Chris Brogan (NY Times bestselling author) recently interviewed my colleague, Mitch Jackson (CA Trial Lawyer of the Year) about how to communicate effectively, make an impact, and close deals.

Here's what Mitch had to say about the experience:

One of my favorite business books is entitled, “Trust Agents” by New York Times Bestselling authors Chris Brogan and Julien Smith. Several of Chris’ other books include The Impact Equation (also co-authored with Julien), Social Media 101, and Google Plus for Business.

I first became acquainted with Chris via his business development articles regularly featured in Forbes, The Boston Globe, Success, and USA Today. Many of you may know him from his appearances on TV shows like The Dr Phil Show.

When Chris asked if we could chat about some of the ideas found in my new communication tips blog, I couldn’t resist. I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did.

Click here to go to the interview.

Samantha Miller, Vice President of Product, Web Visibility Solutions at LexisNexis, wrote an important piece back in November about the importance of optimizing your firm's website for mobile users.  Here is an excerpt. Read it at the source, here.

Have you ever tried to navigate a website with your mobile phone or pad, when that site was NOT optimized for mobile devices?

The text is too small and the images are too large. There is way too much content and that material is basically unreadable. Pictures are not sized or placed properly. If you can even find the scroll bar or tabs, you have to keep swiping. And forget about trying to find any contact info.    

In short, the website looks and feels terrible.

If you are a consumer in urgent need of legal information or actually need to find an attorney, you're moving on to another firm's site.

At LegalTechNY, Steve Mann, chief marketing officer of the Research & Litigation Solutions business at LexisNexis, posed this question: If we have passed the tipping point for firms to use social media, why are so many firms reluctant to dive in?

There is a "killer app" that will greatly improve the likelihood that potential clients will find you in a Google search.  Research confirms that it is online video, and many lawyers have gotten the message. Just pay a visit to the LawyersDotCom channel you YouTube and check out the 500+ lawyer videos.

Video is the No. 1 reason that people go online, according to Pew Internet Research.  Clients and potential clients would rather watch to a two-minute verbal explanation than read a two-page article. "I don't want anything on paper. I don't have an in-box; if I did everything in it would go into trash. I want something that will catch my eye in 30 seconds or less, certainly not a long block of text. I'm more likely to look at a video," said MeMe Rasmussen, VP and Chief Privacy officer of Adobe Systems Inc.

Consider this:

• More than 4 billion videos are viewed on YouTube every day.
• Video is the easiest way to a first-page ranking on Google. A website with video is 53 times more likely to be found on the first page of Google compared with a website without video, according to Forrester.
• Statistics show that having a video on your law firm website increases the chances that a potential client will retain you, and increases the time a visitor spends on your website.

Therefore it is surprising that only 51% of lawyers in firms of 1-5 lawyers say they plan to use video in their online marketing, according to a LexisNexis/Vizibility survey of law firm use of social media. The lack of video on your law firm website is a marketing mistake.

"Lawyers should develop an introductory video that showcases their personality as well as expertise. Post the video on the Web, including YouTube. Our studies have shown that a well-produced video can be a primary factor in a consumer's decision to contact a firm," says my colleague Craig McGuire, Product Marketing Manager, Websites/SEO/SEM at LexisNexis.

A small firm that is harnessing video effectively is Tully Rinckey of Albany, New York.  The firm's videos have been viewed more than 140,000 times - an outstanding result for a law firm. Many are clips from TV news reports in which a station interviewed a lawyer for comment about current events. Chief Marketing Officer Graig Cortelyou has cultivated good relations with local TV producers who give him these videos for free.  The 33-lawyer firm also displays a video on its home page.

Tips for a good video

Recording a video is easy and can be done right in your office. An experienced videographer will have the camcorder, lights and lavaliere microphones that are required. I recommend that you do not write a script and read it word-for-word from a teleprompter. All you need are a set of bullet points to follow, as you would use when making a presentation.

Click Here for Information on LexisNexis® Personal Video Production

To create a video that generates new business, follow these tips:

• Don't talk about yourself. Clients are more interested in their legal issue than your credentials. Instead, talk about the problems you solve for clients.
• Keep your video short: 2-3 minutes tops. Any longer and you'll lose your viewers.
• Get to the point in 8 seconds or else viewers will move on.
• The more light the better. Do not rely on sunlight or office light, which will produce dark and off-color videos.   
• Move when you speak, because video is designed to capture action. Most lawyer videos show someone sitting at a desk, which is boring. Try standing up and gesturing when you speak, which is how you talk to people in person.
• Mind the background. What is seen behind you makes a big difference. Do not sit in front of your office window or a lamp, which will put your face into a shadow. There should be no distracting cars or people moving in the background. Get rid of the clutter too.

One thing is clear: video is the future of law firm marketing. Adding video to your website is like getting an audition with a potential client. Don't delay in bringing your website up to date. 

This is an interesting post by Brian Farrell, one of LexisNexis' Law Marketing Specialists, that includes helpful information to get you ranked higher in your name's search results.

If you Google the name Brian Farrell, you'll find a lot of "us." There's Brian Farrell the Artist, Brian Farrell the Doctor, Brian Farrell the Lawyer, Brian Farrell the Harvard Professor and Brian Farrell the Irish Footballer. And then, there's me, and many, many others.

Among all of these other Brian Farrells, it's critical to me that my name appears at the top of search results. Not an easy task when competing against professional athletes and distinguished Ivy League professors! I've spend a lot of time working on this, and so should you. You want potential clients to find you, not the person with an identical name who lives halfway across the country. And while "Brian" and "Farrell" are both relatively common names, even attorneys with more unusual names may share those with others.

So how do you set yourself apart online from those with names exactly, or almost exactly, like yours? It will take some research and a small investment, but the results will help secure your online identity.

First, buy your name as a domain name, and then grab your Twitter handle. Next, customize your Facebook URL and your LinkedIn profile URL (replacing the random string of numbers with your own name). If you haven't done this already, you may find that the obvious ones have already been taken, particularly websites that end with the .com extension or @YourName on Twitter. If that's the case, try to snatch up domain names that end with .net, .name or .me as an alternative. You should consider taking www.YourNameSucks.com while you are at it, as a preventative measure. Many of these will be free, such as LinkedIn and Twitter, but you will have to pay for domain names. However, the fees are nominal, and once you "own" them, they are yours as long as you keep renewing them.

There are also free services, such as www.knowem.com, that will help you identify different extensions and domain name availability, as well as searching the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office database.

If you find that the obvious names have been taken, you will need to consider Plan B, or even Plan C. For example, seek out domain names that include your middle initial or your full name with your practice area or location (but don't use your city or state if you don't plan to practice there a long time), such as www.JohnDoeLawyer.com.

Throughout all of your social media activity, remember to abide by the rules of the state bars where you practice. And stay up to date on rulings and ethics opinions, since this is an area that is quickly changing.

Next, figure out which of these names you want to use to market yourself. You don't need to create a website for each of the URLs you secure — you just want to make sure no one else uses them. You can always redirect your chosen URL to your Lawyers.com^SM profile, too. Once you have settled on one URL, Twitter handle, personalized LinkedIn page and business Facebook profile, be sure to use those consistently to brand yourself.   

Read original post here.

THE BIG PAY-OFF OF PAID SEARCH: How to Generate More High-Quality Leads for Your Law Firm

Register Here.

Date and time: Wednesday, March 6, 2013 12:30 pm EST

For the first time ever, in 2012 US online advertising spending exceeded the total amount spent on print magazines and newspapers, and is projected to eclipse television advertising by 2016.* 

Why?

Today, not only are there more than 3 billion searches every day on Google, but search advertising is also now extending to the millions of users and their searches on more channels, from Facebook to YouTube to thousands of high-traffic websites. 

Paid Search Marketing, or online advertising, can deliver an amazing return on investment and generate more, higher quality leads. However, not properly applied, paid search can also be an expensive, ineffective drain on your marketing. This complimentary one-hour webinar will demystify paid search for solo practitioners and small law firms, with answers to such questions as:

-What is paid search and how can it drive more, higher quality leads for my firm? 
-What are the different channels (Google PPC, YouTube, Social Media Marketing, Website Advertising, etc.)
-Where can I effectively integrate paid search with my other marketing tactics?
-What is a Google Adwords Partner and how can they help me be more effective with PPC?

The presentation will be delivered by Jason Weingarten, LexisNexis Product Manager and a Google Adwords Certified Professional. Jason will be joined by Eli Romberg, Strategic Partner Manager, Legal Channel Sales team for North America, Google, who will provide an overview of how a Google Adwords Partner can help generate more visibility and business for your firm.


About Your Presenters:

Jason Weingarten, Product Manager for LexisNexis® Law Firm Marketing Solutions

Jason Weingarten is currently a Product Manager for LexisNexis Website Marketing Solutions. He began working for LexisNexis in early 2011 and has focused his time expanding the social media services offered by LexisNexis as well as working closely on expanding the Pay-Per-Click product. Before LexisNexis, Jason spent many years working in Financial Services, marketing credit cards and other financial services products. 

Eli Romberg, Strategic Partner Manager, Legal Channel Sales team for North America, Google

Eli Romberg has over five years of experience in online advertising and possesses an innate passion for internet technologies and digital solutions. He is responsible for providing legal partners with scalable business solutions to further develop law firm advertising strategies. He shares in-depth market analysis and has helped both partners and advertisers maximize their investment with Google AdWords. Romberg graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem with a degree in Business Management and Communications. He currently resides in San Jose, CA.

*Source: eMarketer, Jan. 2012