While we wait to see whether the full financial statement will go ahead next Monday, it was inevitable that the press (and others) would have a field day when the Budget date was originally set for Halloween with the inevitable horror headlines ensuing: “Economic nightmare on Downing Street” and “House (of Commons) Horrors” spring to mind.
The growing popularity (and commercialisation) of Halloween in the UK means that this annual event can provide some excellent PR hooks for everyone, including lawyers. My recent blog: What’s a news hook and why does it matter? explains this in more detail if you’re unsure how hooks work and how they can enhance your PR.
With a bit of creative thinking, you can come up with some fun and original ideas which should catch the attention of journalists and their editors looking for entertaining content.
Gowling Solicitors’ blog: The strangest Halloween personal injury claims is an excellent example of how to hook off Halloween and contains the startling fact that there are apparently 3,000 pumpkin carving injuries in the USA each year!
The clock is ticking….
The clock may be ticking for Halloween this year, but the trick (excuse the pun!) is to plan ahead and pitch articles with seasonal themes to the editors at top trade magazines and elsewhere in good time. Halloween occurs at the same time each year so put it on your content calendar for next year now!
If you don’t have time to get things placed externally, the ideas below can also be used for some spellbinding, standalone blogs and social media posts which might get picked up more widely, if you are lucky.
Five magic PR ideas
- For corporate lawyers: some wicked clauses to include in your supply/share or business purchase/outsourcing agreement. Trick or treat? Some common business wins/losses such as failing to plan for succession in a family business versus the tax allowances available for business assets.
- For employment lawyers: HR horrors such as poor performance, scruffy/smelly employees, dubious absences and dishonest employees.
- For family lawyers: how to avoid a divorce turning into a nightmare by, for example, being transparent about finances, putting the children first, keeping an open dialogue with your ex and not being rude to your in-laws!
- For property lawyers: there are a range of scream-worthy worthy property issues from historical remains and protected species such as newts and bats being found on development sites to dealing with noisy neighbours, tree preservation orders and Japanese knotweed.
- For private client lawyers: common estate planning nightmares such as no/lost wills, ambiguous clauses in wills, and tax traps for the unwary.
Don’t forget some scary images
Halloween provides a great opportunity to match your content up with some brightly coloured, eye-catching imagery which should enhance your post/article and help attract an audience. For more on this see my recent blog: why images are the key to taking your blog to the next level
Take a look at some of my other blogs for further guidance on legal directories and other tips on profile raising:
Top tips on how to make the most of a legal directory ranking
Legal PR: what’s a news hook and why does it matter?
SEO: three simple tips to help your law firm rise up the Google rankings
Should your law firm hire a PR on a retainer or project fee basis?
Need some help with PR? Feel free to drop me an email to arrange a 30 minute complimentary call or take a look at some of the packages I offer law firms, accountancy practices and other b2b businesses.