Years ago, when attorneys weren’t allowed to advertise, their main form of “client development” was socializing with potential clients, which included time on the golf course. Any associate who didn’t play golf had to learn, or be left behind by the “old boys club.”
Mini golf didn’t count. (That fact alone explains why I never went to law school.)
I know this because I’ve been working in law offices as a paralegal since 1985. I remember being puzzled by the fact that lawyers couldn’t advertise.
The world has changed a lot since I started work in a bad 80’s perm, wearing a dress with linebacker shoulder pads.
When I started as a paralegal I didn’t even have a computer on my desk. In my last regular paralegal job [before becoming a full-time writer] I had a computer with two widescreen monitors and my own scanner.
The world has changed a bit in the last 28 years.
Whether your potential client is a small business owner or an individual, they are likely on the web, every day. They are Facebooking, and Tweeting, and Instagramming. They are all about LinkedIn and Pinterest.
You may leave work and avoid the computer like the plague the rest of the day, but your typical client probably doesn’t.
Your potential client gets t-boned on Peachtree Street, guess what they do?
They grab their iPhone or their iPad and they Google phrases like “Atlanta lawyer car accident” or “accident attorney.”
What if they need another type of attorney? They still turn to Google or Bing, if they don’t know any attorneys. They may type:
“I need a real estate lawyer in Cumming”
“bankruptcy help”
“Alpharetta divorce lawyer”
“Atlanta attorneys + CHEAP”
Now, who do you think it going to come up first in that type of search? Here’s a hint: if your law firm’s website went live three years ago and hasn’t been touched since, it won’t be your firm popping up first.
Marketing is something most lawyers do only grudgingly. Let’s say you are a typical lawyer. You pose for a professional photo for the website, and write a brief bio that doesn’t mention anything interesting like the fact you have a bigger TV than anyone on your street, or you can make the best chili in Decatur, nope. It likely says you went to school and graduated 6th in your class and you have represented blah blah and blah…
Your office manager sends the website guy your photo and bio, and you think whew, glad that’s done. Now I can get back to practicing law.
What most attorneys don’t realize, though, is the fact that they need to market not just their firms, but themselves. They need to be known in the cyber community.
The internet is constantly changing. New websites, new articles, new content is being added all the time, all day and all night.
The attorney who is going to come up first in that Google search? That will be the attorney who has taken the time to study ways to make sure they land at the top of the search heap.
There are lots of ways to make that happen.
Putting up a website and never adding new content is a huge mistake. Ignoring SEO [search engine optimization] is worse.
SEO = Search Engine Optimization
SEO is critical to being found quickly on Google. Make sure whoever designed your website understands how to put in keywords – “car accident attorney” or “probate litigation specialists” or whatever – on page 1, and in the url, metadata, and page titles. Hire someone who really knows how to do that. Read the site before it goes live, though, and be sure the keywords don’t look awkward or stilted.
Your firm needs to be on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter, and any listings of firms in your area. Don’t know what to put on there? How about this: Sit down and make a list of ten reasons why your firm is the best source of legal help for your clients. Tweet one reason every couple of days.
Do you read online legal publications? Why not comment on a story? Most commenters on blogs and websites are given the opportunity to put a url for their website.
What about your local newspaper, online? Most newspapers allow comments. Comment as an attorney and be sure to mention your firm. (I would avoid something too blatant like “Yeah, I saw this car on fire and thought WOW! That guy needs an attorney! Call me today at Dewey Cheatam and Howe.”)
Facebook is easy. For instance: you represent people injured in car accidents. Time Magazine runs a cover story on the newest safety equipment on cars and how it saves lives in an accident. Post a link to that story on your firm website, and say something about it.
The more your name is on the web, and the more the name of your firm is on the web, the better you will do in keyword searches.
Spending some time every week online, marketing, may not be as much fun as playing 9 holes and having a few beers afterwards. However, it can really pay off in the long run. Spend an hour online, Tweeting and Facebooking and commenting, then reward yourself with a round of golf.