In two recent posts Kevin O’Keefe follow-ups on why a law blog does not belong inside your law firm website, on which I’ve already commented.
He confirms his view, concerns about maintaining the law firm’s brand notwithstanding:
A brand for a good lawyer is not about design, collars, logo’s and the like. If lawyers known as authorities in a niche leave a firm, where do you think the clients needing work on that niche area are going? Do you think the clients are staying because of a branded color, design, and logo? Hardly. Blogs outside of websites get cited more often. Why? Because they are viewed more credibly.
and pointing out that word of mouth generated reputation generated by a blog is far greater when the blog is away from the website
It shows your audience you are nor afraid to enter into a conversation and to share of yourself without saying see how great I am, see my 1-800 phone number, etc. Law blogs inside a website get cited a lot less than blogs outside a website free of all the marketing spin. Law blogs outside a website are far more likely to be referenced in social media (twitter etc) and have their contact syndicated to major news sources … I suppose law blogs inside a website could do the same, they just don’t.
I agree on both counts. However, it’s not really about whether a blog is “inside” or “outside” a firm website, but about the blog having a distinctive focus and along with that a distinctive identity. The blog is the brand; let it shine through.
Having said that, I’d like Kevin to look at his own blog which has two strands of posts: a) his Real Lawyers Have Blogs comment and analysis; and b) the promotion of the LexBlog network of law blogs via News from the LexBlogosphere. I’m loyal to brand A; brand B dilutes it.
I agree completely. I host a blog (which is actually an archive of news bulletins) outside my website using blogger. The main reason is google rankings; the constantly updated content ranks much higher on a recognised blogsite than on an internally hosted blog.
I couldn’t disagree more. What matters with a blog is content not location. Provided you give blog authors license to express themselves in an uninhibited way then a blog works well within a website. Just look at http://www.pjhlaw.co.uk/blog !
Phil – Difficult to tell exactly what you’re disagreeing with as I’ve qualified Kevin’s argument. The key for me is focus (rather than content). Because you practice “exclusively employment law” you have that focus. Your blog works well for you as an integral part of your website and it looks like you get good Google juice for employment law topics. With more than one practice area (ie most law firms) focus is an issue. I’d still argue that your blog would benefit from a more distinct identity of it’s own – more effectively saying “this is what we think, join in the conversation”.