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This is about deviating from processes and editorial schedules. This is about me fucking up our content teams’ ‘flow’ because I thought a timely story, as it pertains to my company, might be some good PR.
They really don’t like me for that.
They may publish it yet, or not. Who knows? This is written from a legal marketing bent (go ahead and Google me, I’m not trying to hide where I work and what I do), and I guess I’m just tired of waiting. My co-workers are great, really. Caring people who want to do the best they can. But I’m impatient. And if I learned anything from attending a social media marketing conference, it was that timeliness, responsiveness, and creating connections matter.
Also, I like to curse a lot. Can’t do that on the company blog.
Bear in mind, the opinions and words you’ll see down the road(note the above) are my own and don’t represent the company I work for. I’m much more civil and polite when needed. Also, my grammatical errors and incorrect punctuation are corrected by a team of highly skilled editors/experts. Not so much here.
So, here ya go- Parts one AND two. If you like what you see, (and are maybe interested in learning a little bit more about what my company does and how we could possibly help you) — feel free to reach out.
With that in mind — as well as the fact that I’ve never been to the West Coast — I broached the subject of flying to San Diego to attend Social Media Marketing World (SMMW), one of the largest social media marketing conferences in the United States. As in past years, dozens of prominent figures in the industry were in attendance, delivering lectures or hosting workshops throughout the week-long event. I figured if I was going to attend a conference, I might as well start with a bang (and also go someplace warm because Michigan winters are the soul-sucking kind).
The team agreed, plane tickets were purchased, Airbnb was booked, and since merging work with pleasure is a specialty of mine, I brought my husband along to share in the fun. We haven’t been on a vacation together in more than a decade — literally — so we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to jettison the kids and get away from it all.
After some rather irritating travel rescheduling and rerouting, we arrived in San Diego late in the evening before the first day of the conference. Jet lag and two-time changes made Sunday morning a little difficult, but with a shower and a stiff cup of coffee, I was able to adequately recharge before the first sessions began.
Though all the sessions are fairly general in regards to social media marketing, there were some stellar points in each presentation. I’ll cover some of the key takeaways from my favorite ones, as well as specific applications for law firms and legal marketing teams.
Sunday was mostly devoted to workshops — longer sessions designed to provide hands-on, pertinent content you can walk away with and utilize for your business. I was able to attend two 90 minute workshops; here’s some info about my favorite one of the day.
I’m a firm believer in presenting yourself and your clients in an honest way that is free of cheap sales tactics. Naturally, the primary goal of social media marketing is to generate interest, capture leads, and increase ROI, but that doesn’t mean strategy, tactics, and posts should be gimmicky. Users see right through that, and we are not in the business of patronizing our potential or current clients.
Too often, consumers see law firms and attorneys as “ambulance chasers” who only care about maximizing their payout. Frequently this is an unfair association, but I do see too many instances when the copy on attorney websites and blogs does little to dissuade that opinion.
I believe this is sometimes an honest mistake, that the content is often written by the lawyers themselves and they are used to writing legal briefs that simply state the facts — they offer their services but leave out the finesse that is needed to encourage conversion from a potential client. Nevertheless, creating copy that converts without sounding “sleazy” is something all law firms should keep in mind.
Sunday ended with networking and laughter, some good conversations, a bit of exploration of beautiful San Diego, and — thankfully — a good night’s sleep.
Monday: Monday signaled the beginning of the authentic conference experience, with sessions, workshops, lunch, and networking occupying my entire day. I sent the husband off to meet up with friends and explore the city while I headed to the convention center after a cup of coffee from Café Virtuoso (highly recommended if you are in the city).Hosted by the founder of Social Media Examiner (the official host of the conference), this session was pretty much exactly what one would assume: a true social media expert dropping some knowledge bombs on our eager brains. The implications of the research discussed are wide-reaching, and everyone there was considering how to best utilize what the newest data affirm about the future of social media marketing.
Chuck Reynolds
Contributor
