While the prevalence of fake law firms or lead generation sites in local results has diminished over the years, they still appear regularly.
This has many Local SEO experts annoyed, but also ready to accept the reality.
To help our clients be more successful in Local search, we need to police Google ourselves and make sure to report fake and spammy law firm offices so that they are removed.
Look at these awesome fake businesses ranking for “Fresno Truck Accident Lawyer”.
You would think with Google’s massive resources that they would be able to get a better handle on the spam problem in Google My Business.
While I fully admit I don’t understand the challenges of creating and enforcing such a system, I can see it’s been an on-going problem for many years now.
Also, in my opinion, it’s not getting any better. In fact, many spam listings are replaced as fast as we can submit them to be removed. But since spam networks usually target many markets at the same time, you can see a lot of strong results by cleaning up your own market.
It’s important to accept that Google is not going to do the work for you. Don’t leave it up to Google. Make spam fighting a part of your process and you will rank higher.
Finding fake law firms to report can be tricky. Some unethical marketers will go to great lengths to hide information about their fake businesses. However, for the most part, you can identify them pretty easily.
While tools can make this process a lot easier, this is a manual way you can use without any tools.
If you type in more specific keywords such as truck or motorcycle accident law firm you will these babies rank all day long.
If two or more of these red flags are met, the listing is probably fake. You can of course always read the reviews as well and see if there are red flags in there. The people creating fake listings used to not have reviews which made them even easier to spot.
After you have identified the listing you should go to their website and see if they seem legit.
But now that you found them what should you do?
While there are different ways to go about reporting a business, marking it as spam, etc., I prefer to use Google My Business Business Redressal Complaint Form found here: https://support.google.com/business/contact/business_redressal_form
This form allows you to easily report these businesses. While they may not get to it promptly (think weeks), they usually get taken care of and eventually go down. When this happens you will see a lot of movement in the SERP’s and your law firm will rise!
Honestly, it sucks that regular algorithm updates reward these and it sucks that you have to do it yourself. However, you really need to do this.
This is in line with my general advice of: “Never just leave it up to Google if you can do something about it” – Casey Meraz
Do you report spam? Do you think Google will get better at tackling the problem and they will disappear in 2023?
This guide explains why we always make an intentional effort to increase our client’s Avvo Ratings and generally optimize their presence on Avvo.com.
This guide also contains step-by-step instructions for increasing one’s Avvo rating and details the items that will not increase one’s Avvo rating.
Finally, at the end of the guide we address a few of the most common questions we receive relating to Avvo attorney ratings.
Click the buttons below to jump to the section of the guide that is most relevant to you. Get the info you need, and get back to your day.
Whether you know about it or not, as an attorney, you most likely have a profile on Avvo.com, and consequently, an Avvo Rating.
An Avvo rating is a 1 to 10 score used by Avvo.com – an online directory of lawyers – to rate individual attorneys based on the contents of their Avvo profile. A lawyer whose Avvo profile is fully filled out, and also includes awards, speaking engagements, and recommendations from other attorneys, will have a high Avvo rating.
These ratings are published in Google, Yahoo!, and Bing search results when people search for attorney’s names. The the rating is meant to give insight to consumers who are doing research to find a lawyer.
Here is the range of Avvo ratings and their designation:
| Rating | Designation |
|---|---|
| 10.0 – 9.0 | Superb |
| 8.9 – 8.0 | Excellent |
| 7.9 – 7.0 | Very Good |
| 6.9 – 6.0 | Good |
| 5.9 – 5.0 | Average |
| 4.9 – 4.0 | Concern |
| 3.9 – 3.0 | Caution |
| 2.9 – 2.0 | Strong Caution |
| 1.9 – 1.0 | Extreme Caution |
Many attorneys we work with have the opinion that Avvo’s ratings are unreliable. They aren’t wrong.
We’ve seen many cases where an attorney with an otherwise stellar professional reputation fails to achieve an above average Avvo Rating simply because she never took the time to claim and complete her Avvo profile.
We find this common anecdote problematic as it demonstrates why we and other attorneys believe that the reliability of Avvo’s attorney ratings is, at best, questionable.
What we do also know is that Avvo received $71.5 million in funding in July 2015, and stated explicitly their goal to “increase Avvo brand awareness through continued marketing initiatives”.
Translation: Avvo’s audience is big and getting bigger.
Avvo.com has very strong organic search rankings in Google for commercial keywords…
…and for branded keywords (attorney names):
Imagine that someone is researching you online, potentially to decide whether to contact or hire you, and the first thing they see is this:
Needless to say, that’s a bad first impression.
We believe that it’s important for attorneys to work toward a high Avvo Rating because it prevents a questionable rating system from making them look bad to a lot of people.
A high Avvo Rating will help you to rank well in the top Avvo results for your city + practice area descriptor, which could result in an increase in contacts from potential customers:
Note: The three results you see at the top of the result page are paid advertisements, similar to a Google search result. Based on our testing of Avvo advertising over the years, we don’t recommend that you pay to advertise your services on Avvo at this time. Also, you will NOT get a rating increase by purchasing Avvo ads.
According to Avvo.com:
The Avvo Rating is calculated using a mathematical algorithm that evaluates the information in your profile. If it’s not in your profile, then we don’t know about it, and if we don’t know about it, then we can’t give you credit for it. Adding relevant information (the more current, the better) to your profile can translate into points toward your rating.
Over the past five years I have helped many attorneys improve their Avvo Rating. Here, I’d like to share my insights into what works, and what doesn’t, for increasing an Avvo Rating.
While there is no guarantee that Avvo won’t change their algorithm in the future, I have never seen an attorney’s Avvo Rating decrease, with the exception of those who have been disciplined by their state bar.
The first step toward increasing your Avvo rating is to sign up and claim your profile. You can start this process by searching for your name here: Avvo.com/for-lawyers/avvo-profile
Next, click on your name and then click “Claim my profile”.
You will then be directed to the Claim page where you can claim ownership of your profile automatically using either LinkedIn, Email, Facebook, or Phone Number.
Although it may take some time, grab a cup of coffee and fill out your profile to 95%. This means adding information for all of the following items:
To get the last 5% you need to add an Avvo Rating Badge to your website. I don’t recommend doing this, and it will not impact your ability to get to a 10.0 rating.
The practice areas that you use will determine what categories your profile shows up in.
Let’s say that you’re a personal injury lawyer: If you indicate that 100% of your work is car accident related, then you will only show up for car accident searches.
I suggest that you diversify this ratio by getting granular. If you’re a personal injury attorney you’ll want to show up in search results for other more specific practice areas like wrongful death, car accidents, truck accidents, etc. Take the time to determine how your case experience breaks down, and reflect that breakdown accurately:
You can increase your Avvo Rating by a full point if you add additional state bar licenses. Even if it was in the past you should add it (assuming you were not disciplined by the state bar). If you were disciplined by another state bar, adding it would dramatically decrease your score.
Listing your professional work experience is not only essential to completing your profile, but it also will help onlookers understand your areas of specialty.
Pro Tip: Add start and end dates. Be sure to add start and end dates wherever Avvo requests them. This will actually add points to your Avvo rating.
This is another area where Avvo’s rating system falls down, in the opinion of many. Without having some sort of award on your profile, you likely won’t reach a perfect Avvo Rating.
However, the credibility of the awards that impact Avvo ratings the most (Super Lawyers, Million Dollar Advocates, etc.) is something that many of our clients question.
Regardless of credibility, legal awards have a significant positive impact on your Avvo Rating, so add ‘em if you’ve got ‘em.
Pro Tip: Add award dates. Avvo awards point value to each award based on a variety of factors, including date. More recent awards will get you more points than older awards. If you don’t add a date to each award, Avvo will assume the oldest possible date, which results in the minimum amount of points you can receive for that entry.
Adding the details of your most impressive case work is really the best thing you can do to help people understand your qualifications. It is also necessary to continue to increase your Avvo Rating.
List any business or legal associations you can claim. Common examples we see are Million Dollar Advocates, State and County Bar Associations, and the Better Business Bureau.
Be sure to include the association name, position name, and the duration.
Have you written a book? Had a piece published in your local bar journal? Blogged on a popular website or provided an opinion piece on your blog or website? These ought to be listed under the Publications section of your profile.
Adding speaking engagements will moderately increase your Avvo Rating.
What I’ve seen is that you’ll get a +0.1 score increase for every speaking engagement, but you will only get it if you include a link to information about the event on the web.
If the organization for which you spoke does not list your speaking engagement on their website, you could create a press release or recap of the event your own website and link to it. However, in some cases this may not be adequate to get the rating increase. Avvo looks for recognized, authority organizations here so your own website may not qualify.
Getting peer endorsements will raise your Avvo Rating.
Peer Endorsements are votes from your peers that act as a vote of confidence in Avvo’s algorithm. Avvo asks two questions about every peer endorsement:
The options for the first question are:
In my experience, Peer Endorsements indicating “Worked together on a matter” and “Opposing counsel on a matter” will increase the Avvo Rating 3x more than any of the other options.
This does cap-out over time. Usually when you get to the 15-20 endorsement range, additional endorsements do not add additional points to your Avvo Rating. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you should stop going after more peer endorsements after 15, just know they won’t impact your score.
Avvo has a massive legal Q & A forum. When logged into your Avvo profile, you can contribute answers to questions categorized in your practice area. While this can help showcase your expertise, it will not help you increase your Avvo Rating.
Tip: If you do answer a legal question that an attorney has already answered adequately, you could compliment the attorney, say you agree, and you may be able to land yourself a Peer Endorsement.
Legal guides are probably the biggest waste of time of Avvo. Not only do they require a lot of work to publish, there are not a lot of opportunities for that content to get seen due to the volume of duplicate topics and content.
If you go through the effort of creating a legal guide it will have more benefit on your own website or another website where it can rank for the search queries and get you more clients. Legal guides also won’t help you increase your Avvo Rating.
Client reviews are helpful for making you look good but they don’t appear to have an impact on Avvo Rating.
The overall Contribution Level that you see when logged into your profile will not impact your Avvo Rating.
Here are a few questions that I get asked the most often about Avvo Ratings, and my answers.
Yes, we have worked with first year attorneys who have achieved a 10.0 score. This was mainly due to the fact they were well recognized and able to max out the awards and the industry recognition fields.
We have heard of reports where those who went from big law firms to smaller law firms see a slight decrease in points. This is typically a -0.1 to -0.2 drop, so it does not appear to be significant.
At this time I recommend optimizing your Avvo profile but I do NOT recommend the investing in Avvo’s ad platform.
No. Paying for Avvo advertising will not increase your Avvo Rating.
We suggest that you spend some time optimizing your Avvo profile so that you can achieve a high Avvo Rating. This is important primarily because Avvo’s audience is large, and getting larger. Follow the steps laid out in this guide, and your Avvo Rating will become one less item to worry about.
While it’s worth spending some time thinking about your law firm’s domain name, it’s even more important to understand that the best domain name in the world can’t overcome a bad website.
Conversely, a great website full of useful content can overcome a so-so domain name.
Choosing a domain name is not a task that any business should take lightly, and law firms are no exception.
As with all things, the right domain name for your law practice will depend on the specifics of your law practice and your marketing goals.
This guide is comprehensive in the sense that we’ve addressed how legal professionals in a variety of situations should go about choosing their domain name. Enjoy!
Any discussion about domain names ought to begin with the Top Level Domain. The top level domain is the extension that appears at the end of all domains names. The most common TLDs are:
A .com is the TLD of choice for most businesses. However, as the web evolves, and with ICANN’s lifting restrictions on hundreds of new TLDs, it’s becoming more common to see businesses look beyond the .com for their domain name.
The root domain is the part of the domain that is unique to your business. It’s what you will spend the most time thinking about when choosing a domain name for your law firm. The root domain is typically composed of words that represent the business in some way.
Some law firms choose to use a branded domain name (eg. cochranfirm.com), while other use words that describe their area of focus (eg. accidentlaw.com).
Typically, the root domain is the aspect of your law firm domain name that will have the greatest impact on your overall marketing and branding efforts.
All domain names are able to have subdomains added to them. Subdomains are a great solution for creating a separate website without having to buy a new domain. An example of a major website that is hosted on a subdomain is ESPN’s website:
The most common subdomain is technically -www. The subdomain is not something that really needs to be considered when choosing your firm’s root domain name.
It’s important to carefully consider the registrar that you purchase your domain name through. Here’s a list of registrars that tend to have solid reputations:
I register my domains names through GoDaddy. Honestly, it’s for no other reason than theirs is the service and interface I am most comfortable and familiar with. That, plus the fact that I like to keep all my domains in a single location for easier management, and GoDaddy happened to be the first place where I registered a domain.
My suggestion is simply to go with a company you are comfortable with.
Assuming that you’re not going after a “premium” domain name (eg. injurylawyers.com) it’s going to cost you $10 to $20 per year to register your domain name with most of the popular registrars.
Now, if you’re looking at purchasing a domain that is already registered, or you’re looking at bidding on a domain that is up for auction, you’re going to face a greater up-front cost.
As we mentioned at the outset, what ends up being the “right” domain name for your legal practice will largely depend on your firm’s specific circumstances.
For solo-attorney law firms, the domain name decision comes down to whether the attorney wants to brand the practice with her name OR with her area of practice OR some combination of both.
In an attempt to simplify things, let’s break down solo attorney domain name options into four types, and examine the strengths and weaknesses of each:
| Domain Type | Example | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exact name match | andrewflusche.com | Name recognition. Anyone who sees your domain will learn your name. Versatility. Since you’re not indicating any particular practice area with your domain, you’re better suited to address a wider variety areas of law with the site. Reputation management. Particularly if you have a name that is somewhat unique, this domain will rank well for your name in search engines. | Ambiguity. If someone has never heard of you, they won’t be able to glean any insight into your profession by seeing your domain name. Lack of keywords. We know that having keywords in a domain name correlates positively with higher rankings for those keywords. Limited Availability. If you have a common name, it’s likely that you won’t be able to secure the exact match version of the .com domain. |
| Exact name + industry indicator | andrewfluschelaw.com | Same strengths as exact name match domain plus… Keyword value. Having terms industry indicators “law” and “legal” can help the site rank for keywords containing those terms. Availability. Even if you have a common name, you’ll likely be able to buy a domain with some combination of your name + your industry indicator. | Length. If you already have a long name adding “law” or “law firm” or “legal” might make for a long domain name. Lack of keywords. Although you’ve added an industry indicator term, you won’t gain any keyword value for your more specific practice areas. |
| Hybrid name + practice area | fluschetrafficlaw.com | Brand association. This format allows you to associate your name with your area of expertise. Availability. By combining your name with your practice area, you significantly reduce the odds that the domain name is already registered. Keyword value. We know that having keywords in a domain name correlates positively with higher rankings for those keywords. | Length. Combining your name with your practice area could make for a long URL. Reputation management. Since this domain type includes only a portion of your name, it may be more difficult to rank highly in search engines for your name. Memorability. The more complex your domain name becomes, the harder it is to remember. |
| Practice area | virginiatrafficlaw.com | Keyword value. We know that having keywords in a domain name correlates positively with higher rankings for those keywords. Relevance. As a user, if I’m looking for information on Virginia traffic laws, I’m confident that virginiatrafficlaw.com will have the information I need. | Cost. A great practice area domain may come at a premium price. Availability. These domains are typically harder to find because of their perceived SEO value. Branding. This type of domain name does not serve to strengthen your brand name, unless of course your brand name is just your practice area. |
In the end, the type of domain name you choose for your solo practice should be guided by your marketing goals, and your long term business plan.
If you never intend to change the type of law you specialize in, a practice area domain may be the right choice. Alternatively, if your goals involve building a firm that practices in a wide variety of areas, a name match domain may be a better choice.
The most common rebranding scenario that we see from law firms is a situation where a partner is added to the firm, thus changing the firm name.
For example, we recently worked with Kemp, Ruge & Green on a web design project. They were in the process of changing their name from “Kemp & Ruge” to “Kemp, Ruge & Green”, which meant we needed to choose a new domain name.
In this case the choice was easy. The client’s domain was kempruge.com, an exact name match domain. Since adding “green” would not make the domain overly long or complex, we made an easy decision; we added “green” on the end and published the site on kemprugegreen.com.
If your firm is in a similar situation, consider the following before making a decision on your domain name:
The Kemp, Ruge, & Green case study actually presents a compelling argument for a more generic domain name. What if partners come and go? Do you really want to change domains every time someone is added or removed?
One way to get around this is to simply commit to leaving your firm’s name the same regardless of the ownership shares. But, this isn’t always a realistic path.
For firms who anticipate changing their official firm name frequently, we suggest using a domain name that does not feature the firm’s name prominently. This way, when the firm’s name changes, you’re simply updating the content on the site; you don’t actually have to change domains.
The most important thing to understand about changing domains during a rebrand is that you must consider SEO during this process.
If you care about organic search as a lead generation source, the decision to switch domains shouldn’t be taken lightly. It also shouldn’t be executed without the guidance of an experienced SEO professional.
I have written before about the efficacy of publishing “hyper-focus” legal websites (ie. websites decided to providing information on an exclusive topic). If you’re considering publishing a hyper-focus website for a specific area of practice, you’ll need to start by choosing a domain name.
Let’s look at the most important considerations for choosing a domain name for your hyper-focus legal website.
Before diving into this, let’s establish the difference between a law firm website and a personal law blog.
Law firm website: A website with information about an operational law firm. Law firm websites are expressly commercial in nature. While individual attorneys from the firm may contribute content to the law firm website, the site represents the firm as a whole, not simply the ideas and views of a single member of the firm.
Personal law blog: A collection of writings by a lawyer, which may or may not be affiliated with any specific “law firm”. A personal law blog can effectively produce new professional opportunities for an attorney, but it is not expressly commercial in nature.
The right domain name for your personal law blog will, as ever, depend on a variety of factors. Some of the most important factors include:
So, you’re interested in the new .Law TLDs? Let’s have a look at the most important things you should understand before making the decision to invest in one.
Just this past July, Google published a blog post on how they will handle new top level domains (TLDs). Essentially the message is, Google does not give one TLD preference over any other.
Google is in the business of returning the best possible search results to their users. They work hard to build a ranking algorithm that is meritocratic. In general, they strive use authentic quality signals that are hard to manipulate (natural backlinks, social shares, user engagement signals, etc.) in order to rank search results. They do not want to reward a website with high rankings just because the organization behind it was able to purchase an expensive domain name; they want to reward true quality.
We know that having keywords in a domain name can help a website rank for those specific keywords. Accordingly, having the .law in your domain name may help your website’s search engine rankings for some keywords. But, if this is the primary reason for your decision to go with a new .law TLD, you’ll likely be disappointed in the results.
Content marketing involves the creation and sharing of digital assets like blog posts, articles, videos, data visuals, and infographics.
Unlike traditional advertising, content marketing assets do not explicitly promote a brand, but rather, are intended to generate interest in that brand’s products or services.
At Juris Digital we are true believers in the power of content marketing, especially evergreen content marketing.
We help our clients become online authorities in their areas of practice, and drive significant organic search traffic from long tail keywords, by developing evergreen content guides on specific legal topics.
Here I’ve documented the process that we execute to create evergreen content guides for our clients. Hope you find it useful!
ev·er·green con·tent
/ˈevərˌɡrēn kənˈtent/
noun
Here are some examples of evergreen legal topics:
And here are some examples of non-evergreen legal topics:
Both content types have their place in a holistic web marketing strategy to be sure. However, only evergreen content has the ability to drive consistent value, both for your potential clients, and your law firm, in perpetuity.
The first step of this process is to choose the subject matter for your guide. This should not be especially complicated. Start by simply asking:
“What kind of new cases are we trying to generate?”
The key to choosing a choosing an effective subject for your guide is to not be too broad, but also not too narrow. You want to be able create a comprehensive guide without investing hundreds of hours of effort.
For instance, if you choose the subject “personal injury” that’s probably going to be too broad since this subject could potentially encompass so many different elements.
Alternatively, you don’t want to be too narrow with your subject matter. For example, if you choose “how to write an insurance demand letter” as your subject, that wouldn’t really allow you to create sub-topics as a part of a comprehensive guide because it’s so specific.
Instead, try to find a good middle ground. In this case the middle ground subject might be:
“A Victim’s Guide to Navigating the Aftermath of an Auto Accident”
Now that we have our subject matter, it’s time to get know our audience. The best way to achieve this is by creating a realistic persona.
At Juris Digital we ask our clients targeted questions in order to gain an understanding of what problems their actual clients face and how they have helped solve those problems with their services.
Here are the questions we ask our clients in order to construct accurate personas:
Getting these questions answered honestly and thoroughly is absolutely essential to creating a final product that will produce the outcomes you’re looking for.
The answers to the questions above will help guide your topical research. It will also help you with the most critical skill of any good marketer: Empathy
em·pa·thy
/ˈempəTHē/
noun
You may find that the answers to the questions above give you some of the specific topics you ought to use. For example, the attorney may give you several common questions that their clients ask, and you should absolutely use those.
But you’ll also need to develop additional topics outside of what they provide, and that’s where empathy comes here. Below I’ve written out, in stream of consciousness fashion, how this process of empathy plays out in my mind:
As you can see, this process of combining your knowledge of the target persona with your own capacity for empathy can effectively produce your guide topics. From the “empathy” process above you could feasibly derive the following topics:
Now that we’ve used empathy to create a list of topics that we know will be relevant to our target audience, it’s time to get analytical.
Keyword research is necessary to understand the specific phrases that people most frequently search when they are asking the kinds of questions that we brainstormed above.
Knowing the specific keywords we’re targeting allows us not only to optimize for those specific keywords, but also to predict the amount of traffic a given article could feasibly receive if it gets to page one of Google.
What we want to do is map specific keywords to each of our topics. The keyword research process we use here at Juris Digital is simple and powerful, and I’m going to share it with you now.
For this example let’s use the topic “How is fault determined in car accidents?”:
First, head over to Google and just search your topic, in this case, ‘how is fault determined in car accidents’.
Copy the URLs for the top 3-5 ranking pages from the search result, in this case:
And now, it’s time for our secret weapon…
Ahrefs has long been a popular backlink research tool. But their Organic Keyword tool is, in my opinion, their single best product.
Take those top ranking URLs and drop them in Ahrefs, then navigate the to Organic keywords report:
Ahrefs shows you exactly what keyword phrases send the most traffic to this page. Reiterate this process with the other high-ranking URLs in order to select the keyword variants that 1) have the most volume and 2) are the most relevant to your audience.
For this topic, I would identify the following as my primary target keywords variants:
Perform this exercise for each of your topics, and when you’re finished you’ll have a list of keywords, all mapped to specific topics, and you’ll be able to estimate the amount of traffic that each is capable of generating.
At this point we have a list of topics, and we’ve mapped specific target keywords to those topics, and we have the URLs for the top pages that currently perform well for those keywords.
Now, it’s time to actually write our articles. The most important thing to remember here is:
Content that is written by an actual subject matter expert (in this case, an attorney who has experience with auto accident cases) will nearly always out perform content written by a ghost writer.
Furthermore, for lawyers and legal marketers there is a question of ethics: Do you really feel good about publishing information on legal topics that you want your potential clients to read, but not having any hand in the writing of that information?
That being said, there are ways to leverage someone’s expertise without necessarily requiring that they write every word of each article. Here are several options for writing your articles, along with what to consider with each.
Again, content straight from the subject matter expert will perform the best. Having a lawyer who is a subject matter expert write the articles is always the best option.
However, lawyers are busy; it’s not always a practical option.
This is the next best way to get your evergreen content written. Conduct an interview with the subject matter expert, asking her to speak to each of your topics. Record the interview and transcribe it.
(For quick, affordable transcription, we recommend Rev.com).
The major benefit of this method is that it allows you to get some great nuggets of information from the subject matter expert without asking her to spend the time required to write each piece.
The downside is that this method requires substantial editing, structuring, and formatting of the content. Furthermore, you normally won’t get everything you need to publish a coherent article from the interview responses alone.
The third, and what I consider to be the least desirable option, is to use a legal professional ghost writer to write the articles, and then have the subject matter expert review and edit them as necessary.
The major downside here is that ghost writers, no matter how talented, cannot be expected to posses the same intimate knowledge and insight as the subject matter expert, and so, your articles will end up being far less valuable.
Once the articles have been written, it’s finally time to publish. At Juris Digital we normally publish evergreen content guides like this in two formats:
The primary reason to offer the guide as a downloadable PDF is that you can leverage it to collect email addresses and other information from potential customers. The implementation we use for our clients is normally very similar to what you saw at the top of this guide.
For SEO, this is of utmost importance. Each of our articles will be published on it’s own URL, and that page will be optimized for the keywords that we uncovered during the keyword research phase.
In general, evergreen content guides ought to follow a parent / child structure:
Parent page: “The Awesome Law Firm’s Auto Accident Guide”
URL: www.awesomelawfirm.com/auto-accident-guide/
Child page 1: “How is fault determined in car accidents?”
URL: www.awesomelawfirm.com/auto-accident-guide/how-fault-determined/
Child page 2: “Who is going to pay my medical bills after a car accident injury?”
URL: www.awesomelawfirm.com/auto-accident-guide/who-pays-bills/
…and so on and so forth.
The parent page ought to contain a short overview of what the reader will find in the guide, and then link down to each of the individual articles in the guide.
For some tips on optimizing the individual articles for your primary keywords, go here.
By following the evergreen content marketing process as described here, you’ll be well on your way to driving significant levels of qualified traffic to your law firm’s website.
However, your job doesn’t end once the content is published. Make sure you consider the following:
One thing typically in common with the most successful law firms is that you know exactly who they are. Unfortunately however, having a strong law firm brand commonly goes overlooked or approached without a solid plan.
If you want to stand out in a saturated market and attract more of the BEST cases then you need to stand out. This is your law firm’s brand.
This billboard would be unlikely to attract the best clients and cases.
A bad example
Let’s dive a little deeper. Simply put, your law firm brand is the sum of every interaction someone has with your company. Whether that interaction is online or offline their experience with your firm is what your brand represents. A brand is much more than just a logo or a font.
According to OpenAI a law firm brand is recognized as the process of creating a unique and consistent identity for a law firm. This includes developing a name, logo, and overall visual aesthetic for the firm, as well as defining its key values, mission, and areas of expertise.
The goal of law firm branding is to differentiate the firm from its competitors and establish a strong and recognizable presence in the legal industry. By creating a consistent and professional image, a law firm can attract clients, build trust, and establish credibility in its field.
The firms that execute a brand strategy very well will be recognized as the go to authority in their market for their primary practice areas. It’s hard to be recognized as a jack of all trades but easier to be recognized as a subject matter expert. That’s why we typically find that the most successful brands niche in as far as they can.
At Juris Digital we believe in being very intentional about brand building. One example that comes to mind here is Law Firm website design. Sometimes due to marketing deadlines or goals people want to push their websites to completion as fast as possible. However we have seen that the firms that do the opposite and put more time into unique page designs for each practice area with specific pain points and calls to action see much higher ROI’s. The difference between at $5,000 website and a $50,000 website designed with intent is the difference between that $20K value case and the $4 million dollar case.
All of your firm’s branding should be focused on attracting the ideal clients from your target audience instead of worrying about what the competition is doing.
Here are some attorney branding examples:
Great law firms and attorneys are recognizable. Think about it. When potential clients are making a decision on who to hire they might be asking their friends or family, they might be doing an online search, or they might find you in the yellow pages. Wherever they find you they’re more likely to use you if they’ve heard of you or seen you before.
The chances are you haven’t had as many high profile cases that have garnered media attention that you want. Those are when your brand can really take off. But even small brand message & impressions make a difference.
Have you heard of the rule of seven? From a marketing perspective the definition is: In marketing, the rule of 7 states that your prospects need to come across your offer at least 7 times before they will take action or purchase what you’re selling.
With the internet that number might be 70+ depending on how potential clients are looking. The fact remains that a consumer may need to see your brand multiple times before they decide to click on your website or use your services. From this alone it makes sense to have a recognizable brand. And did you know that through internet marketing you can easily convey these impressions? That you can get in front of your clients time and time again?
Your goal while building something to last is to build something memorable. You want your clients to think with the mindset of term branding. Instead of “I need a criminal defense lawyer”, I need “Johnny Cochran”.
At Juris digital our team knows that having a strong brand is more than having flashy business cards and marketing materials. Your firm’s brand should encompass your personality and all elements of your marketing including content marketing and brand promises should be consistent.
According to AYTL, “By definition, brand strategy is a long-term plan for the development of a successful brand in order to achieve specific goals. A well-defined and executed brand strategy affects all aspects of a business and is directly connected to consumer needs, emotions, and competitive environments.” (AYTM) Basically you want to look good in front of your audience.
A brand strategy is not just your logo or firm video, tag, or marker. It’s your brand story, how you look, how you feel, and how you stand out from everyone else in your marketplace. I want to put heavy emphasis on your story. This is your firm and it needs to represent your work and achievements. Are you really different?
Recently I asked a personal injury attorney what set his firm apart from the others and his answer included these things:
Two out of those three are pretty common between anyone in the personal injury field. It’s not different. Having a winning success record that’s verifiable (check with your state BAR on advertising regulations), is a start.
I hope the above article helps to paint a basic outline of why you need a brand strategy. Time and time again the most successful clients we have are the ones who adopt this philosophy, listen to it, and grow their firm. Your brand isn’t limited to just your online or offline advertising.
A law firm’s branding is every interaction someone has with your firm. Whether that be a phone call, a comment posted on a message board, a client review, or a logo, they will have an impression about your brand based on that interaction. Think about this when you think about how your clients and potential clients interact with your firm.
Here are some law firm branding strategies for traditional media:
Here are some of the benefits on strong law firms brands
There are several challenges that can arise when it comes to lawyer branding. Some of the most common challenges include:
There are several ways to measure the success of law firm branding strategies. Some of the key metrics to consider include:
By tracking these metrics, you can gain a better understanding of how effective your law firm branding strategies are and make any necessary adjustments.
Does your law firm have a brand strategy?
In 2023 the short answer is that if your budget allows for it, you should engage in both paid search options such as Google Ads, LSA’s, & retargeting. But you also need to focus on a strong local and organic presence as the ROI on these channels will be much greater.
Which one is better depends specifically on your goals but 9/10 it makes sense to focus on an organic free click strategy first (unless speed is an issue).
When it comes to digital marketing there are essentially two main areas of focus of how to market or advertise yourself online. These are SEO and PPC. Let’s look at each individually in greater detail below:
With search engine optimization you focus your efforts on local and organic results. These are the free clicks you get in Google. The free clicks in Google happen in 3 pack, local pack, maps results, and organic search results. If you rank here for keywords relevant to your practice areas or services you will get clicks for free which can then turn into new clients for your firm.
An example of the local results are shown below:
The free clicks vary greatly from Google’s paid products such as Google Ads or Local Services ads which are a pay for each click or pay by lead model.
With Google Ads you have the option to either pay per click (Google Ads) or pay per lead (Google Local Services Ads).
The biggest problem with this type of advertising for attorneys is that it’s typically cost prohibitive. For example a click for “Car Accident Lawyer” could cost hundreds of dollars just for the click (not a new case, just a website visit). For firms that need a lot of leads or a lot of cases you can see why this can quickly becoming a scaling issue.
The best strategy for your law firm will depend on your budget, time, and goals. To make the best decision it’s important that you understand the pros and cons of each strategy. Let’s look at this below:
Search engine optimization is any action that you take to improve your organic listings within the major search engines, especially Google. Google controls over 60% of the total traffic on the Internet.
All three major search engines, Google, Yahoo and Bing, together with control around 70% of all traffic on the Internet.
Organic page 1 results on Google receive 90% of the clicks for all online pages competing for that keyword. Below is quick video explaining the different type of search results in Google.
Needless to say, it is essentially important for your online visibility to be included in Google search results.
Organic search results appear in Google down the center of the page. Organic search results have exponentially more value to the average viewer, especially in terms of the legal industry. This is because organic listings are trusted far more than paid advertisements.
An example of organic search results are below:
You cannot pay for a placement in organic listings. Your position in organic search rankings is determined completely by the internal algorithms of the major search engines.
They choose your placement based on how relevant they think your content is to the keywords and topics that you have chosen. Because we are talking specifically about the legal industry, your content must relate to your legal specialties. It may also help if you localize your content to your surrounding area.
There are many ways to improve your search engine ranking. Although there is no set strategy, you should go over all of the techniques below to try to maximize your organic visibility within Google and the other major search engines. The same tactics work for niche-oriented search engines as well.
Fast loading, responsive mobile websites are visited much more often by the major search engines than slower websites. In most cases, law firms will start a blog or a syndicated newsfeed in order to keep their site updated with content your potential clients are most interested in.
In short, the more relevant your website is to your niche, the higher it will go in major search engine listings.
Keywords that are specialized and localized will give you a more highly qualified audience. For instance, if you are doing personal injury law, there is no reason for anyone looking for a criminal lawyer to view your pages.
All of your content, from the pictures on your homepage to the blogs you write each day, should focus on the topics that you specialize in.
Unless you are taking cases from different geographic regions, your audience will be comprised mostly of people who can visit your physical location.
The major search engines also reward law firms that have a foothold in their local jurisdiction. If you try to create a wide net marketing strategy to capture a general audience, not only will you have less qualified traffic, but you will also be punished in major search engine rankings.
Google still relies on links from other websites pointing to your own as a vote of confidence. By earning links from local news sources, local websites, and legal related websites you can help skyrocket the authority of your website in Google search rankings. Check out our link building guide for tips on how to earn more links.
You do not need to fill your website with an overload of information. If a website seems cluttered to the human eye, then it is likely confusing to the major search engines as well.
Make sure that you have white space in your display and that you stay specific in your content. Resist the temptation to add all kinds of third-party apps just because they are the latest thing in the market.
While Google uses hundreds of different ranking factors to determine where a website should rank, this is a starting place to make sure you’re doing the right things for your firm.
If you follow these tips and continue to build your presence and authority, then you should see your website begin to appear in the organic search listings for the keywords that you have chosen. You may have to hire a search engine optimization specialist for this to work because you will likely have competition even within your specialty.
Pay per click is another way to get your website on the major search engines. However, this is paid to advertise. These listings show up around the organic search listings. Pay per click ads and organic search listings are never mixed together. An example of pay per click results with the “ad” box is below:
In certain cases, these listings have an advantageous place over organic listings. For instance, if you are willing to pay top dollar for a certain keyword, your paid advertisements can actually appear above organic search listings on Google, giving them above the fold priority when people search for a law firm in your area.
The term paper click refers to the fact that you do not have to pay for every impression. An impression simply means that your ad showed up in front of a user as they conducted a search on one of the major search engines. However, you do not actually pay for that listing until that user performs what is known as a “clickthrough.” This simply means that they click on your ad and the link that you have connected to that ad takes them to your website.
Once the Internet user clicks through to your website, you will pay for the impression. The amount of money that you pay depends on the competition that is taking place for that keyword and location.
In order to have your ad appear at all, you will need to bid for certain keywords. If you have a great deal of competition in your area, then the bid price will likely be higher than if the competition was low. More popular keywords will usually get paid on by more law firms as well. In order to gain visibility in search listings here, you will need to outbid enough of the competitors to receive priority.
This, of course, means that you must be strategic in the keywords that you pick. However, the landscape may change more quickly than it would for organic search listings. Once people realize that you are getting traction for a particular keyword, they may enter the market for that keyword. Because all they have to do is outbid you, they can quickly supplant you when it comes to visibility. This is what makes pay per click advertising a more short-term strategy in most cases when compared to search engine optimization.
However, there are a few strategies that you can employ to maximize your use of paper click advertising. We will go over a few of them in the text below.
This can be a tricky practice, as you still want to compete for keywords that are relevant to your general areas of practice. However, a bit of savvy research can help you here, and experience is always the best teacher. If you have a specialty that none of your local competitors is able to compete with, then you have a definite advantage when it comes to your pay per click keywords as well.
Once you see there is too much competition for a particular keyword, you can quickly move onto another keyword that you have already identified. Doing this will keep your competitors on their toes, forcing them to pay more for their keywords while you move ahead to keywords that are less stringent on your budget. You can use local news cycles to see what people are looking up. That is one advantage of a paper click advertising campaign – it can be changed on the spur of the moment, ensuring that your campaign is always in line with real-time events.
Paper click advertising is not all about how much money you can spend for a particular keyword. If you have a more compelling headline than your competitors, then you will receive more attention from people who are looking for lawyers in your specialty. Make sure that the introduction text that you have in your headline speaks directly to the issues that your potential clients are dealing with.
Paper click ads are generally perceived as less trustworthy, meaning that there is always a measure of personal trust that goes into each click that a user makes. If you have a better reputation in your area than your competitors, then you may be able to use that to generate more attention to your advertisements.
No matter which strategy your law firm employees, it is very important to understand the importance of localization. Becoming known to a local audience is not only important for short-term sales, but it is also important for long-term trust as well, especially for law firms.
The major search engines have taken great pains to reward companies that focus their attention on the local market rather than trying to overstep their natural boundaries and market to a bigger audience than they should.
Any online marketer worth his or her salt will tell you this up front – if you want to go global, go local.
Search engine optimization and pay per click advertising are meant to be used in tandem. As mentioned before, search engine optimization is a more long-term strategy.
Pay per click advertising is more flexible, but it is a short-term strategy for most law firms. The two strategies can be used alongside each other to help each other out. Here are some of the techniques that you might want to employ.
If you are unsure of how a keyword will perform and you do not want to commit to it over the long term, you can test it by using a paper click advertisement based on the keyword you’re interested in.
You can then amass real data that will allow you to determine quantitatively how it would perform in a long stretch. If you find a keyword that does perform well, then you can base blogs and other content around it, raising your value in organic listings for that keyword in the major search engines.
In short, you are using the short-term strategy to bolster your long-term strategy. As long as you keep people coming to your webpage, the major search engines will assume that your customers deem that page trustworthy. Clicks that come from short-term advertisements will raise the visibility of that webpage in organic listings.
You can also use pay per click advertisements if you have a seasonal sale. The beauty of paper click is that you can scale it up or down depending on your needs at the time.
If you know that you are in a slow season, you can cut back and save that budget for other things around the office. If you know that your competition is about to ramp up for a busy season, you can then redirect those funds back into an advertising effort. You can also take funds that you would not be using for a paper click campaign and move them into a campaign for search engine optimization.
Is very important that you understand how you can actually use the money to bolster your organic listings. Many law firms will hire copywriters to build out a blog based on a certain keyword. Although the writers are only paid once, the attention those blogs receive (as long as they are well written) will keep a page in the major search engine listings for a long time.
You can also hire professional help to optimize the page so that the major search engines will trust it more. There are certain coding techniques that you can employ to increase site speed and the organization of the website backend. If the major search engines see that your website is more organized than the average website, it will be listed in a more advantageous position in organic listings.
It can be difficult to tell which strategy you should use in your own public-facing efforts, or if you should use both of these strategies at the same time.
There are many different aspects that you should consider. The most important of these will be listed below.
Although your budget is listed here first, it should actually be the third or fourth thing on your list. Search engine optimization and pay per click advertising are both proven methods that both bring back a high ROI if they are implemented appropriately. Under the circumstances, it is really not a question of how much to spend, but more how to spend the budget appropriately to create a positive net cash flow.
Law Firm SEO can take from six months to a year to generate results where as pay per click can happen right away.
Firms that are trying to make names for themselves may want to invest in more long-term advertising in order to build a reputation within the local community. It is very important at the beginning of any marketing campaign to be as ubiquitous as possible.
If a law firm does not have the budget for both a search engine optimization and paper click campaign, most firms go with the search engine optimization option first. Short-term sales are definitely tempting, but they do not build the reputation that most legal entities need to have in order to survive in a highly competitive marketplace.
A law firm should also consider the time that has to put into an online marketing effort. If it does not have a lot of time, then it may want to employ a paper click campaign in order to take advantage of the time it does have most advantageously. If there is no one in-house to manage a long-term campaign, then a short-term paper click advertising campaign may be the only thing that is viable.
It is also possible to hire professionals for both types of campaigns. Many third-party marketing specialists have the ability to create interwoven campaigns that combine the advantages of both SEO and PPC.
Online marketing does not have to be your core competency in order for you to invoke an aggressive and successful campaign for your law firm online. There are many professionals who will help you create a strategy that will work in the short and long-term.
However, there are also many bad options as well. Let’s take a look at the characteristics of a good online marketing firm.
First of all, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. There is no technique that can take you to the top of Google organic listings in a week. Any online marketing company that claims to be able to do this is lying. They are probably using underhanded techniques that will get your site banned from Google after a short time.
It is also incredibly easy to vet online marketing companies – simply look at how they are performing in online search results! If they do not even have the expertise to bring their own name up, there is no way that they will be able to help you do that either.
Finally, look for an online marketing firm that speaks your language. Online marketing is not your core competency, nor should it have to be. The secret to a positive relationship with an online marketing firm is communications. They should be able to explain to you exactly what they are doing in language that you can easily understand. If they cannot do this, then you should move on, no matter how good their portfolio may be. A partnership with an online marketing firm is a long-term commitment, and you need to deal with people who understand you.
Use the tips above to get your law firm started on the right track in your online marketing efforts. Whether you choose to focus more of your time on search engine optimization or a pay per click strategy is up to you, but you should always keep your ear to your analytics in order to determine the best strategy for the future.
Keep in mind that your market will always change based on new competition and the rule set that the major search engines invoke on the marketplace. You should always look to new strategies so that you can stay on the cutting edge of what works in the legal industry. The basics may stay the same, but the details will always change. Come back to this text as a reminder on how to use SEO and PPC from a fundamental standpoint, but always look to educate yourself on the latest happenings in the online space.
By this day and age, most attorneys know that having an active social media presence is a must in order to stay competitive and connect with past, present, and future clients.
However, fewer attorneys understand how to develop and sustain effective social media in the long-term that will result in strong client connections, an expanded community connected with your firm, and, ultimately, more and better business.
In this post, we will make certain that you will never run out of exciting, diverse, and effective posts for your social media platforms, including Tik Tok, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
1. Share client tips: While you want to avoid giving specific legal advice online, lending a hand to your audience with some general advice is helpful and educational. Give your audience tips that they can use regarding the general issues surrounding your practice areas. For example, a divorce attorney might share tips about dividing assets, considering mediation, or even deciding who gets to keep the family dog.
2. Post breaking news: Act as a news source by sharing current events, developing legal issues, and providing relevant and interesting stories pertaining to your specific law firm and practice areas. To be sure that you are in the loop, set up Google Alerts for keywords that pertain to your practice and keep an eye on the news. For example, a personal injury attorney who takes workers’ comp cases might post news stories about a local construction accident or a local company getting fined for safety regulations.
3. Post opinion pieces: Share opinion articles from thought leaders in the legal world about breaking news, giving your followers a deeper understanding of key issues. In addition, consider sharing your own opinions by linking to original blog posts on your website. Just be sure when posting opinions to stay away from very controversial issues (such as religion) and to avoid alienating large groups of people who could be offended by your stance or the stance you present. You don’t want to make enemies with potential clients.
4. Share industry research: People love to read the results of new and interesting studies. Dig deep into academic journals and research organizations’ archives to find relevant research. The research or study results don’t always have to be new – some research doesn’t get the immediate publicity it deserves. For example, a business attorney might post about a new study about the current success rate of mergers and acquisitions.
5. Post helpful content excerpts: Tease your audience’s curiosity by sharing informative passages or statistics from your website copy or content. Not only is this a great way to drive web traffic coming in from social media outlets, it is also a great way to get extra bang from the content that you are posting on your law firm’s website.
6. Share podcasts: Take advantage of the podcast craze by linking to your favorite industry-related episodes or even creating your own. Giving your social media followers an option to listen to content rather than read it will attract a certain portion of the community that prefers audio over visual, increasing your overall audience. Podcasts are also an excellent way of educating your users so that they are easier to work with as clients.
7. Post quotes: Humorous, inspiring or motivational quotes always perform well on social media and may be shared far and wide by your users, increasing your social media audience. You should make sure that your quotes are at least related to legal issues or your practice areas–consider quoting famous attorneys or choosing quotes that are significant to the kind of cases you take. For example, a bankruptcy attorney could choose quotes about finances, happiness without money, or starting over.
8. Share fill-in-the-blank posts: These posts (e.g. “If I had $1 million I would _________”) encourage participation, interaction, and thought. They can also be very fun for readers. While it is always good to include a legal angle in your post, don’t be afraid to get creative. For example, a business attorney might try: “In 2017, I am going to grow my business by _________.”
9. Create polls: Much like fill-in-the-blank posts, polls are a great way of getting your users to chime in with their own thoughts and opinions. A few social media sites, including Facebook and Twitter, make it extremely easy to create polls with just a few clicks. Think of a poll with an angle related to the law or your practice, and you are ready to go!
10. Post behind-the-scenes photos: Take candid shots of yourself, your legal team, or casual shots from inside of your law office. These non-professional photos can make you seem much more real and much less intimidating to potential clients who truly need to feel comfortable before picking up the phone and calling your number. Be sure to pair the photos with short, informative, and fun captions.
11. Share statistics or data: Share new, relevant statistics regarding legal issues or issues related to your practice areas. These short, informative posts often perform well, especially if you make the statistics or facts stand out by creating a meme or infographic. For example, a car accident attorney may present a pie graph breaking down the top causes for fatal traffic accidents in his or her state.
12. Share links to an old blog post: Recycling isn’t just for tin cans. There’s nothing wrong with recycling old blog posts from your website as long as they are still relevant. Recycling past posts extends their lives by giving them new engagement–and it also makes your content marketing dollars go farther.
13. Post links to ebooks: Social media is an excellent place to promote e-books–both those that you have written and relevant ones that would be of interest to your readers. To gather the best information about your users, put the e-books behind opt-in forms. When offering e-books to readers via a social media post, be sure to include a short summary in your post that outlines why the book is important and what the reader will gain from it.
14. Create educational article compilations: Collect informative articles and present them in a single page for your followers’ convenience using a convenient app like paper.li. Be sure to tag and credit the authors. For example, if you are a maritime law attorney, consider building a resource that lists the most useful articles dealing with the Jones Act, all in one place, that you can post for interested clients.
15. Run a themed post series: Run a collection of related posts over a set period to keep followers tuned into your major social accounts. Pick a theme for a week or a month and plan out interesting pieces of content (either created by you or curated) and post them intermittently. For example, a bankruptcy attorney might pick the theme of Chapter 13 bankruptcy one month and the theme of rebuilding credit after bankruptcy the next. Your themed content could include blog posts, statistics, ebooks, infographics, photos, news stories, article lists, and more.
16. Run recurring weekly posts: Create posts under a common theme to share at the same time each week and complement them with a catchy hashtag. For example, each week you may choose to profile an employee, answer a frequently asked question, or post a picture from around your office.
17. Create weekly round-ups: Reshare the week’s most successful content each Friday, giving users who didn’t see your best posts another chance to click and engage. It’s important to remember that especially on more popular social media websites like Twitter, content can get lost in minutes under the constant flood of tweets. Weekly round-up posts can make sure that a greater number of your followers get a chance to see your content.
18. Post questions: Pose simple, basic questions that your followers can answer quickly. Question posts should mostly be relevant to your clients and practice areas, and they should always involve short one-sentence or one-word answers. For example, a divorce attorney might ask, “Did you keep your wedding ring after your divorce–and why or why not?”
19. Link to a guest post: Share or re-share a link to a post you contributed to another site. Be sure to give the background behind the post–and to give a nod and tag to the site where your guest post is featured. Linking to guest posts not only help establish you as a skilled and knowledgeable attorney in your area, it also helps strengthen your general authority.
20. Post a branded image: Post an inspirational image with your logo or website address on it. Don’t be afraid to get creative. Pair your logo with any number of words or images, including an inspirational quote, statistics about your case, results, or a picture of your legal team. It is so important that your social media community is familiar with your brand, and posting a branded image is a great strategy to remind them of it.
21. Share an infographic: Find an infographic your followers would appreciate, or, even better, make one yourself to share. Infographics that are well-designed and that contain lots of educational material will be shared far and wide, so don’t forget to include your logo and your website information on the graphic if you are creating it yourself. For example, a Social Security disability attorney may create an infographic explaining the Social Security disability benefits for those suffering from cancer.
22. Post a photo: Sometimes, all you need is a simple and striking visual. Get creative: while photos of employees and your office are nice, you can also post photos that simply convey the feeling behind your brand. For instance, coffee giant Starbucks shares photos on Instagram that associate their brand with sunshine, warmth, and good friends, not just beverages.
23. Link to a controversial blog post: There’s nothing better for eliciting engagement than a little controversy. Link to a blog post related to your practice areas that is getting attention and ask your audience for their opinion. Just be sure not to take sides yourself (in most cases) lest you offend half of your audience. Also be sure to check your social media comments for inappropriate language and other issues.
24. Ask for input on your business: Your followers will love giving their thoughts on how to improve your legal services and they will also love that you are open and ready to receive their ideas. Ask them about specific ways to improve your business, possibly with a poll or questionnaire. Or consider focusing your query on a single question, such as, “How could we be more attentive to your needs during your case?”
25. Share from Pinterest and Instagram: Pinterest and Instagram are a goldmine in terms of finding beautiful images you can share, such as images and quotes. Just be sure to give proper credit and just be sure to keep things relevant to your clients in the majority of your posts. Remember that you can cross-post on social media platforms: you can share Pinterest pictures on Facebook or Instagram photos on Twitter, for example.
26. Share a helpful resource: If you’re truly concerned about sharing the most useful info with your followers, don’t be afraid to direct them to other people’s valuable content, not just your own. Of course, be sure to share accurate, up-to-date resources from reputable sites, such as non-profit organizations, government agencies, and educational websites. Always avoid sharing resources posted by the competition, too. A good example of a helpful resource would be sharing information about the red flags of nursing home abuse from a non-profit, for your nursing home abuse and neglect clients.
27. Post a SlideShare presentation: Slideshare is a service provided by LinkedIn that allows users to share slideshows with others. Feel free to create and post your own Slideshare presentations or to find one that is already useful and popular. To look for currently popular slideshows, go to the ‘Trending in Social Media’ section at the bottom of the Slideshare homepage. To find relevant presentations, search your favorite keywords.
28. Link to a case study: Case studies are great for delivering useful info in a way that’s often more palatable and actionable than a standard blog post. As with other types of posts, consider both linking to case studies that you find online and creating your own case studies to share with your audience. When writing legal case studies, be sure to do so for a general audience, avoiding too much legalese, dense writing, or complex information.
29. Ask for reviews or testimonials: Eliciting reviews and testimonials from fans or followers is one of the best ways to get testimonials that you can use as social proof on your website. Consider posting a link to your review page on AVVO or Google+, along with a short message asking your followers to say a few words about their experience working with you. Just be aware that some review sites, such as Yelp, may penalize you if too many people review your law firm on the same day.
#TestimonialTuesday: You can never go wrong with this post, all it does is further instill trust in your audience. If you have video testimonials even shot from an iPhone it will make it more authentic and increase your engagement even more.
30. Recommend a tool: Share a preferably free tool or app that you think your followers would find useful. There are a multitude of useful apps that relate to almost all practice areas; for example, tax attorneys may consider sharing an app that tracks business expenses, while car accident attorneys could share an app that walks you through what to do after a traffic collision.
31. Share a favorite book: Offer a book recommendation your fans or followers would appreciate and one that is relevant to your practice in some way. Link to a place to purchase or download the book, and post a short review that explains why you think it would be enjoyable or helpful. Great creative: you don’t always have to share straight, dry resources or even non-fiction.
32. Share a day in the life post: Give a recap of a typical day in the life of one of your attorneys or someone else on your legal team, such as a paralegal or administrative assistant. Add pictures, make a slideshow, or post statistics to increase interest. You could also link to the person’s bio page or LinkedIn profile.
33. Recommend your favorite products: Share a list of the products that help you succeed in your law office, from something as small as your favorite pen for taking notes during trial to a type of software you use to organize your office and cases.
34. Link to your most popular blog post: Give a brief intro to the post to explain why it’s your most read and shared post as well as a little background information, such as when it was originally published and who wrote it. These posts can help your content go viral all over again.
35. Provide a business recommendation: Share the love by recommending a business you’ve worked with successfully in the past. This can be anything from a transcription service or another law office to a favorite restaurant that delivers lunch to the office each Friday. You might be surprised at how often the businesses you boost respond to your post by posting about your law firm, helping to grow your authority and your audience.
36. Share a work/life balance tip: Your social media followers want to know you’re a real person with the same struggles as they have. Share a tip you’ve learned for balancing work, life and family, such as how to keep your work at the office on the weekends or how to make sure you make all of your kids’ baseball games. These tips are meaningful coming from an attorney, who clients know works hard and faces long hours.
37. Ask for advice: Pose a hypothetical question and ask your followers what they would do in that situation. These are great opportunities to get your audience to participate on your page as well as great opportunities to educate and explore ideas. Your questions can and should absolutely have a legal angle – you can even discuss a recent case that has been in the news.
38. Take a trip down memory lane: Share photos of old logos, websites, or headshots. These posts can be either funny or introspective. In the written portion of the post, think about how far you’ve come, your accomplishments, and where you want your law firm to head in the future.
39. Share posts that show you’re a real person: While you want to remain professional, you also want to show your human side from time to time. While personal posts should be rare, it is a great idea to occasionally share part of your life, whether it is a great book you are reading, a fun weekend plan, a hobby, or a picture you took while on a hike.
40. Share popular Reddit topic: Reddit is a great place to find interesting content and conversations. Visit Reddit’s Trending Subreddit page to find popular and trending topics to post about that relate to your practice and practice areas. Just be sure to read the threads carefully to check for appropriateness, and adding a disclaimer that Reddit’s opinions are not necessarily your own is always a good idea.
41. Recommend someone else to follow on social media: Share a link to someone else’s social media profile and encourage your fans to ‘like’ or follow them. For example, on Twitter, “Follow Friday” encourages everyone to recommend someone to follow. Not only will your audience appreciate the guidance, you may be surprised how many people you recommend return the favor and recommend your social media profile to their own followers.
42. Share a Pinterest board: If your customers are on Pinterest (hint: if one of your demgraphics is educated, high-income females, they probably are), share a Pinterest board via Facebook or Twitter. Pinterest used to be focused solely on topics like fashion and crafts, but now the social media platform is filled with a hugely diverse amount of content. Create a board that helps your clients in some way, or share a board that someone else has created that is relevant to your practice.
43. Share a comic or meme: Getting your customers to laugh with you is a great way to start building relationships. Sharing a humorous meme, comic strip, picture, quote, or video can help you connect to past, current, and future clients. While it is okay to share humorous links that don’t have to do with law, you should keep unrelated posts to a minimum. There is plenty of funny material related to attorneys and your practice areas once you start to look.
44. Post a video testimonial: Share a video review or testimonial so that your social media followers can see a real person talking about your skills and expertise. Video reviews are a great alternative to written reviews and often catch the notice of slightly younger users. Also consider making a post in which you request former clients to submit a video review.
45. Recommend a colleague on LinkedIn: Encourage your connections to reach out to someone who acts as a valuable resource for your business. In your post, be sure to outline why you recommend your colleague, how you did business with them, and what their best skills and attributes are. You can expect that at least some of the people that you recommend will recommend you back.
46. Hold a photo contest: Ask for photo submissions based on a theme and then get your fans to vote. When you have the results, share the winning photos in a new post. Your photo contest could have a local theme or a theme related to the law in some cases. For added interest, offer a small prize from a local business for the winner.
47. Share a trending Twitter topic: Search Twitter hashtags and trending topics to find content that’s currently popular. Be sure to specifically search for topics that will be of interest to your clients and and that are appropriate for your firm. For example, an estate planning attorney might want to share content about a celebrity death that involved a will or trust.
48. Hold a debate: Starting a debate on social media, by asking a question or presenting two sides of an issue, is an excellent way to get lots of users to participate as well as an excellent way to expose new users to your feed. Make certain to stay on top of the thread and curate it closely so that it stays civil and professional. Delete any comments that are inappropriate or incendiary.
49. Hold a ‘caption this’ contest: Post a photo and ask your fans to come up with creative or funny captions. Your caption contest doesn’t necessarily have to do with the law or legal issues, but it is a nice touch if it is relevant.
50. Post a YouTube video: Video is an increasingly wonderful way to connect with users, especially those in the younger generations. You can either post your own videos (that share legal advice or introduce your legal team) or you can post a video that has been created by someone else–just be sure to give them credit. Pair your post with a good description of the video so that your audience is interested enough to watch.
51. Tag a Facebook page: Generate some good karma by helping to promote another business or organization. For example, you might promote a non-profit that your office contributes to or a business that works with yours. Don’t just post their page–make sure that it is paired with a good description of who they are, what they do, and why you like them.
52. Share holidays: Wish your followers happy holidays, from the big ones like Independence Day and Christmas to the fun ones, like Grandparents Day and Groundhog Day. Pair your good wishes with a photo or a video for added interest–and try to be inclusive of different cultures, countries, and religions.
53. Share and ask for predictions: Make a prediction about a legal case that is in the news, something related to one of your practice areas, or even something off-topic, like the outcome of a big local football game. These posts can be fun and informative, and by asking your users to participate as well, they can generate a lot of interest and views.
54. Answer questions: Let your users ask you anything. They might want to know about how you do your job, what your favorite case was, or where you went to high school. Be wary of giving specific legal advice on these threads, or getting too personal. But other than that, have fun and don’t be afraid to show your knowledge and show your personality.
55. Post a controversial view: Some of the most popular social media posts are the ones that rustle a few feathers. By posting something slightly controversial, you will generate great conversation and perhaps lots of likes and shares. Tread carefully: you do not want to post something offensive or unprofessional and you do not want to post an idea that you can’t back up with facts.
56. Use Facebook’s trending topics for content ideas: Facebook offers users a number of trending topics of different types, including one for politics and one for entertainment. Scan these trending topics for anything that is relevant to your users or practice. Don’t post about just anything–curate your content carefully for the best results.
57. Profile an employee: Let your followers know they’re dealing with real people by sharing lots of information about one of your team members. Remember to include both professional and personal information in the profile and remember not to limit your profiles to attorneys–put the spotlight on everyone from your top partners to your paralegals, administrative assistants, and interns.
Attorney Spotlight: Great way to showcase some key members of your firm and new hires. For new hires, the best way to spotlight them is a candid picture with them and the team with a sweet welcoming message rather than a link to his about me section on the site.
58. Post product recall notices: Keep your ear to the ground so you can be the first to share important safety information with your followers. This is an especially good post to make if you are an attorney who deals with defective product cases and personal injury cases. Make certain to link to a good resource that shares what people who have the product should do to safely get a replacement or refund.
59. Post a ‘truth or false’ question: This is a great way to educate your users while also engaging them. Post a fact (or a myth) and have your readers guess whether it is true or false. In the comments, reveal the answer and give them more information on the topic. If it is a myth or misconception, be sure to share the truth and explain why the myth endures.
60. Use a trending Google search for content ideas: Visit Google Trends to find out what people are currently searching for and give your own spin on the latest topic of interest. Don’t pick just any topic that is popular; instead, choose issues in which you can give an interesting legal opinion or issues that have any kind of relevant legal angle.
61. Pick a follower of the month: Acknowledge your brand ambassadors and let them know they’re appreciated by picking a friend or follower to tout each month. You can increase the amount of content you share by tagging them, writing a mini-profile, or even having them fill out a short questionnaire. On Twitter, you can pick a user to showcase on #FollowFriday.
62. Share a case result: If you’ve just won a big court case or if you have successfully settled out of court, let your followers know all about it (without sharing confidential information, of course). Sharing your positive case results shows how effective you are in a concrete way. Be sure to link to newspaper articles or other media about the case if possible.
63. Share a media mention: Were you interviewed by the local paper or a local television station? Did you just win a big case? Was your law firm in the news for making a big donation? Be sure that every time your name appears in the news in a positive light, you link to it on your social media sites, along with some information for context.
64. Share awards or accolades you’ve received: Celebrate with your followers by announcing any awards you or your firm has received. Just be sure to write the post carefully, as the idea is to build trust, not to brag. For example, be sure to thank the outlet that gave the award as well as other recipients or other people in the running.
Ratings: Promoting awards and high ratings on social do wonders for your engagement and trust
65. Write about your continuing legal education: All attorneys are required to continue their legal education after law school. Post about your CLE so that your audience is aware that you are still learning and so that they can have an inside peak into what topics you are brushing up on.
66. Share the latest company news: Did you just hire someone new to your office? Did you just win a big case? Did you start offering a new type of legal service? Let your users know by sharing the information across all of your law firm’s social media platforms. Pair your news with a visual if possible and consider writing a blog post to compliment the announcement.
67. Share pictures from a recent industry event: Have you or someone on your team recently attended a legal conference or another attorney event? Share your experience online along with pictures and insights. Don’t forget to use the event hashtag for maximum exposure and to gain new followers from the legal world.
68. Promote a free download: This could be a plugin, white paper, ebook, app, or anything else that your audience could find useful and download. For example, a criminal defense attorney could post an ebook about what you should do if you have been charged with a DUI, while a business attorney could post a link to an app that helps users organize their monthly bills.
69. Say thank you: A simple thank you can go a long way to building connections with your friends and followers. Write a heartfelt post about how you couldn’t do your job without your clients and supporters–and how they make your day and your job better.
70. Offer expert insights into a topic: This type of post helps establish you as a thought leader in your field. Pick a topic in current events or one that is trending on social media and offer your thoughts on the topic as an attorney. You can either do this as a written post or shoot a short video. Be sure to link to a resource or news article as well.
71. Do a countdown: Countdown the days to a special event or countdown your top ten case results. This creates a lot of fodder for posts over a series of days. If you are counting down to an event, share a different reason to attend each day. You can also count up: share 30 things you are thankful for, or 30 tips regarding one of your practice areas.
72. Get your employees to guest post: Have different people on your legal team take turns posting on social media. Ask them all to answer the same question, or make the same kind of themed post. Here are two ideas: Have your employees share a “Day in the Life” or have your employees each tell a story about their most interesting day at work.
73. Create and share a compilation of industry news stories: Use a social magazine app like Flipboard to create great-looking compilations of news stories that are relevant to your practice and your users. Not only is Flipboard a great way to get well-curated content to your followers, it also helps educate them so that they are more knowledgeable and up-to-date when they walk in your door.
74. Promote a Google+ hangout: Invite your friends, fans, and followers to join you for a Google+ hangout conversation. The conversation could take many shapes: it could cover a specific legal topic, it could be a forum for frequently asked questions, or it could simply be a chance for you to generally chat with a number of community members and see where the conversation leads.
75. Encourage your followers to support a cause: Post a link to an online fundraiser or a charity organization. This is not just an opportunity to raise money for those in need, it is also an opportunity to highlight your law firm’s own giving. You may even challenge your followers to raise a certain amount of money as a group, or to donate volunteer hours or other resources.
76. Post an expert quote: Ask an industry expert a question and post their answer on social media. You can even make it look great by integrating the quote into an image in order to make a meme. This is great for getting retweets and shares, especially if your expert has a good following on social media, too.
77. Hold a giveaway: Giveaways are wonderful tools for social media marketing. A contest can be as simple as asking your fans or followers to comment to enter, and the prize can be simple. Consider tickets to a local event, a gift certificate to a restaurant, a gift basket of local items, a coveted item, like an iPad. For added interest, give your giveaway a theme or pair it will a photo contest.
78. Offer a sneak peek: Whet your followers’ appetites by showing a sneak peek of an upcoming blog post, contest, or product launch. This is a great law firm social media marketing strategy because these posts are quick and interesting while also keeping audiences engaged and aware. Post a picture or quote with your sneak peek and get everyone wondering about what is going to come next.
79. Start a conversation with an industry leader: Tag or mention a notable authority in a post and engage them in conversation by talking about their work or asking them a question. There are two possible outcomes: he or she may respond, boosting your own authority and exposing his or her audience to yours, or he or she may ignore you, which is no harm done.
80. Post a photo collage: There are large numbers of apps that can make a collage of pictures in just minutes. Take advantage of these tools by creating collages to post on sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Give your collages themes: perhaps you make a collage of office pictures or pictures of a recent event.
81. Teaser content: Increase your clickthroughs by posting an intro to a blog post that doesn’t reveal the punchline. For example, if you are a bankruptcy attorney who has written a post about bankruptcy due to medical bills, your teaser social media post may say, “Do you know the number one cause of bankruptcy in the United States?”
82. Update your readers about changes in the law: Has there recently been a change in the law in your city or state? Write a post that explains in simple language how the law has changed and how it will affect your readers. These posts, even if they are only tangentially related to your practice areas, help establish you as a knowledgeable authority and local expert.
83. Link to a blog comment: Have you had a particularly helpful or controversial comment on your blog? Post a link to the comment and ask for your readers to weigh in on one side or the other. Not only will this start a conversation on social media, it will also increase traffic to your website and blog post. This is a great way to deal with a controversial comment that you don’t simply want to delete or ignore.
84. Answer an FAQ: Have a question you get asked a lot? Answer it on your law firm’s social media accounts. Not only will this be interesting and helpful to your followers, it will also save you time in the office–if you answer a frequently asked question online, your clients won’t ask you again on your time. Take an extra step and compile all of your FAQs to create a new blog post for your website.
#FAQFriday: This post links to a video. FAQFridays are a good way to showcase your knowledge and inform the public about your practice area(s).
85. Post links to old newsletters: Recycle your newsletters and gain new subscribers at the same time by posting your old issues. This is a very good way of getting more use out of content that you have already created as well as a great way to remind your audience that you have a regular newsletter.
86. Ask your followers for content ideas: If you’ve run out of ideas for what to post, find out which issues or problems your fans need help with. These posts can be great ways to connect with your past, current, and future clients and give you a great idea of the kind of content that your readers actually want. Just be sure to follow up by creating some of the content they ask for, whether blog posts, images, or videos.
87. Post a link to a helpful Facebook or LinkedIn group: If you know of a helpful resource on Facebook or LinkedIn, share a link with your fans. This is an especially great idea for attorneys, since both Facebook and LinkedIn has groups that your clients can benefit from. For example, a wrongful death attorney can link to groups of people mourning after a loss, while a business attorney can link to local groups of entrepreneurs.
88. Tell a story: There is a reason that the simple story has endured throughout history and even before the written word: people love to hear a good tale. Make a post in which you simply tell a story from your life or your day, as it relates to you or as it relates to your profession as an attorney. For example, you might post about how an exchange with a client taught you a lesson about how to be a better lawyer, or how you won a case despite its challenges.
Client Successes: Sharing the success of your client shows that you not only care for your clients, but that your clients are so happy with your service they want to share it with the world. So help them share it!! (You can also be the one to share that success on your page if the client agrees for her case to be posted on social media)
89. Find out what your competitors are sharing, and do it better: Tools like Social Crawlytics allow you to determine your competitions’ most shared content and biggest influencers. Check out where they are getting their information as well as what their best posts accomplish. You can either take tips from how they are running their social media campaigns or you can try to one-up them. Just be sure not to copy their ideas exactly–that won’t benefit you or your readers.
90. Use your website analytics to find content ideas: Take a quick look through your analytics to find out which topics generate the most interest from your audience. While the topics at the top of the list certainly aren’t the only ones that your users find helpful, it is a great way to start. For example, if you are a divorce attorney and one of your most popular posts is “Ten things to do before filing for divorce,” consider breaking down those ten things in a 10-post social media series.
91. Share your AVVO profile: If you have great reviews and a full profile, share your AVVO or other attorney profiles on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Not only will sharing your profile teach your users more about you, it might inspire a few to leave you a review. Just be sure to share only if you have a solid rating and only if all of your information is accurate and up to date.
92. Share an opinion on a recent case in the media: Your followers want to know you stand for something; don’t be afraid to take sides on an issue and back it up with your thought process and the facts. If there has been a recent decision in the courts locally that is interesting, or even a Supreme Court decision at the federal level, take the time to weigh in and explain your view.
93. Post a link to an employee bio: If you have bios on your site, post a link to help your followers and friends get to know the individuals behind your company as well as their stories. If you don’t have employee bios on your website, you should consider adding them!
94. Answer a question from Quora: Quora is a website that specializes in answering user questions. Find a relevant question related to the legal world on Quora and post your answer on social media. This is a great strategy because if someone on Quora has asked a question, chances are that other people are interested in the answer as well.
95. Respond to a tag or mention: Social media for lawyers isn’t just about your firm and what you are doing, it is about interacting with others and communicating with the community. Be sure to check to see who has been talking about you and respond to what they’ve been posting. Often, it’s a question or comment that can spark a conversation. Not responding to these mentions makes you seem distant, cold, and inattentive.
96. Post an excerpt from a blog post: Rather than just posting a link and summary of the post, cut and paste a particularly intriguing excerpt to pique your readers’ interest. Choose a line or paragraph that makes a big statement, asks, a question, or even raises a bit of controversy. Then link to the blog in the body of your social media post. This not only makes for interesting content, it also brings a good rate of readers over to your website.
97. Share a chart: Share an interesting chart or graph that is relevant to your audience–readers love visuals and they love to learn. For example, a car accident attorney might share a chart that breaks down the most common causes of traffic collisions, while a criminal defense attorney might break down the outcomes of his or her recent cases.
98. Post a screenshot of a social media conversation: If you see another interesting interaction happening on Twitter or Facebook, ask permission to take a screenshot and post it on your own profile. Then add your own thoughts to the conversation and ask your readers to chime in.
99. Promote an industry-related event: This can either be a live or online event. You can promote the event by sharing the event’s page, taking pictures of the event and posting them, or sharing how you will be involved in the event. For example, you might post about your firm’s anniversary celebration before the event, during the event, and after the event. Post by utilizing event pages, pictures, video, and more.
100. Share promotions: Do you offer free consultations, free e-books, or other promotions in order to connect with potential clients? Don’t forget to mention these every now and again on your social media platforms. Don’t try to do it as if you are advertising, instead, find simple, fun, and casual ways to remind your readers that you have offers for them to take advantage of.
101. Promote your legal services: There’s a reason this one is last on the list. Although there is a time and a place for self-promotion on social media, the space should first and foremost be used to build relationships, establish trust, and build your reputation as an industry expert. When people are in need of legal services, who do you think they’ll come to first? It is the person that they feel like they know and who they believe knows the most.
102. Tik Tok Explainer Videos: Since it hasn’t yet been banned in the US one main point of focus for generating new clients for your law firm should be TikTok. In 2022 this continued to increase in visibility and gain traffic. Some of the most successful lawyers utilizing this create videos of legal scenarios and tips for potential customers.
Here are some general guidelines for lawyers when it comes to using social media:
Now you have dozens of ideas for how to successfully post on your social media sites–but we know that some lawyers and law offices need next level help regarding social media strategy. We invite you to partner with our team to get the most out of social marketing, including, what, when, where, and how to post. To learn more about our services, or simply to ask a question or meet our team, call us today.
In the age of social media, even businesses that do not typically have an online presence can use this online market to their advantage. Social media marketing for lawyers can have a significant impact on growing your law firm brand if you have the right strategy.
There are many ways to utilize social media marketing for law firms. With Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and so many more, where do you even start?
To get started, it’s helpful to know precisely how you will benefit from it. Building a strategy depends on which social media platforms serve the needs of an individual firm and align with their marketing goals.
Promoting a law firm on social media can seem overwhelming or even boring at first, but if you take it one step at a time, the rewards can be worth it.
Here are a few ways our clients use social media to help market their law firms:
A common goal of many businesses using social media is to reach potential clients. This is by far the most popular goal but in my experience I have seen people only participate so that they can sign more cases and when it doesn’t happen quickly, they stop.
But, because more and more parts of our lives are becoming digitalized, an online presence is more important than ever.
Many law firm social media campaigns find success in building a more extensive client base. Not only can potential clients see your posts and ads, but they can also find your content during their own search.
Your practice area will heavily dictate the strategy and platforms you decide to use here.
Before you start any planning, take a look at what online presence your law firm already has. Take what people have to say into consideration at every step of the way. This way, you can build upon what you already have and fix what needs fixing in the process.
Consistency is vital when it comes to social media marketing for lawyers. Posting on a regular basis lets your audience know that you are active and accessible.
Sharing or making posts is not always enough, however. You will want to answer questions people have or reply to any reviews left by clients. Everything you say and do will impact how the community feels about you.
Maintaining a presence on social media relies heavily on continuous engagement with others.
Another benefit of social media marketing for law firms is the ability to make your name known. Sharing your story can help people understand what you stand for. In turn, that will make an impression that sets you apart from other firms.
Sharing unique content, especially if yours, lets people know that you have knowledge and experience. A respectable online reputation depends on first impressions, but quality and sincerity keep people coming back.
It can also re-activate people who didn’t need your services before, but now need them.
The hardest part of social media marketing for lawyers is knowing where to start. It is best to take it slow and ensure that you are well-informed rather than jumping right in and creating a profile just for the sake of creating a profile.
From who has access to accounts to dealing with negative posts, establishing company rules for social media is crucial. There may also be specific regulations regarding social media set by the bar.
You must comply with these rules and the ethical statutes set by your local law society.
Determine what you hope a law firm social media campaign will accomplish. How many new clients can you realistically take on? Is there a certain amount of recognition for which you strive?
With long and short-term goals, you have the groundwork for a social media strategy. These goals should, however, be feasible and practical. Since you will use them to develop your plan, it is essential to focus on the attainable.
Research should not stop with how to promote a law firm on social media. A quick search can take you to profiles of successful legal influencers. From there, you can see what they do with social media and use it for inspiration.
Instead of thinking like a lawyer, approach these profiles like a potential client. Doing this allows you to have a useful perspective on what does and does not work.
When you have established social media accounts for your law firm, it is always good to engage with others. You can also keep up to date with trends by following profiles and learning from those who have more experience.
In the beginning, it is wise to pick only one platform for a law firm’s social media campaign. With multiple, there is a higher chance of becoming overwhelmed. It can also be challenging to split your attention between several platforms evenly, especially when starting.
Take the time to learn when first creating your profile. Follow similar profiles and observe their approaches to social media. This method familiarizes you with terms, conversation styles, and where potential clients spend their time.
It can be tempting to focus on your favorite platform or the most popular. However, it is far more beneficial to pick what aligns best with your goals.
Other factors to account for are your team’s social media skills, how much time you have for marketing, your audience, and which area of law you practice.
Just last week I spoke with an attorney who has grown their practice almost solely off of producing iPhone Youtube Videos at home for the past 7 years.
Regardless of where you decide to establish your practice, it is best practice to follow the 80/20 rule. This ratio states that 80 percent of your content should provide value for the client, and anything sales-related gets the remaining 20 percent.
In this instance, value content refers to anything shared on your social media that shares something unique or gives insight into your team’s culture and experience. Cultivating resources to share is one way to do this, but creating your own has the most impact.
Content that you share can be infographics, photos of the team, articles with relevant information, FAQ videos, and more.
A significant aspect of developing an online presence is how you interact with peers and potential clients. Most people who contact a business either have service or product questions or want to inform people of an awful experience.
When left ignored, these publicly unanswered inquiries give the impression of indifference. People want to know that someone is listening. In this situation, you are that someone.
Keeping up with social media marketing for law firms’ demands is easier than it seems at first glance. A social media schedule can be a lifeline for a busy workplace. Pre-planned content is another technique that can save you from scrambling around at the last second for something to contribute.
A social media schedule should cover not only daily content but weekly and monthly as well. This plan allows you to delegate times and days when specific content goes live. Additionally, each person that has something to do with a social media account should have a schedule.
Creating or curating multiple weeks’ worth of content at once lets you spread posts out and gives you more time to focus on interacting with people. Doing everything you can to save time can make the marketing process much more manageable.
If worse comes to worst, social media scheduling tools are useful resources.
Social media metrics show you everything you need to know about how your content is doing. Clicks, views, shares, and even locations can provide you with enough information to switch things up a bit to attract a larger audience.
The analytics of a law firm’s social media campaign has complex and straightforward versions. Complex analytics go into details such as demographics and overall impact. If you want to know about clicks, likes, and shares, the initial report will have more than enough information.
Keeping track of social media engagement lets you make regular changes in response to any assessment results.
Without an online presence, it is easy to fade into the background. Mobile devices and internet usage are so prevalent that not having social media or a website can cause people to think twice about any business.
Not every social media platform will suit the needs of all. Because of this, it is essential to make a careful choice of where to begin. Not all social networks that are good for lawyers are listed here, but these well-known, consistently effective platforms are typically a better starting point.
As the leading platform for several years, LinkedIn gives you more than an outlet for your content. Connecting with others in your industry lets you expand your reach and establish a professional image.
LinkedIn is an ideal social media platform for lawyers or a law firm. It is inherently professional and allows the sharing and reinforcement of your legal experience. An established status on LinkedIn has a significant impact when deciding to branch out to other social media platforms.
While Facebook has the widest audience of potential clients, there are things to consider before making a business page. Some features of this platform actively work against your attempts to reach anyone.
If your practice is just starting to dabble in marketing, Facebook can be an excellent way to learn how to promote a law firm on social media without tons of pressure.
The popularity of this social media network for businesses is on a steady decline. Algorithms told to prioritize content from family and friends tend to take it too literally. The possibility of a post showing up on someone’s timeline, even with paid advertising, is minimal.
It never hurts to have a Facebook profile, but it may be worth focusing your attention elsewhere.
Anything short and sweet is perfect for a Twitter profile. Following influential people and posting efficient, instantaneous, and concise blurbs can be more challenging than it sounds, but luckily, Twitter is a straightforward social media platform.
A mix of consistent content with peak times in mind is generally the best strategy for a successful Twitter profile.
Slowly making its way into social media marketing for law firms, YouTube is a relatively untapped resource. Making videos is incredibly easy with the right tools and intentions. A YouTube channel for your law firm can feature short but informational information.
This social media platform is an excellent secondary marketing tool. Sharing YouTube videos on your other network profiles creates even more possibilities for reaching clients.
As Instagram continues to skyrocket in popularity, most law firms and solo lawyers do not have a profile. It can still be beneficial, however. Showing snippets of behind the scenes shenanigans or sharing legal insight allows people to see the firm in a more humanizing light.
For building your brand, firms dealing with consumer laws, or business clients, Instagram is an excellent platform.
A few social network platforms give you the option to pay for more visibility on their site, including LinkedIn. Facebook, in particular, prioritizes paid advertisements over content not from family and friends. Twitter advertises, too, but most do not find it practical.
Instagram and Facebook go hand in hand when it comes to advertising because ads automatically show up on both platforms.
If you do not want your Facebook ads on Instagram for any reason, there is a way to turn this feature off in Facebook’s settings.
A successful law firm social media campaign requires a certain level of professionalism. You should keep the ethics of using social media in mind at all times. Inappropriate behavior and misinformation tend to have a lasting impact on any business, and it is not usually a good one.
How well does your firm actually rank in Google’s Local Pack results? And does it matter?
Is your law firm ranking as well in local search results as it can be? This is an important subject that requires more attention than it’s getting.
That’s because most people who work with SEO companies typically look at a report that shows an important keyword and a number next to the keyword which indicates where it’s ranking.
The fact is that many law firm marketers have a poor understanding of how much visibility they actually have in a market because traditional local ranking reports can be highly misleading. This is also more common than you think with attorney SEO agencies.
This is problematic for strategy development because firms often decide to pivot their marketing strategy to new geographic areas when they should instead focus on a strategy that allows their firm to rank in as many places possible within their current target city.
In many cases, law firms could double, triple, or quadruple their leads just by focusing on strategies that help them dominate one geographic area instead of spreading out to new markets before they’ve reached their maximum potential.
In this article, we are going to address how law firm ranking results in Google differ based on the searcher’s geographic location and other factors. In some industries, the proximity to searcher has a much bigger impact (for example restaurants). In this article, we will look at law firm examples only.
The reality is that Google can rank a website in a different position on a mobile device, tablet, or computer plus that result can and commonly will change depending on the location where the searcher is searching.
To put this in perspective if two people standing 100 feet apart type in “Personal Injury Lawyer” it’s possible that they could see different firms ranking in the #1 position.
That is why ranking is misunderstood.
But it’s also where people get hung up. Let me explain.
See at the end of the day, the only metric you should judge your SEO by is probably market qualified leads or cases signed. There are so many factors that go into online marketing and SEO’s are notorious for using confusion jargon.
But the reality is that if two competing websites are both getting 100 visits a month for a keyword and one is converting at 20% MQL’s while the other is converting at 1% MQL’s then running all of the rank tracking in the world is not going to help you get to the 10%. There are other factors at play such as brand messaging, conversion optimization and making sure potential clients know, like and trust you.
So really you should not FOCUS on rank tracking, but… it is important to understand the implications to track overall progress and tie that MQL’s.
Over the years, search has become more and more localized. While years ago you could easily rank everywhere throughout an entire city for a keyword like “Car Accident Lawyer”, that’s not always the case anymore.
This is why ranking reports can be so misleading. If your rank tracking software shows you ranking in the number one position for a keyword it’s probably only emulating the search from one specific geographic spot.
But what if a potential client isn’t standing in that same location where your rank tracking software is when searching for your business?
A potential client looking for a personal injury attorney doing a Google search from a hospital may see a different #1 ranking firm than someone searching a few blocks away.
To illustrate this point, let’s use a visual example.
In the map below you will see I used a cool new tool by Local Falcon to see where The Sawaya Law Firm ranks in maps results for the keyword “Truck Accident Lawyer”.
This is a competitive keyword in a competitive market, and the colored map icons with the number represent it’s ranking position if I was conducting the search from that specific geographic location.
These map markers are 1 kilometer apart from each other, and the center represents where the business is located below.
You will probably notice that a green map marker with the number one shows up where the office is.
This means if I was searching for “truck accident lawyer” in Google from the law firm’s office, I would see the firm in the number one position.
This may make you feel good, but it probably won’t generate much business if you’re not ranking well from the position where potential clients are looking.
To add another fun variable, it’s important to understand that the same search performed on a laptop computer and a phone from the same location may yield different ranking results.
This is why it’s important to track your conversions (Phone Calls, Chat, Email, etc.) by device type to understand where you are seeing the highest return on investment.
Searcher intent has a lot to do with how Google decides to display results. While Google is going to serve local results for many law firm keywords, they also understand when a search should be even more localized.
One example of this is if I searched for “Car Accident Lawyer” and “Car Accident Lawyer Near Me”.
The “Near Me” search is explicitly telling Google that you’re looking for a car accident lawyer in close proximity to the location you’re searching from. Otherwise, they understand you’re probably just looking for a lawyer in the general area.
There are many different keywords a potential client might type into Google. Let’s look at a few examples and see how they differ:
Example Searches conducted from Glen Ellyn, Illinois from a single specific location:
In this example, the firm Schwartz Injury Firm maintains the #1 non-paid local position in all three of these searches above. All of these searches were conducted from the same place within the city on a Desktop computer.
When we used Local Falcon to search for “Car Accident Lawyer” we find that they do rank well around their business, but the further away they get they don’t rank as well (See below):
In my experience, the answer to this is no. At least not for many important search terms that will drive a lot of new business to your law firm. The example below is for a competitive keyword in a competitive market. If you’re able to rank organically and locally for your important keywords you can get similar results.
Having this knowledge is really powerful because you can use it to focus your marketing campaigns on searches that are going to drive the most business to your law firm.
For example, let’s say that you’re a Family Lawyer who handles divorce cases for higher net worth clients. If you’re not pulling in the type of clients you’re looking for, perhaps you’re not ranking well enough in the higher net worth areas. You can develop strategies to create more relevance and authority in these areas where your ideal clients are.
Other firms can use this knowledge do things like:
Thankfully there are a lot of cool tools out there that will allow you to diversify how you track rankings. Ideally, you will be able to track mobile and desktop rankings by:
There are a plethora of tools out there you can use to track rankings, but here are some that we and our clients use.
There are a lot of nuances when it comes to tracking local search results. This article was intended to be a high level simplified version of understanding how law firms rank in Google’s local results.
What have you seen in your area? Are you excelling or struggling? Please let me know in the comments below. The next article will focus on how you can dominate an entire area by doing things the right way.
