As the Director of Communications at Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., Ryan King leads a publicity arm that harnesses the quickly changing landscape of legal marketing. His passion for highlighting the voices of these unsung heroes has helped the industry to move forward more effectively and efficiently.
What professional accomplishment are you most proud of?
It’s not one single accomplishment but two things that come to mind. I am proud of the trajectory of my career.
I’ve served in roles within the media, in an agency setting, and now I’m in-house. Driving my career 
from one track to a hybrid and then integrating those avenues allows me to add a tremendous amount of value.
The second thing is taking the growth opportunities that have been presented to me. I started the firm’s PR program solely, and then built it to oversee social media, media relations, media training, expanded content marketing efforts, website, some graphics, and accolades. I am most proud of my teammates and seeing what fuels them individually, and then channeling that to produce engaging and excellent work. I am fortunate to have been in positions to promote individuals based on their contributions. It’s amazing and exciting to be part of growth, both personally and professionally.
What advice what you give to people just getting started in PR/marketing?
Marketing and PR are going through such massive change right now. We need to take a data-driven approach. Gut instinct still has its place, but a grasp of analytics is critical because they allow you to be much more efficient and effective. Thanks to a data-driven approach, marketers can now have a greater seat at the table.
For those just getting started in their career, it is imperative that they stay curious because these areas are undergoing such change. Consider recent, and growing, coverage on areas like AI, CRM or platform integration, social media platforms, and marketing automation. It’s really something to get excited about. Finally, you have to stay hungry and persistent. The competition in these roles is pretty fierce, so if you don’t stay hungry, someone will eat your lunch. Being persistent can be your way of navigating the change soon to engulf anyone entering the industry. By staying curious, hungry, and persistent, you will eventually find a way to overcome any obstacle.
Tell me about your work with the Public Relations Shared Interest Group. Why did you decide to co-chair?
I co-chair LMA’s PR SIG with Cheryl Bame, the principal of Bame PR. LMA was launching their Body of Knowledge, which defines the core skills necessary for legal marketers to be successful, and saw a need to expand their shared interest groups. LMA selected us to co-chair. Cheryl and I play really well together. She is based on the West Coast and is on the agency side. I am on the East Coast and in an in-house role. We envisioned this SIG to be the voice of the PR/communications professionals in LMA. We are a collective that is developing and advancing the strategies that we are tasked by our firms to execute. We are shaping our industry by amassing a collection of thought leadership. We are gauging what the scope of work should be for the future. We are sharing knowledge driven by our members’ experiences. We are delivering value for SIG and LMA members through articles, surveys, infographics, and programming. An example would be the survey, post, and related infographic on how much firms invest in public relations and communications activities. It’s a pleasure to co-chair and assist my peers who have similar questions and face similar problems. I want to bring awareness to these conversations, and the PR SIG is a great vehicle to do so.
From what I can see from your Linkedin page, you have been working in the legal profession for less than a decade. Why did you decide to make the journey into this profession?
I started in broadcasting. It was great fun for some time, but I couldn’t bring myself to say “Sunny and 74, caller number four wins!” anymore. I had a background in promotions, so I leapt to PR and it was really great. I started at a small boutique agency, then was recruited to an international PR firm. Then, the recession hit. This event gave me the opportunity to pivot to legal marketing. What’s curious is that I don’t think people know much about legal marketing until they get into it. It’s quite a fascinating industry. The work is delicate, complex, and fast-paced, which is stimulating. Lawyers need help maximizing their value in the marketplace, and it is us as marketers who can help them. There are so many great things happening in legal marketing. So, experiment. Make strategic investments. Tradition and behavior are two of the hardest things to change, but marketers have a responsibility to encourage and be a catalyst for change.
How has blogging benefited your firm?
By blogging, we have shaped the way we communicate with our readers and fostered a knowledge sharing culture. It increases internal communication and enables cross-selling. It helps deliver value in indirect ways. Blogging has generated new work across multiple practice areas for those who write. It has also aided our web and online presence as seen in metrics like overall web traffic, page views, returning visitors, and time on site. We have seen our audience grow on social media, Twitter and LinkedIn specifically. We’ve experienced an increased affinity for our brand. Very often, authors are also positioned for traditional PR opportunities as a result of their blogging efforts. Finally, it has given those lawyers who participate a great return on their time.
What are you speaking about at LMA annual conference?
Cheryl and I are hosting a pre-con track on Monday, March 27. It’s called Breakthroughs in Public Relations, Content and Communications. Cheryl and I have gathered a collection of the industry’s best and brightest. They will discuss critical issues facing our industry today in a candid and conversational format. For instance, we’ll discuss, along with our speakers, how to launch a content marketing strategy with no resources or budget; how to make an outstanding lawyer bio; uncover the best practices and tools to measure your firm’s PR efforts; and, how to integrate PR and content marketing. We’ll cap the day by hosting a PR Jam Session.
Follow Ryan’s firm’s blog, Employment Law Matters, and its author, Maria Danaher.