Personal Development

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Jahna Barbar is a Woman Who Wows for many reasons – she has a successful career as the regional Marketing & Business Development Manager at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, she dedicates her time to volunteering for the Legal Marketing Association, where she has held multiple leadership roles, and she is a role model for women in many ways.

I met Jahna though our mutual work for the LMA, and I was immediately impressed with her – she was not only smart, but she was kind and she has the wholehearted enthusiasm for what she does – whether in the office or in her volunteer work that I recognize in myself. She is the kind of person who gives 200% to everything she does. I’ve seen her support other women and be an advocate for future leaders, and that’s a trait that we need more than ever today. Learn more about Jahna.

Karen Kahn, is the Founder and Managing Partner of Threshold Advisors, LLC, as well as a certified coach, psychologist and consultant.

I just had to meet Karen after my mentor Wendy Bernero gave me Karen’s book to read.

The book, Daunting to Doable, helps lawyers become successful at developing relationships and business through a series of small, daily actions that can be woven into the typical flow of your personal and professional life.

I have used principles from the book in everything I’ve done since meeting Karen five years ago.

Karen is a Women Who Wows for many reasons, including pivoting into this career later in life, showing us all that it is never too late to do what you love. She is also humble, kind and generous with her time and advice. Learn more about Karen.

social-media-master

I’m often asked how do you know if your social media efforts are working, and other than resulting in new business, which may take time to materialize, there are other…

While many firms are content producing powerhouses, disseminating client alerts, thought leadership pieces, social media posts and other information daily via the many distribution channels with which they engage their target audiences, they often fail to really think about the how, what, when, where and why of the content they are creating and how it will actually benefit their clients and other influential readers.

These firms are on content autopilot, just going through the motions to churn out thought leadership pieces as efficiently as possible, often because that’s just the way their firm does things or because they don’t want to question a partner or someone more senior to them or because there is pressure to get things out the door to be competitive with another firm.

If you find yourself in this position, take a moment to give yourself a “content time-out” in order to really think about why you are doing what you are doing. If it doesn’t make sense with your brand and business development goals, immediately change course.

Taking the time to ensure that your content marketing and your business development strategies are completely aligned will enable you to create more focused, client-centric content that will better engage with your target audiences and lead to new business and the retention of clients.

Remember that the goal of content marketing is not just about populating your social media feeds with a steady stream of content. Rather, the goal is to use content as a differentiator to help position your lawyers and your firm as thought leaders, which will help to keep you top of mind with key individuals for when they have a matter that fits your background. It’s always about quality versus quantity.

Here are some ideas to take your content strategy to the next level.

Many of those in the legal marketing industry already know of Susan Freeman because of her strong online presence and ability to gather and support other women. Susan is the epitome of what is means to be a woman who supports other women. She’s been kind and helpful to me through the years, and she is a role model for all of us in terms of using her platform for the greater good.

I asked Susan to be part of the Women Who Wow series, which is running not only during March, Women’s History Month, but throughout the year, because she selflessly promotes so many others, and I thought it was time to shine a spotlight on her. Thank you Susan for all you do for our industry and for women. Learn more about her.

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It hasn’t been an easy year for me.

Right about this time last year, I was packing up the last of my boxes to move into my boyfriend’s apartment.

I was so excited that I had finally met “the one.” I had never felt this way before and we moved fast. We were so different personality wise and a 10 year age difference. We were talking about marriage and kids, but my intuition knew something was up.

Throughout the month of March and beyond, I will be spotlighting “women who wow” me on the blog– these are women I’ve met through my professional and personal lives. They are leaders who inspire and awe me, and push me to be a better version of myself. They are role models for the future generation of women. I think we can all learn from them.

Today I’m highlighting Carolyn Sandano, who I have known for many years through the Legal Marketing Association. Carolyn is a seasoned legal marketer who is always calm under pressure and offers wise advice. I can think of many occasions where she has supported not only me but other women and been generous with her time and counsel. Get to know more about Carolyn.

Thank you so much to Baker McKenzie’s BakerWomen’s group for inviting me to speak about LinkedIn best practices and building your personal brand today. It was a great way to…