The Ten Myths of Public Relations

You don't need to return reporters' calls
Reporters are like stray cats - if you don't feed them, they go to someone else's door. Call them back first, even if it is to say that you can't say anything. Reporters remember who call them and who doesn't. Not returning the Asian Wall Street Journal or South China Morning Post's call today, no matter what the reason, guarantees that you won't get the call when you do want to be in the paper. By not returning calls, you are forfeiting your right to complain when others are quoted

Reporters can't be trusted
Reporters have a different job than you do. Their job is to write a story, not your story. But that doesn't mean they can't be trusted. Of all the thousands of reporters we work with over the course of a year all over the world, only a handful don't play by the rules. They may not always get it right from your perspective, but almost all will work to get the story the best they can. The more often you work with them, the more likely they are to get it right.

Moving to new offices and hiring lateral partners are news
Uh huh. Sort of like flossing your teeth is news. Look at the publications you want to be in regarding your office move or new hire. Ask yourself how many times they devote more than a paragraph to one of these earth-shattering events. That doesn't mean it's not important or that news coverage of these and related events will not occur. It just means that news is more likely to be made if there is something of significance attached to it, such as a move into an historic building (which presents a unique photo opportunity) or a named partner or entire practice area moving from another firm.

A merger is news
With the exception of historic mergers (e.g., Clifford Chance), law firm mergers are news, but they are known as one-day stories. Focusing your press efforts on the merger rather than the law firm is like Honda focusing all of its press on only the first day of its new model year. Press efforts have to be ongoing to be effective. Look to get some press from a merger, then give it value by getting press coverage of the partners, practice areas, and firms for the other 364 days of the year. That is, after all, how your clients and prospects read the news.

The daily newspaper will mention the name of the firm
The higher up in the media food chain, the less likely the name of the firm will be mentioned. If you are getting coverage in the industry trades, you will likely get the firm name mentioned and often even a photo. If you get into the Times of London or New York Times, you very likely will not. This doesn't mean don't spend time with the major dailies. It just means that while continuing to push for the name of the firm in the paper (and more major dailies are slowly starting to include firm names) set your expectations on what is realistic. Fortunately, most of the local Asian dailies frequently include the firm name.

Advertising and public relations are the same
Advertising and public relations are the great marketing trade off. With advertising, you control exactly what is said, where, and how often. But because you do, there is far less credibility than with public relations. Interviews, on the other hand, require a third party - the reporter. You cannot make a reporter write something as you want it or see the story exactly as you see it. But when managed, it can be influenced. What reporters write, when repeated often enough, has far more credibility than advertising. It's the power of the third party.

Everyone reads the articles as closely as you do
Lawyers read newspaper articles about themselves like, well, lawyers. Newspaper articles are not legal documents. They are opportunities to get the name of the firm or its attorneys in the press with enough frequency that it develops the benefit of familiarity with clients and prospects. With rare exception, that's it. Did they include your quote? Spell your name right? Will the news source be likely to call on you again? If the answers are "yes," then you have a successful interview. Now, do it again and again -- and again.

Publicity is local
In the age of the Internet, there is no local paper. Producers at the BBC read stories that appear in the Bangkok Post. It's called the news stream, and once you get into a newspaper, no matter where, the chances are clients, prospects, and other reporters are going to have access to it.

That means if there is a bad story in one city, it should be countered by other stories, or you leave it as the only record on that issue. If it is a good story opportunity, take the reporter's call, even though they are "out of market." 

Public relations should be handled on a project-by-project basis 
Law firms conducting press relations project-by-project are wasting their money. If Coca-Cola only engaged in publicity when they had a new formula, you would be drinking Pepsi. Publicity requires reach and repetition. That means lots of placements, lots of times. Getting press "every once in a while" has little value beyond soothing the ego. Publicity for law firms is about business development, not ego.

The good news is that with a little practice, lawyers can overcome the power of these myths and become good press sources. The bad news? Well, we already have most of the myths for next year.

By Richard S. Levick, the President of Levick Strategic Communications, www.levick.com. Reprinted from the Lawyer Marketing News.