What is one key takeaway for you from LMA14?
Aricia Gallaher: It's difficult to choose only one key takeaway. I had pages and pages of notes from the abundance of useful and practical information that was shared at the conference. I will highlight two because they are really important to any new legal marketer’s long-term success in the industry: Establish a group of champions within your first few months of employment (internal champions are those managers and attorneys who will help support you), and you should not deploy or launch a major initiative without having tested it first. Use your champions as betas if necessary.
Ashley McNew: At the time of the conference, I was relatively new to legal marketing, so a key takeaway for me was simply gaining a fresh, big-picture understanding of business development and content marketing. Though the conference provides a fire-hose of information for attendees, I found it important to take information from each session and brainstorm how to apply certain aspects to cater to my firm.
Did you take advantage of the networking opportunities available to you during conference? If yes, tell us what was most beneficial about this experience.
AG: I took part in every networking opportunity possible. I would suggest everyone, not only new legal marketers, but everyone take this approach. This is where you build your support network among your peers and meet potential vendor partners. The networking opportunities are invaluable.
AM: I definitely took advantage of all the networking opportunities, and I’m so grateful these were well-incorporated into the conference and highly encouraged. It was super beneficial to connect with others in the industry as I learned best practices, exchanged ideas, compared processes, and gave/asked advice. Legal marketers are some of the most friendly, intelligent, and helpful professionals I’ve yet to encounter.
Describe your experience with the application process and your excitement at being selected.
AG: I felt the application process was straightforward and easy to complete. I appreciate this because some awards programs are extremely lengthy and time-intensive. You essentially filled out a quick application and then either wrote an essay or filmed a video. The most stressful part for me was the timing of my start date, signing up for LMA, and realizing the Presidents’ Gift program deadline was within, oh, 48 hours. It was an exciting few days to say the least, but I am so grateful I was selected. I think Ashley and I felt a bit like celebrities!
AM: The application process was simple and straight-forward. Having a choice between an essay and a video, I chose to make a video, where I answered a few questions and tried to let my personality show. Upon receiving the phone call that I had been selected, I was obviously thrilled…and humbled! I for sure did a dance at my desk and didn’t stop smiling for the rest of the week. Being new to the industry, to LMA, and a first-timer to the conference, I couldn’t have been more excited.
What was your experience as a conference attendee.
AG: I LOVED attending the conference ... I've attended many professional conferences in my lifetime and this conference was, by far, the most valuable to my career. I would highly recommend the conference to anyone from new legal marketers to seasoned industry veterans. You may be sitting next to one of your competitors, but they are very willing to share experiences.
AM: My experience as a conference attendee can hardly be summarized! There were so many helpful sessions so choosing which to go to was tough. I chose some based on recommendations, some on my specific role at my firm, and the others on aspects of legal marketing I wanted to gain more insight about. Everything I needed to know about legal marketing was available here: advice and best practices from industry experts, motivational workshops from highly-respected corporate professionals, any and every vendor to fit one’s legal marketing needs, endless amounts of resources (which I still refer back to even now), and of course networking and fun.
Do you have any tips for young LMA members or our future 2015 grant recipients?
AG: Go for it! Do not sit there and think about what might have been. Stretch outside of your comfort zone and apply for this program. I had no idea that I would be selected as one of the recipients, but I am so fortunate and grateful to have been chosen. Being selected for this program was one way I was able to establish instant success for my firm and for me. Firm budgets are tight and you should evaluate every imaginable opportunity to help save the organization money. This program was a win-win for me, internally with the firm and professionally.
AM: A couple of tips I’d like to share...
- With so much information from the conference, you’re going to want to go back to your firm and DO IT ALL. Although that’s a great ambition, it’s more practical to take just a few things, and maybe one or two big-project ideas, and work to implement those.
- Don’t be too timid to ask questions or voice ideas; there’s no better place than to do it here.
- Take all the free stuff and compete to win prizes!
Like what you read? Click here for an overview on how to apply, including detailed instructions for video submissions. The total grant package is worth nearly $2,000. Submissions are due Tuesday, November 25, 2014.
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