Greentarget

Greentarget

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By Amanda Go

As a Northeastern University sophomore in pre-pandemic life, I – like many other college students – was naturally brimming with questions of “What if?” What if I study abroad next semester? What if I secure an internship across the country? What if I stay in Boston the whole year, looking to grasp that still-elusive notion of “independence”?

When COVID-19 hit in March, it felt like the pandemic had stolen all my plans. I moved from my city apartment back to my hometown in suburban Connecticut, and over the subsequent months of stay-at-home orders, online classes and a canceled summer study abroad and internship, those questions of “What if?” dwindled.

Looking toward the fall, my potential opportunities seemed to further decline. Rather than doing the internship that typically comprises half a Northeastern academic year, I prepared to enroll in more online classes – until a last-minute search in my school’s career database yielded a job posting that piqued my interest.

By July, that posting turned into reality when I began my virtual public relations internship with Greentarget. Over the next six months, I learned that living and working remotely from my hometown did not diminish possibility or opportunity – that, with the right company culture and mindset, I could pursue “what ifs” as great and ambitious during a pandemic as any time prior.

Navigating a Virtual PR Internship During a Pandemic

The first days of my internship largely consisted of learning about Greentarget and the PR industry, meeting my colleagues via Microsoft Teams and completing practice assignments. Despite taking numerous PR classes in college, I realized PR in the classroom was vastly different than in practice. After initially struggling to grasp the practical uses of a media list or even remember everyone’s names, I quickly became nervous. After reading complex legal news (a definite first) to familiarize myself with topics pertinent to GT’s client base, I felt under-qualified.

Though my confidence surely increased over time, to say it was constant after those first few days, or perhaps even those first few months, would be a stretch. I made multiple mistakes, from overlooking an email and taking another intern’s assignment, to missing articles on a coverage summary, to using the wrong “your” in a pitch. Working alone in my house, states away from my colleagues – and thus unable to quickly resolve these issues in person – it was easy for me to catastrophize each one.

During my early months, I sent multiple emails and Teams messages – whether frantically apologizing for a barely late assignment or warily asking for help with a complicated research project – that I now look back on with a sort of comical nostalgia. Turns out that while I thought I’d be met with hostility or annoyance, I was consistently met with openness and reassurance. I soon saw that despite working virtually, I was surrounded by teammates, from fellow interns to senior executives, who wanted to support me and see me succeed, who encouraged asking even the smallest and silliest questions and who viewed errors with patience and understanding and as opportunities to learn. Thankfully, I can now reflect on all my little mistakes and laugh, knowing they were (contrary to my beliefs at the time) not the end of the world.

It’s only a slight exaggeration to say I understood the inclusive and caring nature of Greentarget’s culture before understanding the full uses of a media list. Through weekly staff meetings that often incorporated discussions about favorite restaurants, albums or places traveled; intern meetings that allowed my voice to be heard; and one-on-ones with teammates who never hesitated to offer project help or to just chat, I was constantly surprised at how connected I felt to my colleagues. GT even made the effort to host virtual events like escape rooms, meditation and yoga, a bartending class and even a concert from G. Love. I realized that contributing to a company that valued its employees was far more important than whether I was working virtually or in person – and that a strong culture not only could transcend this distance but was crucial to making remote work enjoyable and fulfilling.

Embracing the Unexpected

Over the following months, largely due to the immense support around me, I cultivated an unyielding attitude of positivity and tenacity that allowed big “what ifs” to resurface. What if I secure this byline in Bloomberg? What if I place this quote in Law360? Gradually, I saw myself make fewer mistakes, complete assignments with more poise and efficiency and answer more questions than I asked in the interns’ group chat. One month I was fangirling over my first response from a New York Times reporter (literally, as if from the Queen herself), and a few months later I was presenting my own PR plan addressing corporate responses to racism. As interns before me left and others joined, I realized I’d become a resource to new team members, contributing to the cycle of support that threads through GT.

Put simply, my first full-time internship was not what I expected. I didn’t expect to coordinate and sit in on interviews with CNBC reporters while drinking a green tea from the café I’ve loved since middle school. I didn’t expect to draft press releases for clients while sitting at a desk that was once covered in AP exam and SAT prep books. Above all, I didn’t expect a virtual internship during a global pandemic to be so impactful.

Through working full time while managing the trials and tribulations of living at home – shared workspaces with four family members, video meetings with my barking dog and especially the hurricane that took out our Wi-Fi for days and knocked a tree onto my car (got to love New England weather) – I learned how to not only welcome uncertainty but thrive in it. I learned that when things don’t go according to plan, and they never do, adaptability is a must. Prior to this internship, I always imagined experiences like the quintessential study abroad as the greatest catalysts for growth in college – but as I near the end of my time with GT, I see that living and working remotely from my hometown, a place I’ve known for 20 years, has, ironically enough, made me grow more than ever.

This January, I’ll return to Boston for classes after 10 months of living at home and six months of a pandemic internship. Although I soon may begin to feel the first inklings of normalcy, I’ll always carry with me what I’ve learned through my virtual experience with GT – from small bits of knowledge like using Ctrl+K to insert a link to the bold truths that big things can happen from anywhere, learning can happen from anywhere and connections and mentorships can flourish from anywhere. The only prerequisites are a proper community of support (in person or virtual) and an adaptable mindset.

Last year, I believed the pandemic was robbing me of opportunity. Today, I realize it gave me one: an unforgettable first full-time internship that otherwise may not have crossed my path.

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Companies across the country are investing in data and how to harness it, yet some continue to struggle with using that data to tell their story. That means they’re missing the opportunity to create transparency within their organization and, most notably, the chance to exercise their authority through the contextual awareness their data can bring.

In this episode, host Aaron Schoenherr and Narrative Science President Nick Beil discuss going beyond the dashboard and into data, the relationship between transparency and authority and data overload in the age of COVID.

Episode Highlights

1:17 – Nick provides his background and introduces his company, Narrative Science. 

2:32 – Nick discusses if hard data or the stories behind those numbers carries more authority. 

4:10 – An in-depth example of how contextual data is more powerful than data on its own, particularly within the COVID-19 pandemic.

8:09 – Analysis of how busy executives prefer to receive their data.

10:25 – Aaron and Nick discuss the relationship between transparency and authority, and the role trust plays.

14:00 – Nick gives examples of industries that are ahead of the curve with their data strategy and highlights which industries are lagging.  

16:55 – Nick provides insight into how he gets organizations that are behind the curve to reconsider their data strategy.

19:02 – Discussion about potential data overload amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

20:50 – Aaron and Nick discuss organizations and leaders who have demonstrated true authority during the pandemic.

Subscribe to Authority Figures on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

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The professional services marketer who sets out to develop a content strategy is likely to find the process frustrating, the execution lackluster and the results disappointing.

The process of creating a content strategy can be a nightmare in consensus-driven partnerships. Strategy requires setting limits, which can invite the fury of practice groups that aren’t identified as priorities. Most law firm leaders aren’t going to go there. Marketers who do manage to create a strategy are likely to find strategic elements like governance and promotional schedules completely ineffectual when dealing with partners and their impenetrable calendars.

Instead of putting yourself through that agony, try stripping your content strategy down to the essentials. Create a basic, realistic plan to produce content with strategic value – and put your energy and resources into content that establishes the firm’s authority and ultimately helps it win new business.

Four Elements of a Better Professional Services Content Strategy

A plan with the following four elements represents a strong framework for most professional services firms:

  • Authorities: Which subject matter experts you want to amplify
  • Audiences: Who your authorities are trying to influence – and what they need to know
  • Formats: Client alerts, bylines, LinkedIn posts – whatever will be the most effective vehicle engaging those audiences
  • Schedule: How many pieces do you want to publish, in what time frame?

Note that a content plan like this won’t cover all the content your firm produces. It should be designed for only the firm’s most strategic and valuable content – perspectives that open doors. Client alerts from non-priority industry groups, bylines lawyers write without telling you about it, blogs of low-margin practice groups – all of these things should be optimized with efficient editing and targeted promotion. That frees the marketing team to direct its editorial, creative and budgetary resources at the content most likely to generate new business.

Here’s a closer look at the four critical elements of a feasible content plan.

Authorities: Impact players With Something to Say

Choosing which of your firm’s advisers deserve the most marketing resources comes down to knowing where the firm has the greatest opportunities to grab new revenue.

Ideally, the decision derives from firm-level business strategy set by leadership. Firm leaders who identify priority practice or industry areas, or create annual strategy documents that identify key growth areas, make the decision for you.

Marketers who don’t have firm strategies to guide them will most likely have to sit down with leadership to identify which professionals or groups merit the team’s strongest support.

We’re not advising anyone to simply anoint the biggest rainmakers as your authorities. The advisers you’ll want to work with are those who are willing to invest the time and, most importantly, willing to deliver the goods: the insights and perspectives that will ensure they are not just heard, but heeded.

Audiences: Finding a POV

What do your target audiences need to know that they’re not getting elsewhere? The answer will provide the first critical element of your content plan.

Traditionally, we rely on the advisers to tell us what their clients and prospects need to know. That’s fine – they should know – but it’s also imprecise. A cybersecurity consultant might tell you her clients want insights on privacy rules in California – because a single client asked her about it that morning. Or because the client they care most about raised the topic. Or because they think their clients should care about it – probably just because it’s what they want to say.

To paint a more accurate, objective picture of the audience’s needs, we use technology tools that assess search data, which we view as a proxy for audience need. To get an even more complete picture, we use voice of the client research. At the very least, a thorough review of the media landscape will tell you what’s already being said, and what’s not; juxtapose that with your expert’s view of the audience need to figure out which unmet needs you can fill.

Formats: Follow the Data and Focus on What’s Inside

Don’t make this more complicated than it needs to be. Our research tells us that the folks in the C-suite, especially in-house lawyers, mostly want written content, especially articles. They want brevity in client alerts and depth in research reports.

Consider repeatable, standardized forms that will be easy to replicate. For instance, a series of short (less than 400 words) pieces, by multiple attorneys, framing the pressing issues in an industry with strategic value to the firm can help showcase the breadth and depth of the firm’s authority. A magazine-style approach that quotes the firm’s experts – but doesn’t ask them to write or even put their byline on anything – can expedite production and establish the firm’s value as a resource.

Editorial Calendars: Creating Reasonable Constraints

An editorial calendar with columns covering every stage of production, publishing, distribution and measurement will be useless if you have no way of enforcing deadlines with partners – whose schedules are already packed and who will always prioritize client work over marketing (as they should). But you need to create some constraints, if only to give yourself and your team some urgency. Just keep it simple.

Decide how many pieces you believe you should publish and in what time frame (weekly? monthly?).

Neither decision should be all that complicated. Consider the audience need, the depth of insights your advisers have to offer and the pace of the news around the issue you’re addressing. You want to produce enough content to establish your adviser’s authority, and you want to ensure your insights address the issues your audience cares about now, before the issue evolves or all of your competitors have already written about it.

Content That Rises Above the Noise

Your content plan won’t get you anywhere if you’re not creating content that will rise above the noise. Creating a simple, feasible plan allows you to spend more time ensuring your content will connect with audiences, establish the firm’s authority and open the door to client development.

To accomplish that, focus on four qualities: relevance, novelty, urgency and utility. If you’ve done the audience research, you’ve got the first three at your fingertips. You know which insights will impact readers’ businesses (relevance), which ones they’re not getting anywhere else (novelty) and which ones they need today (urgency).

The fourth, and most critical, component has to come from your advisers. Utility is what separates authoritative content – the stuff that moves clients to pick up the phone and call your firm – from all the other content out there.

To get at it, focus on pushing your advisers to answer this question: What do I need to do to navigate or address this issue today? Then take the answer and build your content around it, starting with the headline. Getting to utility isn’t always as easy as asking a question, but it’s worth holding out until you get to it. Readers want it above all else.

If this all sounds oversimplified, it’s supposed to be. We’d all love to have sophisticated content strategies – they work for companies that can execute on them. But marketers at lots of businesses, especially in professional services, face a different reality. And while that reality will often frustrate their efforts to execute on content strategy – or even to develop the strategies at all – it doesn’t have to prevent them from creating effective content.

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Incumbent law firms have advantage in the battle for clients’ attention, but substantive content creates openings for challenger firms

Chicago, December 2, 2020 – By bringing in-person client interactions to a virtual halt, the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a digital content explosion as law firms compete for the attention of clients and prospects. A new study of in-house counsel shows that providing substantive, actionable guidance remains the best way to rise above the noise, preserve existing client relationships, and win new ones.

These findings are detailed in the report, “How to Win and Protect Client Relationships in the Age of Remote Engagement,” released today by strategic communications firm Greentarget, legal consultancy Zeughauser Group, and B2B branding agency Right Hat. The August 2020 survey of 75 in-house lawyers, including 37 general counsel, offers important guidance for law firms anticipating an extended period of remote outreach.

The survey’s top findings include:

  • Stick to Substance: 53 percent of respondents say they most want communications from outside counsel that relay substantive legal or business information. And substantive legal or business information is also most likely to generate a response from in-house counsel, especially for incumbent firms. For challenger firms, content that provides actionable guidance is the best route to sparking a conversation.
  • Incumbent Firms Beware! 68 percent of in-house counsel say communication from existing outside counsel is of greatest value, but 31 percent say they place great value on communications from firms introduced to them by friends or colleagues. This suggests a clear opening for challenger firms with the right connections and approach.
  • Pick Up the Phone – to Call or Text: Amid the age of digital communication, in-house lawyers most prefer the simplicity and intimacy of a telephone call or text. Picking up the phone affords outside counsel the chance to check in on a client personally before raising an emerging business or legal issue.
  • Stay Relevant to Be Read or Shared: More than half of in-house lawyers surveyed are willing to give communications from existing law firms (56 percent) and unfamiliar law firms (50 percent) at least a perfunctory read for relevance. Twenty-eight percent go further, saying that they appreciate good content sent from both types of firms, and they forward these communications to peers when appropriate.
  • Perspective Wanted on Pressing Legal and Business Issues: 69 percent of in-house counsel say they want content on COVID-19’s impact on the economy and their businesses; nearly as many (65 percent) want content on business and legal topics not related to COVID-19. When we asked in-house counsel to name issues they’d like to hear about from firms, diversity, equity and inclusion topped the list.
  • Forget Zoom Cocktail Hours: Seeking to fill the vacuum created by the inability to entertain clients, some firms have gotten creative with virtual social events. But virtual entertainment has little appeal for most in-house lawyers; 51 percent of respondents say they simply are not interested, and 40 percent say that they don’t want to engage with law firms in this manner.

“Establishing authority on business issues was challenging even before COVID-19, but the pandemic has forced lawyers and law firms to accelerate their digital literacy,” said John Corey, Greentarget’s founding partner. “At a time when it’s never been easier to project a message to the masses, it is more difficult than ever to really be heard. Leading with substantive, actionable content shows both clients and prospects you have a keen understanding of their challenges – and the insights to help solve them.”

“While the tools we are using to reach clients and prospects may be changing, best practices are not. Effective marketing and business development during the pandemic are still rooted in developing strong relationships with clients – relationships predicated on helping them make good decisions in real time,” said Zeughauser Group partner Norm Rubenstein. “And it’s clear that clients want trusted advisors now more than ever.”

Added Elonide Semmes, president, Right Hat LLC, “Law firms not only need to scrutinize their communications to ensure they contain actionable guidance that is scannable and easy to understand. They need to make sure that their communications feature clear, straightforward business language and compelling design that pulls the reader right to the most important content.”

What Law Firms Should Do

The report concludes with a series of recommendations for breaking through in the age of information overload, particularly given the increased flow of digital communication clients are receiving during the pandemic.

These recommendations start by reminding outside counsel that phone calls and texts are a welcome alternative to email; that evaluating content for its relevance, urgency, novelty and utility will distinguish it from the bulk of what clients are receiving; that all communication to clients and prospects should be customized; that incumbent law firms should avoid complacency; that investing in prospects can differentiate a firm seeking to develop a new relationship, and that bigger and bolder thought leadership projects – like research reports and podcasting – can show clients that a law firm is sensitive to their preferences and priorities.

A full version of the report is available here. For more information, contact Lisa Seidenberg at lseidenberg@greentarget.com or (312) 252-4108.

About Greentarget

Greentarget is a strategic public relations firm that helps leading law firms, accounting firms, management consulting, real estate and financial services organizations create unique positions of authority through skillful participation in the conversations that matter most to their key stakeholders. With 60 professionals in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and London, Greentarget combines earned media, research and market intelligence, content and publishing, digital strategy and amplification, and special situations counsel to help clients grow market share, attract leading talent and achieve a higher purpose. For more information, visit www.greentarget.com.

About Zeughauser Group

Zeughauser Group is the firm of choice for legal industry leaders seeking to increase competitive advantage and profitability, enhance market position, and strengthen organizational culture. With partners who have served as former generals counsel and as law firm chairs, managing partners, and chief marketing officers, Zeughauser Group advises clients on strategic planning and growth initiatives, including mergers and acquisitions; on best practices in marketing, branding, and business development; on client feedback programs; and on law firm management and governance, including organizational models and their assessments. For more information, visit www.consultzg.com.

About Right Hat

Right Hat is a leading B2B branding agency that helps law firms develop powerful go-to-market strategies. We are passionate about helping firms inspire buyers to want to learn more. We collaborate closely with our clients to deliver bold ideas and stunning websites, ad campaigns, thought leadership programs and business development tools. For more information, visit www.righthat.com.

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In the months since COVID-19 lockdowns ground in-person client interactions to a virtual halt, law firms have poured their energy, effort and resources into a bevy of content vehicles to stay connected to clients and get noticed by prospects.

For the most part, those clients and prospects are satisfied with what they’ve been getting. Findings from a new survey conducted by Greentarget, legal consultancy Zeughauser Group and B2B branding agency Right Hat reveal that more than two-thirds of in-house lawyers are likely to respond to communications from the firms with which they already work – especially when the communications contain substantive information that’s relevant to their businesses.

But if other firms with no prior relationship to the in-house lawyer or entity can deliver actionable guidance, they can generate responses – and even opportunities.

Explore the complete survey findings in greater detail along with our recommendations for how law firms can strategically align their outreach with client preferences and priorities.

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As a young reporter, I viewed PR professionals as something to work around. At least, that’s how I viewed them when I was feeling charitable.

To be sure, there were PR folks I liked and trusted, but my broader perspective was not uncommon among journalists — and it’s one that remains rooted in some truth. Then as now, there were some PR professionals trying to prevent journalists from doing their jobs. They could make it difficult to get access and candor. They put processes in place that were cumbersome or even ridiculous.

But as a young reporter I didn’t fully appreciate the ways PR professionals could and did help journalists do their jobs. And while journalists and PR professionals are not – and should not be – too cozy, it’s clear that the relationship between public relations and journalism could be important in fighting one of the more pernicious threats of our time: fake news.

Fake news is a common enemy for journalism and PR. It also was the subject of a research report Greentarget released late last month, just a week before voting day in one of the most tumultuous U.S. elections in decades.

The ‘Reality-Based Press’

In a recent column assessing news media efforts of the past four years, the Washington Post’s media columnist Margaret Sullivan used the term “reality-based press” to describe the news media that relies on traditional journalistic principles. It’s troubling that such a term is even necessary – and Sullivan’s not the only one using similar language — but it helps understand Greentarget’s point of view.

While the news media’s record is far from unblemished, the credibility it earns by being right more than it’s wrong and by trying to live up to a set of standards is important. In an era when it’s never been easier to disseminate information, or harder to tell information from misinformation, grounding journalism in reality – by reporting facts that journalists have made every effort to verify and substantiate – is critical for a host of reasons, including the credentialing of media outlets.

Readers, in their capacity as citizens, voters and businesspeople, need to be able to trust what’s reported by these outlets. Their trust is vital to the functioning of our democracy, our market economy and our daily lives. Without reliable information, we can’t make informed decisions about who to vote for, where to invest or, for instance, how to wear a mask to protect against a deadly airborne virus.

For public relations firms like Greentarget, which seek to give thought leaders the opportunity to express their points of view, the existence of a credible, reality-based news media is crucial. Fake news as it’s most aptly defined — false, fabricated or unverifiable stories – creates chaos and has a collective effect of delegitimizing media outlets.

Journalists Look Past (and Before) Trump When it Comes to Fake News

These issues spurred Greentarget to survey journalists. We focused in part on whether a change in Washington would help beat back fake news in the eyes of journalists. We figured that there wasn’t anyone better suited to assess the situation – but the survey results were simultaneously distressing and hopeful.

Journalists were fairly pessimistic about whether a Trump loss would improve things, despite Trump’s unprecedented battles with the news media, marked by consistent accusations of fake news against journalists and relentless misinformation from the president himself. But the journalists rightly pointed out that the roots of fake news predate Trump and predicted that the problems would outlast him.

Journalists were adamant that fake news negatively impacts journalism and largely feel that fake news is more dangerous than no news. But the journalists we surveyed also were clear that they thought they should be the ones to fight fake news – that despite the brutal job losses and financial hits to the news media over the past 15 years, journalism remained the best antidote.

Journalists Inspiring … PR Professionals?

In some ways, their gumption is inspiring, because it indicates that journalists simply refuse to give up despite the challenges they face. But considering public sentiment – Gallup reported in September that six in 10 Americans have little or no trust in the media – good faith efforts by journalists to turn the tide simply might not be enough.

Most of the reporters and editors we surveyed said fighting fake news shouldn’t be the responsibility of the government, perhaps not surprising given journalists’ ingrained devotion to the First Amendment. But other parties, including digital platforms like Facebook and Google, which have extraordinary power to disseminate information, could play a huge role. Interestingly, 56 percent of the journalists we surveyed pointed to social media as the single greatest threat regarding fake news distribution.

That made us wonder if public relations could play a role. Some research has revealed passivity among PR practitioners in addressing fake news. In light of our survey results and current events, we at Greentarget simply, but vigorously, reject that approach.

What PR Can (and Should) Do

There are ways our industry can and should help. That’s why as part of the report and separately we’re releasing the pledge below as part of our commitment to fighting fake news – and we hope other PR professionals will abide by it as well.

Some of the pledge has been part of Greentarget’s ethos since our founding – and we believe our work to provide reporters with credible sources who can help make sense of what’s going on helps journalists regain the credibility that is essential to combatting fake news. But we’re choosing this moment to formalize our thinking – and we’re going a step further by committing to working toward broader media literacy. That includes working with a group of Chicago high school students in 2021 to help them understand the fundamentals of public relations – and how to identify fake news.

Our research report is indicative of our organization’s commitment and its evolving thinking. Journalists might feel like the responsibility of fighting fake news rests solely on their shoulders. But given the stakes – not only for our industry but, more importantly, for our democracy – it’s time for the PR industry to step up.

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