The Bay Area Member Spotlight Q&A series shines light on our members and their work, celebrates our diversity, and reinforces a sense of community among Bay Area marketers.
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Stephanie Hill is an LMA member and
Marketing & Virtual Experience Manager at Meyers Nave.
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You are the Marketing & Virtual Experience Manager at Meyers Nave. Can you tell me when and how “Virtual Experience” was added to your title?
As shelter-in-place orders hit in March 2020, like most of the world, we quickly pivoted from in-person meetings, presentations, trainings, and conferences, to what was then the “new” world of virtual get-togethers. I took it upon myself to learn every video conferencing platform available so that I could train and assist our lawyers in any way possible. It quickly became clear that lawyers who didn’t understand the technology were not able to present effectively.
We didn’t want to just provide our audience with information, we wanted to be able to engage with them in a meaningful way despite the constraints of not actually being in the same room. You could have the most comfortable, engaging speaker on stage suddenly stop in their tracks because of a hesitation to embrace technology, a camera and a mirror of yourself during every presentation – not to mention no IT support in your home to help!
What challenges have been unique to this new role? How did you overcome them?
The virtual experience encompasses so much more than just showing up. At the start of the pandemic, everyone suddenly became their own tech support and setup crew. We faced challenges of understanding new technologies, while also learning how to work in our home environments with the added stresses of the world while it was in its current state.
In collaboration with my fellow legal marketers from the Sacramento City Group, we quickly hopped on and started exploring Zoom, discussing other platforms, and brainstorming ways to leverage all of the tools to produce an engaging experience beyond video conferencing. Between self-teaching, a lot of practice and the amazing support from our fellow colleagues, we created tech checklists and followed the clever guidance of Clayton Dodds, “Break it before your lawyers or guests do so you know how to quickly recover.”
How has your firm managed the transition of marketing, business development and client service to the digital arena?
We doubled down on providing information at record speed across all platforms to support the needs of our clients. This included webinars, client alerts, and any type of guidance in all forms – email, social media, website, etc. We wanted and made all of our produced materials an easy click or two away from any user.
Do you have any advice to share with the legal marketing community as a result of developing and stepping into your expanded role?
Adapt, overcome, and don’t be afraid to take big risks! Although the world came to screeching halt, it provided a new opportunity for growth and development in a way I never thought possible, not only for myself, but for my department, my lawyers and my firm. Technology is constantly evolving and some law firms have a hard time stepping up to the plate. By quickly confronting the pause in in-person events and embracing new communications technologies, our firm flourished in the virtual presentation sector and at a pivotal time when our world (our clients) needed thought leadership and guidance more than ever.
Many of us are now more than one year into a WFH environment or have recently started returning to the office. What has kept you motivated when pandemic fatigue sets in?
I think at this point motivation is a roller coaster. I cannot lie and say it has all been roses but what I can tell you is that the community we have within LMA is undoubtedly an incredible work family to be a part of. The tools, resources and mentorship within the association were a key part in the successes I had last year.
If you know a Bay Area marketer who should be profiled or if you are that marketer, we would love to hear from you! Tell us about recent accomplishments, personal or professional. How has COVID-19 impacted your job? What keeps you motivated? Please send a brief (one paragraph) nomination for yourself or a peer to jessed@infiniteglobal.com