What Attorneys Need to Know About Referrals, Testimonials, Social Media, Online Marketing: Asked and Answered (Part 2)
Friday, July 1, 2016

Here are answers to more questions attorneys are asking about referrals, testimonial, social media and more.

Why does it seem like my prospects only care about price?

If prospects only care about price, that means they believe you or your services are a commodity. And commodities are sold on price. You are most likely trying to be the shiniest apple in the barrel of apples…you must become the orange in the sea of apples so people understand why and how you are different and why paying a premium makes sense.

My firm is small; how can I compete against bigger firms on the Internet?

One of the biggest misconceptions out there is that all the big firms are engaging in the right kind of online marketing. Many big firms throw lots of money at Internet marketing but their dollars and time are not being used as effectively as they could be. Another misconception is that you are competing against the “big firms” and not the “small firms.”

The truth is many large firms are too big and move too slowly to react to constantly changing Internet marketing strategies. So being a smaller firm puts you in the perfect position to get on the Internet and start to make a name for yourself because you can make changes quickly.

The most important thing to do is to get in the game, do the right things and you will see your Internet presence grow steadily. But if you continue to sit back and watch you will never grow your online presence.

Can’t I do this all myself instead of outsourcing?

Doing it yourself is always an option. There is a lot of really valuable and great information out there where you can learn what needs to be done in order to successfully market your firm. But the hard reality is you went to school to practice law and chances are that is your unique gift.

We have seen dozens of our clients start out with the idea that they were going to do it for themselves. Most of the time, they start out strong, doing the right things in the right amount but as soon as they practice gets busier or grows, their time is divided and they no longer have time to dedicate to doing the social media or blogging or e-newsletter activities.

The reason you hire a company to help you is because their core competency is online marketing for attorneys. Do what you do best and outsource or delegate the rest. That is the most effective use of your time and money.

How do ethics play into social media?

The same ethics rules apply online and offline. However, with the exception of direct solicitation and making blatant self-promoting statements, educating prospects and those who follow you online and social media platforms is perfectly OK. Of course, you must be mindful of what you put out there, but writing blogs and doing social media updates about new laws and other type of educational information is perfectly acceptable and very valuable to those who are looking to hire an attorney.

Should I only focus on online marketing?

You never want to put all your eggs in one basket. This holds true with marketing. Not only do you need to diversify your marketing strategies online, you also need to utilize some effective offline marketing strategies too. Things like weekly networking, giving educational seminars and meeting with referral sources, to name a few, are outstanding offline marketing strategies that are highly effective in creating a comprehensive marketing strategy.

That said, if you want to successfully grow your legal firm, you must be on the Internet and give people the opportunity to find your firm and engage with you on multiple platforms so you can build trust, credibility and rapport with prospects and referral partners.

Read Part 1 -Asked And Answered: What Attorneys Need to Know About Referrals, Testimonials, Social Media, Online Marketing and More (Part 1)

 

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