the opportunity arises."
Freeman discusses two ways to cultivate those client relationships: putting good procedures in place to follow up frequently with clients and ensuring that you - as the attorney - communicate regularly with clients, rather than always leaving that job to staff. And don't forget to stay in contact with clients even after the matter has been concluded.
4. Consider video to improve your firm's online presence
Brian Albert writes about how video can help improve both traffic to your website and conversion of website visitors into clients (or at least help to convince them to contact you - after that it's up to you to close the deal). He also shows why posting those same videos to YouTube, on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and in email newsletters can improve your marketing efforts as well. Finally, he presents a list of reasons why video might not be right for your firm. And if you don't feel like reading the article, check out the video at the top, in which Corey Saban discusses reasons you should consider video.
5. Be an active alumnus or alumna
Whether you're a brand-new lawyer or a seasoned practitioner, your alumni network can be a valuable resource for your practice. Tyler Volm's article, Being An Active Alum Can Mean a Better Career, demonstrates many of the benefits of being active in your alumni network. Networking is one obvious benefits, but participation can also provide opportunities for learning new skills - for example, Volm mentions that he learned about time management, fundraising and more as a result of his involvment.
The November issue of Law Practice Today contains even more articles, including those on attornrey coaching programs, support for solo practitioners, how community involvement can co-exsit with small firms, and more. Check out the complete issue here.
Every year at about this time, the subject of client holiday cards resurfaces. Should you send holiday cards to clients, former clients and referral sources? Why or why not?
Holiday cards can be a nice way to stay in touch with clients, potential clients and others during this festive season, and may serve the remind those with whom you are not regularly in contact of your continued existence, but before you take on that task (which always seems to take longer than you think it will), consider what your main goal is with sending these greetings.
If you’re sending pre-printed, auto-addressed, remotely mailed cards, you may be accomplishing the opposite of what you intend, especially if it's the only time all year that you reach out to some of the people on your list. As one commenter noted when I wrote a post about this issue in 2010 on Lawyerist, “Your motivations are more transparent than they seem;” these efforts can feel blatantly self-promotional, or can make recipients feel that they are just another name on a list or in a database. At worst, clients and referral sources who don’t hear from you all year and then receive an impersonal holiday card will be turned off or have negative feelings towards you for not taking the time to do something more personal. At best, your card will be tossed and forgotten.
Think you’re being “innovative” sending an e-card? Many recipients won’t even open them for fear that the cards contain malware. Others will take your holiday e-card as a sign that you are cutting costs to the bone and can no longer afford to send actual cards. Sending an e-card can send an even stronger impersonal message than pre-printed cards, since they are so easy to send; it’s easy for people to assume that you’ve mass emailed everyone on your contact list, regardless of your relationship with them.
Instead of giving clients a “warm, fuzzy” feeling, these types of holiday greetings can seem like a transparent effort to reach out – not with genuine holiday wishes, but with the sole goal of reminding them that you’re out there and that you want their business.
If you’re going to send holiday cards, do it to thank clients and referral sources for their business or to genuinely wish them greetings of the season in a personalized way, if not with a hand-written note (although that's recommended), then at least with a customized typed message and a real signature.
If you are truly just looking for business, why not be transparent about it instead of trying to hide it? Send clients, potential clients or referral sources something that will be of value to them and let them know you would like their business and how you can help them.
You might want to recognize your gratitude for clients on other holidays, such as Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day, the client’s birthday or anniversary of their business, the anniversary of the founding of your law practice, or the anniversary of your admission to the Bar. If you want to acknowledge the festive season by reaching out to your clients, make your greetings stand out from the crowd by sending something creative and memorable – how about a plantable card if you’re an environmental lawyer, or a card that doubles as a coaster for a liquor lawyer?
Of course, you might consider sending something that isn’t a card at all. But please, if you’re sending a “corporate gift” at the holidays this year, think carefully before sending something with your logo on it. If you want to include a logo on a ‘gift,’ the holidays might not be the best time to do it – unless you’re sending something with the client’s name or logo on it. Who wants stuff with your logo hanging around, anyway - especially if it's seen as a blatant self-promotion, rather than a genuine holiday greeting?
I’d love to hear what you’re doing for your clients for the holidays this year – the more creative, the better. Are you sending cards? What kind? If not, are you sending an alternative? Let me know in the comments!
Next week I’ll be presenting at the ABA Women Rainmakers Mid-Career Workshop on “Lawyering in the Digital Age.” My presentation covers technology issues that the lawyers of today are faced with that didn’t exist 20, 10, or sometimes even 5 years ago, including issues involving electronic communication, data storage and security, “cloud” services, websites and virtual law offices.
In the past several months, the New York State Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics has issued a number of ethics opinions that deal with some of these topics.
Here is a quick overview of the New York Opinions.
Remote Access to Law Firm Electronic Files
Perhaps the most comprehensive of the recent New York opinions dealing with the application of the New York ethics rules to modern technology is Opinion 1019, discussing confidentiality and remote access to a law firm’s electronic files. The opinion concludes that, “A law firm may give its lawyers remote access to client files, so that lawyers may work from home, as long as the firm determines that the particular technology used provides reasonable protection to client confidential information, or, in the absence of such reasonable protection, if the law firm obtains informed consent from the client, after informing the client of the risks.”
This reasonableness standard comes from Rule 1.6, Confidentiality. Rule 1.6(c) provides that a lawyer must "exercise reasonable care to prevent . . . others whose services are utilized by the lawyer from disclosing or using confidential information of a client" except as provided in Rule 1.6(b).
Comment 17 to Rule 1.6 provides some additional guidance regarding reasonableness, and notes that “special circumstances might require additional security precautions.” Comment 17 also sets forth factors to be considered in determining reasonableness, including the sensitivity of the information and the extent to which the privacy of the communication is protected by law or by a confidentiality agreement.
Opinion 1019 concludes that,
Because of the fact-specific and evolving nature of both technology and cyber risks, we cannot recommend particular steps that would constitute reasonable precautions to prevent confidential information from coming into the hands of unintended recipients, including the degree of password protection to ensure that persons who access the system are authorized, the degree of security of the devices that firm lawyers use to gain access, whether encryption is required, and the security measures the firm must use to determine whether there has been any unauthorized access to client confidential information. However, assuming that the law firm determines that its precautions are reasonable, we believe it may provide such remote access. When the law firm is able to make a determination of reasonableness, we do not believe that client consent is necessary.
However, if a law firm cannot make such a conclusion, the client’s informed consent may be obtained.
Use of Cloud Services for a Transaction
In Opinion 1020, issued September 12, 2014, the Committee addressed a question raised by a real estate attorney who wanted to use an electronic project management tool which would allow sellers’ attorneys, buyers’ attorneys, real estate brokers and mortgage brokers to post and view documents, including contracts and building financials, using a cloud-based data storage tool.
As they did in Opinion 1019, the Committee referred to Rule 1.6(c) and the reasonableness standard, stating that,
Whether a lawyer to a party in a transaction may post and share documents using a “cloud” data storage tool depends on whether the particular technology employed provides reasonable protection to confidential client information and, if not, whether the lawyer obtains informed consent from the client after advising the client of the relevant risks,” and that lawyers must “exercise reasonable care to prevent … [persons] whose services are utilized by the lawyer from disclosing or using confidential information of a client."
Virtual Law Offices
In Opinion 1025, issued September 25, 2014, the Committee opined that a lawyer would be permitted to have an entirely virtual law practice in the State of New York (operating solely online, with no physical location to meet with clients or conduct the practice of law), as long as the attorney complied with the requirements of Judiciary Law §470.
The issue presented was based on Rule 7.1(h) of the Rule of Professional Conduct, which requires that advertisements contain the attorney's principal law office address. An attorney inquired about whether Rule 7.1(h) prohibited the attorney from operating via a purely virtual law office.
Previous NYSBA Opinions concluded that Rule 7.1(h) required all attorneys who advertise to have and disclose a physical office address, however, based in part on court rulings applying Judiciary Law §470, Opinion 1025 comes to a somewhat different conclusion, stating that, “[W]e no longer believe that Rule 7.1(h) -- a rule that on its face regulates only advertising -- provides an independent basis for requiring a physical office.”
The opinion points out that there is potential value to clients of having a lawyer who works solely through a virtual law office, particularly where the client themselves works only virtually, and stating that, "The robustness of electronic communications, and the appointment of a virtual law office service as an agent for accepting service of process, effectively combine to eliminate any concern that a physical office is necessary in all cases for the receipt of service and other communications,” and that, “there is nothing inherently misleading about advertising a virtual law office.”
The opinion cites N.Y. City opinion 2014-2, which deals with a similar issue. It was noted however, that the lack of requirement for a physical law office was not automatic, and would depend heavily on the circumstances.
New York Rule of Professional Conduct 1.1, Competence, requires all attorneys to ensure competence, which Opinion 1025 notes
[N]ot only includes competence in performing the legal work but also competence in handling communications and storing and providing access to client files. An attorney should only use technology that he or she is competent to use. Attorneys owe duties of effective communication with clients to keep them promptly and reasonably informed and consulted about the means of achieving the client's objectives (Rule 1.4). Attorneys owe duties to maintain confidentiality (Rule 1.6), and there are unique concerns about confidentiality that relate to conducting all communications and client file storage electronically. Attorneys have numerous duties relating to the proper preservation of client materials (Rules 1.6(c) and 1.15). Attorneys must assure adequate supervision of subordinate lawyers and of non-lawyers (Rule 5.1 and 5.3). There is no “virtual law office exception” to any of the Rules.
Website Domain Names
As I discussed in this post, in mid-2013, the NYSBA Committee on Professional Ethics issued Opinion 972, in which it noted that attorneys are prohibited from listing their services under the heading “Specialties” on a social media site unless the lawyer is certified in conformity with the provisions of Rule 7.4(c).
On September 12, 2014, the Committee issued Opinion 1021, which addresses the issue of the use of the word “expert” in a law firm’s domain name, citing New York Rule of Professional Conduct 7.5(e)(3), which prohibits firms from using a domain name that implies the ability to obtain results in the matter. The opinion notes that, “The implication of the word [expert] is that the law firm may bring to the matter a seal of approval that provides comparatively greater assurance of some favorable outcome which no disclaimer may readily cure.”
With the rapid pace of technology change in today’s legal environment, all attorneys must remain up to date not only on the changes in technology that affect the delivery of legal services and advertising for those services, but in the ethical rules implicated in the use of such technology.
The Pennsylvania Bar Association has issued Formal Opinion 2014-300, a comprehensive opinion addressing numerous ethical issues involved in attorneys' use of social media. The 18 page opinion covers many areas that have plagued lawyers in their use of social media, and provides some guidance to help attorneys navigate what some have seen as hazardous territory.
Pennsylvania Bar members can obtain a complete copy of the opinion from the Pennsylvania Bar site, but here are the conclusions contained in the opinion:
1. Attorneys may advise clients about the content of their social networking websites, including the removal or addition of information.
2. Attorneys may connect with clients and former clients.
3. Attorneys may not contact a represented person through social networking websites.
4. Although attorneys may contact an unrepresented person through social networking websites, they may not use a pretextual basis for viewing otherwise private information on social networking websites.
5. Attorneys may use information on social networking websites in a dispute.
6. Attorneys may accept client reviews but must monitor those reviews for accuracy.
7. Attorneys may generally comment or respond to reviews or endorsements, and may solicit such endorsements.
8. Attorneys may generally endorse other attorneys on social networking websites.
9. Attorneys may review a juror’s Internet presence.
10. Attorneys may connect with judges on social networking websites provided the purpose is not to influence the judge in carrying out his or her official duties.
You can’t go through your professional life not showing your clients and potential clients what you know because it might tip off your competition.
Well said, Nancy!
Like Nancy, I often hear from lawyers that they are afraid to "put too much out there" on the internet about themselves and their practice for fear that other attorneys in their jurisdiction will copy them. They don't want to write articles, start a blog or otherwise demonstrate their expertise because they think another attorney is going to come along and steal their content.
But as Nancy so eloquently points out,
There is no way they can do exactly what you do, and do it how you do it.
In other words, you are the only you out there. No one else has your unique perspective, your background and your approach. No one else says things exactly the way you say them.
For the same reasons that I recommend that my clients don't blindly copy other lawyer or law firms' marketing, I recommend that you not worry too much about the competition trying to copy you. If you've done your homework in identifying and targeting your ideal clients, focusing on your unique strengths, differentiating yourself from others in the field and your marketing accurately reflects who you are, real duplication will be impossible.
Sure, your competition could steal some of your ideas or even steal some of your content, but that shouldn't stop you from demonstrating what you know. After all, it might be easy to cut and paste from a web page, but that only goes so far.
Don't forget that marketing and business development isn't all about promotion and pushing your marketing message out to the world; it's about interacting and building relationships, which isn't easy to "fake" or copy.
Instead of letting the fear that your competition "might" copy your marketing and business development efforts stop you from using the tools and platforms available to you, jump in and participate. Be your authentic self, participate consistently, target appropriately, provide value and show a genuine interest. If your message and your participation are an accurate reflection of you, and if you follow through as only you can, you won't need to worry about the competition.
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