What does your website have in common with stores like Whole Foods? More than you might think. Just as the shelves of grocery stores are crammed full of products competing for your attention, law firm websites are packed full of content, with attorneys and practices competing for the attention of your clients. Join Jen Bullett, Nancy Kostakos and Kalev Peekna as they take techniques from the retail world and apply them to content marketing and legal website strategies. Our presenters drew direct parallels from retail environments and highlighted specifically how they relate to law firms—including how you can package content to drive cross-practice area promotion and how to structure pages so that your prime content captures readers and inspires them to take action. Using a fictitious law firm, they also demonstrated how content merchandising can play a broader role within law firm websites. To view a recording of the webinar, visit http://bit.ly/10jriV1.

1. 01.10.13
Merchandising Your Content:
Inspirations from the Retail World
Webinar

2. Introductions

3. Agenda
• The Content Merchandising Idea and Relevance
• Inside the Mind of a Retailer
• Inspirations from the World of Retail Merchandising
• Inspirations from the World of Online Merchandising
• Example for Law Firms
• Getting Started

4. The Idea Behind Content Merchandising
Hello My Name Is
+ Julie Smith
In-Store Marketer

5. Shelves are crammed full of products
Websites are crammed full of content

6. Products compete for attention
Attorney/practices compete for attention

7. Every product thinks it’s the best
No comment

8. Product Development is costly
Content Development is costly

9. Get the right eyeballs in front of the
right products and drive selection
Get the right eyeballs in front of the
right content to drive selection

10. Insights from a Retail Merchandiser

11. Insights from a Retail Merchandiser
• Structuring the Store to Sell: Hot items, Basics & Sales
• Creating a Head to Toe Look & Sell More
• Knowing What Sells: Regionalization & buyers
• Innovation & Inspiration: Cutting-Edge Products

12. Ideas for Law Firms: Breakdown Aisles
Aisles of “content” with no cross-merchandising strategy

13. Ideas for Law Firms: Package Product

14. Ideas for Law Firms: Know your Buyer

15. A Few Thoughts About Analytics
• Retailers focused on maximizing sales
– Numbers guide store merchandising decisions
• Positioning in store, distribution in region
– Numbers also guide future investment and distribution
– But this is always balanced with forward-thinking
• Introducing untested fresh ideas, new looks (Europe trips)
• For law firms
– Analyze true “sales”
• Use billings to figure out which areas are hot and which need more “front of store
attention”
– Use website analytics to understand what is getting traction on your website
• Use that knowledge to package content and seize “trend” opportunities
– Know how to sell the content
• Public interest/people stories often most effective (see yourself wearing that)
– Build business cases and plans based on analysis and fact
• This helps keep decisions objective
– But balance this with forward-thinking
• What are you seeing in the marketplace that your clients haven’t seen yet?

16. Principles from
Merchandising

17. In-Store Display
• Department displays
• Vertical merchandising
• Product groupings

18. Department Display

21. Visual Displays
• Pyramids
• Odd Numbers
• Storytelling
• Colorization

22. Pyramid

23. Pyramid

24. Odd Numbers

25. Colorization

26. Web Examples: Airbnb

27. Storytelling

28. Pyramid

29. Vertical

30. Colorization

31. Departmental display

32. Product Grouping

33. Content Merchandising on a Law Firm Website:
We Started Imagining How it Might Work

60. How to Get Started
• Understand the needs of your audience
• Review your analytics
• Map out your current content
• Plan for future content needs
• Always consider cross-sell opportunities
• Think about grabbing the attention of reader
• Include a call to action
• Keep an eye out for what’s next
Inspired by: business2community.com

61. Thank You &
Questions