Posted on 11 January 2011
Branding, Integrated Marketing, Microsites, Practice Groups
Yesterday saw the launch of yet another tech law microsite, this time by international law firm Taylor Wessing. The site is part of an integrated campaign that includes a dedicated Twitter account and sponsorship and content syndication to a new section of The Guardian newspaper’s website.
DownLoad, the name Taylor Wessing has chosen for it’s new site, is entering a crowded space and the firm will face stiff competition. Notable examples include Pinsent Mason’s OUT-LAW.com service which, having been established for over 10 years, has grown beyond all reasonable definitions of a microsite.
The launch got us thinking about what it takes to launch and profit from a practice group microsite. The following post is our thought on the steps firms need to take to ensure they get maximum return from their investment.
1. Stay Focussed
The aim of a practice group microsite is to promote and stimulate interest in a single area of the firm’s expertise. It is, by definition, and exclusive activity and that is the precise reason that such sites are effective. Don’t be tempted to let other practice areas encroach on your patch. Unless the content is directly related to your subject area, it belongs elsewhere.
2. Think like a publisher
Most lawyers are experts at producing content. Many can rattle off a briefing here and a summary there without even breaking a sweat. The problem is that, left to their own devices, lawyers often produce content that is skewed toward personal preference or the educational imperative of whatever matter they happen to be working on at the time. Publishers approach things differently. In order to stay in business a publisher and turn a profit he must asks the market what it wants and then produces content to meet that need. Think like a publisher and ask what your readers want before you sit down at the keyboard.
3. Work hard on the branding
The branding of a practice group microsite is a delicate act. Balance must be struck between the competing requirements to be in keeping with the brand of the firm while developing the microsite as a destination in it’s own right. Even grass-roots efforts built by lawyers themselves should seek advice on how the design of the microsite will impact the brand of the wider firm.
4. Integrate campaigns
As a rule, marketing campaigns have a multiplier effect on each other. That is to say that two or more campaigns run in support of each other will almost alway out-perform the same number of campaigns run in isolation. Microsites are the perfect tool to put at the heart of an integrated campaign being both a destination and a source of referrals. They should provide a landing site for press adverts, social media activity, and pay-per-click advertising and refer visitors to your branded research, events and main website.
5. Provide next steps
The purpose of a microsite is not to build a readership for the sake of the numbers. Every single page should have clear next steps that visitors can take in order to develop a deeper connection. Commonly called ‘calls to action’ these next steps might include: tools to share content, an email subscription form, event registrations, links to sponsored research, and invitations to make contact.
