with Dave Scriven-Young from Peckar & Abramson

Chapters 6, 7, & 8

Engagement is Key

"What is memorable is what sticks. Stories and ideas that catch us off guard, make us pay attention, and show up where we didn't expect them—those are sticky."

"Quality content is king. Always. But from now on, quality content must be followed up with quality engagement. You had better be ready and waiting to engage your consumers online when they start googling and tweeting and facebooking to find out more about the awesome content they just experienced, because that's how our consumer culture works now. Anyone marketing in the Thank You Economy has to stay aware of where the culture is going, and go there."

Question

Are there any obstacles to engaging with potential clients online?

Good Intent: Quality v. Quantity

Good intent may be the single best differentiator in this new economy: "I strongly believe that if your intentions are good, it shows, and it draws people to you. Good intentions create a pull. Now, you can probably think of many examples of individuals who were able to fake good intentions to get what they wanted. But I think that the Thank You Economy, which has brought us platforms like Facebook and Twitter that emphasize transparency and immediacy, has given consumers better tools to spot and expose a company's or brand's hidden agendas and bad intentions, as well as tools to recognize, and reward, good ones."

Question

How do lawyers ensure that people see our good intentions as attorneys?

How do people see lawyers? Do we need to change those viewpoints?

Authentic Emotion

"If you're going to launch a campaign, it has to be one that evokes emotion—positive or negative—so that people feel compelled to share. Give them something to talk about, unleash the power of word of mouth, and allow them to pull you into their consciousness . Letting the consumers decide for themselves that they really want to know you, versus persuading them that they should, can make a very big difference in the kind of relationship that ensues."

"Use social media campaigns to create an opportunity for engagement, not to force it."

Question

Does authenticity and emotion come easy for lawyers?

Shock and Awe

"Small, thoughtful gifts add up to one amazing customer experience that can get talked and written about, and have much more value to a brand than they would have had even five years ago."

"What's cool is that you can scale shock and awe, and still create a magical, chemical reaction. For example, what if you made a list of the twenty or thirty customers who support your businesses the most, and sent each of them a handwritten thank you note with a rose, or some other small gift? This would be a low-cost yet high-impact move. Maybe that sounds a little cheesy, but it's working every day for small businesses around the country right now. You could have done something similar in 1999 and gotten a great response from your customers in the form of increased loyalty, and even some word of mouth. But the difference between then and now is the much greater distance that word of mouth can travel via blog post, tweet, picture on Flickr, and status update. The effects of shock and awe go significantly farther now, plain and simple."

Question

How should lawyers show that they are grateful to our clients?

Can we use shock and awe tactics?

Next Discussion:

Chapters 9-13

Final Discussion onthis book!!!

February 15th 7 pm centralPeriscope.tv/ILEnviroLawBlog

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STARTING FEBRUARY 22nd

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