Monday 16 July 2012

Content Explored...Divorce, Extremists, Sock Drawers - It's all good stuff


The most common topic of conversation when we speak to people about social media is Content; people struggle with the concept of creating it and, they are unsure what constitutes good and bad Content. It is perhaps the biggest barrier to businesses becoming social yet, if they don’t get to grips with it their efforts are almost certainly doomed to fail.

Fear may be too strong a word, but certainly lots of people we meet have extreme reservations about their ability to create regular engaging Content. Some don’t fully understand what it is, others think no-one else will be interested in what they have to say, some are wary about saying the wrong things and, others still confuse Content with Copywriting.

A Copywriter is a person who writes the text for advertisements or publicity material; it’s a skill but it is very different from a Content Creator. The truth is we are all Content Creators; whether it’s a Tweet, blog post, caption on a picture, video footage or, a comment on a status update – it’s all content. In fact, curating and sharing other people’s content is also content creation.

One of the first places we advise people to start when thinking about what to say is their frequently asked questions; write content that answers the questions people ask you on a regular basis. Therefore, in keeping with our own advice, I have decided to start publishing a regular blog post purely about Content, we’ll call it ‘Content Explored’. To be more accurate, I will feature some content created by our clients; I hope it will give you a good idea about the variety of content you could consider and, hopefully some inspiration for your own Content.

For the initial Content post I would like to feature the a small portion of the content being created by Morton Fraser, a full service law firm with offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and London. You may wonder what a law firm can say on social media without breaching client confidentiality or, risking conflict of interest or even incurring the wrath of the regulators. The cynical among you may even be shocked at law firm giving away free advice.

The truth is, Morton Fraser creates a vast array of content on a wide variety of topics – all of it interesting and engaging for the target audiences. I would also stress this is not advice - it is information and, lots of it.

It would be impossible to cover all of the content in a single blog post, it’s better you check it out for yourselves however, I would like to draw attention to a few things that will demonstrate the depth of their Content which helps them demonstrates the depth of their talent pool and expertise. I will also include some links at the bottom where you can see the range of Content they create.

Here is the selection I have picked out, I know you will also appreciate from this that they have also embraced the need to make content available in different formats to appeal to different audiences.

BLOGS
There are eight blogs on the Morton Fraser web site – yes 8! You must bear in mind Morton Fraser is a “full service” law firm so they work in many areas of the law. You may then expect each blog covers a different area of law but you would be wrong. You see, Morton Fraser realise it’s not all about them, they write about things that interest their target audiences rather than pushing services. Therefore, the Sport and Tourism Law Team currently have an Olympic blog with lighthearted summaries of each sport.

Austin Legal UK is a blog from Austin Flynn where he “thinks out loud” and includes “ramblings“ and “rants” – how refreshing is that form a high profile corporate lawyer.

“It’s a wonderful life” is the blog dedicated to the things you need to know at different stages of life, and so it goes on…

Each blog is very different – they’re meant to be. Each writer has an individual style – this truly helps to humanise the organisation. In short, the blogging activity is very successful – it works and, it makes enjoyable reading, I recommend you to explore them in more detail.

E-BULLETINS
If you’re involved in the property industry, it’s difficult to imagine a better resource than the Morton Fraser Property E-Bulletins. Morton Fraser realise the curation of content is also creation of content. The E-Bulletin is full of links to articles and news from the Property Sector thus making it a timesaving resource for others; all of the important stuff is available in one place – The Morton Fraser Property E-Bulletin.

Likewise, the Employment E-Bulletin is a comprehensive resource for the latest news and legislation about Employment Law.

PODCASTS
The archive of podcasts is growing very week and a quick scan of the precious episodes gives a quick insight into the diversity of the services available from Morton Fraser but, as with the blogs, these are not pushing services, they are a unique insight into the world of Morton Fraser.

The podcast topics range from the exploration of Rural Diversification to Proceeds of Crime and, Choosing a Divorce Lawyer to War, Extremists and the 2012 Olympics. The podcast entitled “Do you have a digital sock drawer?” is a fascinating look at what happens to your on-line stuff when you die! This clearly demonstrates their ability to create interesting and engaging content that highlights their expertise without actually selling you anything.

Podcasting is still a very popular form of content and should not be overlooked in any communication strategy. It is intimate; you talk directly into the ear of someone who has chosen to receive your information. Please take a moment to look at the range of podcasts topics Morton Fraser has already created Click Here. You may also wish to have a listen to our own Social Media Podcast Click Here.

This is just a very quick look at some of the content Morton Fraser create – there’s much more available on the site. I have included links to the main content here:


In addition to these, Morton Fraser is starting to make use of video content to introduce their team members in a less formal manner. You may also like to connect with them on their new Facebook pages at one of the following links:



Look at the ‘Who Are We’ Tab on the Business Facebook page; it’s a good example of the type of content you can include on a Facebook page.

Morton Fraser create great content; the variety and quality is testament to the depth of knowledge and expertise within the firm and, the fact they make it so widely available clearly demonstrates they are indeed a business that is truly social.

I hope you have found this a useful introduction to our ‘Content Explored’ blog posts. If you have found it interesting please use the share buttons below to tell others in your online community, remember sharing is a form of content creation.

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