Dear Snap-D: Our marketing director created a blog for me. How often do I need to post information to make it effective?
A: The question regarding efficacy is truly an internal question. What are you hoping to accomplish by writing this blog? If it’s to share relevant news, changes in laws and timely information related to your practice area, I would suggest posting as frequently as possible, and not less than once a month. When blogs are not kept up, the chances of folks returning to your site are greatly reduced. On the contrary, if your blog becomes a site that is known for the hottest and most up-to-date news, that’s a different story. Post always and often.
Q: We are getting comments from visitors on our social media sites. Who should be the one responding to these comments?
A: One person within your firm should be responsible for responding to all posts, and typically that person is the head of business development or marketing. All comments should be taken seriously and replied to publicly, if appropriate. If it’s a negative comment, reply briefly and address the person offline.
Q: Believe it or not, we are already planning our firm holiday party. Is it appropriate to invite clients?
A: Hosting parties with clients crosses a fine line. I personally like the idea of inviting clients to holiday parties as this provides an opportunity to get together with them at year’s end in a fun environment. Since holiday parties sometimes have a reputation of getting a little out of hand, it would be prudent for the managing partner to make it clear to all that clients are invited to this event and it should be treated as such, rather than a let-your-hair-down firm holiday party where co-workers are downing shots!
Q: After much discussion and resistance, we will be implementing a client feedback program. The big question is, who should conduct the interviews?
A: If you’re looking for open and honest feedback that you can use to help your firm grow, hire a third party to conduct the client feedback interviews. A personal touch is integral, but please do not make it be the relationship partner or one of his or her partners. It needs to be a third-party neutral — period.