The Wisest Things Anyone Ever Said The Other Day: The Best Quotes (or Paraphrasings) from the 2015 ‘Super’ Marketing Conference

Thursday, our annual marketing conference went down. Mercifully, this is the last blog post I will have to write on the subject. Don’t worry, though: you’ll hear about the 2016 program when it rolls around again, next Spring.
But, before we leave the 2015 conference entirely in our rearviews, we might as well extract the last drippings from its essence.
I took notes the other day, in my mind mappy sort of way, listening for something said that was sharp, particularly incisive, witty, funny or uncommon. The following is my list* of brain droppings culled from our featured speakers’ headsets:
Larry Port – CEO, RocketMatter on ‘What Works and Doesn’t Work: Online Law Firm Marketing in 2015’
-‘If your marketing were a moustache, it would look like this.’
-‘There’s no hiding with numbers. They tell the truth.’
-‘There is a phenomenon in web search called “pogo sticking”. You do a web search. You click on one site, leave right away and go to the next one. If your website is bad, people will be “pogosticking” all over you.’
-‘Beware of “vanity metrics” that will suck you in. Do not obsess about social media followers, because that has very little reach. This is about relationship building. Think about joining a social media service like you would have thought about joining Rotary Club.’
-‘Twitter has 697 million abandoned accounts.’
-‘What you want potential clients to get out of your website is affirmation: Is the person I’m seeking polished, professional and relevant.’
-‘Don’t include a ‘Learn more’ link on your website. People don’t like to learn, they want to discover.’
-‘When you advertise to smaller groups of people, you have more success. Don’t necessarily stampede to keyword advertising.’
Leigh McMillan – Vice President of Marketing, Avvo on ‘Surviving and Thriving in Social Media’:
-‘35% of attorneys have acquired clients via social media. But, it’s not as direct as traditional web advertising.’
-‘The most important question is: “What social media tools are right for you?”’
-‘The top factor in deciding to hire a lawyer is responsiveness to initial queries.’
-‘Facebook is basically life, online. 65% of users are on daily, for at least 42 minutes per day.’
-‘YouTube attracts more 18- to 25-year-old men than any cable network, including ESPN. YouTube is second largest search engine, because people want to consume more video than they want to read things.’
-‘You have to participate on Google+, because it influences Google search results.’
-‘There are two certainties in life, besides death and taxes: Google, mobile. And, Google and mobile together.’
-‘Social “dresses” your Google house. What does it look like when someone Googles you?’
-‘This is the progression of social media marketing approaches: “I’m Here. = profiles” “I’m Human. = posting” “I Want to Share. = blogging + posting” “I Want to Converse. = expert commentator”. Figure out where on the scale you are, or want to be.’
-‘There are not a lot of legal blogs on Tumblr. Just sayin’.’
Ed Walters – CEO, Fastcase on ‘Be Yourself: Everyone Else is Taken – Authenticity in the Digital Age’:
-‘Marketing is empathy. Legal marketing is not about you. It is about your client. The challenge of marketing is not finding the right picture for your website. It’s understanding your clients. Put yourself in the shoes of the potential consumer.’
-‘Treat your clients as smart people, who don’t understand the terrain. They don’t speak the language. But, they can get there with the right guide.’
-‘Marketing is the business of law.’
-‘Legal writing should not be eloquent. Think like a lawyer. That works in law school. But, at some point, you have to stop thinking only like a lawyer. Apply the creative parts of your brain to becoming an entrepreneur.’
-‘Every law firm in the world is collegial, professional and delivers results. And, of course, their websites feature large collections of stock photographs. Lawyers market using clichés all the time.’
-‘Every firm I talk to is the master of everything. It’s not possible. Instead, be targeted.’
-‘If you’re a soccer coach, put that on your website. Let people know who you are . . . unless you’re a total jerk: then, don’t be yourself. Otherwise, your personality should come through in your marketing.’
-‘The bad news is that legal marketing is terrible. The good news is that legal marketing is terrible. You don’t have to do a whole lot to separate yourself from the crowd.’
Kevin O’Keefe – CEO, LexBlog on ‘How Blogging Will Help You Realize Your Dreams’:
-‘Stephen Covey said “begin with the end in mind”. Lawyers are the worst at that. Why did you start a blog? Because I went to a conference, and someone told me to.’
-‘Are “clicks” a line item in the budget? Are “Google rankings”? Is “gross revenue”? Then, set a marketing goal based on how blogging can positively affect your gross revenue.’
-‘What type of lawyer uses a blog? A real lawyer.’
-‘I said, “This is real. [Blogging] is going to be big.” My son said, “Oh, my God – we’re going to go broke.”’
-‘Blogging is a relationship accelerator, a reputation accelerator.’
-‘If Harvard Business Review can put out an article in your field of expertise, then so can you.’
-‘The question is no longer “Should I blog?”; it’s “How can I blog better”?’
-‘People love you for your quirks. I have tons of typos in my blogs.’
-‘Google is just a machine, picking stuff out. Social is someone saying, “I think you should take a look at this”.’
. . .
Liner Notes
‘Everybody Knows’ by The Decemberists
Now . . .
Yup yup.
. . .
*Most of these are not exact quotes; when they are not, I am paraphrasing. And yeah, I’m presenting everything as direct quotes. Only my hairdresser knows for sure.