Over at Lexblog, there's an interesting post on legal marketing, entitled Are Press Releases in the Legal Industry Dead?

The post was a fun read. But then I thought, "Do people really believe this stuff?"

Seriously, people, press releases are not "dead," certainly not in the legal profession.

One form of media rarely displaces another. All forms of media have their strengths and weaknesses. If somebody tells you that carrots are dead, will you believe it?

Clyde Schimke, a Muskegon, Mich., farmer who developed a strain of broccoli that grows in immense quantities and has an infinite shelf life, predicted that widespread production of his green, cruciferous vegetable presaged the end of carrots as a staple in the American diet. "Carrots are dead!" Schimke declared. "By the way, broccoli is on sale this week for just 29 cents a pound."  

Sort of ridiculous.

The Lexblog post found its way to me via email. Email, the very same medium utilized by those dull, non-social and allegedly dead press releases. Email is going gangbusters as a marketing tool. Not dead, not dying, not anytime soon. (Little known fact: Email is a highly social medium. Have you noticed those two buttons marked "Reply" and "Forward" at the top of your email client? Those buttons are highly effective for spreading news.)

I also enjoyed the homage to Fox News in the article headline. As in, "Will Obamacare force us to slaughter our children in their sleep? Fox News has the story!" Nice.

No, I don't think it is true that press releases are dead. Blogs and press releases do two different things. Both of those things still need doing.

Right Answer, Debatable Reasons

As it turns out, Kevin O'Keefe, the head guy at Lexblog, and author of the aforementioned post, believes that press releases are still useful to the legal profession. I agree with him, but not for any of the reasons he cites.

Kevin's Reason #1: Reporters will still take a story, and, in the case of a publisher, perhaps an entire piece, from a reliable and trusted source.  

Respectfully disagree. A good story is a good story regardless of source. A source, trusted or not, will always have a difficult time pushing a weak story. A weak story in a press release, that's a recipe for oblivion.

Kevin's Reason #2: Lawyers and law firms need help developing copy that’s "social media worthy," which copy can be used to engage journalists on social media, whether it be via blogging, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.  

I have no direct evidence to dispute this assertion. Generally speaking, however, I have trouble accepting any statement that has as its premise a claim that attorneys need help writing or need help discerning topics the public will find interesting. Attorneys lack time, not savvy. Attorneys know how to package messages. It's pretty much what they do for a living.

Kevin's Reason #3: Law is lagging a bit as an industry, both on the reporting side and on the law firm communications side. Things have not progressed as rapidly as in the popular and news press. This makes for more of an opportunity for a press release.  

Grrr. This is a reality-free assertion. And I confess to not understanding the references to "Things" and "This."

Kevin's Reason #4: Most, but not every journalist is social media savvy. A press release may be viewed as a favor or of help to many journalists.  

Double Grrr. I believe that today, in 2013, all journalists are social media savvy. And I am chagrined by the constant insinuation that someone who's plunked down $5 for a Hostgator account and managed to get Wordpress running on it is the next A.J. Liebling, while journalists toiling away at multi-million dollar operations are merely biding time until the glue dries on their caskets. The idea here is that press releases are helpful to the bumbling journalist who, while miraculously managing to make a living at his arcane trade, can't wrap his head around Twitter, can't fathom a super-complicated, whiz-bang contraption like the ol' interconnected network of networks. Maybe, but my advice is that attorneys should not trust their story to this hapless, hypothetical individual.

Useful Press Release Strategies

Enough of that. Here are some of my own reasons why press releases can still be effective for communications by legal professionals. What's coming next is the high-value, insider dish -- so pay attention!

Gain Access. Journalists don't pick press releases from the Press Release Tree. They read them via email. Yes, I am one of those miserable, multi-screen types who keeps a Twitter client open all day. But the best way to reach me is via email. Email is addressed to me, it looks personal even if it's not, and it's all mixed in with communications from my boss and my wife and my kids. I read it. If you, legal marketer, don't know the email addresses of the important reporters for your practice area and your geographic market, then you aren't trying very hard. Journalist email addresses are easy to find.

Provide Exclusivity. If you have a good story to tell, the worst thing you can do is put it out on social media for every journalist to find. Information obeys the laws of supply and demand. Information that is plentiful has low value. Information that is scarce has high value. Several times every day I ask myself, "Is this story worth my reporter's time?" If there are 100 versions of basically the same story out on Google News, then my answer is usually, "No." Journalists like to be first with a good story.

If you've ever pitched a story to the New York Times, then you know that the first question their reporter will ask is, "Will this story be exclusive to the New York Times?" Other big media outlets do the same.

Be Personal. This is related to Access and Exclusivity, but different. Attorneys should have in their mind a particular news outlet or a particular journalist. The message should be tailored to that single journalist. Think "Personal Press Release."

Apply Spin. Often there is great value in having a story written by a particular journalist. This is particularly true if the attorney is involved in public policy work, where having a sympathetic first story out there can be beneficial. If an attorney puts the information out on a blog, more than one journalist can hop on it, resulting in a loss of control over the attorney's message. The right way to manage a message is to orchestrate how the first story is produced, then hand out loose change to the reporters trailing in the wake of the initial report.

Use Discretion. Email is a better medium than social media for communicating sensitive information. Yes, I know that email should be treated like postcard. Nevertheless, we all put information in email that we wouldn't write on a blog. Sometimes journalists can be trusted to keep information in confidence. In some jurisdictions, media shield laws protect from disclosure information shared with journalists. Not so if the information is put on a blog.

Provide Value. Information about what happened yesterday is worth $1, information about what is happening today is worth $10, and information about what will happen tomorrow is worth $100. If you have $100 information about a legal proceeding or a piece of legislation, your information will be quickly snapped up by journalists. When the topic is law, it's not too difficult to get out in front of a good story. The lawyer who sends a press release that begins "Next week the Supreme Court will hear argument in a case raising important questions about ..." stands a very high chance of being contacted by a reporter. Attorneys should share the $100 stuff with their clients first, select media outlets via press releases second, and via social media last.

Offer Analysis. Attorneys who put out press releases explaining the significance of a particular legal development will have good luck with legal journalists. Analysis is the hard part of our job. It's what our readers want.

Be Persistent. When I receive a good legal analysis of a current topic via email, I don't consider it spam. It's a gift. Attorneys can send good work to reporters over and over without fear of wearing out their welcome.

Help Your Client, Help Yourself. Win or lose, attorneys should publicize their involvement in litigation. There is usually ample time to write a press release during the period between the release of a court opinion to parties and release to the general public. Winners, be prepared to explain how victory is important to a particular community, or industry, or area of law. Losers, be prepared to reassert your client's position and respectfully declare your view that the court got it wrong. And be prepared to back up these statements with reasonable argument.

That's enough for now. Good luck, and keep those press releases coming.

By Thomas O'Toole  

Follow @tjotoole