Before blogging, lawyers, accountants and consultants left the marketing work to the marketers. Yes, the management team would work with the marketing team to determine what the firm should stand for and be best at, but beyond that, there was little to do but wait for the marketing campaign to start.

Life After Blogging

Based on the need for “top 5” placement for search, suddenly, every website needs a blog to protect its rankings. And who would be better equipped to do a blog than a professional services firm? Professional services firms are full of subject matter experts that can gain interest and help clients and prospects by blogging about the things that their clients care about.

Except those same experts are often getting paid $500- $1,000 an hour (or more) to do client work. And if the marketing budget includes internal time…things can get really expensive, quickly. Or if the professionals in the firm don’t think blogging helps build business, the challenges can be even greater.

To significantly increase your chances of getting great blog content from your internal experts make it as easy as possible by using the following techniques.

Top 5 Techniques to Get Your Best Bloggers Blogging

1. Get buy-in. There is no use even starting a blog unless your subject matter experts agree that a blog can and will help build business. A blog is one of the most easily accessible lines of communication a company has, providing exposure to people that actually care about what your experts have to say. People that could easily become future clients.
2. Solicit help from subject matter experts that are good at writing and communication. Willingness and talent are two different things. If your experts are keen, but not very good at articulating their views, the time spent getting a decent blog post can increase exponentially. If your most expensive talent can create a blog post in 15 minutes, versus someone less adept taking several hours, go for the quick hit.
3. Create a master plan for the year. How many blog posts should there be? How many contributors? Is there anything happening in your industry that will be big news during the course of the year? What other topics will gain interest, provide value, and help build awareness of your firm’s expertise?
4. Make the “technical” side of blogging easy. Assign an internal proof reader (or hire an external). Provide coaching on how to do blog entries, or, if your experts are not at all technical, have someone technically oriented post the blog (or outsource). Get your support team to find appropriate pictures. If all else fails, have your expert verbalize their opinions and have someone else write them down. Don’t forget to enhance the blog for search. That too can be outsourced.
5. Be clear about your objectives and celebrate your successes when those objectives are met. Are you trying to be one of the top 5 firms on a Google search for corporate lawyers in your market? Are you trying to gain clients through your website? Do you want your experts to be quoted in the press to build credibility? Whatever your objectives are, it is critical to keep people engaged and committed to making your corporate blog into a key source of information. That will only happen if there are goals, and you are achieving them.

What are points of contact?

Any time or way in which someone comes into contact with your company. Including: business card, networking, call from your office, newsletter, website, they see you speak, an ad, blog posts, articles you write, Twitter messages, etc.

The reason I say the more kinds the merrier is because, for example: if they met you once and only continue to receive your company newsletter, it gets monotonous and they start ignoring it. Meanwhile, if they also see an ad, an update pops-up on LinkedIn, then notice you’re speaking as an expert, or spot your brochure on a colleagues desk, then get the newsletter again; suddenly you are top of mind for whatever you do. Plus, you provide more opportunities for them to sell you to decision makers and more ways to refer you (ex: send your newsletter to a peer). You provide more opportunities for them to see your brilliance and understand all of what you do.

I want to do something bold!

This is what a very action-oriented and adventurous client said to me. Doing a specific campaign, something one-time and flashy is great for bringing people into your funnel – the most fun projects for Rapport actually. However, if you succeed in bringing people in, then what? You need to have other points of contact ready to go to keep them engaged and coming back, or leading them to your pre-sale action step. For this particular client once she brings them in en masse, she needs to build trust with them to move to the next step in the buying cycle, so we have to make sure mechanisms for doing that are there to support the initial big effort.

Sounds like a lot of money and effort.

This is also why variety is good. The best thing to make it easier is include items that happen more automatically and can impact a large number of people at once, like a newsletter. The second thing is to decide what marketing things you’re going to do and then plan and budget for them over a quarter, if not a year. An action plan really makes things much less daunting.

Remember, if you don’t plan for and support one effort with other points of contact, you’re probably wasting time and money on the first one anyway.

Bring all that marketing together.

Be strategic and smart. Spend your time and money wisely by planning, making sure you’re talking to ideal clients in the right way, but also by ensuring all your points of contact are leading prospects on a consistent and compelling path towards your pre-sale action step. Rapport has developed a great tool for helping you do this: the Rapport Marketing Map.

‘So where do I start’ he asks. I said besides hiring us to develop a concise brand positioning + character, then creating logos, taglines and a few initial pieces around which we can write guidelines….

Start by looking at what’s working now and what isn’t.

You can start by looking literally at metrics – ex: this email got much more response than the other version. However, I also recommend asking members or the target audience to review different pieces and share which item’s design and language resonates most with them and why. The why is important so you can start to identify specific characteristics. Maybe the graphics are really impactful, the headlines are compelling, etc.

Then, ask them to tell you the opposite – which they were least attracted to and why. Perhaps the colours remind them of something negative and the copy is too long-winded and technical.

Use this as a checklist.

Review all your pieces with a checklist of these basic characteristics and note opportunities to make changes more towards the well-received characteristics and recognize use of the disliked ones. It may be simple changes to copy, or adding small elements like ‘we always have a watermark of the logo icon in the background.’ These things are the start of proper guidelines what you can write up and encourage or insist your own team follows. Good branding gets to the root of the values and culture of the company, so encourage all your people to become the company’s brand stewards.

How do you maintain brand character once you’ve defined it?

Of course, this was the next question. I showed him how we use our Rapport Marketing Map as a tool to help us do that for ourselves and our clients.

You plot out all your marketing tools around a central goal (your pre-sale action step), then imagine someone who’s not familiar with your company enters at any point, say they’ve been forwarded your newsletter. This probably has at least one link to your website. If they go from the newsletter to the website, what is the experience like, is it consistent? Is it the same kind of language? The same logo, colours and other brand elements? Where might they go from there? Maybe there’s brochures or sell sheets to download. Do they carry the brand character, the look and language?

When you look at your existing tools this way you will spot big and small things to change that can really strengthen that path, but also have a guideline or reminder when you add in something new.

Allow for brand evolution.

Companies are constantly evolving, and therefore so must your brand. Just keep it under control. Look at it regularly, you may need to make small changes, or one day a giant paradigm shift. However, use the Rapport Marketing Map to ensure you aren’t making changes on a whim, or because it fits the need of the day better.

I’ve Been There Too.

Flash forward a few years: after time in a cocoon your business has matured, your competitive advantage is becoming apparent, you know who your favourite clients are – the ones you want more of. At this point in my own business I began to feel embarrassed by the tools I had. While I had no real plan when I started Faith Seekings Design, I never imagined how much I’d grow. A name based on my own made me sound small by then. Plus, my name is just weird.
In order for me to grow a business that didn’t depend on me, I needed to rebrand. With the help of two great guys and some close friends we went through three sessions that eventually landed us a new name – Rapport – and tagline based on what makes us special. And my new website was written by a pro.

The Most Common Form of Rebrand: the Evolution

Think of it like a caterpillar to cocoon to butterfly. I rebranded again 1.5 years later – though this time only an evolution of the look and language to something more sophisticated, as our client-base was shifting from micro-businesses to mid-sized.

Even seemingly long-lasting, never changing brands like Coca Cola evolve at least slightly over the years to stay modern looking. It’s more than just look – messaging as well. Does your brand resonate with your ideal client?

Two Great Milestones to Rebrand By

First, once you’ve been in business long enough and have some experience under your belt you can seriously tackle your competitive advantage. Chances are what you’ve been saying so far is what everyone else says. By now there are real experiences, processes and great case studies to draw a true differentiator from. How you do what you say makes you different often becomes what makes you different. We use the Essential Message method to uncover this and the result is often something the client does so naturally and easily they don’t even realize they’re doing it or how important it is. If you figure this out, it should become the basis of all your messaging and marketing tools.

Another great time to rebrand is when you focus or refocus on your ideal client. If, for example, you start out serving small businesses but change your focus to larger, your approach would have to change. With small businesses it’s all about the relationship, trust and budget, where bigger businesses are more about the bottom line and want to feel secure that you can handle their project. Your look and messaging should go from fun and approachable or cheap and cheerful to established and sophisticated. Again, does your brand resonate with your ideal client?

Do I have to redo everything?

In short, yes.

Everything you or your team uses to represent the company to the outside world – not just your clients but colleagues and suppliers – should represent at the very least where you are now and ideally, where you intend to be in the near future. They should all be consistent in look and message, but also quality. This includes everything from the way the company is introduced, explaining what you do and what makes you different to the website to the printed materials, to the Twitter page and message style.

You can, of course, plan it out over a period of time. But, think of it as an ‘all-inclusive marketing approach’ to make it all work better together.

Consistency and Continuity

All tools should be connected, lead to other tools and ultimately to your desired pre-sale action step, but consider the experience when one moves from one tool to the next. For example, you meet someone at a function, have a good chat and exchange business cards. When they go to your website later does it look like your business card and back-up what you told them about your business? When you achieve that kind of consistency it creates a continuity that, if not there, can be confusing.

Think of Each Tool as a Potential Starting Point

Assuming they are consistent, do your tools clearly lead prospects to the next step, tell them what to do? We take our knowledge of our industries and familiarity with our own websites and other tools for granted. Business owners and marketers must consider these tools from the perspective of someone who’s never met us before. Does your business card (don’t laugh) have a URL on it? Does your newsletter have plenty of links back to your website? If you have a cool interactive tool on your website do you invite people to use it anywhere else? Do you have a specific mode of sending follow-ups?

I recently had a very new client tell us they’d placed an ad directing people to the main website hoping visitors would request information, and/or funnel into two different location-based sites. The results were poor because the main website cited in the ad only promoted one location (in an obvious way) and there was no request for information on the main site. The location that was promoted had a request form right on the home page and people did use it, but nothing came of the other location site and the main site. The client hadn’t considered the whole journey and imagined someone who’d never seen their sites going through the journey.

Another had created a brochure about a special program the company had created for an association which directed people to the home page of their regular website. This home page had no reference to the program or association and the copy focussed more on the other side of their business. They had program information in the website, but one would have to dig for it. If you landed on this page and weren’t even sure you were in the right place, would you search for it?

Small Changes Can Make a Big Difference

Very small changes can be made to make this path work better. In example one; they may have promoted the other location as equally and added the same ‘request info’ forms that existed on the location site on the home page of the main website cited in the ad – in case visitors didn’t funnel down. For example two, they might add a callout referencing the association special offer on their home page, or in the future promote a URL that leads directly to the page in the website like: www.company.com/associationoffer.

Imagine yourself going from one thing to the next in your marketing map and ask yourself ‘does this have continuity and do I know clearly what to do next?’

This year at Rapport we decided to use our talent and resources to do something special for our holiday card. It allowed us to be purely creative – it didn’t have to be practical or stay within a budget. We did it with the help of regular partners like Doug Hall (photographer), Beth Parker (writer) and Rob MacGregor (our narrator). It was a lot of fun!

We created a full version inside a storybook setting that can be seen here. We also created a YouTube version you can see below:

How we did it – Preparation

One of the most enjoyable aspects was it pushed us outside of our daily creative comfort zones. We brainstormed the concept, roughed out the scenes, briefed Beth (the writer) and off we went. Beth had so much fun she got the script back to me in less than a day, and that was holding back so she didn’t look nuts (she says).

The designer in me usually thinks in still images, but I had to draw up a storyboard, planning out each shot for the photographer. I had to think about props and sound effects for each scene. We had to think it all through to ensure a logical order and plot continuation, one scene to the next.

The Shoot

Thankfully Doug, ever the professional, needed no more than my storyboards and the script. He had great ideas on how to actually bring the scenes to life, with creative angles and visual devices. When we started out I was expecting an amateur shoot with a handy cam, and suddenly it’s done by a pro, professionally lit and held to the highest standards. It took all day to get the shots done, and we had a lot of fun. Rob rented a professional microphone and recorded the narration on his own.

The team all had a blast, and the star did a fantastic job. Unfortunately, she had her own wrap party after we left for dinner, and trashed the bathroom like a rockstar.

Editing and Putting it all Together.

This part is just time-consuming, but Lisa did a great job. I saw the first cut and realized that she didn’t have the same vision as I did on some scenes, so I had to push back and request changes. They were minimal considering the length of it. One was ensuring we introduced Candy early on (getting up from under board table in beginning) otherwise the tail wag didn’t make sense. I enjoyed seeing Lisa’s creative touches, and she very much enjoyed the opportunity to do something creative that she doesn’t do everyday.

The final step was putting it all together in the context of our storybook design, with interactive page-flipping. The team – as usual – worked really well together and bent over backwards to get it out in time as we do with all our client jobs as well. The whole experience was a lot of fun and I hope to do something similar next year.

Many of our clients are beginning to explore the world of social media, adding it into their marketing map. They’re looking to Rapport for guidance and coaching on how they should begin this, where to spend their time and efforts and how to make the best use of it. We like to take them beyond that and ensure their efforts fit well into their marketing map and are also inline with their brand character. This often means starting at the beginning, the philosophy and drivers behind social media, which is different than traditional marketing. It’s very much a two-way relationship as opposed to one-sided conversation. My friend Scott Stratten or @unmarketing speaks regularly on the subject, and I like his thinking…

Besides having really great insight he’s one of the most entertaining speakers I’ve seen. This is why we’ve also had Scott do two Rapport seminars for us this year, on Twitter and Viral Marketing.

There’s a Lot to Learn

Within the various platforms and options of social media there are all kinds of new codes of conduct, social mores, etiquette and languages to learn.

Instead of rushing into it – ‘I gotta be there’ – remember the approach is different and well worth exploring how to do it right. Do some reading, get some tips from the masters. Most importantly, find your own voice and make strategic decisions about your approach based on your brand.

There are several issues to address when you’re moving into a new office space. For example, you’ll need to consider having your stationery updated, perhaps a new sign made for the hallway or building, or beside the elevator, etc. The fact that you are moving, however, suggests something has changed for the company. Now is an excellent time to review how you’re marketing yourself.

What’s changed for you this year?

Ask yourself the following. If you’ve been in business for a couple years, have your grown, added new services or dimension, aiming to conquer bigger mountains?  Does your logo still make you proud? Does your website still inspire you and do what you need it to? Does your messaging still articulate your brilliance and why you’re the best in your field?

Name 2-3 factors that have changed for you or in your business environment from a year ago. Perhaps your clients have different needs? Are you conducting business in another region or country? Have you added new skills to your organization?

Where do you want to be in a year?

Now think about the current position of your company. Pat yourself on the back for everything you have accomplished. Next, think where you want it to be in a year. What is the biggest thing you want to accomplish over the next year? Your goal might be based on revenues, landing some investment dollars or gaining specific clients.

What are your marketing tools?

Make a list of the items, or platforms that you use to represent yourself or your business. Your list might include: business cards, web site, blog, articles, speaking, events, networking, Twitter, brochures, trade shows, crm, newsletter, webinars, etc.

Look at all of your existing marketing tools and evaluate them against:
1) The things that have changed for you, and
2) What you want to accomplish over the next 12 months.

Next think about how these items look as well as your messaging, matching them up against your target audience. Do your existing tools still reflect and support you in what you want to accomplish this year and in light of recent changes?

If you have added new skills to your company, have you listed these? If so, then the next step will be as simple as updating your website’s services page.

If you’ve changed your client focus from large enterprises to SMEs, you will want to make sure that your content is still appropriate. For example, large businesses are all about the bottom line and efficiencies, whereas SMEs are a little more about relationships and trust. Ask yourself if your current approach still resonates with this new target.

Your clients may be holding back due to the economy. This is a good time to change your messaging to be more sympathetic or collaborative, maybe demonstrate your value to them more.

Think for a moment about these things and write down some things you may have spotted. These maybe items that that might need changing to meet your vision for the year and take into account changes that have occurred.

Once you look at your marketing tools in this light, some of you may say ‘okay, it’s clear to me that I need to make some changes.’ Others may feel extra confident in what they have already included any necessary changes. The most important thing is that you feel supported, inspired, heard seen and  excited by your tools.

Take Charge of Time.

Looking at even small marketing tasks can seem quite daunting when you’re busy. But, if you plan it out, even a little, it’ll make your life easier – and remember, you don’t have to do it all in one week.

It’s a common catch 22: when you’re really busy, you don’t have time to market so you don’t fill the funnel. When existing work comes to an end, you’re then scrambling for more, often performing emergency/reactive manoeuvres that aren’t so well thought out. Marketing is something that needs to be done constantly, regardless of business activity so scheduling over time is very useful.

Once you’ve decided on major goals, break them into smaller tasks and spread them out over the year, assigning them to specific people. Make them actions you/they can realistically commit to, knowing you have lots of other stuff to do as well. For regular things (like newsletters) create a process or check list for it so you aren’t reinventing the wheel each time. Schedule it in like any other work or meeting.

Ask For Help.

Once you get beyond a certain size, you can’t do it alone due to the time commitment and expertise needed. For example, many Rapport clients start out intending to write their own newsletters – to save money or they think it should come from them. They then find they have no time or it’s too difficult to pull an article out of thin air when not a professional writer. So, after several months there’s no newsletter, no repeat touch-point getting to their audience = missed opportunities. I shared with clients that I too was finding it hard to get Rapport’s newsletter done, so I assigned our writer Beth to do it. She still needs information from me or the rest of the team but acquires it in small, painless chunks then presents me with a complete newsletter ready to put in our template. Plus, with a little research, it’s easy for Beth to pull articles out of thin air because that’s what she does. Now Beth does newsletters for many of our clients too.

Free Marketing Help

Another tip is to get someone internal to help. They could create/manage your marketing calendar, complete small tasks for you and make sure things get done. It doesn’t have to be all you.

When you’re the big kahuna and responsible for a lot of things like the work, sales, client management, etc, it’s easy to push marketing efforts aside. When it’s part of someone’s job, what they’re paid for (internal or external) they are waaaaay less likely to push it aside.

Use Your Experts, Your Way.

I find the way and level at which clients want to interact with us varies from extremes. One may say ‘I completely trust you, I have no time for this stuff, just do it’ while others may want to be really involved in every minute detail, talk everything through, etc. Both are fine.

People who’ve never hired someone in this field may have no idea how to proceed. Or, they’ve had very different experiences. A simple example: client is all stressed out and says ‘I have no idea what we should blank blank blank’ in the very first meeting. I tell them they don’t have to figure that out, it’s my job – that’s what they pay me the big bucks for. ‘Oh’, they say looking relieved.

It’s my task as the account manager to determine their preferred interaction style as well as to educate them on what we intend to actually do for them so we both know what to expect from each other. However, it’s also okay to change tacks midstream. The client I mentioned earlier usually likes to get very involved and have deep discussions, but today he said ‘you know what, this is out of my comfort zone, you figure it out and make a recommendation’ – which is what I would do for most clients. Speak up and ask for more help if needed.

Also, let them do their thing. Back to the newsletter example; Beth writes articles (and more) for a living – it’s easy for her. We have clients who ask us to create websites with content management systems, then ask us to make all changes for them anyway because it’s just easier, they don’t have the time. Let your experts do what they do best while you do what you do best and most easily.

When you are paying experts to do work for you, use them to their full potential. You should also feel comfortable saying how you want to work, talking things through with them, questioning ideas and solutions, asking for more or less help, or for things to be done differently.

Sounds pretty obvious, doesn’t it? Just common sense. Create a brochure, place an ad here, send an e-newsletter there, sprinkle on some networking, and mix it all together with your bi-monthly blog.

A Little Consistency Goes a Long Way

But many times these efforts are made without consistency in branding and communications messages. You spend a lot of time and money on developing your brand, making it something you are proud of, something that truly reflects who you are, what you stand for, and how your work enriches the lives of your clients. But when it’s time to spread that message around, too often we forget the common theme.

Diversifying your marketing is about creating different pieces of marketing around one concept. You don’t necessarily have to keep the specific message exactly the same, but the tone you use, the look of the piece, and the overall perception of the message by your target market should be the same and reinforce each other. Let your brand come shining through in your marketing and it will remind or inform people why your product, company, or service deserves their attention.

Keep it fresh. Keep it simple. Keep it consistent.