Lawyers.com Editor in Chief : Larry Bodine Law Marketing Blog : Law firm marketing, legal marketing, attorney marketing, business development, sales training, practice development, training, marketing consultant, legal consultant, individual lawyer coaching, business development, client team, practice development, business development, law firm coach

The LexisNexis Law Marketing Blog quoted me and included a clip from the recent LegalTech New York 2013 panel.  Below is a snippet, but you may view the original blog post here.

At our LegalTech New York 2013 panel — "Taming the Wild West of Social Media: The Secrets of Social Media Success in the Legal Profession" — Steve Mann (chief marketing officer of the Research & Litigation Solutions business at LexisNexis) noted that career development remains the leading purpose for legal professionals to use online communities (cited by 71 percent in 2011 and 72 percent in 2012). However, the ABA study found that the number of professionals who used online communities for purposes of client development actually dropped last year (from 53 percent in 2011 to 42 percent in 2012).

The panelists addressed this trend and offered thoughts as to how law firms can use online communities to support business development.

"I can see why career development and professional networking are increasing in popularity because social media lubricates professional networking," said Larry Bodine, Esq., editor in chief of Lawyers.com^SM and martindale.com®. "One of the ways attorneys can convert this networking benefit into a client development strategy is to use social media to get to know people online and then turn that into an in-person meeting."

The LexisNexis Law Marketing Blog quoted me and included a clip from the recent LegalTech New York 2013 panel.  Below is a snippet, but you may view the original blog post here.

At our LegalTech New York 2013 panel — "Taming the Wild West of Social Media: The Secrets of Social Media Success in the Legal Profession" — Steve Mann (chief marketing officer of the Research & Litigation Solutions business at LexisNexis) noted that career development remains the leading purpose for legal professionals to use online communities (cited by 71 percent in 2011 and 72 percent in 2012). However, the ABA study found that the number of professionals who used online communities for purposes of client development actually dropped last year (from 53 percent in 2011 to 42 percent in 2012).

The panelists addressed this trend and offered thoughts as to how law firms can use online communities to support business development.

"I can see why career development and professional networking are increasing in popularity because social media lubricates professional networking," said Larry Bodine, Esq., editor in chief of Lawyers.com^SM and martindale.com®. "One of the ways attorneys can convert this networking benefit into a client development strategy is to use social media to get to know people online and then turn that into an in-person meeting."

Colleague Stephen Fairley at The Rainmaker Institute, offers 5 ways to bring more traffic to your website.

Attracting more visitors to your website allows you to engage more with current and potential clients, which can result in a boost to your bottom line. Use these tactics to create more traffic for your website:

Fresh content – too many companies create websites and then let them languish. You need to add fresh content regularly to not only give people a reason to return to your site, but also to attract search engines, which love fresh content! 

Add video – video clips add interest and a new dimension to your site, and current research shows that sites with video convert more browsers into buyers. Address a problem that your clients have or discuss whatever is of relevance to your target market, and then post it to your site and YouTube for even more views.

SEO – search engine optimization (SEO) is critical to any website. You need to be sure you have included the right keywords that prospective customers use to search for what you sell. If you don’t know anything about SEO, consider hiring a company that specializes in it to boost your rankings and viewership.

Publish – publishing online articles and press releases can help drive traffic to your site. There are a number of web sites that will publish your articles and press releases for free; just be sure to add a link to your site at the end of each piece you publish.

Comment – identify the top blogs in your industry, visit them and comment on relevant posts. This is not a forum for you to sell directly, but indirectly by adding a link to your site or a relevant blog post with your commentary.  

Read more here.

Jay Butchko, Director of Retention and Aquisition Web Visibility Solutions for LexisNexis, offers some New Year's resolution ideas for the law marketer.  Below is one such idea.

Stale content and broken links will frustrate your visitors and negatively impact their perceptions of your ability to practice law.

Kick off 2013 the right way by scouring your website, refreshing content and updating bios.

Consider adding different types of content, especially video. Does your content accurately reflect the latest guidance in the area of law you practice? A polished, professional website with fresh content will be rewarded by search engines and site visitors alike.

Areas of Focus While Refreshing Your Website

As you update your website, remember the content needs to be engaging and deliver the right information to (1) increase your online visibility to attract quality traffic and (2) help turn casual visitors into profitable prospective clients who request consultations.

How can you do that?

• Provide engaging, unique content (your take on your practice-specific topics not found anywhere else on the Web) to connect with visitors and drive them to contact you.
• Prominently display contact information (phone number and quick contact email form on every page of your site), with an offer of a free consultation.
• Make it easy for visitors to grasp key details without having to read every word. Use headlines/headers to break up the content sections on your site, especially on your homepage. Cleary communicate the area of law you practice.
• Make content informative and keyword-rich (use terms consumers use when searching for info on the areas of law you practice).
• Demonstrate experience and provide past results, testimonials and video.

In the coming weeks, follow me and Amy Kaplan, Director of Product Management for Advertising & Profile Services at LexisNexis® Martindale-Hubbell®, as we provide online marketing strategies and tactics that can help generate results for your law firm in the New Year. If you'd like to jump ahead, feel free to download our recent paper. Or if you prefer, download the free recording of the companion webinar Amy and I recently co-hosted.

Read article at original posting site here.

I will admit, I was intrigued by the title of Craig McGuire's most recent posting: "What Do Beer and Chocolate Have to Do with Law Firm Marketing?"  Read his article below to find out the connection.

How do consumers find law firms online?

Understanding consumer behavior can give you an advantage when planning your law firm's online marketing.

For instance, one in three U.S. consumers responding to a recent survey reported that they would rather give up television than be deprived of their smartphones.¹

Moreover, 43 percent of surveyed consumers said that they would be willing to give up beer for a month if it meant they could keep accessing the Internet on their smartphones. And, 36 percent of survey participants stated that they'd be willing to give up chocolate.¹ Here are some more findings from the survey:

• 62 percent have used their smartphones every day in the past seven days
• 80 percent do not leave home without their device
• 66 percent access the Internet from their smartphone every day

Why a Mobile Strategy is Essential for Law Firm Marketing

By 2015, for the first time ever, more U.S. consumers will be accessing the Internet through mobile devices than through PCs.²

Smartphones are rapidly becoming an indispensable part our lives. But what does this mean for your law firm's marketing?

Have you ever visited a website on your smartphone that WAS NOT optimized for mobile viewing, where it was nearly impossible to read and navigate, let alone find contact information? Then you would know how unlikely mobile users are to actually turn into leads after such an experience.    

To remain competitive and generate a healthy stream of leads, you need to ensure your law firm's website and profiles are easily found with a mobile optimized website, to be accessed and utilized around the clock by mobile device users.

And whatever marketing channels you leverage for 2013, make sure there is a mobile component, or you will be neglecting a key segment of your target audience.

Is your law firm positioned to tap into this wave of mobile activity? Find out by requesting a free Law Firm Website Evaluation and Consultation: Contact a LexisNexis Law Firm Marketing Specialist.

¹ "Our Mobile Planet: United States," Google/Ipsos OTX MediaCT, May 2012

² "International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide New Media Market Model," IDC, Oct. 2012 

Craig McGuire is Product Marketing Manager, LexisNexis^® Web Visibility Solutions (Websites/SEO/Social Media), solutions that enable solo practitioners and lawyers at small law firms to establish a successful, comprehensive, and manageable web and social media presence.

This post is an interesting one by guest author Anthony Caccamo. 

Google Business Photos is a New Premium Product from Google that will help you market and advertise your Law Firm online and maximize your presence on Google Products.

Google Business Photos uses Street View Technology to take clients inside your Law Office with a 360 degree interactive Virtual Tour.  The Virtual Tour is made available to users through your Google+ Local Page, Google Search, and Google Maps.  You may also grab the code and embed the tour on your Law Firm's website.

This new technology from Google allows customers to see where they'll be sitting when they speak to attorneys in your office.  It is a unique way to give clients the security and comfort that comes with knowing their surroundings before their first visit to your office.

In addition to the Virtual Tour the service also includes 10-15 high resolution professional photographs.  These images capture the highlights of your business location and any special nuances that add to the ambiance of your office.

Google Business Photos helps maximize your presence across all Google Products including Google+ Local, Google Maps, and Google Search by adding new graphics and icons to these services that are designed to encourage users to take a virtual tour of your location.  Encouraging interactivity through Google engages prospective clients and can increase the probability of them clicking on your search listing and making it to your website.

With the Majority of all internet searches occurring on Google, most clients will first learn of your firm through a Google product.  Google Business Photos allows law firms to put their best foot forward and invite clients in for an intimate look around the office.

Black Paw Photo provides Google Business Photos directly in NY, NJ, CT, & PA and works with a network of photographers to provide coverage across the U.S.A. and Canada.

For more information about Google Business Photos, please contact Black Paw Photo at http://www.insidebusinessnyc.com/law.

Take a Virtual Tour of Frank Marciano's Law Firm in Hoboken New Jersey:

View Larger Map 

You can see how the virtual tour integrates with a Google+ Page by visiting Frank Marciano's page here. For even more information, view this video from Google Business Photos.

There's a nifty new guide you can download, Twitter for Small Business - a Guide to Get Started -- published by of all organizations, Twitter itself. It's a free 21-page guide that is useful for novices as well as veteran users.

Here are some highlights:

• Listen first. It's tempting to start tweeting right away. But before you begin, it's a good idea to follow and observe businesses similar to yours to see what they are doing well, and to learn from their mistakes.
• Offer your readers something. Tweet about a fermium they can get, like a white paper, webinar recording or checklist.
• Use @username mentions. Include the @username of whomever you want to mention in your tweet, and it will appear in the mentions sections.  All @username mentions are clickable an link to the person's profile.
• Be responsive. Reply to tweets and send tweets thanking others for their re-tweets.
• Tweet at least once a day.
• If you a running a promotion, plan our your tweets over a week's time. Decide what point or discount you'll offer each day and make them appear to be part of an overall campaign.
• Use the question+answer technique. For example: "What are the top ten things to do after you are in an auto accident? Answer: link to a blog post about the subject."
• Share photos and videos in your tweets, because it increases the likelihood they will be retweeted.

 And be sure to put your @username in your web bio, your blog and Lawyers.com profile. You can click Twitter for Small Business to download the free guide.

Hubspot just issued a set of PowerPoint slides with some fresh data about getting business online. You can access the PowerPoint of all 10 New Statistics by clicking here.

These in particular caught my eye:

• Email opens on smartphones and tablets have increased 80% over the last six months.

• 20% of Facebook users have purchased something because of ads or comments they saw there.

• YouTube users watch more than 3 billion hours of video per month.

 

• 91% of online adults use social media regularly.

 

• 38% of people have recommended a brand they “like” or follow on a social network.

 

• 45% of us businesses are conducting some form of mobile marketing, with mobile websites (70%), mobile applications (55%), and QR codes (49%) the most common tactics.

 

Marketing Takeaways

The best source of new business will always be in-person relationship marketing, but there is clearly a huge business development conversation taking place online. You can be part of it, or ignore it and miss all the new business.

The time has come to focus on how your brand and marketing appear on smart phones and tablets. Smartphones are outselling computers and you need to be concerned how your web presence appears on a smaller screen. If you don't have a mobi-friendly website, you need one right away.

Social media is clearly a source of new business.  Just read Survey: Law Firms Embrace Social Media for New Business if you have any doubts. I attended a panel discussion of CMOs last week in Chicago at the LegalPRChicago meeting, and each one had a serious social media marketing initiative.

I'll see you online.

Here’s a guest blog post by Gere Jordan, a business development associate at Continental Message Solution, a nationwide contact center and provider of attorney answering services. Learn more at http://www.continentalmessage.com.

Google’s online phone service Google Voice is a great free tool for use in legal marketing campaigns.

With ad dollars tied up in a variety of marketing initiatives, it’s important to have an affordable way to track and close incoming referrals. Google Voice provides a free local telephone number, voicemail transcription, free text messages, and a variety of other features that make it an awesome marketing tool.

Getting started

To get started, simply travel to voice.google.com and sign in with your existing Gmail or Google Account. If you don’t have a Google Account, sign up for one. Once you’re logged in you’ll be prompted to choose your free telephone number.

Tracking leads

After you have your free number placed in a marketing campaign, you’ll need to track incoming leads. Google Voice’s history feature makes this easy. When you’re logged into the dashboard, select “history” from the menu on the left in order to view all of the calls and text messages sent to your number.

From the history page, you can leave notes on each message for future follow up, star important messages, or extract the data into a spreadsheet for further analysis.

Making every communication count

A free phone number and tracking functionality is great, but you need to effectively communicate with your leads in order to close them. This is where Google Voice’s call and text forwarding capabilities come into play.

By selecting the gear icon in the upper right and clicking “settings,” you can set and change call forwarding numbers, forward text messages to an email address, and record greetings in the name of your firm or organization.

Recording professional greetings is important, otherwise callers will hear generic Google Voice prompts when they call or reach voicemail. That being said, you should try to answer every call live.

Google Voice allows you to forward calls to multiple numbers at once and update those settings on the fly via their portal. So during the day you can have calls forwarding to your office, then update it after hours to forward to your cell phone or after-hours answering service. This flexibility helps ensure every call reaches a person and not your voicemail.

There you have it! A few simple steps and you’re setup to track and close leads for free.