Who do you trust?

Surveys say we trust “people like me.” That’s why we trust the waiter’s opinion about the fish more than an advertisement.

That’s why we trust the customer reviews on Amazon more than the reviews from Publisher’s Weekly.

Increasingly we trust our peers more than we trust authority.

This fact makes it important to think about who our prospective clients think of as “people like me.”

Are you, the attorney, “people like me?” Or is your paralegal more likely to be recognized as a peer? What about your firm administrator? Who do your clients relate to?

Obviously, that depends on your client. It’s important to determine who your prospective client thinks of as their peer as you decide who speaks for your firm.

As traditional media disintegrates and is replaced with communication directly from our businesses, usually in the form of emails, blogs and podcasts,  you’ve got to decide on the voices that represent your firm.

Is it you? Is it the paralegals? Is it the receptionist? Is it the marketing director?

How about everybody?

Jay Fleischman at Legal Practice Pro advocates for having everybody blog. I agree.

He points out that lawyers aren’t the only players in the game with good ideas. He notes that being a blogger reminds employees that they’re part of something larger than their job. He cites a number of other rationales in support of having everybody blog.

Make sense to me.

Most importantly, in my mind, is that having everybody blog increases the likelihood that your readers will be hearing from someone they connect with, someone they relate to, someone that is “people like me.”