Each year, more than 1,500 attorneys, marketing experts, CMOs, and industry leaders gather together at the Legal Marketing Association Annual Conference. This year, it’s being held in Atlanta, Georgia on April 8-10, 2019.
While the exact agenda is unique from year to year – with networking opportunities, keynote speeches, and pre-conference programs – it’s the specialized breakout sessions that typically yield the most value for attendees. But with so many different topics and speakers, which ones should you attend?
Here’s a brief overview of what we believe are the five can’t-miss sessions of the conference. Take a look:
1. SEO 2020: Building Your Strategy for On-SERP SEO and Beyond
For years, industry insiders and even Google representatives have hinted that the search engine giant is shifting more to on-SERP SEO, which is all about earning clicks on the SERPs (search engine results pages) to drive users to specific pages. It’s a modern twist on traditional SEO, but requires a particular approach (and a bit of finesse).
On Monday, April 8, SEO consultant Diane Kulseth will walk attendees through the three core tenants of a modern law firm SEO strategy and how they can fight against possible drops in traffic. The discussion will focus on keyword intent, using SERPs to guide the direction of your content, and strengthening content with structured data markup and a variety of other technical optimizations.
This is considered an intermediate-level session, but will provide clear expectations of high-level SEO topics for marketers that are fairly new to SEO and need clear, tangible takeaways to guide future decision making.
2. Startup Legal Marketing: Tools and Lessons Learned in Running a Marketing and BD Department
For small and mid-sized law firms, digital marketing is a new frontier. There isn’t always a clear indicator of how to proceed for best results, and that creates friction between attorneys and the folks in charge of implementing specific marketing actions.
This breakout session, hosted by Sheenika S. Gandhi, Director of Marketing and Business Development at Payne & Fears LLP, is aimed at law firm marketers who find themselves in startup environments with limited resources, strict budgets, and even a lack of buy-in from their peers.
The topics in this session will include things like creating a budget that aligns with the firm’s culture, launching a beta business development coaching program, handling random acts of events and sponsorships, and implementing essential strategies and technologies within the confines of a limited budget. It’s one of the most comprehensive sessions of the week.
3. The Pressure’s On: What PR Professionals Can Do to Help the Media in Journalism’s New World Order
Over the last three or four years, the news media has experienced a great deal of change – most of it negative. Terms like “fake news” and “alternative facts” have become mainstream topics and distrust in the media is at an all-time high. What can be done to restore faith and factuality to the news – and what does this mean for law firm PR professionals?
This session is sure to be insightful and actionable. Moderated by media relations professional Erin West, it’ll feature reporters Kate Brumback (The Associated Press) and Meredith Hobbs (Daily Report). It’ll dive deep into how journalism has changed over the last few years and what lies ahead. It’ll also provide PR professionals with insights on how to ensure accurate and unbiased reporting – via traditional media channels, as well as social media.
4. Digital and Content Optimization: The Power of Data-Driven Storytelling
At the heart of content marketing is the idea of relevancy. If you aren’t creating content that’s relevant to your audience, then your investments will be returned empty-handed. Data is clearly the answer – providing keen insights into how you can shape your content strategy with your audience in mind – but with so much data, how do you strip away the superfluous information and hone in on what truly matters?
This session, led by content strategist Brandon Copple and analytics expert JM Upton, will walk attendees through the iterative design cycle and the data capture and testing methodologies that support it. It’ll also discuss how leading marketers use data to optimize their content strategies and tactics.
5. Choosing a PR Partner
Not every firm has the resources to hire a PR professional in-house – and that’s fine. But if you can’t hire one full-time, you need to get clear on how you identify and work alongside an outsourced PR partner that elevates your brand and shapes the way the marketplace views your firm.
This session – led by a formidable trio consisting of an attorney, senior VP of public relations, and a chief marketing officer – will help attendees learn how to evaluate PR agencies, conduct request for proposals (RFPs), review submissions, and compare prospective agencies against one another.
AudienceBloom: Your Firm’s Content Partner
For many law firms, it’s not a question of whether or not digital marketing is worth the investment. There’s evidence that it works and you’ve seen just how impactful it can be for others in your industry or niche. The biggest challenge is figuring out how to set aside the time and money to make the investment so that you can yield a return.
At AudienceBloom, it’s our mission to demystify digital marketing for law firms and make topics like content marketing, SEO, and link building accessible and practical. If you have limited time and resources to run full-fledged campaigns, but still want to experience some of the positive gains that these breakout session speakers cover, we can help.
From on-site content marketing to link building and public relations strategies, we do it all. We have a time-tested process for obtaining quality links that enhance law firm SEO, generate leads, and set the groundwork for years of sustainable digital marketing efforts.
For additional information on how we can help your law firm gain positive exposure and visibility, please contact us. We’d love to walk you through what successful content marketing and link building for law firms looks like!
Sam Edwards
He is a recurring speaker at the Search Marketing Expo conference series and a TEDx Talker. Today he works directly with high-end clients across all verticals to maximize on and off-site SEO ROI through content marketing and link building.