WESTLAW UK STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES YOUR STUDENT REP PACK
INTRODUCTION Welcome to your role as a Westlaw UK Student Representative. You’ll play a vital part in helping students get the best possible results from Westlaw UK and in turn, their studies. Before you start, have a think about what tactics you’ll use. PEOPLE Think about your audience, who you’re targeting and how different students might respond to different messages and channels. OBJECTIVES Think about your goals: to raise awareness, increase usage, help students with any legal research problems and get them certified in Westlaw UK.
postgraduate students might be looking for scenario training, whilst 1st years might be looking for an introduction. • Focus on benefits rather than features. Rather than ‘Westlaw UK is an unbeatable library of legal information’, try ‘Save hours of time finding the information you need’, or ‘Win the Mooting competition’, or ‘Prepare for practice by using the tools of legal professionals’. • Always include a call to action. People respond to simple messages they can act on. A simple email or Facebook post with the message ‘Join me now and sign up to a clinic’ will get a better response than one with acres of text with no call to action.
• Email. Send compelling emails out to your law student email list. Your faculty or librarian may help you do this. • Personal contact. Be seen on campus, announce clinics at lecturers, go to the law society events. • Social media. Your Facebook page will give you a regular channel to everyone who’s liked it. • PR. Endorsement and announcement of your clinics by lecturers, staff and societies will give you better attendance. • Events. Whether your own clinics, fresher’s and law fairs, or law balls, events are the key way to maintain interest.
• Your Unique Selling Point. What’s the one killer thing that you and Westlaw UK can offer students?
MEASURING YOUR SUCCESS
MESSAGING
YOUR PROMOTIONAL MIX
Keep an eye on how you’re doing, set yourself targets and try to beat the other reps!
What will you say to encourage students to use Westlaw UK and come to your clinics?
What tactics will you use? The more active you are in promoting your role, the more success you will see!
• Number of unique visitors to your clinics
• One size doesn’t fit all. Understand who you’re targeting and tailor your message to different groups. For example, 2nd years, 3rd years and
• Advertising. Posters and flyers where law students will see them. Can you post a notice on the intranet, or elsewhere?
• Number of likes on your Facebook page
• Number of enquires you’ve dealt with
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FACEBOOK GUIDELINES An important part of your promotional mix. Naming your page: So that other students can easily locate your page, it’s useful to include the term Legal Research Group in the name of your page, followed by the name of your university, eg. Legal Research Group, University of ... Naming Guidelines: Due to recent company policy changes, please don’t use Westlaw, Westlaw UK or Thomson Reuters in the name of your page. Tips for increasing engagement and activity on your page: • Post frequently • Keep it relevant & fun • Use a mix of social media and other mediums, eg. Use email to offer a prize for liking your Facebook page, use Facebook to encourage usage of Westlaw. • Highlight/feature interesting/eccentric cases • Announce competitions • Post content that’s different to what you cover in clinics • Post images and videos • Use #FutureLegalLegends Tell us your Facebook page address and we’ll feature it on your business card.
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TRIED AND TESTED MARKETING Previous Student Reps have put in the work, seeing what’s worked and what hasn’t been so successful, so that you don’t have to. Here, they share their stories for getting higher attendance to clinics and more students using Westlaw UK: •
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Not many students on campus in the lead-up to exams? Find alternative ways to connect: “We ran online drop-ins over email and Facebook. This was in response to the fact that many students are no longer living near campus and the library is closing. I believe that this has been fairly successful in preventing a larger drop in numbers engaging with Westlaw UK and we hope that next year this emphasised online availability could be continued alongside the usual drop ins” Rebecca Tatlow & Vicci Simon, University of Birmingham Integrate scenario training and commercial awareness knowledge into your clinics for students attending interviews for placements: “I was very excited for this student as he had made his final stage of his placement interview... I was happy to help with my experience in interviews and we were able to go through the commercial acumen guide together. I made him aware that current awareness of legal issues regarding the law firm in particular and having knowledge of top business stories would be of an advantage. I also mentioned how he could say in the interview how he knows how to use Westlaw legal database to search cases, legislation, journal articles quickly and efficiently” - Kia Butterfield, University of Law Leeds Tailor your training to students working on particular practice areas: “I found out that Accounting and Finance modules take a Business Law module where they are required to use Westlaw UK. I contacted the lecturer taking the modules and told him about my role. He was interested in me running a session for accounting and finance students, and so I attended two lectures
and told them about my role as the Westlaw UK Student Representative and the clinic I would be running for them. As a result, I’ve had multiple students contact me with interest in attending the clinic” - Sophie Turner, University of Surrey •
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Take a leaf from the content marketing toolkit and use the free content available as a value-add for your students: “Last term I’d informed students of the free PDF of Nutshells chapters that were available - this week a friend asked me whether they could be sent a few of them. This prompted me to send an email blast out to all students to remind them of the availability of the revision materials, as exams are coming up next month. This was really successful! - Over a dozen students have been in contact to ask for the chapters and other revision help” - Alexandra Hague, University of Law Manchester Advertise your clinics in prominent areas: “The university library has television screens dotted about on the ground floor. The librarian, following the success of the most recent certification sessions, has included my picture with information about my drop-in sessions so that it appears on the screens at regular intervals” - Mitchell Durant, University of Portsmouth Take advantage of technology, keep everything online and use Google Docs to enable sign ups to clinics: “I mainly promoted the Westlaw UK demo sessions... The sign up form was a Google doc form which I felt was flexible, easy to use, and allowed me to collect the emails and academic year of everyone. I also made sure to put my drop in clinic hours on the sign up form, as well as a link to my Facebook page to
direct traffic there. I made sure to send out confirmation emails to everyone who signed up, as well as reminder emails the day before the sessions” - Pearlene Han, Leeds University •
Prize draws drive traffic to your Facebook page if you ask students to comment on posts as a requirement to enter: “The real success was requiring them to comment on a post to participate in the prize draw because it has obviously shown up on their friends’ newsfeeds and I have had traffic on the page of over 900 people and 50 participants!” - Luisa Farmer, University of Nottingham
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Connect with other societies that utilise legal research: “I’ve started to build links with the Mooting Society and Bar Society by announcing and advertising the mooting packs which are being published. I’ve also got both societies signed up to practical guidance and training delivered by me in regard to the way they prepare their legal arguments using Westlaw UK - this will follow the format of the guide, with added hints and tips” - Liam Green, University of Sheffield
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Keep an eye on the weekly Student Representative Newsletter. It’s full of useful advice and success stories from other Student Reps.
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FUTURE LEGAL LEGENDS We’re running a campaign to say here’s to you - you are the legal industry’s next bright stars, leaders and legends. We understand the challenges, trials and copious amounts of reading that make up a law degree. Legal legends don’t come into the world already wearing a wig. The people behind the cases, the legislation, the ideas, the precedents, the myths and the legends that are critical to learning about the law were once just like you. They went to the same universities as you. They sat in the same chairs as you. They committed themselves mentally and physically, just like you. And who’s to say you won’t be next? Law school gives you the chance to put yourself amongst the luminaries of the past and the opportunity to one day write your name in the pantheon of legends. So while you’re working your guts out, we’ll be right here, giving you insight and advice from some of the UK’s top legal professionals and current students as well as various tips, tricks and prizes to help you ace your degree. Help us strengthen your community by sharing ideas, stories and content through the hashtag, #FutureLegalLegends. Be social, contribute and encourage your students to share their stories too. Want to do an Instagram takeover or write a blog post for us? Get in touch.
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POSTERS AND FLYERS ON THE TOOLKIT There are also a number of resources available on the Student Rep Toolkit. There are posters to draw attention to yourself if you’re available in the library, law fair or clinic. There are also posters you can put up where law students will see them, to advertise when and where your clinics will be. Electronic versions of your advanced guides are also available on the Toolkit for your reference.
We’ll also give you your own poster advertising that you’re the Westlaw UK Student Rep that you can use at fairs for extra promotional support. We’ve also produced a selection of short films with a panel of legal experts on getting a job in the legal profession and preparing yourself for practice. These can be viewed on the uklawstudent website here: uklawstudent.thomsonreuters.com/category/videos/ and would be a great complement to the content you already provide in your clinics. Don’t forget to utilise the Westlaw UK Mooting Guide. If you’d like copies, let us know!
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STUDENT USER GUIDES WESTLAW UK STUDENT USER GUIDES These are wiro-bound with tabs, designed to look the part and last a long time. Librarians can order guides over the summer and we send them out in September.
Note: This is the only item that arrives with your librarian rather than you – so you may need to pester to get your hands on some! If your librarian didn’t order any, get in touch and we’ll send some to you instead.
GIVE-AWAYS FOR CLINICS These are the items you can use as give-aways. Always try to get something in return for handing them out. For example, you might use them as part of your enticements to get students along to clinics. Make sure you ration to last!
You could also put together ‘packs’ using the bags included (ask your librarian for spare Student User Guides to include too).
ITEM NAME
QUANTITY
Westlaw UK Pen
40
Westlaw UK Key ring
40
Westlaw UK Sticky notes
50
Westlaw UK Tote bag
40
Westlaw UK Sports bottle
25
Westlaw UK A5 notebook
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TIPS FOR USING YOUR PACK • Make it last – ration the items so that they last as you’ll need them throughout the year
• Use the merchandise to encourage attendance at your clinics – ‘come along and get free stationery’!
• You can also print posters and notices from the Student Rep Toolkit – your librarian will usually be happy to oblige
• If you have table days or law fairs, ask your librarian for some Student User Guides to take along, get in touch if your librarian has none spare. Only take a
portion of your give-aways along – you don’t want to use up too much on this! • Post ideas in the Westlaw UK Student Reps Group on Facebook – what you’ve done, what’s worked, any ideas you have
PRIZES FOR COMPETITONS You only get 10 Westlaw UK chalk mugs – so use them as prizes rather than giveaways! You might do a simple prize draw contest, or something more interesting with 2nd and 3rd place prizes. You could put together ‘Prize Packs’ using one each of the give-aways in the Westlaw UK tote bags. Don’t use them all up at once though...
JUST FOR YOU To give you extra visibility we’ll send you: • A Westlaw UK hoody • Stock of personalised Business Cards WLUK STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES YOUR STUDENT REP PACK | 8