Author: Stuart Crawford

Podcasts are huge these days. Popular podcast Serial has been downloaded millions of times and has become a pop culture phenomenon right alongside other “did they really do it” series like Netflix’s Making a Murderer. Podcasts are also used for informational and educational purposes. NPR offers its programs in podcast form so users can listen at their own pace. They’ve even developed programming that doesn’t broadcast on the radio. It only exists in podcast form.

The podcast has arrived, and it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon. The question for law firms, as with any new tech innovation, is whether developing a podcast for the firm makes sense. We believe creating a podcast can be a powerful, memorable branding tool. Here are a few reasons why your firm should consider starting one.

A Branded Podcast Builds Credibility and Engagement

The problem most law firms face isn’t competence. The process of becoming a lawyer usually takes care of this. The problem firms face is getting their name out into the community effectively. You want to communicate that you’re competent and successful but at the same time approachable. Much of law firm advertising veers far in one direction or the other. You see “prestige” billboards that may communicate “you can’t afford me” to a good portion of the community, and you see cheesy TV commercials that communicate “we’re not a serious firm” to another portion of the community.

Creating a podcast is a low-cost, low-effort way to engage with your community. You can communicate in a down-to-earth fashion by just being yourself. You can use a podcast to indirectly convince community members of your ability and skill, and you can disarm the negative notions that can come from prestige advertising.

It’s an Inexpensive Advertising Tool

Another advantage of podcasting is cost. It’s very inexpensive to produce a podcast, and it costs nothing to host it. All you need to produce it is some simple audio recording equipment and a topic that you can discuss. Hosting a podcast is a simple affair using a hosting tool like Libsyn. Hosting tools like this one will automatically publish your podcast to iTunes and all the other major podcast services. Once your content is published, you can promote your podcast using your existing social media channels through both regular and paid posts.

Compare this to the costs of producing video for social and the costs of traditional advertising. To produce social video, you’ll have to invest in video recording equipment. If you want a quality product, you’ll probably end up having to hire a video production group to produce them. Then, consider traditional print and TV advertising. The costs are astronomical compared to the costs of producing a podcast.

It’s an Attractive Alternative to Video

Let’s be honest: we don’t all look like the beautiful pretend lawyers on Suits. Even if you are blessed with great looks, you may not be comfortable in front of the camera. If video makes you look shifty, insecure, or nervous, you’re not helping your firm’s advertising efforts. Focusing your efforts on a podcast avoids the difficulties and aesthetic concerns that come with video.

The other issue with video is that they need to be short. Videos, especially in advertising, need to be fairly “snackable.” Podcasts, on the other hand, can take a deeper dive. People often listen on their commute or at the gym, so they are looking for content of a certain length. Going deeper on a given topic is one way to reaffirm your credibility, too.

Getting Started

If you’re ready to start a podcast for your firm here’s a brief guide to the steps you need to take.

Equipment

You can record audio using the internal microphone on your laptop, but it won’t sound very good. Invest in a midrange USB microphone, like the Snowball or Yeti from Blue. The difference in sound quality will astound you. You can easily record one or two people around a microphone like those. If you plan to invite more than one guest onto your podcast, you may need an additional microphone.

Software

If you’re recording only one microphone, your software needs are simple. Free recording and editing programs like Audacity for PC and GarageBand for Mac will do just about everything you need. Call Recorder for Skype is an inexpensive Mac app that will simplify things for you, too. We recommend starting with this simple setup before exploring multi-mic (multi-track) recording. Once you’re familiar with the basic principles, you’ll have an easier time scaling up.

Topics and Launch

All that’s left is to come up with some topics and get going. Choose topics community members are likely wondering about and answer whatever questions they may have. This is a tool for getting clients in the door. Choose topics that offer as much value as possible, topics people will want to listen to.

All that’s left is to launch. Hit record, start talking, and publish!

Businesses spend a significant amount on their software solutions, but 94 percent of them don’t get the expected value out of them. Many roadblocks stand in the way of bringing new solutions into the office, from a lack of consideration for the end user to choosing platforms that can’t scale with the company’s growth.

Problems During Procurement

The issues start during the procurement process. End-user feedback is essential for choosing software that will boost productivity and provide an adequate return on investment. If you lack end-user buy-in, then they’re not going to be enthusiastic about a system that’s not making their work life better. Make it easy for employees to send in feedback about the new software options throughout the procurement process. Emphasize the benefits of the new platform to workers.

Insufficient Training

Once the software is in place, workers may have a hard time with its functionality if they lack sufficient training. A change management plan should include multiple training resources and sufficient time for the end users to learn about the new solution and what they can do with it. The training should begin once you make a decision on the solution you’re deploying.

Clashes With Current Workflows

The software may require people to deviate too far from well-established workflows. Consider the current workflows and manual processes that are in place. The solution should replace time-consuming manual tasks and those that are prone to human error. Streamline current workflows without completely doing away with their structure. Employees will appreciate the familiar workflows and improvements in speed and efficiency.

Using Off the Shelf Software for Complex Problems

Off the shelf software is attractive for the speed of deployment and lower cost than custom development. However, specialized industries may require functionality that is not available with a standard solution. Workarounds may take too much time and effort. The opportunity cost can be far greater than the custom development price.

Lack of Centralized Data

Siloed data can lead to many problems, including repeated work, time wasted trying to find files, and lost data. Bringing data together in a central database is an important feature for any system that you’re deploying in your organization.

Difficulty with Content Sharing and Collaboration

Documents get shared and teams work together on a regular basis. The solution that you choose should support these activities. If you use the centralized data suggestion above, then streamlining content sharing is not difficult. Many modern solutions also include collaboration features to allow teams to easily work together.

Grow with Company

You might not know what your growth rate will look like in five years, but you do need software that can adapt to your changing needs over the years. If you purchase a solution that is built for your current capacity and nothing more, then it’s going to fail as your organization grows. It’s common for cloud-based solutions to allow you to scale up and down seamlessly as demand changes.

It’s important to diagnose why employees refuse to use the software offered to them. Once you understand why they aren’t enthusiastic, you can address the underlying issues and present new options.

Medical appointments and doctors’ visits are not enough. Patients want more contact with their healthcare providers, without necessarily needing to schedule more appointments and spend more time in the waiting room. 74% of patients polled in a recent West survey expressed a desire for more communication beyond the medical office visit.

This hunger for more communication parallels the growing role of digital communication in daily life. These same patients note that they are 21% less likely to call their medical providers than they were merely seven years ago. Rather than pick up the phone, patients want to use digital channels—the same ones that they’re already using for other communication—to maintain communication with their healthcare team.

How communications preferences have recently shifted

A recent study by Duke University addresses digital communication in the clinical setting beyond just personal preferences. Their studies found that over 95% of the American population has a cell phone, making it a tool for healthcare providers to leverage. But the standout piece of data, in a world that wonders about deliverability and whether messaging is actually getting through to intended audiences, is that over 90% of text messages are read—and within three minutes of transmittal. This data carries over across all age groups and socioeconomic demographics.

University of Toronto researchers supported this data with their research on the different impacts that text and email have on conveying a particular message. They found that text messaging conferred a higher level of urgency, and therefore function better around task-oriented reminders. Emails are better received than phone calls—19% of millennials don’t even listen to their voicemails—but are better for lengthier context-setting or other more detailed information transmittals.

What provider communications patients currently want between appointments

Patients want contact that aligns with the digital channels that they are using. Social media engagement can be useful for general knowledge-sharing around trends, treatments, and even regulation, but social media is not where the public is hungry for provider engagement. They want personal contact along the two channels they engage with the most each day: texting and email.

Texting

Minimal-to-no onboarding is needed for patients via texting since they are already using this to communicate with everyone from loved ones through coworkers. Consistently greater than five out of every ten patients polled preferred text communication about all logistical aspects of their medical visits, including setting-up and confirming appointments, post-operative instructions, payment issues, and even the transmission of lab results.

The good news is that from 2017 to 2018, the number of patients texting with their providers increased from 5% to 17%. This indicates increased adoption of digital communication channels on the part of healthcare providers. However, this 17% figure is still low, particularly compared to the 69% of patients who explicitly noted the desire to communicate more with their providers.

While HIPAA compliance has been a big obstacle to personalized text message transmission—which might accidentally bleed PHI if providers are not careful—there are simple ways to structure this message to avoid sending over PHI, while still delivering what patients need.

Email

Email can help resolve some longer-term or more complicated issues faced by patients. For starters, email can help add transparency to billing and insurance coverage. Even in advance of visits—and surely after—estimates of treatment costs can be sent, broken down into highly itemized detail. This allows patients to make informed treatment decisions based on what they can afford, or even contest charges with ther insurance companies. Cost visibility and transparency is another way to build trust and rapport with patients, which will reinforce a positive clinical relationship.

Email correspondence is less urgent than text messaging, but still timely and pressing. Because of this, it can be a powerful tool for reminders as well as education. Some patients have chronic diseases, but ongoing education and community-building can be helpful in managing their conditions; this can be achieved through regular emails. Healthy and ill individuals alike can benefit from education regarding disease prevention and wellness, which is easily transmitted via emails.

There’s an additional layer of education inherent to this information sharing, relevant to expectation management. By owning the sharing of reliable medication, a provider helps guide their patients to quality information and thus reduces the likelihood of misinformation. Pointing patients in the direction of useful resources has further benefits by structuring their vocabulary, and conveying the sorts of topics and conditions around which the provider is an expert to be consulted. Rather than bombarding patients with this information during the time of an office visit, this allows patients to absorb information at their own time and pace; office visits, in turn, become more focused around acute conditions as well as examinations and other activities that require face-to-face interaction.

Surveys

This one might come as a surprise, but 53% of patients are open to completing surveys for their healthcare. Surveys help standardize responses and reliably collect answers. While this can also provide statistics that could be useful for research and professional discussions, this can directly and positively impact patients by ensuring they get the appropriate medical response—and quickly, because specific replies can automatically trigger particular pathways and flag providers to take action.

Some health situations work better than others for survey follow-ups. Chronic conditions, new medication, recent procedures, and hospitalizations are some of the common patient experiences where surveys could help track outcomes and make sure providers intervene when necessary.

How healthcare can use automation on these channels to strengthen connections with patients

Patients don’t need to see the details behind the digital solutions put into place; they need to feel the effects of these solutions through the perception that they can reach their providers when needed. And if providers—with schedules already jampacked—are effectively increasing their availability to patients by opening up new lines of communication, something’s gotta give. This is where automation comes into play.

Implementing digital solutions in the health space comes with some upfront set-up and ongoing maintenance, but it also opens the door for the use of tools to automate parts of patient correspondence. These changes create a more positive patient experience, and drive patients to experience partnership with their providers in ways that could encourage their compliance and hence generate better outcomes.

What does this look like? Automate reminders and follow-up surveys to keep patients on track, and use chatbots strategically to help field the easiest and most common questions that pop up. Automation allows for easier, consistent follow-ups with patients after procedures and hospitalization, allowing for earlier interception of any issues. Treatment adherence can be reinforced with automated reminders, without utilizing support team and administrative time.

Using automation frees up provider time for cases that require one-on-one attention, or even generally allows more time for patient consults. Without compromising bedside manner—if anything, enhancing it—providers can increase the amount of support they give to their patients, while freeing up more time of their own.

The healthcare industry has been slow to adopt these new digital communications channels. As a result, providers are missing out on opportunities to connect with their patients and give them the modernized healthcare experience that they seek. Above, we have broken down the key trends in digital communication. We’ve addressed the key directions in which healthcare providers can move in order to stay up-to-date and well-connected with their patients. Even if a comprehensive overhaul of digital communications is not possible, just implementing one of the strategies listed above could go a long way in reinforcing positivity in the provider-patient relationship. Progress is being made constantly to improve security in ways that help ensure HIPAA compliance, and so there really is no reason to abstain from pursuing these trends and giving patients the digital communications experience they’re seeking.

One of the most challenging parts of owning your own business is having to continually prove yourself as an expert in your field to each new client. No matter how many times it happens, having someone look at you skeptically as you introduce your products or services can be a blow — not to mention a time drain that could better be spent digging into the needs of your prospect and how you can help solve them. Fortunately, there’s a quick productivity hack that will not only grow your business, but it will ensure that your clients already view you as an expert in your field . . . before you ever meet.

Personal Marketing is Key to Sales

Regardless of which line of business you’re in, you know that building relationships is the key to getting things done. Whether that means working hard to maintain good relationships with your vendors or finding ways to help clients be more successful, this personal marketing is a required part of any growing business. When you are the business owner, this can mean that you spend a significant portion of your time speaking to people and learning the landscape of their business before you are able to promote your own needs. Anytime you’re able to produce content online that educates others, you are one step closer to building that personal relationship before the first time you speak with your prospects.

Don’t I Know You?

You don’t go into a sales call with a bland, boring persona that lacks personal details, so why should your marketing be blah? You have to find ways to incorporate your unique flashes of brilliance into your online marketing, which will help people feel as though you are old friends before the conversation starts. Don’t be afraid to discuss your business challenges or share personal tidbits that might be of interest as part of videos. While prospects are always doing some form of research online, finding someone who engages their interest and feels personable and relatable means prospects are much more likely to turn into customers in the future.

Creating an ongoing library of searchable content helps to present you as an expert in your particular field, a crucial differentiation when there’s a crowded marketplace full of competitors waiting to steal your thunder. These educational pieces are often the first introduction between yourself and your customer and allow you to start the conversation on a positive note. Your prospects will appreciate that you were generous with your time in creating the content and you’re honing your presentation skills and messaging at each turn: win, win!

Upgrading software can be a real pain — literally. Users are likely to be reluctant to learn something new, causing additional requests to help desk personnel as users get acquainted with a new operating system. The time required to install upgrades and get up to speed with any changes is rarely trivial, and there’s always a risk that legacy software and hardware will balk when new functionality is introduced. With all these negatives, it’s a wonder that we ever upgrade software! Fortunately, the Windows 10 upgrade has many more pros than cons and will help your teams be more productive while providing additional security for your organization’s digital assets.

Recognize Productivity Gains for Business Users

Previous Windows OS upgrades have come with some dramatic changes to the interface, but Windows 10 feels very familiar to users. Sure, there are a few little tweaks such as an expanded Start button functionality, but the platform overall is quite consistent with prior versions. Transitioning from tablet to laptop isn’t jarring, and the interface is pleasant to view and convenient to use. Users are likely to find that their most-used applications are easier to find than ever, and saving a few clicks here and there can add up to significant productivity gains. Plus, Windows 10 offers a reduction in boot time of 75% versus previous Windows platforms, reducing user frustration and allowing them to get moving quickly. Messaging tools such as Skype are included in the platform, making it simple for users to connect at the speed of business.

Your IT Department Will Appreciate Easy Upgrades and Maintenance

From self-service options within the operating system to lighter maintenance requirements than previous versions, Windows 10 has been shown to reduce IT management time by 15%, as measured by Forrester Consulting. Boot times are improved, deployments are more rapid, security and application access control is easier. These gains not only reduce the overall IT cost for the organization but allow businesses to innovate more rapidly because there is less time spent on administration — and more focus on strategy and new technology. You may even be able to reduce your reliance on third-party applications, saving subscription fees and reducing overhead.

Windows 10 Has an Improved Security Posture

Cybersecurity is a hot topic for business leaders, and there are definite advantages to reducing your security concerns. Windows 10 includes the latest functionality to support your robust cybersecurity posture, including Credential Guard and Device Guard, BitLocker and more. Forrester estimates that businesses could save nearly three-quarters of a million dollars simply by activating the security features that are already inherent in Windows 10. The updated operating system separates data at both the file level and the application level, making it more difficult for employees to accidentally or purposefully share information with the wrong people.

Prepping your business for an upgrade has never been easier — and Windows 10 provides a wealth of benefits without the frustrations that you might be dreading. Improved security, reduced boot times, a familiar interface and more, your Windows 10 upgrade will help your team provide exceptional support for users now and in the future.

First, there was the GDPR, with organizations around the world scrambling to create cookie and privacy policies to ensure that their data storage and use would meet the restrictive standards imposed by the EU. For smaller organizations in the U.S., the GDPR didn’t cause quite the fuss as it did for multinational corporations. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) has the potential to upset marketers and technology experts in businesses of all sizes — especially since it’s expected to unleash the floodgates for other states to declare their data privacy standards. The CCPA goes into effect January 1, 2020, but what exactly does that mean for your business?

The CCPA Provides Ownership, Control and Security Over Personal Information

At the heart of GDPR as well as CCPA are the rights that individuals have over the ownership, control and security of their personal information. When businesses are allowed to share data, precisely which data points can be shared, who they can be shared with and how individuals are able to request complete deletion of their information from an organization’s database. There are some high-level rules that help determine the businesses that must comply with the regulations, including:

• Any business or for-profit entity that does business in California
• Organizations with $25 million or more in gross annual revenue
• Maintaining personal or household data for more than 50,000 organizations
• Whose annual revenue is composed 50% or more of selling the personal information of consumers

Unfortunately, GDPR compliance does not guarantee that your business will be compliant with California’s new regulations around consumer data.

What Are the Challenges with CCPA Compliance?

California’s new consumer data policies mirror the GDPR policies in many important ways, meaning organizations who have already invested in GDPR compliance may be far ahead of their competitors who are just embarking on this journey. Compliance with these prohibitive policies may require consolidation of a massive amount of information from multiple disparate databases, something that cannot be accomplished quickly or without cost. Organizations are expecting to spend upwards of six figures to become compliant, with businesses with reliance on selling consumer data projecting a significant reduction in revenue opportunities. Simply identifying all the personal data that is stored within your various applications can be difficult, but under CCPA you must also be able to identify where and how the data is being used, who owns the data, who creates it and more. Plus, individuals must have an easy way to access their data storage preferences and effectively erase themselves from your corporate databases.

How Can You Get Ready for CCPA Compliance by January 2020?

Data consolidation is one of the key initiatives for businesses, and many organizations will need to retain an attorney to work through the various requirements and ensure that the business is fully compliant. There are also privacy notices that must be posted on digital channels such as websites and mobile apps, letting consumers know how their data is being stored and used by the business. Data breach reporting is another crucial part of CCPA compliance, as you’re required to maintain roles and responsibilities for data sets as well. Although California was the first state out of the gate with a new compliance ordinance, it’s unlikely that they will be the last. This will introduce the additional complexity of determining where your users are located and tracking their behavior over time to ensure that you’re delivering the correct privacy policies based on their geographic location.

Data governance is not a new concept, but the level to which organizations are now being required to track minute shifts in information is often costly and time-consuming. It’s crucial that you work with a technology services partner who truly understands the requirements of CCPA and GDPR, and stays up-to-date with new legislation as it is introduced to ensure that your compliance is in order. With penalties of $7,500 per intentional violation and $2,500 per unintentional violation, businesses are going to be extremely motivated to become compliant.

You don’t have to look long or hard through the news to find the latest cybersecurity incident — or the terrible press and loss of business that the organization suffers due to their inability to quickly respond to the threat. Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) are actively looking for ways to protect their organization from the devastating effects of ransomware or other malware and trying to find ways to get the business back up and running quickly in the event of an attack. These three incident response tips can help keep your operations from buckling during an extensive incident that involves your data, hardware or software.

Make Sure You Have a Kill Switch

Today’s systems are dynamically interconnected, which can make it exceedingly difficult to segregate out one particular section that has been infected before it can infest the rest of the organization’s digital assets. With forethought and planning, you can create a kill switch that puts a walled garden around IoT devices, different operating systems in your back office, servers and more that will help you protect the remainder of your organization in the event of an incident. Think about what you can break off from your infrastructure that still allows you to marginally function as a business, and create kill switches accordingly. Data loss is one of the most expensive components of a cyber attack, making it crucial to save as much of your data and information structure as possible when a breach occurs.

Segment It to Save It

Segmentation and segregation is a good thing when it comes to networks and applications, but this same concept can also apply to user groups and even vendor management. The concept of “Segment it to save it” is generally constructed around data and networks, but it can easily be expanded to include user access controls and authorizations, vendor management and more. If a particular user group has been compromised, it’s much easier to rebuild a segment than it would be to rebuild your entire organization’s infrastructure. Think beyond the logical and physical implementations of segmentation, and think about everything you could possibly cordon off within your business — including vendors, partners and customer segments.

Invest in Regular Updates to Your Incident Response Playbook

Is your team confident that they know the required steps to protect your organization in the event of a cybersecurity incident? What happens if your cybersecurity expert just happens to be on vacation the week that a massive attack is launched? There are few substitutes for a written incident response playbook that provides you with step-by-step instructions that will help your business regain its footing in the digital world. Simply creating this playbook isn’t enough, you will still need to update it on a regular basis to ensure that you’re taking recent attack types and vectors into consideration as a part of your response and recovery planning. Your incident response playbook should be as dynamic as possible, reflecting today’s realities and offering achievable solutions to salvaging your business operations.

With luck, your business will be in the minority — those organizations that are never hit by a cyber attack. The unfortunate reality is that when a cyber attack hits your organization, it will cost you an average of 50 days to regain full operations of your business. Understanding these various components of incident response and forming your plan before you need it are crucial to ensuring that your organization is protected in the event of an attack.

If your company is still using the Windows 7 operating on your business computers, it’s time to look for a change. That’s because Microsoft is ending support for this popular and reliable operating system that has been popular with companies for years.

On January 14, 2020, Microsoft will stop offering security patches and dates for Windows 7. In the next few months, choosing a new operating system is a time-sensitive issue that should not be left until the last minute.

What Does Microsoft Mean When It Says Windows 7 Is Ending?

That’s not exactly what Microsoft is saying. After January 14, 2020, Windows 7 will continue to operate. However, doing so comes at a considerable risk to your business and employees. The “end of life” description of what’s happening to Windows 7 means that Microsoft will stop all paid and unpaid support.

Microsoft will stop creating and making available important security updates. It will also stop offering new features or design improvements of any type.

More critically is the stoppage of any kind of support for customers having problems with Windows 7. Free support that had been included in licensing agreements has already ended. As of January 2020, any “extended support,” which is Microsoft’s term for paid support and which is currently available, will stop as well.

Why Not Keep Using Windows 7 After the Support and Upgrades End?

Your Windows 7 operating system will continue to operate after support ends. However, your business will be highly susceptible to cyberattacks by those looking to exploit new vulnerabilities using viruses, phishing attempts and other attack vectors. Those vulnerabilities will multiply as your computers will not be protected by the regular patches that Microsoft offers to its customers for operating systems and software.

In addition, you may find that software applications you use on Windows 7 will also not work as well. Many software companies will stop offering upgrades or support for their programs for customers using Windows 7. While some may provide some updates and support after January 2020, those services are unlikely to last very long.

Hardware and peripheral companies are also unlikely to continue to provide updates or compatibility features with an eye on Windows 7. Newer technologies of all types will likely take advantage of newer features and capabilities that were not available in the Windows 7 operating system.

Older versions of operating systems like Windows 7 come with the browser Internet Explorer embedded. Support for these older versions of Internet Explorer will also cease in January 2020. Microsoft urges customers using Internet Explorer to upgrade to IE 11.

Hackers are well aware of the January 14, 2020, deadline and are apt to look to businesses still using Windows 7 as prime targets for their attacks.

What If We Use a Windows Embedded 7 Product?

Support for certain versions of Windows Embedded 7 end in October 2020, April 2021 and October 2021. More information about these cutoffs can be found here.

Can I Activate Windows 7 After the Cutoff Date?

If you still want to activate a purchased version of Windows 7, you may do so up to and after the January 2020 date. Just remember that a newly activated version will still be vulnerable to malware and virus and will not receive Microsoft support or upgrades.

What Are My Options for Replacing Windows 7?

Microsoft is understandably encouraging current Windows 7 customers to upgrade to Windows 10, its flagship operating system product. It is also encouraging customers to buy new computers with Windows 10 installed, as older computers may not have the minimum requirements to support Windows 10 and optimize its performance.

If you purchase Microsoft 365 Business, a cloud-based version of the popular suite of Microsoft Office Apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote. Microsoft 365 Business buyers get a free upgrade if they are currently using a Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 Pro license. Microsoft 365 Business owners can also upgrade all old Windows Pro licensed device at no additional cost.

What If I Need More Time to Upgrade from Windows 7?

If you use Windows 7 Professional or Windows 7 Enterprise, you can buy Extended Security Updates through January 2023. Those upgrades became available for purchase on April 1, 2019. For more information on this option, please contact Microsoft directly as there are specific technical and product guidelines regarding eligibility.

Understanding the options and risks when it comes to Microsoft’s cessation of Windows 7 support and updates helps your company make an informed decision.