The Rainmaker Blog : Law Firm Marketing and Business Development : The Rainmaker Institute : Stephen Fairley : Professional Legal Marketing

Of the major social media networks, the one that seems to confound attorneys the most is Twitter. Perhaps it’s because there’s a limit (140 characters) on what you can write that frustrates lawyers, or all those #hashtags and @ symbols that confuse. 

What you need to keep in mind about Twitter is that it’s all about getting followers. You want to push out ideas and insights that people will want to follow, which is establishing trust, which is bringing you leads.

I recently blogged about How to Boost  Your Law Firm Marketing SEO with Twitter.  This HubSpot infographic tells you exactly how to structure your tweets to Get More Clicks on Twitter:

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FREE REPORT: 8 Reasons Small Firms 7 Solos Should Publish an E-newsletter PLUS 3 Steps to Get Started

In less than a few hours a month, you can produce an effective electronic newsletter, also known as an “E-newsletter.”

An E-newsletter is a customized electronic newsletter that is commonly used in business, but rarely in the field of law. If you are truly interested in the long-term success and sustainability of your practice, you need to learn how to leverage technology and the Internet to build it.

Here’s what you’ll discover when you read this report:

• The cost benefits of an e-newsletter
• How to incorporate your e-newsletter with your social networking
• How an e-newsletter supports your marketing efforts
• How to get started right away with your e-newsletter
• And much, much more!

To get your free report now, click here.

 

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Social media is all about sharing, so when I come across a thought-provoking post on another of the many social media blogs I frequent, I like to share it.

Today’s shared post is not only entertaining writing, it also imparts some valuable information that attorneys who are considering outsourcing their social media efforts should know.

These are the 10 Questions to Evaluate a Social Media Expert; you can read the full post with the answers to these questions here.

1. Do you have a blog?
2. When did you start in social media?
3. What is social media?
4. What is a social media campaign?
5. How do you monitor social media for clients?
6. How to you measure ROI?
7. How do you build an audience?
8. Do you offer a guarantee?
9. How did you learn social media?
10. How does social media impact SEO?

A growing number of attorneys are outsourcing their blogging efforts and social media campaigns to organizations like ours (full disclosure: yes, we have a program for attorneys to manage their blog and social media). When you outsource, you can focus on end results, not the process and hopefully you will be working with professionals who do this for a living. It’s not just another item on their to-do list, it is the very service you are paying them to provide for your firm.

When you interview an outsourced legal marketing company, be sure they meet these 5 criteria:

• They can point to other attorneys they work with;
• They have a written blueprint for how they intend to generate leads for your law firm;
• They clearly integrate blogs and social media and see one as an extension of the other;
• They charge a flat fee that’s reasonable based on results;
• They have clearly identified strategies to track and measure actual results from your blog and social media.

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Get All the Law Firm Marketing Strategies You Need to Create A 7-figure Law Practice with Rainmaker In A Box: Volume 2!

Newly released! Rainmaker in a Box: Volume 2 includes:

8 Proven Steps for More & Better Referrals


Discover the proven step-by-step system used to double your referrals from current and former clients and how to build a network of strategic referral partners. Top attorneys have used this exact system to double their referrals in 6 months or less!

7 Strategies to Recession Proof Your Law Firm


Watch and learn as I walk you through the specific strategies top lawyers are using to increase their revenues in this tough economy-and it doesn’t include reducing their fees!

6 Keys to Unlocking the Secrets of Social Media


Social media has emerged as the fastest way to build a massive platform of prospects! I pull back the curtain and let you in on little known secrets of how attorneys are generating dozens of leads every month from social media.

5 Core Components for Highly Successful Websites & Blogs 


My interview with nationally recognized personal injury attorney John Bisnar on how his law firm uses search engine optimization and internet marketing to drive tens of thousands of unique visitors every month to his 30 websites and 10 blogs. Discover proven techniques for converting website visitors into paying clients.

Data DVD: 
Includes all 4 PowerPoint slides for all 4 presentations. We recommend you print all these off and take notes on them as you experience these information-packed DVDs!

Click here now to order!

 

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Last June, I was privileged to keynote the California Solo and Small Firm Summit and present four breakout sessions:

Law Firm Marketing Strategies in a Social Media World: How to Use Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to Connect with Clients, Prospects and Referral Sources

How to Use YouTube, Avvo, and Your Blog to Connect with Clients, Prospects and Referral Sources

Proven Strategies for Using Websites and Internet Marketing to Generate More Leads

From Lead Generation to Client Retention: Secrets of Highly Successful Rainmakers

Patricia Van Haren, a Torrance, California family law attorney, attended this June event and just finished participating in our two-day law firm marketing boot camp, the Rainmaker Retreat, in Las Vegas last weekend. Here’s her story:

Using just what she learned in those four sessions in June, she was able to generate 43 new cases for her family law practice in only six months – impressive, to say the least! She has now formed a new partnership and attended our Rainmaker Retreat to further refine her education on law firm marketing to grow that new partnership quickly. 

I was interested to hear that one of her key takeaways was about micromanaging the client experience. Too often, micromanagement is seen as a bad thing – but that is not the case when it comes to ensuring your clients have the best possible experience with your firm.   You not only want them to return and refer, you want the word on your good reputation to be spread via social media – this can only be accomplished by paying very close and careful attention to managing the experience your clients have with your firm.

If you are interested in learning the law firm marketing strategies Patricia is using to grow her firm, here are our scheduled Rainmaker Retreat sessions:

February 10-11, 2012 – Orlando, FL

March 30-31, 2012 – San Diego, CA

April 27-28, 2012 – Chicago, IL

Click here to visit our Rainmaker Retreat website, where you can also access online registration for our upcoming events. 

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Here’s a Risk-Free Way to Preview the Rainmaker Retreat

In this complimentary 60-minute legal marketing call you will discover a proven Legal Marketing System that has helped 8,000 attorneys convert more prospects into paying clients

Join us and learn:

• How to avoid the most deadly legal marketing mistakes attorneys make
• 3 powerful strategies you must put into action in your law practice immediately
• How to set yourself apart from your major competitors
• Secrets top attorneys are using to generate more referrals right now
• How attorneys are winning even in this economy by implementing this proven 8-step system

This teleseminar will be personally presented by Stephen Fairley, CEO of the Rainmaker Institute, LLC and a nationally recognized law firm marketing expert.

The call will also give you a preview of the 65 different marketing techniques and strategies taught at our 2-day legal marketing boot camp.

Join us and in 60 minutes learn why hundreds of attorneys across the country attend and rave about the Rainmaker Retreat. Here are the dates for an upcoming complimentary teleseminar:

Thursday, February 2

12pm PT | 1pm MT | 2pm CT | 3pm ET

Wednesday, February 8

11am PT | 12pm MT | 1pm CT | 2pm ET

Thursday, February 16

11am PT | 12pm MT | 1pm CT | 2pm ET

If there’s one thing you cannot afford to miss out on this year, it’s the Rainmaker Retreat.

Click here to register and discover for yourself what you have been missing.

 

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If you grew up with siblings, you undoubtedly learned how to share. That skill comes in handy for law firm email marketing efforts, since new research shows that emails containing social sharing buttons enjoy an average click-through-rate (CTR) that is 115 percent higher than emails without sharing capabilities. 

This GetResponse infographic tells the story:

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Looking for more proven tactics from The Rainmaker Institute?
Then subscribe to our FREE monthly e-newsletter. One click of your mouse will take you to our site where you can see the current issue and subscribe to our complimentary monthly e-newsletter that will be delivered to your inbox.  Each issue is chock-full of legal marketing information you can put to use right away. I think you will find the information in every newsletter something you will want to share with your staff to maximize the effectiveness of your legal marketing plan.

 

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I am in Las Vegas today at our January Rainmaker Retreat, preparing to engage an enthusiastic crowd of attorneys eager to learn proven law firm marketing techniques and unveil the mysteries of social media and Internet marketing.

At every Rainmaker Retreat, attendees have a wide range of expertise when it comes to law firm marketing. Jim Negele, a business litigator in Southern California, attended our Los Angeles Rainmaker Retreat last month and told us what he liked about the sessions is that they are geared for everyone, from novices to experts:

No matter what your level of expertise is when it comes to law firm marketing, you will gain the knowledge you need to have to attract new clients and grow your practice at a Rainmaker Retreat. 

Here are our upcoming sessions:

February 10-11, 2012 – Orlando, FL

March 30-31, 2012 – San Diego, CA

April 27-28, 2012 – Chicago, IL

Click here to visit our Rainmaker Retreat website, where you can also access online registration for upcoming events. 

If you want to learn more about the Rainmaker Retreat and why it is a proven legal marketing system that has helped over 8,000 attorneys find more and better clients, then click here to receive a free DVD of your colleagues (and even your competitors) describing their experiences at our 2-day law firm marketing boot camp, the Rainmaker Retreat.

Yes, we know you are skeptical.   So instead of us telling you how these 2 days will transform your business, you can listen to your peers describe their experiences in their own words.
 
Click here to order your complimentary DVD right now.

 

 

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You already know that people spend a lot of time online these days. That’s not news. But what exactly are they doing online? And how can you leverage everyday online activities to generate leads for your law firm? That would be news you could use!

The go-to resource for all things Internet is the Pew Internet & American Life Project Tracking Survey, which measures all the Internet activity in the U.S. Taking data from the past three years – 2009, 2010 and 2011 – Flowtown created an infographic showing what people are doing most – and least—online:

What People Do Most Online

1. Send or read email
2. Use a search engine to find information
3. Look for health or medical information
4. Check the weather
5. Search for a product or service

What People Do Least Online

1. Create or work on a blog
2. Use Twitter
3. Buy or sell stocks, bonds or mutual funds
4. Use a dating website
5. Visit virtual worlds like Second Life

Taking the activities people do most online and applying them to your law firm marketing program will tell you that email marketing and SEO activities should be a major focus for your legal marketing plan.

So what about what people do least? According to Pew research, they don’t create many blogs, but they do read them – which is a great opportunity for you to be heard via a legal marketing blog.

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FREE "Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" E-book

In a newly revised e-book, legal marketing expert Stephen Fairley outlines 10 of the most common marketing mistakes attorneys make that can lead to the failure of their business, and provides specific strategies and proven principles for avoiding these deadly errors. 

Get your complimentary copy online here.

Regardless of your specific situation, this free e-book will help you examine how you are currently finding new clients and recommend specific steps you can immediately start using to grow your practice. 

We have helped thousands of attorneys achieve their goals of creating a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice. In this e-book you will discover specific principles and tools you can use to grow your practice, too.  

 

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Happy New Year to my readers celebrating the Chinese New Year of the Dragon today! In ancient China, the symbol of the dragon was traditionally reserved for the Emperor and is a highly auspicious sign, portending prosperity and good luck. 

If you are relying on your law firm marketing websites to bring you prosperity in 2012, you cannot just count on luck to make it happen. Those sites will not do you any good if prospects are not finding them – which is why it is critically important that you follow these top 10 SEO essentials for your legal websites and blogs:

1. Keywords in title tags – title tags are those words that appear in the title bar of web browsers and what generally shows up in search engine results pages. For example, when you open this blog, you will see this title tag: The Rainmaker Blog: Law Firm Marketing and Business Development: The Rainmaker Institute: Stephen Fairley: Professional Legal Marketing. Title tags are coded into your site and should contain the most important keywords relevant to your prospects.
2. Keywords in URLs – ideally, your URL will contain primary keywords – i.e., www.fortmyersestateplanning.com
3. Header tags – these go in your main content, separating thoughts and/or paragraphs with keyword-rich subheads.
4. Fresh content – creating new content and updating old content regularly boosts authority and news ranking.
5. Content diversity – search engines reward diversity in format and content, so include photos, videos and presentations wherever possible.
6. High quality inbound links – creating high quality, unique content that others will want to link to and reference can have a huge impact on your website ranking.
7. Authority – build authority for your site through participation in social media, providing commentary and links to other authoritative sources in your space and quality inbound link building.
8. Feedback – syndicate, promote and provide people with an easy way to share feedback via a blog hosted or linked to your website.
9. Quality user experience – Google rewards sites that are well designed, easy to navigate, load quickly and keep visitors engaged (low bounce rates).
10. Browser compatibility – your site needs to be compatible with the latest browser versions, including mobile.

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Becoming a Rainmaker: Business Building Strategies for Lawyers

Based on Stephen’s highly successful seminar series by the same name, this 3-audio CD program covers dozens of practical recommendations and step-by-step sales and marketing techniques for solo practitioners and small law firms.

More than 8,000 attorneys from law firms all over the country have experienced powerful results from attending the Becoming A Rainmaker seminar. It has been sponsored by more than 22 of the largest state and local bar associations.

In this information-packed audio program, you will discover:

• How to generate more leads by using education-based marketing
• The relationship between credibility, visibility, tangibility, and consistency
• How to position your small firm as an industry leader
• The importance of being perceived as a specialist
• Why most advertising is a waste of your money
• What to expect from a Yellow Pages ad
• The 3 marketing strategies that will produce 80% of your results
• How to influence the Know, Like and Trust factors
• Common marketing mistakes lawyers make and how to avoid them
• How to answer the question, "Why should I buy from you?"
• Specific ways you can set yourself apart from low-cost lawyers
• What to do with the 15% of the population that always buys on price
• Ways to attract your Ideal Target Market
• The 6 stage sales process you must follow for maximum success

To order yours now, click here.

 

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Yes, YouTube is so ubiquitous its name is now a verb. And important enough that a senior YouTube executive was the keynote speaker this month at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where he predicted that video would soon account for 90 percent of all the traffic on the Internet.

According to Nielsen, in November 2011 there were 167 million unique U.S. video viewers who spent more than five hours during the month watching online video. YouTube had the lion’s share of this audience, with 131 million unique viewers. 

But YouTube is so much more than just a video channel. It is now the second largest search engine on the Internet, just behind Google. Another big reason why attorneys who are nowhere to be found on YouTube are missing great opportunities for branding as well as for SEO.

Here are some tips on how to get started marketing yourself and your law firm on YouTube:

Create a branded channel. Name your channel in a way that explains what you do, not with the name of your firm – for example, if you are a family law attorney in Phoenix, you may want to call it something like Phoenix Divorce Legal Network. 

Tag your video content with keywords. Tagging and titling your video with the keywords your target market uses to search for the information you are providing is key. YouTube has a keyword system called Tags that is a useful tool for helping you do this.

Use annotations. YouTube offers several different ways for you to annotate your videos: Speech Bubbles are graphic pop-ups you can use to highlight what someone is saying during the video, Notes are boxes that you can locate anywhere on your video where you can embed a link to your website or blog, and Spotlights are transparent boxes with text used to highlight specific areas of a video that appear when a user rolls their mouse over them.

Use Promoted Videos – this is a paid search option similar to Google Adwords, allowing you to create ads for your videos to promote them across the network.

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Get All the Law Firm Marketing Strategies You Need to Create A 7-figure Law Practice with Rainmaker In A Box: Volume 2!

Newly released! Rainmaker in a Box: Volume 2 includes:

8 Proven Steps for More & Better Referrals


Discover the proven step-by-step system used to double your referrals from current and former clients and how to build a network of strategic referral partners. Top attorneys have used this exact system to double their referrals in 6 months or less!

7 Strategies to Recession Proof Your Law Firm


Watch and learn as I walk you through the specific strategies top lawyers are using to increase their revenues in this tough economy-and it doesn’t include reducing their fees!

6 Keys to Unlocking the Secrets of Social Media


Social media has emerged as the fastest way to build a massive platform of prospects! I pull back the curtain and let you in on little known secrets of how attorneys are generating dozens of leads every month from social media.

5 Core Components for Highly Successful Websites & Blogs 


My interview with nationally recognized personal injury attorney John Bisnar on how his law firm uses search engine optimization and internet marketing to drive tens of thousands of unique visitors every month to his 30 websites and 10 blogs. Discover proven techniques for converting website visitors into paying clients.

Data DVD: 
Includes all 4 PowerPoint slides for all 4 presentations. We recommend you print all these off and take notes on them as you experience these information-packed DVDs!

Click here now to order!

 

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I recently blogged here about why content marketing should be a key component of your law firm marketing plan in 2012. The primary reason that content matters so much is not just to keep your readers engaged, but for SEO purposes.

Here is an interesting infographic that details why content matters for SEO:

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FREE Rainmaker Retreat Preview DVD – Learn Before You Go!

If you want to learn more about the Rainmaker Retreat and why it is a proven legal marketing system that has helped over 8,000 attorneys find more and better clients, then click here to receive a free DVD of your colleagues (and even your competitors) describing their experiences at our 2-day law firm marketing boot camp, the Rainmaker Retreat.

Yes, we know you are skeptical.   So instead of us telling you how these 2 days will transform your business, you can listen to your peers describe their experiences in their own words.
 
Click here to order your complimentary DVD right now.

 

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I understand that, when confronted with something someone tells you that you really should be doing, your first reaction is, “Why? What’s in it for me?” 

And so it is with social media. Most attorneys I talk with want to know what’s beyond the hubbub, and if social media marketing will deliver true value for the investment in time and effort that it takes.

The short answer is, most certainly.

But to cut to specifics, here is what social media will – and won’t – do for your legal practice:

Social media will help you build trust, but it will not make a “bad” reputation better. Social media is a meritocracy – if you’re good, people will know it. Conversely, a bad experience will also get talked about. Building trust is crucial for attorneys, and social media helps you build trust by providing a robust platform for sharing your particular insights and knowledge. Once people trust that, they will use you and recommend you to others.

Social media will get you leads, but it will not turn them into paying clients. People who follow you on Twitter, are a fan of you on Facebook or interact with you in any way on a social network have indicated an interest in what you have to say. These are leads. To capitalize on them and turn them into paying clients, however, requires effort on your part in following up.

Social media will give you visibility, but it will not replace a good client experience. Social media is a 365/24/7 world, allowing you to engage with prospects at any time, and they with you. You must be vigilant about responding to posts and questions the same way you would in responding to a prospect who calls or emails you. Every point of contact is an opportunity to make a great impression.

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Free Report: 4 Myths That Keep Attorneys From Building A Referral-Based Practice

Referrals are the lifeblood of many law practices, and building a good referral program takes a proven process.  Stephen Fairly unveils the 4 Myths That Keep Attorneys from Building a Referral-Based Practice in his new free report.  Read and discover:

• How to determine the best source for your referrals
• How to explain your ideal target market to a referral source
• How to get referrals from other attorneys
• Whether online directories are a good referral source
• How to network effectively
• And much, much more!

Click here to get your free report today.

 

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The recent eMarketer U.S. Digital Media Usage: Snapshot of 2012 report provided some eye-popping estimates about what the digital marketing landscape will look like this year, according to a Hubspot.com blog post a few days ago.

If Internet marketing is not a key component of your law firm marketing plan, you have a lot to catch up on – because you must also begin mastering the art of marketing on multiple platforms, including mobile and tablet.

Here are the prognostications:

The Internet in 2012

1) In 2012, the audience of Internet users in the U.S. will expand by 3.1% to 239 million, representing 75.6% of the total population.

In other words...

2) More than 3/4 of the total population will be online in 2012.

Mobile in 2012

3) Mobile Internet users will reach 113.9 million in 2012, up 17.1% from 97.3 million in 2011.

4) Smartphone users will reach 106.7 million in 2012, up 18.4% from 2011.

5) In 2012, 94% of smartphones users will be mobile Internet users.

6) All mobile phone users will reach 242.6 million in 2012, up 2.3% from 2011.

7) Mobile shoppers will reach 72.8 million in 2012.

8) Mobile buyers will reach 37.5 million in 2012.

9) Smartphone shoppers will reach 68.6 million in 2012.

10) Smartphone buyers will reach 36.4 million in 2012.

11) Tablet users will reach 54.8 million in 2012, up 62.8% from 33.7 million in 2011.

12) iPad users will reach 41.9 million in 2012.

13) In 2012, 76.4% of tablet users will be iPad users.

14) Adult-aged eReader users will reach 45.6 million in 2012, up from 33.3 million in 2011.

Social Media in 2012

15) Facebook will reach 143.4 million US users in 2012, up 8.2% from 132.5 million in 2011.

16) About 2/3 of web users will use social networks in 2012.

17) More than 90% of social network users will be on Facebook in 2012.

Online Video in 2012

18) Online video viewers will reach 169.3 million in 2012.

19) 53.5% of the population and 70.8% of Internet users (up 7.1% from 2011) will watch online video in 2012.

20) Mobile video viewers will reach 54.6 million in 2012.

21) Smartphone video viewers will reach 51.2 million in 2012.

Ecommerce in 2012

22) 88.1% of US Internet users ages 14+ will browse or research products online in 2012.

23) 83.9% of Internet researchers will make at least one purchase via the web during 2012.

24) Online shoppers will reach 184.3 million in 2012, up 3.3% from 2011.

25) Online buyers will reach 154.6 million in 2012, up 4.4% from 2011.

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Free CD: Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices

Get your free CD on Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices by #1 Best-Selling Author And Nationally Recognized Law Firm Marketing Expert Stephen Fairley, and listen as he reveals A Proven System To Generate More and Better Referrals, Find New Clients Fast, and Fill Your Law Practice! Discover:

• How 1 piece of simple technology in your practice will drastically increase your communication with prospects, clients and referral sources – resulting in a major revenue boost
• 5 ways to market and position yourself as a recognized expert
• How 2 Attorneys promoted their law firms to over 100,000 people for less than $100 in 2 hours
• The 1 item you must absolutely have to create a Million Dollar Law Practice (hint: Not having this will almost guarantee your failure!)
• 6 BIGGEST secrets to generating more and better referrals
• How to create a proven network of 30 new Strategic Referral Partners in the next 90 days

To obtain your free CD, click here now.

 

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With all the legal marketing emphasis on social media these days, it sometimes seems as if that very powerful law firm marketing tool – email marketing -- gets left in the dust. That would be a very serious mistake.

The 2011 Marketers’ Benchmark Report by Focus Research showed that email marketing is still the top performing channel:

Earlier this week, Hubspot provided these tips for proven ways to increase your email marketing effectiveness by improving your click-through rates:

Test subject lines – remember the ingredients for effective email subject lines: deliverability, actionability, personalization, clarity, brevity and consistency.

Keep it brief – keep the copy short and extend your offer early.

Make it social – include social sharing buttons that allow readers to pass along your content.   Research shows that adding these can increase your click-through rate by 30 percent or more.

Segment your lists – whether it’s by geography, new clients, current clients, prospects or practice area, segment your lists and talk directly to the subjects that interest that segment.

Personalize – not only by name, but also by interest. Make the most relevant offers to those who are most likely to be interested in those specific offers.

Remove distractions – don’t clutter your email newsletter with lots of “fun facts” or other esoterica that distracts from your message.

Strong call-to-action – hit your prospects in the face with a strong call to action in the first part of your email and make it impossible to miss.

Include a P.S. – these are irresistible to most readers, and should be used to reiterate your offer.

Optimize for mobile – research tells us that 70 million Americans access email via their mobile devices every day. Be sure your email messages are optimized for mobile.

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FREE Rainmaker Retreat Preview DVD – Learn Before You Go!

If you want to learn more about the Rainmaker Retreat and why it is a proven legal marketing system that has helped over 8,000 attorneys find more and better clients, then click here to receive a free DVD of your colleagues (and even your competitors) describing their experiences at our 2-day law firm marketing boot camp, the Rainmaker Retreat.

Yes, we know you are skeptical.   So instead of us telling you how these 2 days will transform your business, you can listen to your peers describe their experiences in their own words.
 
Click here to order your complimentary DVD right now.

 

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If you build a legal marketing blog, will the readers come? That is a common question many neophyte law firm marketing bloggers must address – not just by posting and hoping, but taking specific actions to attract a following.

Here are some tips on building an audience for your law firm marketing blog:

Pick the low-hanging fruit. Send an email to all your current clients, contacts, family and friends letting them know about your blog. Make it easy for readers to share with friends by adding a Share button feature to your blog. Include your blog address in your email signature as a subtle promotion.

Create good quality content. The best way to grow readership is by creating high quality content that your readers value and will pass along to others. Make your headlines informational and relevant to your subject, instead of serving up sensational headlines that try to “trick” readers into following you.

Write for a target audience. Pick your target and stick to it. Just as we encourage you to niche your practice to attract more quality prospects, you should be applying this same reasoning to your blog audience.

Invite guests. Guest bloggers can provide a new unique voice, keeping your blog fresh, and can also direct their followers to your blog, thus providing you with a new source of readership. Just be sure you choose guest bloggers whose message is relevant to your core audience.

Post consistently. Publishing your blog on a regular schedule helps build loyalty and makes it easier for your audience to integrate you into their daily readership routines.

Be relevant. Blogging about topics that are top-of-mind – a celebrity divorce, a high profile criminal case, a controversial court decision – helps you connect with readers and encourages them to pass your blog along, which in turn increases your reach. 

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Want to Learn More Internet Marketing Techniques for Attorneys? Attend a Rainmaker Retreat!

If you are interested in building a lifestyle law practice through effective law firm marketing, then come to one of our upcoming Rainmaker Retreats:

February 10-11, 2012 – Orlando, FL

March 30-31, 2012 -- San Diego, CA

April 27-28, 2012 -- Chicago, IL

If you want to learn more about the Rainmaker Retreat and why it is a proven legal marketing system that has helped over 8,000 attorneys find more and better clients, then register now for one of our one-hour complimentary teleseminars:

Thursday, February 2

12pm PT | 1pm MT | 2pm CT | 3pm ET

Wednesday, February 8

11am PT | 12pm MT | 1pm CT | 2pm ET

Thursday, February 16

11am PT | 12pm MT | 1pm CT | 2pm ET

Wednesday, February 22

1pm PT | 2pm MT | 3pm CT | 4pm ET

Join us and learn why the Rainmaker Retreat is the one law firm marketing boot camp you cannot afford to miss!

 

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Last month, I blogged here and here about a study by Hinge Research Institute that found that professional services firms that engage in online marketing for lead generation grow four times faster and are twice as profitable as firms that do not.

The online marketplace has changed the way referrals are made as well as the speed in which they are made, and if you’re still relying on getting referrals “the old fashioned way,” you are missing a very great opportunity for growth and profitability.

Here’s the Hinge infographic that tells the story:

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Free Report: 4 Myths That Keep Attorneys From Building A Referral-Based Practice

Referrals are the lifeblood of many law practices, and building a good referral program takes a proven process.  Stephen Fairly unveils the 4 Myths That Keep Attorneys from Building a Referral-Based Practice in his new free report.  Read and discover:

• How to determine the best source for your referrals
• How to explain your ideal target market to a referral source
• How to get referrals from other attorneys
• Whether online directories are a good referral source
• How to network effectively
• And much, much more!

Click here to get your free report today.

 

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• Comments
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Blogs are one of the best ways to get to the top of Google for targeted search results. Google loves fresh content and when done right, a blog is the best way to push fresh content into the search engines.

In addition, social media research indicates companies with blogs generate 67% more leads than companies that do not have a blog!

There is no denying the value of blogging when it comes to law firm marketing.

When used properly, it becomes a clear, consistent voice for your practice. It entices prospects, referral sources, colleagues, clients and thought leaders to engage you in dialogue.

It keeps you top of mind. It builds visibility among your target clients. Ultimately, it earns you more of the kind of client you most desire.

Blogs hold a unique position in the online media landscape because they have become an accepted source of information. Here are some tips on how to successfully grow your blog:

Engage with other online communities. Become known on other relevant blogs by contributing valuable content to pick up audiences for your own blog.

Write about what you know. If you are passionate about your law practice, share it.

Provide engaging content. Be the spark that starts smart conversations online.

Answer questions. Solicit feedback and keep the conversation going.

Offer real value. Dive deep into your subject matter to keep readers wanting more.

Create content to match needs. Speak to your target market in your blog about the legal issues that concern them.

Make readers feel good. If someone posts a thoughtful comment, respond to it with appreciation. If you disagree, do so gracefully.

Give more than you get. Offer readers something of value like a free e-book or newsletter subscription. Post on a regular schedule so your readers are always getting something new from you.

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FREE REPORT: How to Use Blogs as a Secret Weapon in Your Online Arsenal

One of the secret tools of Internet marketing for attorneys is the power of having a targeted blog. In a new report on the influence of blogs, eMarketer.com found that in 2010, 51% of Internet users in the U.S. (that’s over 91 million people) read blogs, and they project that usage will go to 60% (150 million) in the next four years!

Still think blogs are a fad?

Here’s what you’ll discover when you read this report:

• Why you must have a blog in order to stay relevant
• 3 keys to successful blogging
• 7 Guidelines for achieving ROI
• Your 3 choices for managing your blog and social media efforts
• And much more!

Click here to order your free report now!

 

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The results of a survey by Burson-Marsteller, commissioned by LexisNexis, finds that social media adoption – at least by what is classified as “leading law firms” around the world – is still lagging behind many professions.

Here’s an infographic snapshot of the results:

Perhaps what is most surprising is the low usage of two of the most powerful social media tools for attorneys: blogging and online videos. These tools are terrific for attorneys to help establish credibility and authority, to speak directly with prospects and to get your voice out there. So why are they lagging behind LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook?

My guess is, the amount of effort it takes to produce blogs and videos.   Which is too bad, because this kind of content is what Google and other search engines reward the most. 

I recently posted a blog giving 26 reasons why social media should be a part of law firm marketing programs. If you didn’t read it here, perhaps you picked it up in the latest LexisNexis Best Practices in Lawyer Blogs newsletter...they graciously included my post in their roundup.

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FREE "Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" E-book

In a newly revised e-book, legal marketing expert Stephen Fairley outlines 10 of the most common marketing mistakes attorneys make that can lead to the failure of their business, and provides specific strategies and proven principles for avoiding these deadly errors. 

Get your complimentary copy online here.

Regardless of your specific situation, this free e-book will help you examine how you are currently finding new clients and recommend specific steps you can immediately start using to grow your practice. 

We have helped thousands of attorneys achieve their goals of creating a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice. In this e-book you will discover specific principles and tools you can use to grow your practice, too.  

 

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We all know that “cash is king” when it comes to successfully managing your own business, but when it comes to B2B marketing, content is king.  

A new study by MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute, which surveyed almost 1,100 B2B marketers in August 2011, has found that 90 percent of B2B marketers use content marketing to grow their businesses – and 80 percent of those use at least eight content marketing tactics to achieve their marketing goals. 

The top 10 B2B content marketing tactics include:

The study found that the three content marketing tactics that have grown the most since last year are blogs (65% in 2011 vs. 51% in 2010), videos (52% in 2011 vs. 41% in 2010) and white papers (51% in 2011 vs. 43% in 2010).

Social media networks grew substantially over the past year as vehicles for distributing content:

The biggest challenge facing B2B content marketers today is, not surprisingly, producing the kind of content that engages prospective customers. To produce this content, more marketers are turning to outsourcing – 62% of those surveyed said they use a combination of in-house and outsourced content, up from 55% one year ago.

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Looking for more proven tactics from The Rainmaker Institute?

Then subscribe to our FREE monthly e-newsletter. One click of your mouse will take you to our site where you can see the current issue and subscribe to our complimentary monthly e-newsletter that will be delivered to your inbox. 

Each issue is chock-full of legal marketing information you can put to use right away. I think you will find the information in every newsletter something you will want to share with your staff to maximize the effectiveness of your legal marketing plan.

 

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YouTube set a new record this October with more than 20 Billion video views, according to comScore Video Matrix data. Approximately 184 million U.S. Internet users watched an average of 21.1 hours each of online video in October. 

The comScore data also showed that for the first time Facebook ranks 2^nd in online video viewers, with 59.8 million viewers.

When we build a client’s website, we always try to add video features.  We know that lawyers love words.  But your potential clients love video, and hosting your video clips on YouTube and Facebook is an excellent way to state your case to those potential clients as well as improve your search engine ranking.

Plus, it’s easy and economical to do. So whether or not you have video features on your website, you can create a YouTube channel for your practice that will do double duty for you, persuading potential clients why they should hire you, and boosting your Google ranking.  Here’s how:

Pick your specialty.  You’ve heard me say it before, but it bears repeating:  one of the biggest legal marketing mistakes attorneys make is generalization.  You need to promote yourself as a specialist (in the marketing sense) – you’re a divorce lawyer, or a car accident attorney, or an estate planning lawyer.  Choose 3-4 topics within your area of specialization and develop informational talking points (no more than 3-4 minutes each) that potential clients will find useful.  And remember, you are not shooting a commercial – make it short and informational.

Shoot your videos.  Your clips do not need to be Hollywood-quality productions.  You can get an inexpensive HD camcorder for around $200 and have one of your staff shoot the videos of you in your office or conference room.  These camcorders have a built-in USB connection so you can upload each clip to your computer, edit it, and create a file for YouTube.

Set up your channel.  With YouTube, you can create your own TV channel.  The website will walk you through the process, including uploading and tagging your video.  Be SURE you title and tag your video with your keywords (i.e., “Atlanta divorce lawyer”) so you feed those search engines.  You will also need to add a description – be as specific as possible and load up on those keywords.

Promote your channel.  Add your YouTube channel URL to all your social media pages – LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc. – as well as to your email signature.  Have everyone in your practice add it to their social media and electronic signatures as well.  You can also search for relevant videos on YouTube and post a video reply linking your channel to those relevant videos.  And, of course, embed the clips into your website and link to your YouTube channel from there.

Online video is a great social media tool for your law firm marketing arsenal that can help you with SEO and attracting new clients.

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FREE "Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" E-book

In a newly revised e-book, legal marketing expert Stephen Fairley outlines 10 of the most common marketing mistakes attorneys make that can lead to the failure of their business, and provides specific strategies and proven principles for avoiding these deadly errors. 

Get your complimentary copy online here.

Regardless of your specific situation, this free e-book will help you examine how you are currently finding new clients and recommend specific steps you can immediately start using to grow your practice. 

We have helped thousands of attorneys achieve their goals of creating a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice. In this e-book you will discover specific principles and tools you can use to grow your practice, too.  

 

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Distrust of traditional media sources is growing, and so is the influence of blogs on consumers’ purchase decisions, according to the 2011 State of the Blogosphere Report recently released by blog directory website Technorati.

The report shows that more than one-third of the consumers surveyed believe they will be getting their news and entertainment from blogs rather than traditional media over the next five years, and more than half said they trust traditional media less than they did five years ago:

More than half also said they visit blogs to get news or information:

And almost one-third said that a blog is likely to influence a purchase decision:

There is no denying the value of blogging when it comes to law firm marketing.

When used properly, it becomes a clear, consistent voice for your practice. It entices prospects, referral sources, colleagues, clients and thought leaders to engage you in dialogue.

It keeps you top of mind. It builds visibility among your target clients. Ultimately, it earns you more of the kind of client you most desire.

Blogging is your forum to connect with the community at large and to make it clear that you are an expert in your field.  But to make it the highly effective medium you need it to be, your law firm marketing and promotion strategy should include:

• A topic list designed to engage your target audience;
• A list of social media (such as Facebook and Twitter) to promote it;
• A list and schedule for article marketing services to add visibility and to feed it to reporters and thought leaders;
• An up-to-date blog that you write articles for at least 2 to 4 times per week;
• A search engine optimization formula to increase your page rank.

When you have all these things in place, you will be well on your way to creating a blog that will enhance your overall law firm marketing efforts.

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Practice Made Perfect for Lawyers CD Set

The Practice Made Perfect CD set and manual applies Stephen Fairley’s unique High Impact Marketing System to the practice-building challenges faced by solo practitioners and partners at small law firms.  

It includes dozens of specific marketing and sales recommendations that can be easily and quickly applied to your firm, including:

• The only 7 sure-fire ways to get clients in your door NOW
• Why advertising doesn’t work for most small law firms
• The 7 reasons why people don’t buy from you           
• How to market and sell with USP’s (Unique Selling Proposition)           
• Using audio logos to attract immediate attention for your business
• Using low-cost, high impact marketing strategies           
• Strategies for achieving maximum results from all of your marketing efforts           
• How to discover your Ideal Target Market
• 3 critical factors to remember when looking for new clients
• The NEW sales cycle for professional services
• How to retain your best clients

Click here to order your Practice Made Perfect for Lawyers CD set and manual now.

 

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A study of 500 professional services firms from Hinge Research Institute has found that online marketing produces higher growth and bigger profits for those firms that utilize Internet marketing for lead generation.

According to the study, firms that generated 40 percent or more of their leads online grew four times faster than firms with no online lead generation strategy:

In addition, the study found that firms in the high growth category obtained at least 63 percent of their leads online, while those firms in the average growth category got 12 percent of their leads online.

And here’s the kicker: firms that generate more than 60 percent of their leads online are twice as profitable as those that generate less than 20 percent of their leads online:

What online techniques are professional services finding the most effective? Here’s a chart ranking them from 1 (ineffective) to 10 (highly effective):

This report is so relevant to law firm marketing that I will post more tomorrow, including what the research says high growth firms do differently.

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Looking for more proven tactics from The Rainmaker Institute?

Then subscribe to our FREE monthly e-newsletter. One click of your mouse will take you to our site where you can see the current issue and subscribe to our complimentary monthly e-newsletter that will be delivered to your inbox.  Each issue is chock-full of legal marketing information you can put to use right away. I think you will find the information in every newsletter something you will want to share with your staff to maximize the effectiveness of your legal marketing plan.

 

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Today is Veteran’s Day, which is about as good a day as any to think about loyalty. When it comes to legal services, law firms are facing the same problem many other brands are facing today: the erosion of customer loyalty.

Spurred by a weak economy, consumers are becoming less and less loyal to brands, and the cost of acquiring new customers is a real concern. Which is why social media – while not a panacea for all ills – can help attorneys close the loyalty gap. Here is an interesting infographic on the motivations behind brand loyalty online:

A personal note to our nation’s veterans: Everyone at the Rainmaker Institute joins me today in offering our sincere appreciation to you and your families for your service and your sacrifice. We can never say it enough: thank you.

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Want to Learn More Internet Marketing Techniques for Attorneys? Attend a Rainmaker Retreat!

If you are interested in building a lifestyle law practice through effective law firm marketing, then come to one of our upcoming Rainmaker Retreats:

December 2-3, 2011 – Los Angeles, CA

February 10-11, 2012 – Orlando, FL

If you want to learn more about the Rainmaker Retreat and why it is a proven legal marketing system that has helped over 8,000 attorneys find more and better clients, then register now for one of our one-hour complimentary teleseminars:

Wednesday, November 16

10am PT | 11am MT | 12pm CT | 1pm ET  

Tuesday, November 22

1pm PT | 2pm MT | 3pm CT | 4pm ET  

Join us and learn why the Rainmaker Retreat is the one law firm marketing boot camp you cannot afford to miss!

 

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The world recently celebrated (depending on how you look at it) the arrival of the 7 billionth person on the planet. With Facebook now at 800 million users worldwide and growing, it won’t be long before one-seventh of the world’s population is on this robust social media platform.

Here’s a deeper look at the numbers:

Want to Learn About Social Media Marketing for Attorneys? Attend a Rainmaker Retreat!

If you are interested in building a lifestyle law practice through effective law firm marketing, then come to one of our upcoming Rainmaker Retreats:

• November 11-12, 2011 – Chicago, IL  ***4.25 Hours of General MCLE credits***
• December 2-3, 2011 – Los Angeles, CA
• February 10-11, 2012 – Orlando, FL

If you want to learn more about the Rainmaker Retreat and why it is a proven legal marketing system that has helped over 8,000 attorneys find more and better clients, then click here to receive a free DVD of your colleagues (and even your competitors) describing their experiences at our 2-day law firm marketing boot camp, the Rainmaker Retreat.

Yes, we know you are skeptical.   So instead of us telling you how these 2 days will transform your business, you can listen to your peers describe their experiences in their own words.
 
Click here to order your complimentary DVD right now.

 

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Small businesses are rapidly learning how social media can enhance the bottom line when it comes to retaining and attracting new customers. It is currently estimated that 75 percent of small businesses now participate in social media – primarily for lead generation and client retention.

One of the most revealing statistics is that a majority of consumers who follow a brand on social media are more likely to buy the brands they follow – 64 percent of Twitter users and 51 percent of Facebook users. Here’s an interesting infographic that shows how small business is using social media:

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Stop Wasting Precious Time and Money

Feel like you don’t have time for marketing?  Let us show you how to make a plan that runs on “autopilot” – one that attracts new and lucrative clients while you focus on your practice.

Learn how easy it can be to create an effective law firm marketing plan that performs by getting our Free Guide: 5 Easy Steps to Create Your Law Firm Marketing Plan. 

After working with many ultra-successful lawyers we found five common threads in their marketing plans. This guide outlines these shared elements to provide insight into strategies that work and how to make them work for you.

There are two versions: one for Attorneys in Solo Practice and one for Attorneys in a Small Firm. 

Click here to download, and start using these proven strategies today!

 

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If you dig down a little deeper into the most recent Social Media Report released by Nielsen & Co., you will discover some interesting information about the role social media plays for consumers as a source for product and service information.

According to Nielsen, more than 60 percent of social media consumers use these sites to gather information on a product or service, with ratings and reviews from others ranking as the two top sources they trust:

Nielsen research shows that three out of five active social media users create ratings and reviews of products and services, with women being more likely than men to do so (81 percent of females vs. 72 percent of males).

Consumers are increasingly using social media platforms to express their satisfaction – or dissatisfaction – with a product or service. A majority – 61 percent – said they do this to provide companies they like with recognition for a job well done; 58 percent of users post negative reviews to protect others if the user has had a bad experience with the particular product or service.

As I have noted previously, social networks are being used more and more as personal search engines mainly because Google has become too generic and consumers often don't trust what they find there.  

This trend is especially true in the under-30 age group. In fact, many social media experts are starting to point to Facebook as the new Google! Tens of thousands of searches are conducted every day on Facebook for resources and reviews of products, services, and service providers.  

This long-time phenomenon of asking your friends and colleagues for a referral has simply gone viral and online. Social networks are quickly multiplying the number of connections a person can ask when seeking a referral to a trusted advisor.  

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FREE REPORT: How to Use Blogs as a Secret Weapon in Your Online Arsenal

One of the secret tools of Internet marketing for attorneys is the power of having a targeted blog. In a new report on the influence of blogs, eMarketer.com found that in 2010, 51% of Internet users in the U.S. (that’s over 91 million people) read blogs, and they project that usage will go to 60% (150 million) in the next four years!

Still think blogs are a fad?

Here’s what you’ll discover when you read this report:

• Why you must have a blog in order to stay relevant
• 3 keys to successful blogging
• 7 Guidelines for achieving ROI
• Your 3 choices for managing your blog and social media efforts
• And much more!

Click here to order your free report now!

 

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It’s no secret that we Americans have been addicted to television for years, and it seems as if that addiction has transferred right over to watching online video. Here is an interesting infographic from Wistia, an online video management firm, that clearly demonstrates why online video should be part of your law firm marketing program:

Infographic by: Wistia

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Stop Wasting Precious Time and Money

Feel like you don’t have time for marketing?  Let us show you how to make a plan that runs on “autopilot” – one that attracts new and lucrative clients while you focus on your practice.

Learn how easy it can be to create an effective law firm marketing plan that performs by getting our Free Guide: 5 Easy Steps to Create Your Law Firm Marketing Plan. 

After working with many ultra-successful lawyers we found five common threads in their marketing plans. This guide outlines these shared elements to provide insight into strategies that work and how to make them work for you.

There are two versions: one for Attorneys in Solo Practice and one for Attorneys in a Small Firm.  Click here to download, and start using these proven strategies today!

 

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Lawyers looking to increase their number of referrals and size of their revenues should consider attending an upcoming Rainmaker Retreat this month. We have two in October – this weekend, Oct. 7-8 in San Francisco and Oct. 21-22 in Livingston, NJ.

These extremely popular 2-day law firm marketing boot camps are tailored for small and solo law firms and teach techniques for building your business and taking it to the level you desired when you started your practice. The Rainmaker Retreat teaches you our proven Rainmaker System that has helped more than 7,000 attorneys from hundreds of law firms across the country discover how to generate more referrals and find new clients fast.

The Rainmaker Retreat is a working retreat that will help you:

• Create a written 90-day Marketing Action Plan (MAP) for your law firm
• Discover your firm’s Unique Competitive Advantage (UCA)
• Identify a profile of your Ideal Target Market (ITM)
• Have written strategies for improving your Internet presence and search engine optimization
• Develop your own plan for leveraging the power of blogging and social media following the Rainmaker Social Media Blueprint
• Create a letter of introduction to potential Strategic Referral Partners (SRPs)

Some of the topics covered in each Rainmaker Retreat include:

• Achieving Expert Status as an Attorney
• Building a Strategic Referral Network
• Creating Credibility in Your Practice Area
• Secrets of Highly Successful Attorneys
• Social Media for Small Law Firms
• Leveraging Technology: Beating the Big Firms on the Internet
• Generating More Clients Using the Power of Speaking
• Advanced Technology Tactics for Small Law Firms and Solo Practitioners

If you are unsure about attending a Rainmaker Retreat, I encourage you to join our FREE Preview Call on:

Thursday, October 13 -- 12pm PT | 1pm MT | 2pm CT | 3pm ET 

Wednesday, October 19 -- 11am PT | 12pm MT | 1pm CT | 2pm ET  

These free, one-hour calls will give you a taste of what you will learn during a Rainmaker Retreat. Click here to register for a Preview Call.

You can also request a free Rainmaker Retreat Preview DVD, which will give you a look into the Rainmaker Retreats and an opportunity to hear from the participants. Click here to order your free Preview DVD now.

Each Rainmaker Retreat runs from 8:30 a.m.- 5:30 p.m. on Friday and 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.  Early-bird registration for the Rainmaker Retreat is still available for a limited time. A special VIP registration is also available for attorneys looking for more personalized attention.

Additional Rainmaker Retreats are scheduled for:

November 11-12, 2011 – Chicago, IL

December 2-3, 2011 – Los Angeles, CA

Registration information is available by visiting the Rainmaker Retreat website, www.RainmakerRetreat.com or by calling 888-588-5891.

 

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Social media has become a fundamental shift in the way we communicate and find information -- or rather, the way information finds us.  

When you consider the overwhelming number of people who are now using social media, the question you should be asking is not, are my prospects, clients, and referral sources using social media? The question you should be asking is, which network are they using most often?

A recent survey by the American Bar Association's Legal Technology Resource Center found that 56% of attorneys are already using a social network! This means for you skeptics out there, if you are not maintaining a presence on at least one social network you are already behind the curve. Of those networks, LinkedIn is the most popular at 83%, Facebook is second with 68% and Plaxo is third with 18%.   

However, for attorneys who are looking to connect with consumers (versus business owners), like criminal defense, personal injury, bankruptcy, estate planning, and family law just to name a few, Facebook should be your primary focus because of the sheer number of people that can be found there (over 750 million registered users and growing).  

Depending on the demographic of your clientele, you may have more success with one social media platform compared to another -- but it is important that you have a presence on them all.  For example: Business oriented attorneys, like business litigation, securities, and intellectual property, should focus more of their efforts on LinkedIn. However, LinkedIn also has the highest number of attorneys who use the network so it's a little more difficult to stand out as compared to Facebook or Twitter.

What many people fail to understand is how people are starting to use social media.  Social networks are more and more being used as personal search engines mainly because Google has become too generic and they often don't trust what they find there.  

This trend is especially true in the under-30 age group. In fact, many social media experts are starting to point to Facebook as the new Google! Tens of thousands of searches are conducted every day on Facebook for resources and reviews of products, services, and service providers.  

As Bob Burg points out in his excellent book, Endless Referrals, all things being equal, people buy from people they know, like and trust. By extension, people trust their personal networks to point them in the right direction more than a generic Google search.  

When you think about it, this is common sense. When you are looking for a recommendation, who would you trust more-a Google search or one of your friends who personally vouches for a specific service provider?   

This long-time phenomenon of asking your friends and colleagues for a referral has simply gone viral and online. Social networks are quickly multiplying the number of connections a person can ask when seeking a referral to a trusted advisor.  

Smart law firms are starting to see the importance of "fishing where the fish are" instead of trying to drag them to their office or by using interruption-based marketing like television ads or billboards.

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FREE REPORT: How to Use Blogs as a Secret Weapon in Your Online Arsenal

One of the secret tools of Internet marketing for attorneys is the power of having a targeted blog. In a new report on the influence of blogs, eMarketer.com found that in 2010, 51% of Internet users in the U.S. (that’s over 91 million people) read blogs, and they project that usage will go to 60% (150 million) in the next four years!

Still think blogs are a fad?

Here’s what you’ll discover when you read this report:

• Why you must have a blog in order to stay relevant
• 3 keys to successful blogging
• 7 Guidelines for achieving ROI
• Your 3 choices for managing your blog and social media efforts
• And much more!

Click here to order your free report now!

 

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While it is important to understand how social media works and the basic tenants of SEO, it is equally important to understand how your target audience is using social media so your law firm marketing efforts can align with usage patterns.

New research by NM Incite, a Nielsen/McKinsey company, takes the recent Nielsen Social Media Report Q3 data and digs deeper to help us all understand how we are using social media. 

For example, especially relevant to your law firm marketing efforts is the fact that 68 percent of social media users rely on social media sites to provide them with reviews and feedback on services and products. Are you actively monitoring what is said about your practice on social media sites? Are you engaging and encouraging positive feedback? 

Here is a graphic from the report that provides a broad overview on how people are using social media today:

It’s no surprise that a vast majority of social media users go to social media sites to socialize – not only to keep up with old contacts, but to find new ones. If your law firm marketing plan lacks a robust social media component, you’re missing out on a great and inexpensive source of generating new leads.

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Becoming a Rainmaker: Business Building Strategies for Lawyers

Based on Stephen’s highly successful seminar series by the same name, this 3-audio CD program covers dozens of practical recommendations and step-by-step sales and marketing techniques for solo practitioners and small law firms.

More than 7,000 attorneys from law firms all over the country have experienced powerful results from attending the Becoming A Rainmaker seminar. It has been sponsored by more than 22 of the largest state and local bar associations.

In this information-packed audio program, you will discover:

• How to generate more leads by using education-based marketing
• The relationship between credibility, visibility, tangibility, and consistency
• How to position your small firm as an industry leader
• The importance of being perceived as a specialist
• Why most advertising is a waste of your money
• What to expect from a Yellow Pages ad
• The 3 marketing strategies that will produce 80% of your results
• How to influence the Know, Like and Trust factors
• Common marketing mistakes lawyers make and how to avoid them
• How to answer the question, "Why should I buy from you?"
• Specific ways you can set yourself apart from low-cost lawyers
• What to do with the 15% of the population that always buys on price
• Ways to attract your Ideal Target Market
• The 6 stage sales process you must follow for maximum success

To order yours now, click here.

 

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Source: The Growth of Social Media: An Infographic

 

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Free CD: Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices

Get your free CD on Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices by #1 Best-Selling Author And Nationally Recognized Law Firm Marketing Expert Stephen Fairley, and listen as he reveals A Proven System To Generate More and Better Referrals, Find New Clients Fast, and Fill Your Law Practice! Discover:

• How 1 piece of simple technology in your practice will drastically increase your communication with prospects, clients and referral sources – resulting in a major revenue boost
• 5 ways to market and position yourself as a recognized expert
• How 2 Attorneys promoted their law firms to over 100,000 people for less than $100 in 2 hours
• The 1 item you must absolutely have to create a Million Dollar Law Practice (hint: Not having this will almost guarantee your failure!)
• 6 BIGGEST secrets to generating more and better referrals
• How to create a proven network of 30 new Strategic Referral Partners in the next 90 days

To obtain your free CD, click here now.

 

 

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Blogging can be a powerful performer for your law firm marketing efforts, but there’s a way to do it right and a way to do it wrong. Here are 13 tips for creating a powerful – and eventually profitable – law firm blog:

Integrate your blog with your law firm website. For SEO purposes, it is best to create your blog either as a sub-domain of your law firm website or within the site as a separate tab or folder. If you need to host the blog as a separate domain, that’s okay, too, and can provide you with link-building opportunities between the two.

Don’t write about yourself. Writing about yourself or your firm does you no great service and you miss a great opportunity for thought leadership.    You need to be a resource to your target market for legal information, so they will think of you first when they actually need a lawyer.

Publish often. I’ll say it again: Google loves fresh content! Publishing 3-5 times a week is best.

Write focused content. Put yourself in the shoes of your target market and speak directly to their needs.

Create variety. Don’t be boring. Include video, audio, charts and graphs, photos, cartoons or other visually interesting content in your blog.

Encourage engagement. A blog is the perfect opportunity to create a conversation with your target market – so ask for thoughts and post responses to create a dialogue.

Take every opportunity for SEO.   Identify and use the keywords that will help your blog get found by search engines.

Pick that low-hanging fruit. Add a subscribe button so people can get a continual feed from your blog. Add social sharing buttons so users can share your content in social media. Add a search box so people can more easily find your content.

Source content. Ask others in your professional network to contribute, or quote from their blogs and include a link as attribution. 

Promote your blog through social media. Share a link to your blog posts through social media by posting it on your Facebook Fan Page, tweeting and posting on LinkedIn. Those social share buttons will also have your readers doing some of the heavy lifting for you.

Make it actionable. Include offers of free reports, e-newsletter subscriptions, webinars or other “freeminums” that will encourage people to give you their email address, which is also known as a lead!

Scour analytics for insight. How do you know if your blog is working for you? Look at your blog analytics. These provide important insight into how many visitors you’re getting, how many times they come back, how many subscribers you’re generating, which posts are the most popular, etc. Use what you’ve learned to improve every month.

Give it time. Reaching the level of success you want for your law firm blog takes time and effort. Don’t give up or you’ll miss a powerful lead generation opportunity.

NOTE: For those of you attending the State Bar of California Annual Meeting this week, drop by our booth (#504) to talk with us about your law firm marketing goals and challenges. We’ll be giving out complimentary marketing materials that I guarantee you will find useful!

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Practice Made Perfect for Lawyers CD Set

The Practice Made Perfect CD set and manual applies Stephen Fairley’s unique High Impact Marketing System to the practice-building challenges faced by solo practitioners and partners at small law firms.  

It includes dozens of specific marketing and sales recommendations that can be easily and quickly applied to your firm, including:

• The only 7 sure-fire ways to get clients in your door NOW
• Why advertising doesn’t work for most small law firms
• The 7 reasons why people don’t buy from you           
• How to market and sell with USP’s (Unique Selling Proposition)           
• Using audio logos to attract immediate attention for your business
• Using low-cost, high impact marketing strategies           
• Strategies for achieving maximum results from all of your marketing efforts           
• How to discover your Ideal Target Market
• 3 critical factors to remember when looking for new clients
• The NEW sales cycle for professional services
• How to retain your best clients

Click here to order your Practice Made Perfect for Lawyers CD set and manual now.

 

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We’ve all heard the expression “Innovate or Die,” but how many of us really thought about the practice of law in conjunction with that phrase?

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman is out with a new book that is all the buzz on the talk show circuit; it’s called That Used to Be Us, and focuses on how making innovation a priority can help our nation retain/regain its superpower status.

Innovation is very much at the forefront when it comes to the legal profession these days, as evidenced by venture capital investments in Rocket Lawyer and other online legal service providers.  

Jim Calloway, an Oklahoma attorney who writes a blog about law practice management, recently conducted an interview with Richard Granat, the lawyer behind DirectLaw and current co-chair of the eLawyering Task Force of the ABA Law Practice Management Section. They discussed how venture capitalists are changing the way that small firms and solos will practice in the future; here are some quotes of note from Granat:

I see a “buzz” or “new paradigm” going around this community ( “the VC community”), that it is time to break the back of solos and small law firms by funding disruptive experiments that are designed to bring real change to the delivery of legal services, no matter what impact it has on the livelihoods of solos and small law firms.

I think that the economics of solo and small practice is undergoing a major transformation. Lawyers will still be able to demand high fees for complex, value-added work. For tasks where there is a large information component which can be manipulated by software, such as web-enabled document automation systems, lawyers will feel the effects of disintermediation, just as other industries have that have been transformed by the Internet.

To compete in today’s connected world, lawyers need to pick up the skills to market their services online and to deliver legal services online. If you are not online, you are nowhere.

There is no question that the same forces that enabled Amazon to change the way we buy books and Apple to change the way we buy music are bringing about a similar evolution in the way consumers buy legal services.

The question to be answered now is, will small firms and solos innovate or die?

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Free Report:   How to Use Article Marketing to Increase Your Google Ranking & Control Your Online Reputation

Did you know there are thousands of directories on the Internet that will publish your articles for FREE?! Get all the details in Stephen Fairley’s latest free report, How to Use Article Marketing to Increase Your Google Ranking & Control Your Online Reputation.

Here are 4 reasons why you should publish your articles online:

• You can control what comes up when people search for your name on Google!
• Most of the Article Directories will give you a link back to your website!
• It’s FREE Marketing! The majority of these article directories do not charge anything to publish your article.
• You can look like a much Bigger Player!

To get your free report right now, click here.

 

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Education-based marketing is one of the most powerful tools at the disposal of lawyers. There is a great amount of basic information you know about your practice area that prospects want and need to know.

Think about some of the questions your clients have about child custody and divorce or how to avoid getting sued by employees or ways to protect their intellectual property.  Identify their frequently asked questions or biggest challenges and put together a short report (three to six pages long), a PowerPoint presentation, or even an audio CD, and offer a free copy to website visitors who give you their contact information. (Remember, if you cannot get visitors to call you directly, the second-best alternative is to persuade them to give you their contact information with permission to contact them.)

Give your education material a creative title that will also turn up well in an online search, such as “How to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer” or “What Men Need to Know About Divorce” or “How to Make Money Off Your Invention.”

This kind of free educational information is a great tool you can use to start building relationships with many people who need your help but aren’t ready to walk in your door. It is not enough simply to offer people a free consultation. Almost every lawyer does that. Take it one step further and give them some great information that will help them think through the issues and challenges they are facing.

Once you have created these educational tools, find every way you can to give them away to as many people as possible. 


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Free Report: How to Use Article Marketing to Increase Your Google Ranking & Control Your Online Reputation

Did you know there are thousands of directories on the Internet that will publish your articles for FREE?! Get all the details in Stephen Fairley’s latest free report, How to Use Article Marketing to Increase Your Google Ranking & Control Your Online Reputation.

Here are 4 reasons why you should publish your articles online:

• You can control what comes up when people search for your name on Google!
• Most of the Article Directories will give you a link back to your website!
• It’s FREE Marketing! The majority of these article directories do not charge anything to publish your article.
• You can look like a much Bigger Player!

To get your free report right now, click here.

 

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As I’ve said here many times, Google loves fresh content, and rewards you for it, too, by increasing your search and page ranking.

But sometimes the juices just aren’t flowing, you’re short on time or (add your latest excuse here) – the end result is, your blog is not getting fed fresh, relevant content and is therefore not doing the job it’s supposed to be doing for you as a primary law firm marketing tool.

Here are 5 steps to producing consistent, high quality content for your law firm marketing blog:

1. Schedule time to write. Pick a time when you are most likely to have 30 to 45 minutes of uninterrupted writing time and put it on your calendar. Maybe it’s early morning or at the end of the day, or even the lunch hour. Schedule it at least three times a week. 

2. Create a fodder file. You can use a tool like Google Reader to subscribe to RSS feeds of news organizations or other blogs, set a Google Alert for topics in your field of practice, or use a free program like Evernote to clip web pages when you come across something online that would be a good blog subject. 

I’ve even taken photos on my iPhone of articles in magazines or newspapers – the image in this post is a perfect example of a good post for a personal injury or car accident attorney.  Blogging about news from larger organizations and associations is a perfect way to tie your blog into timely news subjects.

3. Write and schedule ahead. If you have an extra hour, turn out a few new posts and schedule them in advance – WordPress, LexBlog and most blog publishing platforms allow you to do this.

4. Invite a guest. Invite someone else whose expertise your target market is interested in to blog as a guest. This could be as simple as walking down the hall and asking another partner to join in!

5. Publish an interview. Email some experts in your field a series of questions and ask them to respond, then publish that response as an interview on your blog. In return, you can provide them with links back to their website, book or blog to give them the extra exposure to a new audience.

Click here to get my free report on Advanced Internet Marketing Strategies for Attorneys: How to Use Blogs as a Secret Weapon in Your Online Arsenal.

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FREE "Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" E-book

In a newly revised e-book, legal marketing expert Stephen Fairley outlines 10 of the most common marketing mistakes attorneys make that can lead to the failure of their business, and provides specific strategies and proven principles for avoiding these deadly errors. 

Get your complimentary copy online here.

Regardless of your specific situation, this free e-book will help you examine how you are currently finding new clients and recommend specific steps you can immediately start using to grow your practice. 

We have helped thousands of attorneys achieve their goals of creating a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice. In this e-book you will discover specific principles and tools you can use to grow your practice, too.  

 

 

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According to a new research report by digital intelligence agency eMarketer, those marketing to the Gen X demographic – consumers aged 34-45 – need to be making heavy use of digital marketing tools or they’ll be missing the mark.

Gen Xers are the first American generation to grow up with computers, and are heavy consumers of all things digital. To effectively engage this demographic, marketers need to use multiple channels with a heavy emphasis on online video to get their message across.

eMarketer says that Gen X is the largest online video audience, and forecasts that almost 75 percent of them are watching online video at least monthly – a number that is expected to grow another five percent by 2015:

Use these simple guidelines to make a highly effective online video for use in your law firm Internet marketing efforts:

Keep your videos under 4 minutes. Most people will not watch long videos, so keep them short and to the point.

Use real people, using real words. Give your audience a chance to see your face and hear your sincere words.

Give them good content. Don't be afraid to give good content on your video. Your perfect client wants to know that you are competent, capable, and caring.

Focus on your Target Market.  Focus your video topics on your target’s needs, challenges, and points of pain. Your script should describe some of the problems clearly, and then explain how you can solve them. 

Use case studies. Facts tell, stories sell! To get your point across tell the story about how you helped a client.

Include a call to action. Tell them what you want them to do: call your office for a free consultation or visit your website or read your blog or connect with you on Facebook or LinkedIn. Be specific and if you give a free consultation be sure you tell them that.

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Free Report:   How to Use Article Marketing to Increase Your Google Ranking & Control Your Online Reputation

Did you know there are thousands of directories on the Internet that will publish your articles for FREE?!  Get all the details in Stephen Fairley’s latest free report, How to Use Article Marketing to Increase Your Google Ranking & Control Your Online Reputation.

Here are 4 reasons why you should publish your articles online:

1. You can control what comes up when people search for your name on Google!
2. Most of the Article Directories will give you a link back to your website!
3. It’s FREE Marketing! The majority of these article directories do not charge anything to publish your article.
4. You can look like a much Bigger Player!

To get your free report right now, click here.

 

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Social network market research company Lab42 surveyed LinkedIn users last month to determine how professionals are using what is touted as the #1 professional networking website.

The company created this interesting infographic with its findings:

LinkedIn posted its first financial numbers yesterday as a publicly traded company and surprised market watchers by announcing a 120 percent jump in revenue for the second quarter. Unfortunately, that announcement coincided with one of the worst days on the Street since 2008!

What is clear is the majority of business professionals are using LinkedIn on a daily or several-times-a-week basis – making it a ripe market for raising your profile and generating leads.

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Free CD: Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices

Get your free CD on Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices by #1 Best-Selling Author And Nationally Recognized Law Firm Marketing Expert Stephen Fairley, and listen as he reveals A Proven System To Generate More and Better Referrals, Find New Clients Fast, and Fill Your Law Practice! Discover:

• How 1 piece of simple technology in your practice will drastically increase your communication with prospects, clients and referral sources – resulting in a major revenue boost
• 5 ways to market and position yourself as a recognized expert
• How 2 Attorneys promoted their law firms to over 100,000 people for less than $100 in 2 hours
• The 1 item you must absolutely have to create a Million Dollar Law Practice (hint: Not having this will almost guarantee your failure!)
• 6 BIGGEST secrets to generating more and better referrals
• How to create a proven network of 30 new Strategic Referral Partners in the next 90 days

To obtain your free CD, click here now.

 

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According to a new Pew Internet survey, 71 percent of online adults visit video-sharing sites like YouTube and Vimeo to watch online videos.   Here’s how the study results break down demographically:

Note that the demographics of video-watching adults skews higher for income, education and adults under the age of 49. What is also interesting to note is that Hispanics and African-Americans also skew higher in their online video-watching habits.

If any of these groups are part of your target market, you need to be marketing to them with video!

Use these simple guidelines to make a highly effective online video for use in your law firm Internet marketing efforts:

Keep your videos under 4 minutes long. Most people will not watch long videos, so keep them short and to the point.

Use real people, using real words. Stringing together static images accompanied by a faceless voice on audio is not an effective use of online video. While this may get seen by some potential clients, it is not nearly as valuable as giving them a chance to see your face and hear your sincere words.

Give them good content. Don't be afraid to give good content on your video. Your perfect client wants to know that you are competent, capable, and caring. Don't be afraid of giving away a "secret" because it's probably already out there somewhere on the Internet.  

Focus on your Target Market.  It is easy to get caught in the trap of thinking potential clients want to hear about all of your qualifications. The real truth is they want a law firm that understands their problems, and knows how to solve them. So focus your video topics on their needs, challenges, and points of pain. Your script should describe some of the problems clearly, and then explain how you can solve them. 

Use case studies. Facts tell, stories sell! To get your point across tell the story about how you helped a client. Don't reveal their name or specific details, but you can always say something like, "A young couple were facing significant financial struggles. He had just lost his job and their house was in danger of foreclosure...".  Then do the reverse - share a story in which someone has failed by not implementing some of your strategies.

Include a call to action at the end of the video. Tell them what you want them to do: call your office for a free consultation or visit your website or read your blog or connect with you on Facebook or LinkedIn. Be specific and if you give a free consultation be sure you tell them that.

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Free Report:   How to Use Article Marketing to Increase Your Google Ranking & Control Your Online Reputation

Did you know there are thousands of directories on the Internet that will publish your articles for FREE?!  Get all the details in Stephen Fairley’s latest free report, How to Use Article Marketing to Increase Your Google Ranking & Control Your Online Reputation.

Here are 4 reasons why you should publish your articles online:

• You can control what comes up when people search for your name on Google!
• Most of the Article Directories will give you a link back to your website!
• It’s FREE Marketing! The majority of these article directories do not charge anything to publish your article.
• You can look like a much Bigger Player!

To get your free report right now, click here.

 

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One of our Rainmaker Advisors, Kara Smith, brought a post on the Google+ Terms of Service flap to my attention the other day. It’s by Rory Webber, who writes the Social Media for Lawyers blog at Martindale.com and the title pretty much says it all: “Google+ - Great Tool, Scary Terms of Service”. 

Actually, the Google+ TOS is the same as the Google TOS, so if you’re using Gmail or any one of the many useful Google tools, you’ve already agreed to it. Here’s the “scary” language Webber and some others in the Internet world are buzzing about, under Google’s TOS Section 11: Content License from You:

11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. This license is for the sole purpose of enabling Google to display, distribute and promote the Services and may be revoked for certain Services as defined in the Additional Terms of those Services.

11.2 You agree that this license includes a right for Google to make such Content available to other companies, organizations or individuals with whom Google has relationships for the provision of syndicated services, and to use such Content in connection with the provision of those services.

11.3 You understand that Google, in performing the required technical steps to provide the Services to our users, may (a) transmit or distribute your Content over various public networks and in various media; and (b) make such changes to your Content as are necessary to conform and adapt that Content to the technical requirements of connecting networks, devices, services or media. You agree that this license shall permit Google to take these actions.

11.4 You confirm and warrant to Google that you have all the rights, power and authority necessary to grant the above license.

Another post dismissing the hubbub by Tom Anderson, former president of MySpace, features a graphic by LiveJournal comic Ryan Estrada that attempts to explain the Google TOS in plain terms:

Still scary? Maybe. Maybe not. The fact is, Google+ already has 20 million users and it’s still in Beta rollout stage. While Google has stumbled a few times in launching social media tools, they may have succeeded this time out with Google+.

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Free CD: Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices

Get your free CD on Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices by #1 Best-Selling Author And Nationally Recognized Law Firm Marketing Expert Stephen Fairley, and listen as he reveals A Proven System To Generate More and Better Referrals, Find New Clients Fast, and Fill Your Law Practice! Discover:

• How 1 piece of simple technology in your practice will drastically increase your communication with prospects, clients and referral sources – resulting in a major revenue boost
• 5 ways to market and position yourself as a recognized expert
• How 2 Attorneys promoted their law firms to over 100,000 people for less than $100 in 2 hours
• The 1 item you must absolutely have to create a Million Dollar Law Practice (hint: Not having this will almost guarantee your failure!)
• 6 BIGGEST secrets to generating more and better referrals
• How to create a proven network of 30 new Strategic Referral Partners in the next 90 days

To obtain your free CD, click here now.

 

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In a “back at ya” to Google+, Facebook announced this week that it had added video chat via Skype as a new feature.  And for those technophiles out there, what is really cool is that you don’t have to download and install any plug-ins – two clicks from your Facebook page and you’re video chatting. 

Go to http://www.facebook.com/videocalling to get started.

What this means for law firm marketing right now is not really what’s here, but what’s coming.  While the new Facebook video chat feature for now is one-to-one, the group chat feature is already part of the Skype repertoire, and since Google+ features group chat functionality via its Hangouts feature, group chat on Facebook cannot be far behind.

Imagine having the ability to provide a quick seminar, tapping directly into that database of Facebook followers you have so diligently been collecting.  You would be able to issue invitations by geography or through your groups, and immediately place yourself in front of a group of prospects who already are aware of you but haven’t gone much further than that.  This could be another dynamic tool in your law firm marketing arsenal for attracting new clients.

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FREE "Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" E-book

In a newly revised e-book, legal marketing expert Stephen Fairley outlines 10 of the most common marketing mistakes attorneys make that can lead to the failure of their business, and provides specific strategies and proven principles for avoiding these deadly errors.

Get your complimentary copy online here.

Regardless of your specific situation, this free e-book will help you examine how you are currently finding new clients and recommend specific steps you can immediately start using to grow your practice.

We have helped thousands of attorneys achieve their goals of creating a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice. In this e-book you will discover specific principles and tools you can use to grow your practice, too. 
 

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Google is field testing its Facebook clone, Google+.  You only need to see this chart to understand why:

Actually, Google says it is not trying to replicate Facebook, but trying to improve a critical aspect of the Internet – online sharing – which they believe is “broken” and “awkward” and “rigid”.   Here’s how they’re doing it:

Circles – these are groups of people you organize by how you know them: friends, colleagues, family, etc.  The drag-and-drop feature makes it easy to plop your contacts into each circle.  What’s different about this feature is you can choose which circles you want to “share” posts with...on Facebook, your updates go to everyone.

Sparks – this is Google Reader reinvented and better organized.  You indicate your interests and each of those interests gets its own Sparks page.  Google then fills each page with relevant articles, videos and photos.

Hangouts – this is where you video chat with people who are in your circles.

Huddles – a group messaging app where you can select your group and everyone can chat with each other. 

Instant Upload – for Android only; lets you upload photos from your phone to Google+.

Google+ is by invitation only right now and you can request an invitation on its Google+ project home page.  If there’s a message that says capacity has been temporarily exceeded, you can try again another day.

Eventually, Google+ will be rolled out to everyone with a Google account.  You’ll know you have access when you see a “+You” button on your Google toolbar when you log in.

Only time – and users – will tell if this latest Google social media platform will rival Facebook, so stay tuned.

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Free CD:  Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices

Get your free CD on Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices by #1 Best-Selling Author And Nationally Recognized Law Firm Marketing Expert Stephen Fairley, and listen as he reveals A Proven System To Generate More and Better Referrals, Find New Clients Fast, and Fill Your Law Practice!  Discover:

• How 1 piece of simple technology in your practice will drastically increase your communication with prospects, clients and referral sources – resulting in a major revenue boost
• 5 ways to market and position yourself as a recognized expert
• How 2 Attorneys promoted their law firms to over 100,000 people for less than $100 in 2 hours
• The 1 item you must absolutely have to create a Million Dollar Law Practice (hint: Not having this will almost guarantee your failure!)
• 6 BIGGEST secrets to generating more and better referrals
• How to create a proven network of 30 new Strategic Referral Partners in the next 90 days

To obtain your free CD, click here now.

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Today I am speaking to the Arizona State Bar Convention on Leveraging the Power of Social Media to Market Your Law Firm, discussing the six most important social media networks for attorneys and providing specific tools that attorneys can use to benefit immediately from the power of social media.

The fact is that social media is like any other marketing tool – if you don’t use it right, with forethought and follow-up, it is not going to work.  And how you do it right can be gleaned from how so many do it wrong.  Based on my own observations of why some attorneys succeed and many more fail at social media, here are The 10 Deadly Mistakes Attorneys Make When Using Social Media:

1. No clear objectives and specific goals.
2. Too short of a time frame: social media is a long-term play of building relationships it's not a get rich quick scheme.
3. No budget allocated: most social networks are free, but you either have to do it yourself or you have to pay. someone else to do it for you.
4. No responsibility or accountability.
5. No tracking of results.
6. No blueprint of what works and what doesn't so you end up reinventing the wheel by trying to do it yourself.
7. Only using 1 network: most attorneys are attracted to LinkedIn, but more consumers are on Facebook. Don’t try to just use one -- you need to experiment with all of them to see where you get the best ROI.
8. Not using social media to build your database: s/he who has the biggest list wins!
9. Not taking your social media contacts “offline”.
10. Hiring a company to handle your social media that doesn't work with attorneys.

I spend a lot of time discussing how attorneys can leverage social media to market their law firms at our Rainmaker Retreat.   Why not join us for a session?  We have upcoming Rainmaker Retreats scheduled for July 22-23 in Orlando and August 19-20 in Las Vegas.  Click here to learn more.

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Free CD:  Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices

Get your free CD on Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices by #1 Best-Selling Author And Nationally Recognized Law Firm Marketing Expert Stephen Fairley, and listen as he reveals A Proven System To Generate More and Better Referrals, Find New Clients Fast, and Fill Your Law Practice! 

Discover:

• How 1 piece of simple technology in your practice will drastically increase your communication with prospects, clients and referral sources – resulting in a major revenue boost
• 5 ways to market and position yourself as a recognized expert
• How 2 Attorneys promoted their law firms to over 100,000 people for less than $100 in 2 hours
• The 1 item you must absolutely have to create a Million Dollar Law Practice (hint: Not having this will almost guarantee your failure!)
• 6 BIGGEST secrets to generating more and better referrals
• How to create a proven network of 30 new Strategic Referral Partners in the next 90 days

To obtain your free CD, click here now.

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Bing is betting we’d all like a little more help from our friends when it comes to search, so it has added even more Facebook into its search results in an effort to steer more search traffic from giant rival Google.

Microsoft, the owner of Bing and a minority owner in Facebook, thinks that making this data available in search will prove to be a large competitive advantage since Google does not have access to this data, and is unlikely to anytime soon.

To integrate your friends’ likes into your search results, you’ll need to let Bing access your Facebook account.  Then, every time you search, you’ll see which sites your friends have liked for that search term.  If you want to ask one of your friends a question, you click on their profile picture to send them a Facebook message. 

If you’re shopping on Bing and happen to be one of those people who likes input from others, you can post a photo of your choices to your Facebook wall and ask just one or all your friends what they think. 

There’s also a new Bing toolbar with a “universal Like button” that allows users to more easily “Like” a web page.  And if you’re looking for something in a particular city – say, Orlando hotels – images of your friends who live in the Orlando area will pop up, just in case you need to ask their opinion on your choices.

With social media becoming more integrated with search, it is even more important for attorneys to integrate social media into their law firm marketing programs.  The fact is, many attorneys cannot devote the time necessary to become educated about it, nor devote the time it takes to do it effectively.  This is why we developed the Rainmaker Automated Blogging and Social Media Program.  You can get new leads for your law firm through blogging and social media done for you, for one simple and affordable monthly investment.

The Rainmaker Institute will develop, maintain, manage, track and measure your blogging and social media program across multiple platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, JDSupra, Avvo, YouTube and more. 

To learn more about the Rainmaker Automated Blogging and Social Media Program, click here.

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Get All the Law Firm Marketing Strategies You Need to Create A 7-figure Law Practice with Rainmaker In A Box: Volume 2!

Newly released!  Rainmaker in a Box: Volume 2 includes:

8 Proven Steps for More & Better Referrals
Discover the proven step-by-step system used to double your referrals from current and former clients and how to build a network of strategic referral partners. Top attorneys have used this exact system to double their referrals in 6 months or less!

7 Strategies to Recession Proof Your Law Firm
Watch and learn as I walk you through the specific strategies top lawyers are using to increase their revenues in this tough economy-and it doesn’t include reducing their fees!

6 Keys to Unlocking the Secrets of Social Media
Social media has emerged as the fastest way to build a massive platform of prospects! I pull back the curtain and let you in on little known secrets of how attorneys are generating dozens of leads every month from social media.

5 Core Components for Highly Successful Websites & Blogs
Stephen Fairley's interview with nationally recognized personal injury attorney John Bisnar on how his law firm uses search engine optimization and internet marketing to drive tens of thousands of unique visitors every month to his 30 websites and 10 blogs. Discover proven techniques for converting website visitors into paying clients.

Data DVD: 
Includes all 4 PowerPoint slides for all 4 presentations. We recommend you print all these off and take notes on them as you experience these information-packed DVDs!

***For Blog Readers, Facebook Friends, Twitter Followers and LinkedIn Connections – we are offering you a $50 discount for Volume 2 and a $100 discount for both Volume 1 and Volume 2 because of your social media presence with The Rainmaker Institute.

Click here now to order!
 

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Lawyers should love LinkedIn for its ability to help them expand their network of potential referrals and showcase their expertise.  To ensure you are getting everything you can possible squeeze out of LinkedIn’s usefulness, add these apps to your profile page:

JDSupra’s Legal Updates App – allows you to upload your blog posts, articles, newsletters and other writings and makes them searchable on LinkedIn – another great way to raise your profile among potential clients.  Its Custom Distribution feature also allows you to deliver your insight to those beyond your own network.

Martindale-Hubbard’s Lawyer Ratings App – displays your Martindale-Hubbard rating on your profile and lets your clients provide testimonials with one click.

If you have a blog that is hosted by WordPress, be sure you display each post on your LinkedIn page with this WordPress app.

Do you have some videos?  The SlideShare.net app allows you to add a video that plays automatically each time someone visits your LinkedIn page.

Referrals are the lifeblood of many law practices, and LinkedIn is probably the most dynamic online tool to expand your referral network.  However, just like getting referrals the old-fashioned way, you need to connect and engage.  These apps help you do a better job at both.

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Get All the Law Firm Marketing Strategies You Need to Create A 7-figure Law Practice with Rainmaker In A Box: Volume 2!

Newly released!  Rainmaker in a Box: Volume 2 includes:

8 Proven Steps for More & Better Referrals
Discover the proven step-by-step system used to double your referrals from current and former clients and how to build a network of strategic referral partners. Top attorneys have used this exact system to double their referrals in 6 months or less!

7 Strategies to Recession Proof Your Law Firm
Watch and learn as I walk you through the specific strategies top lawyers are using to increase their revenues in this tough economy-and it doesn’t include reducing their fees!

6 Keys to Unlocking the Secrets of Social Media
Social media has emerged as the fastest way to build a massive platform of prospects! I pull back the curtain and let you in on little known secrets of how attorneys are generating dozens of leads every month from social media.

5 Core Components for Highly Successful Websites & Blogs
My interview with nationally recognized personal injury attorney John Bisnar on how his law firm uses search engine optimization and internet marketing to drive tens of thousands of unique visitors every month to his 30 websites and 10 blogs. Discover proven techniques for converting website visitors into paying clients.

Data DVD: 
Includes all 4 PowerPoint slides for all 4 presentations. We recommend you print all these off and take notes on them as you experience these information-packed DVDs!

***For Blog Readers, Facebook Friends, Twitter Followers and LinkedIn Connections – we are offering you a $50 discount for Volume 2 and a $100 discount for both Volume 1 and Volume 2 because of your social media presence with The Rainmaker Institute.

Click here now to order!
 

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Out earlier this month was the 2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, authored by Michael Stelzner, founder of SocialMediaExaminer.com.  Stelzner surveyed over 3,300 marketers, nearly half of who were either self-employed or small business owners.  Half of the respondents marketed B2B; the other half B2C.

These findings should resonate for solo practitioners and small firms:

Marketers place high value on social media: 90% of marketers indicate that social media is important for their business.  67% of self-employed and 66% of small business owners strongly agreed that social media was important to their business

Social media marketing takes a lot of time: The majority of marketers (58%) are using social media for 6 hours or more each week, and more than a third (34%) invest 11 or more hours weekly.  Unsurprisingly, those who invest more time reap greater rewards.

Video marketing on the rise: A significant 77% of marketers plan on increasing their use of YouTube and video marketing, making it the top area marketers will invest in for 2011.

Marketers seek to learn more about Facebook and blogging: 70% of marketers want to learn more about Facebook and 69% want to learn more about blogging.

The top benefits of social media marketing: The number-one advantage of social media marketing is generating more business exposure, as indicated by 88% of marketers. Increased traffic (72%) and improved search rankings (62%) were also major advantages.

The top social media tools: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs were the top four social media tools used by marketers, in that order.

Social media outsourcing underutilized: While only 28% of businesses are outsourcing some portion of their social media marketing, that number was a 100% increase over 2010.  Experienced marketers (3+ years experience in social media marketing) are more likely to use outsourcing than the less experienced.

I’ve always said that social media marketing can be the great equalizer for solos and small firms in competing with larger firms; this study appears to validate that belief.

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Want to Learn More Social Media Marketing Techniques for Attorneys? Attend a Rainmaker Retreat!

If you are interested in building a lifestyle law practice through effective law firm marketing, then come to one of our upcoming Rainmaker Retreats:

• May 13-14, 2011 – Scottsdale, AZ
  
• August 19-20, 2011 – Las Vegas, NV

If you want to learn more about the Rainmaker Retreat and why it is a proven legal marketing system that has helped over 7,000 attorneys find more and better clients, then register now for one of our one-hour complimentary teleseminars:

Thursday, April 28, 2011
11am PT | 12pm MT | 1pm CT | 2pm ET  

Wednesday, May 4, 2011
1pm PT | 2pm MT | 3pm CT | 4pm ET  

Thursday, May 12, 2011
12pm PT | 1pm MT | 2pm CT | 3pm ET 

Join us and learn why the Rainmaker Retreat is the one law firm marketing boot camp you cannot afford to miss!

 

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Last week, LinkedIn announced a new platform that provides members with Facebook-like tools, including a number of dynamic new plug-ins you can integrate into your firm’s website or blog:

• Sign In with LinkedIn, which makes it easier for users to authenticate or register for your site using their LinkedIn identity
• Share, a button which enables users to share your website with LinkedIn’s professional audience
• Member Profile, which brings LinkedIn profiles to your site
• Full Member Profile, which brings larger, more detailed LinkedIn profiles to your site
• Company Profile, which displays key company info at-a-glance
• Company Insider, which shows rich company data from several different views
• Recommend, a button that enables users to recommend your products and drive traffic back to you

This is a welcome addition for attorneys who use social media primarily for professional reasons.  For those of you who don’t (yet), we have a program for attorneys to manage their blog and social media you may be interested in checking out.

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Find Out How to Generate Leads from Your Law Firm Blog at April 20 Webinar

Join me on Wednesday, April 20 at 3 p.m. ET as I present a live one-hour webinar on Generating Leads From Your Law Firm's Blog: Top Strategies & Real World Results, where you will discover:

• The 3-step system top Rainmakers use to acquire leads from their blog
• The fastest way to get started blogging right away
• How to implement a blogging strategy in your law firm
• The truth about how to obtain leads from your blog
• Answering critical questions: Who will write my blog posts? How often should I post to my blog?
• How to monitor and track results from your Internet marketing efforts
• The dangers of blogging and how to minimize your risk
• The only blog platform top Internet marketers recommend
• Real world case studies of where blogging worked
• Which practice areas should not use a blog
• How a law firm landed a multimillion-dollar client from their blog

This information-packed webinar will answer all these questions and help you focus your efforts and maximize your results.

For more information and to register, go to www.mylawfirmmarketing.com/sm/

 

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According to a recent Nielsen study, the number of Americans watching video on mobile devices jumped 40 percent year-over-year in both the third and fourth quarters of 2010.  In total, more than 25 million of us are watching an average of four hours and 20 minutes of video a month on a mobile device.

Online video is a highly underused form of law firm Internet marketing that promises a big return. Whether you place your video on the homepage of your web site, or upload it to YouTube, the benefits are undeniable. 

We are finding more and more that not only does it establish your credibility, it also gives you an edge over firms (even the big ones) who aren't using video by rocketing your rankings on Google exponentially.  

Use these simple guidelines to make a highly effective online video for use in your law firm Internet marketing efforts:

Keep your videos under 4 minutes long. Most people will not watch long videos and stop after only a few minutes so keep them short and to the point.

Be sure the sound quality is good. People will watch 'rough' video, but they won't watch a video where they can't hear your voice! Be sure there are no loud noises or distractions in the background.

Use real people, using real words. One of the biggest mistakes attorneys make is using video the way they use PowerPoint. Stringing together static images accompanied by a faceless voice on audio is not an effective use of online video. While this may get seen by some potential clients, it is not nearly as valuable as giving them a chance to see your face and hear your sincere words.

Give them good content. I've seen many videos where it's nothing more than a sales pitch for the attorney's services. Don't be afraid to give good content on your video. There will always be people who have a "do it yourself" attitude-they are not your perfect client! Your perfect client wants to know that you are competent, capable, and caring. Don't be afraid of giving away a "secret" because it's probably already out there somewhere on the Internet.  

Focus on your Target Market.  Remember, you are not doing videos to impress other attorneys.  It is easy to get caught in the trap of thinking potential clients want to hear about all of your qualifications. The real truth is they want a law firm that understands their problems, and knows how to solve them. So focus your video topics on their needs, challenges, and points of pain. Your script should describe some of the problems clearly, and then explain how you can solve them. 

Use case studies. Facts tell, stories sell! To get your point across tell the story about how you helped a client. Don't reveal their name or specific details, but you can always say something like, "I was working with the CEO of a 100 employee technology company..." or "A medical doctor decided to get a divorce..." or "A young couple were facing significant financial struggles. He had just lost his job and their house was in danger of foreclosure...".  Then do the reverse - share a story in which someone has failed by not implementing some of your strategies.

Include a call to action at the end of the video. Tell them what you want them to do: call your office for a free consultation or visit your website or read your blog or connect with you on Facebook or LinkedIn. Be specific and if you give a free consultation be sure you tell them that.

Here are 2 tools we highly recommend to help you create and host your online videos:

Flip video camera: very easy to use for non-techies. You can get them at Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/g67dHC

Audio Acrobat: we've used this for years to host our videos and audios and never had any issues. It's very easy to use.  Here's the link:  http://bit.ly/fl8tCf

It's only $20/mo., and yes, we get a little kicker if you sign up using our link.

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Stop Wasting Precious Time and Money

Feel like you don’t have time for marketing?  Let us show you how to make a plan that runs on “autopilot” – one that attracts new and lucrative clients while you focus on your practice.

Learn how easy it can be to create an effective law firm marketing plan that performs by getting our Free Guide: 5 Easy Steps to Create Your Law Firm Marketing Plan.

After working with many ultra-successful lawyers we found five common threads in their marketing plans. This guide outlines these shared elements to provide insight into strategies that work and how to make them work for you.

There are two versions: one for Attorneys in Solo Practice and one for Attorneys in a Small Firm.  You can download them now free!  Click here to download, and start using these proven strategies today!

 

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Oh, the irony.

The day after I blogged last week about a real-life example of someone finding an attorney via that lawyer’s blog posts, the ABA puts out a story saying that people don’t really use blogs that much to find attorneys.

According to a recent ABA survey, 46 percent of the folks surveyed say they go to a trusted source like a family member or friend to find an attorney.  That certainly comes as news to no one.  Referrals continue to play a huge part in new business for attorneys because they are based on trust.

Asking the question, “If you needed a lawyer for a personal legal matter, how likely would you be to use the following resources to find one?”, the survey found that 20 percent were very or somewhat likely to turn to Facebook and 15 percent to blogs.  Another 9 percent would look at Twitter. 

Frankly, I think the survey methodology made it tough to suss out exactly how people use the Internet to search for attorneys.  People were not asked to identify a main source, just how likely they were to use one or more from a whole list of sources.  When you just say “blog”, what exactly does that mean?  Would I look for a blog about attorneys or by attorneys? 

Plus, the survey was conducted only over landline phones.... which might bias it right then and there, since those who still actually have landline phones could be less likely to be tech-savvy when it comes to social media.

I think that section of the survey missed the whole point of what blogging and social media is about, which is reputation and trust building. 

Just like building good referral sources, social media and blogs are tools of trust-building that eventually result in bringing in new clients.  We see it every day, and in my book, experience trumps conjecture every time.

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Stop Wasting Precious Time and Money

Feel like you don’t have time for marketing?  Let us show you how to make a plan that runs on “autopilot” – one that attracts new and lucrative clients while you focus on your practice.

Learn how easy it can be to create an effective law firm marketing plan that performs by getting our Free Guide: 5 Easy Steps to Create Your Law Firm Marketing Plan.

After working with many ultra-successful lawyers we found five common threads in their marketing plans. This guide outlines these shared elements to provide insight into strategies that work and how to make them work for you.

There are two versions: one for Attorneys in Solo Practice and one for Attorneys in a Small Firm.  You can download them now free!  Go here to download, and start using these proven strategies today!

 

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Interesting story just related to me by one of the women who works for The Rainmaker Institute.  Her husband runs a factoring business and was having problems finding a debt collection attorney.  He had looked on a few legal directories and gotten some names –even chose one with a good rating off Avvo, but that guy didn’t work out.

He really wanted a debt collection attorney who understood the factoring business.  So he did a Google search that eventually turned up an attorney in the area who had blogged about how factoring companies can cut down on bad debt by doing a better job of pre-qualifying clients.  He found another blog by the same guy on another factoring topic.

He got on the phone, talked with the lawyer, felt like he did indeed really know what he had blogged about, and sent him a $2,000 retainer for the first case.

And that, in a nutshell, is how this blogging thing works for attorneys.  True story.

Blogging and engaging in social media helps attorneys establish their authority and also helps establish trust – the trust that leads to paying clients. 

Want to get started with social media and blogging, but need some help?

Click here to find out how you can begin to establish a trust-building reputation on the Internet in the next 30 days.

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Phoenix Legal Networking Group Networking Event on March 23

For a growing number of attorneys, the Internet -- and specifically Google -- is fast becoming one of their best sources of new clients. Most consumers and business owners are very skeptical of law firms that do not have a website.

However, far too many attorneys have experienced paying a lot of money to a website developer only to get a nice looking website that doesn't generate new leads or is almost impossible to “find” on Google for their key terms.

Come join us for a powerful evening of networking with your local peers as Stephen Fairley presents What Google Loves! How to Give Google What It Really Wants and Reap the Rewards on Wednesday, March 23 at 5:30 p.m.  Discover:

• The 2 things that Google LOVES!
• How to “feed” Google what it really wants most
• Two little known SEO strategies that can catapult your website to the front page of Google

The networking event and marketing seminar will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 23 at Monti’s, 100 S. Mill Ave. in Tempe.

Cost is $30 if you register by today and $35 on the day of the event.  This covers drinks, hors d’oeurves, the networking event and the workshop.

To register for our March 23 networking and legal marketing event, co-hosted by FindLaw, Attorney at Law Magazine, Coash & Coash Court Reporting and The Rainmaker Institute, visit www.therainmakerretreat.com/network or call 888-816-8935.

 

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A couple of weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal ran an article about attorneys who “Facebook” jurors.  Using their computers or iPads, a growing number of litigators are scouring the Facebook pages of potential jurors to learn more about them in an effort to decide who will – or who won’t – be a good juror for them.

My first thought was, if Facebook is becoming a verb now, it is more ubiquitous than even I may have given it credit for. 

My second thought was, how many attorneys realize they are likely being Facebooked by prospective clients?

My guess is, not many.

Last month, Facebook rolled out a big upgrade to their Pages that now allows you to professionalize your Facebook page better than ever before.  Besides giving your page a business-like facelift, you can also deliver content from your blogs and your website. 

Like LinkedIn, Facebook also provides attorneys with a way to expound on all things legal via Facebook Groups.  Start your own, or comment on others to build an authoritative voice on the world’s leading social networking site.

Studies show that engagement, interest and constant connection keep fans coming back on Facebook, which is the fastest way to build your platform (how many people know who you are, who you help and how you are different). 

The key to social media is to build your platform and then entice them to visit your blog or website to opt-in to your mailing list using a free special report or free CD or DVD or newsletter.

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Free CD:  Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices

Get your free CD on Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices by #1 Best-Selling Author And Nationally Recognized Law Firm Marketing Expert Stephen Fairley, and listen as he reveals A Proven System To Generate More and Better Referrals, Find New Clients Fast, and Fill Your Law Practice! 

Discover:

• How 1 piece of simple technology in your practice will drastically increase your communication with prospects, clients and referral sources – resulting in a major revenue boost
• 5 ways to market and position yourself as a recognized expert
• How 2 Attorneys promoted their law firms to over 100,000 people for less than $100 in 2 hours
• The 1 item you must absolutely have to create a Million Dollar Law Practice (hint: Not having this will almost guarantee your failure!)
• 6 BIGGEST secrets to generating more and better referrals
• How to create a proven network of 30 new Strategic Referral Partners in the next 90 days

To obtain your free CD, click here now.


 

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