October 22, 2008
Is Marketing for Attorneys through Blogging Still Viable?
An October 20, 2008 article in Wired.com (http://www.wired.com/entertainment/theweb/magazine/16-11/st_essay) suggests indirectly that marketing for attorneys should no longer include blogging in its mix. Entitled "Twitter, Flickr, Facebook Make Blogs Look So 2004," the article suggests that one should no longer write or start a blog. According to the article, the blogosphere is flooded with mediocre content, and blogs supposedly have a tough time gaining followers. Thus, Jason Calacanis, who apparently made millions in blogging, recently decided to stop blogging because the medium had become too impersonal and too large.
The Wired.com article notes that most of the top blogs today have become online magazines with professional writers who produce dozens of posts per day. As a result, it is tough for an individual blogger to be at or near the top of Google's search results.
According to the article, Websites that are based on text have fallen behind such social media/new media sites as Flickr, Facebook and YouTube, which make it easy to upload video and pictures to the Web. The article claims that super-blogger Robert Scoble now supposedly focuses on creating Twitter posts and videos. Twitter has apparently become the new platform for creating content quickly and without the need for Google indexing.
While I agree with the Wired.com article that services like Twitter (see, e.g., http://twitter.com/bentleytolk) are growing in importance, it would be a mistake to say that blogging is no longer cutting edge or viable. "Tweets" (or posts) on Twitter are limited to 140 characters and do not allow for any substantive analysis. Twitter posts also generally do not directly provide "spider food" for search engines for a particular site (although they can lead Twitter followers to a site via a link or reference to that site).
It is true that competition for top rankings in Google is constantly increasing, but blogs are one of the best ways to obtain such rankings. For instance, this blog has in a short time been able to achieve high Google rankings for such keywords as marketing for attorneys, Internet marketing for attorneys, Internet marketing for lawyers, new media marketing for attorneys, new media marketing for lawyers, social marketing for attorneys, social networking for attorneys, etc.
Blogging is not yet passe and does not constitute "old" technology.
I welcome your comments below on this topic.
Comments on Is Marketing for Attorneys through Blogging Still Viable? »
It's not an either/or proposition. One helps the other.
While I would agree, blogging is certainly not dead nor passe. I do think blogging alone is. No longer can we as Internet marketing business or professional service firms limit our marketing to only one of the social media tools. And blogging is only one. We have to reach our audience and target market where they are. And if they are in those other locations like, "Twitter, Flickr, Facebook" or Linkedin for example, we have to go there too. What is great about all of the social media tools, they all work well and interact well together.
Taking advantage of only one of them is passe. Utilizing as many as you can is being progressive and proactive in your marketing efforts.
Thanks for giving an "in the trenches" take on the Wired article.
Good grief. Many of my clients and referral sources ether are just learning what a blog is or don't know. We bloggers are teaching them about the vast array of resources that are available through blogs. In my "never to be humble opinion" blogging is just getting started for lawyers.
Patti, Great point. Lawyers have historically been slow adopters of new technology. To the extent that blogging is "old-fashioned" (which it is clearly not), you are correct that it is still leading-edge for lawyers.
Bentley Tolk
Grant, you are spot on with regard to the need to combine blogging with other media that reach the intended audience. Reaching one's market on its own terms, and where that market actually "hangs out," is key. For some lawyers, the process of "hanging out" on new media sites can take longer.
Thanks.
Bentley Tolk
Dan, I agree with you about the importance of synergy from blogging and other social marketing efforts - including in the marketing for attorneys world. Your China Law blog looks great! Bentley Tolk