The first Christmas I can remember was filled with pretty lights, excitement and a lot of imagination. The idea that some jolly old man broke into my house to give me free presents now, I’m sure, would cause a call to local law enforcement. But back then, no.
Much like then, this holiday season is filled with excitement and hope, and even some pains along the ways.
And I’m not talking about your kids, though…
I’m talking about your business!
Today, I’m going to give you, my injury lawyer friend, an early Christmas present. What do you think it is?
The newest video game console?
A new pony or Husky pup?
Maybe a weeklong trip to Disneyland?!?!
Well…none of those things…
How about, instead, some free methods of doubling or tripling this month’s new client numbers? I know it doesn’t sound as sexy as getting a pony, a trip to Disneyland nor the newest XBOX or Playstation console…but…
It will pay for a new house. So, it ain’t all bad, right?
Look, right now, you might be damn apprehensive about me claiming to be able to help. After all, how many other marketing consultants and advertising agencies have you approached about your law practice? And how often have you tried in the past?
Trust this, injury lawyer marketing isn’t rocket science; but you can reach the moon if you understand it a little better.
1 – collect your local citations and optimize them
You run your law practice, or are part of bigger agency. You are in control of that. But you are not in control of what people say about you, right? In fact, you aren’t fully in control of the conversation, context and distribution of the meaning of your brand…right?
Well, not entirely.
Using many well-known, and little known local citation sources, you can claim your business as yours. This validation process can be an inbound channel for new business. But what we are looking for is strengthening your organic search traffic. And THAT is where claiming these local citations will crush it for you!
Start with these generally accepted citation and business claiming sources:
- lawyers.findlaw.com
- lawyers.com
- lawyers.justia.com
- nolo.com
- avvo.com
- hg.org
As eluded to, you will receive some leads by signing up for these resources. However, their real power comes in the form of you proving who you are, and being a verified ‘reality’. By verifying that you are indeed..well, you, then search engine marketing is a bit easier. So Google and Bing and Yahoo and any other search engine could likely give you better rankings.
If you want to put a little bit control and ‘oomph’ into your December marketing, here is a free guide!
2 – creating and serving content meeting local context
You own a legal brand. So, it makes sense to create content that identifies you as a lawyer and an attorney, right?
Now, if you add in your region into that mixture of brand + industry….then you win!
The ‘why’ is probably easy for you, right?
But the ‘how’; there is the stumbling block!
In “Local SEO for Lawyers in New Castle, I looked at this very issue. Really, it comes down to competing against local lawyers, and not nationally. You aren’t national…right? So then why compete in that way?
You are an attorney in an area. For this example, I’ll be using New Castle Pennsylvania. Because you would be located in, and serve, New Castle, then your branding and content should illustrate that.
Here are five simple examples of how to do just that:
- New Castle Lawyer
- New Castle personal injury attorney
- Injury Lawyer in New Castle
- Medical malpractice lawyers in New Castle
- Law firm in New Castle
Notice how now we are targeting a very specific area with an industry for you. This changes the discussions, and it should change your method of giving content.
3 – social currency: informing & “the give” (hey, it’s Christmas!)
“If you want to make a fat man happy, bake him a cake” – my brother.
It was a pearl of wisdom from someone who experience in the subject. Now, when he put something similar on Facebook, what happened?
People. Like. It.
What else did they do? Some people shared it. Other people commented on it. Some even went as far as to upload pictures of cakes they had baked, or their favorite recipes.
Now imagine him being a small business. He says the same thing, but gives his favorite cake recipe. Or a discount for people ordering his cake to try it out. Viral? Possibly. Engaging? Definitely!
Social media can yield references, referrals and reviews, in a fast, fast way. Social media, after all, is the new word of mouth. It moves faster than light, and can grow your brand as fast, if not faster, than any other form of marketing or advertising.
And that means a very happy holiday season for us, right?
But, in this exuberance, let’s not forget the ‘how’ of using social media marketing for attorneys. Specifically, let’s “give” during this season!
Talk, show and inform
Social media is a great group of platforms that allow for you to be seen and heard without ever being in front of the customer. This provides a major opportunity to position yourself as a teacher, instead of as a salesman or saleswoman. In fact, your levels of knowledge get validated and fully proven as THE authority on subjects; definitely a good thing.
There are two types of content that are currently crushing it with social media. And, they are both video!
The first is a simple explainer video. Personal injury lawyers can outline simple examples of what laws mean. They can cover new laws or rulings that answer questions before there even is an answer.
The second is live video. Facebook Live and Periscope are your two primary winners for this style of explanatory content. You literally click a button, go live and interact with your viewers. What an awesome way to get in front of people’s eyes to prove your product and offering?
A final note – don’t deny yourself from experimenting with other platforms. Snapchat can give massive results as a brand awareness engine (give, give, give). Instagram video is also a great platform for you to reach certain customers.
Entertain, entertain, entertain
Entertainment can win over an audience already watching. However, entertaining is meant to get your share counts up. This creates a viral aspect of your social media usage.
Let me ask, are you going to watch this video the whole way through…
Or, this one…
Yes, the latter is more energetic, it is crazier and it is almost obnoxious. But, how many of you would share the second over the first. And, are you one of the readers that are actually looking for the video to share on Facebook now?!?
Always, ALWAYS, provide a call to action
“DO IT!”
You are selling your services. You have went to school for specialized training. And, you have spent thousands on your training, business and marketing.
So, SELL!
A CTA (call to action), is a direct command that you give to your public to do. So, something like ‘click here’, ‘download now’, ‘DO IT!’…these are all CTAs.
You aren’t limited to only selling your services though. Direct people to download a free report on some facet of law. Signing up for a newsletter is another. Possibly even ‘click here to get a free 15 minutes consultation’ is a good for your brand.
And…here’s mine…
