Content requires purpose. Reframing content as part of the sales process helps it to drive lead intelligence gathering and ultimately generate more qualified leads. Jason Myers of Flightpath joins me on this episode of the Legal Marketing Studio to discuss why he frames content marketing in this way and walks us through his approach to content. Whether your firm is just starting to consider a content marketing campaign, pumping out content to no avail or driving significant business from content already, Jason's insight will prove incredibly useful. Be sure to visit "legalmarketing.studio" for access to one of the white papers that Jason mentions.

Good photography echoes and amplifies your marketing messages while effectively boosting engagement with written content. In this episode, I encourage attorneys (and marketers working with attorneys) to expand their concept of how they can and should use photographs or other visual content in their marketing. It is no longer enough to have a mediocre attorney portrait; nor is it enough to have only one's attorney portrait. At the very least that portrait should be built around the firm brand; ideally it will be built around the firm brand, support its marketing strategies and exist within a library of like images that can be repurposed across the full range of communications that an individual attorney or larger firm is making use of. The images discussed in the podcast can be viewed at "legalmarketing.studio." (That is the full URL; please copy it into a new browser window. It isn't a live link as SoundCloud doesn't allow links.)This episode is an adaptation of a presentation I made to the New York County Lawyers Association as part of a panel discussing Digital Marketing for Attorneys. I spoke on the topic of photography specifically and visual communication more broadly as a component of any digital marketing strategy. Visual communication is not only central in the digital realm but vital.

Tanya Pohl defines herself very specifically as a social media attorney. In this episode of the Legal Marketing Studio, she describes how she came to see this niche of IP law as the basis for a viable practice and as a form of effective marketing. Our conversation wends its way through the language that she uses across various marketing channels and the subtle ways that she modulates this messaging for each. We discuss also the nuts and bolts of moving out of big law and starting a solo practice.

Naree Sinthusek and Jake Dore of the Court Square Law Project joined me on this episode to discuss the Project's mission of providing quality legal services for people who believe they can’t afford a lawyer and the market opportunity presented by this representation gap. We discuss the business and social justice aspects inherent in that mission and the difficulty of balancing them.

In early 2017 LinkedIn began rolling out its new interface. The changes were met with a mix of delight, acceptance and gnashing of teeth. Regardless of how one feels about the changes, in what ways is it necessary to adapt one's business development strategy on the platform? What will continue to work? What will get a lower response? And what new opportunities are there? Bruce Segall of Marketing Sense joins me on this episode to explore what the changes to LinkedIn's interface portend for users and suggest about the direction the platform will move in the future.

As a bonus to last month's web design series, Alex Acker and Nathan Crandall of Adventure House join me to discuss the importance of simplifying content in order to effectively engage a firm's website users. The challenge of focusing the wide range of content available on most law firms' websites is one that has come up often in my conversations with legal marketers. Alex and Nathan discuss in detail their approach to content from a user experience (UX) perspective. The bottom line is that a considered approach to a site's UX can lead to increased engagement and, ultimately, new business.

Digital marketing tools are increasingly sophisticated with ever expanding capabilities, yet at the end of the day the goal of business development is to build and strengthen human relationships in the real world. In this fourth and final episode of the Legal Marketing Studio's monthly mini-series on web design for law firms, Todd Rengel of Animus Rex takes us through the expanding potential of digital tools over the past two decades while reminding us of the need to remain grounded in the underlying strategic goal of all business development business: cultivating human relationships.

The nature of the web is constantly changing, giving law firms significant opportunities to leverage their websites in new and innovative ways. In the second episode of a four part mini-series on web design for law firms, Robert Algeri of Great Jakes joins me to talk about his agency's vision for law firms' websites as publishing platforms and their use of Attorney Microsites as one means of achieving this. There are some terrific insights on the potential for law firms' web presences.

Launching a four week mini-series on web design for law firms, this conversation with Janet Odgis tackles the case for beautiful design. Janet's cross industry experience gives her an expansive perspective on how to effectively communicate a firm's story through its website. She sees a websites functionality inextricably linked to its form: good design leads to effective functionality.

Eva Wisnik, founder of Wisnik Career Enterprises, launched the 2017 Legal Marketing Studio season with a conversation about what she saw from a training and placement perspective in 2016 and what these insights suggests we'll see in law firms' priorities in marketing and business development in 2017. Key takeaways: leadership and a clear vision is key to strong firms' performance; with many larger firms having clarified their branding and collateral, the emphasis in hiring is on PR and business development roles; alumni programming is being brought into the BD fold and writing skills and a service orientation are key to succeeding in marketing and BD roles.