Posts Tagged ‘Law Firm Web Design’
Law firm marketing- Influencing the press by making friends with reported and press men Monday, July 5th, 2010

Some recurring questions often come to focus especially when law firms have to deal with newspapers publication reporters and press men. You always wonder why a particular attorney is often quoted on a news item , you may also wonder why press men and newspaper publications do not give you a call despite handling several successful cases, and even when a reporter calls you, how do you know the proper ways of answering his calls and giving him or her the right fact. It is ideal for a law firm to understand how effective it could be to deal with the press and make them your friends to use them for your law firm marketing strategies.

It is not enough to be a successful lawyer by the number of cases you have handled, you must be known through the media, and the media can get your message widely distributed than what you individual achievements can do and they do this through credible news items. The key for a law firm to become successful through the press is to become a good source of information for the reporters. One of the opportunities for being a news source for the press is that your law firm and attorneys name will become much more pronounced and potential clients will be generated from such.

Since a reporter will like to protect his valued source, he will try as much as possible to enhance your credibility also. Unresponsive lawyers are often ignored by press men and that is not good for the image of such attorneys and their law firms. When you respond adequately to a legal issue, your source for information will be trusted and the reporter will always want to work with you in the future.

Most press men and reporters are inquisitive and bright in nature with some of them having law degrees and are full journalist. They are highly trained individuals who can be thrown into an unfamiliar situations and then start to search for information. With this in mind a law firm should understand that it is dealing with highly intelligent professionals who will not take chances with their jobs. The best possible ways by which a law firm can make reporters their friends is by getting active on issues which are widely reported by local and international media and ensure that such relationships are sustained

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Marketing Communications & Media Relations In Law Firm Marketing Monday, July 5th, 2010

The importance of an effective marketing communication alongside great media relations cannot be undermined in law firm marketing. These two effective marketing tools can drive a law firm to greatness. Marketing communication for law firms starts when an attorney publishes newsletters and for customers and clients, and develops brochures of services. Such materials should not necessarily be fanciful in nature, but should include postage-paid survey cards , law firm literature’s and check-off boxes which will help your potential clients provide feedback’s to you.

You must give your clients and potential clients two business cards- one for keeps and the other to give to another person. Likewise, include a brochure. Separate business cards and sales literature’s should be provided for each of your target market segments and that includes; Government, social clubs and associations, and corporate organizations, among many others. Your clients and prospective customers should have some posters and calendars of your law firm. Do not forget to print the slogan or one sentence description of your law firm on all invoices, leather head papers, and fax cover sheets among many other documents.

As a law firm attorney your email messages should have a signature file that will help you keep them. Key information’s such as your contact details and those of your potential clients must be included in the signature file, information’s such as your website and other necessary things must also be included to help your potential clients contact you easily. You should use colored or over-sized envelopes to send direct mails to your potential clients rather than using plain envelopes. This will drive the recipient’s curiosity as regards the content in the package. Your direct respond packages should also be used in announcing your special discounts rates and any other free package incentives you will like to offer.

When it comes to media relations, one of the best possible ways an attorney can optimize the benefits in it is by updating his media list in such a way that press releases are only sent to the right persons and media organizations. You must circulate prints, write articles in some columns of major local and regional publications. You should strive to appear in some major talk-shows and send timely and news-worthy press releases as at when due. You can occasionally take an editor of a newspaper publication for lunch and even write such editors for possible PR opportunities.

A good law firm marketing strategy will always strive on effective marketing communications and media relations.

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Law firm web design and the importance of Legal Videos Monday, May 17th, 2010

It has often become difficult to capture the attention of online visitors entirely with written contents and diagrams only, these days, most people want to have a video representation of a law firm to access them further on their competency to handle some legal issues. People often rely to a large extent on the television, Internet and videos in making some critical decisions not only on their legal needs but also other areas of their needs. As a law firm, you can take advantage of the video settlement brochures to create a positive impression about your competency. Aside video settlement brochures, live videos, and other digital media contents will create an impactful information fast in the minds of your prospective clients in a better way.

There are different forms in which legal videos can be of help. Some of the most prominent types of legal videos include; Investigative legal videos, Viral legal videos, and legal videos for Search Engine Optimization. Some of the effective ways you can optimize your legal videos on your law firm website are; video-taping medical procedures, video-taping attorney television commercials, video-taping legal seminars, and deposition videotaping.

Deposition videotaping on legal law firm websites involves deposition taping as well as rolling transcripts over the tape. These deposition videos can thus be transferred unto your law firm website . Video-taping seminars and transferring such videos to your law firm website is ideal especially when you are presenting papers and lecturing some professional organizations. When such videos are placed on your website, your potential clients can judge you based on that. Seminar videos are great marketing tools to expand your law firm business.

Investigative legal videos are mostly used in providing information about the legitimacy of a claim for online visitors. Viral attorney videos are informative videos which are placed on the internet for millions of viewers to share among each other. They are strong law firm marketing videos which can serve several purposes at the same time. Attorney TV commercials and videos are high quality explanatory videos about the different aspects of a law firm which serve two main purposes which are; law firm marketing and information dissipation. One good thing about law firm video commercials is that they can also be transferred to the law firm website thereby offering a great leverage for the law firm.

Law firm videos can serve different purposes for different online visitors, the most important thing here is that law firms should use high quality videos for all purposes.

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The art of getting what you and your client want in a legal case or relationship Monday, May 17th, 2010

One of the challenges being faced by attorneys these days is negotiating with colleagues and clients alike. The negotiation does not center on cost of legal fees alone but also include; How to mediate a legal dispute, how to acquire the services of other attorneys and settle their fees, how to schedule the deadline for a legal case or project, and many more. Te act of negotiation is needed in these situations and it is clearly defined as a process in which two different parties pursuing different goals try to reach an agreement on an optimal course of action.

Flexibility is one characteristic that attorneys must possess to be able to have successful negotiations. When one negotiation process is not working, a good attorney will adapt to it and try another means of negotiation . When it comes to negotiating, an attorney will not want to be a carp who only see limited options, such a carp attorney will always want to maintain the “ status quo” and will not want to be defeated in any negotiation process. Such bad negotiating attorney will not want to see the positive side of the long term cost of the deal, he only interested in the short term financial gains- this is not good for an attorney law firm business.

The best negotiating lawyers are flexible in thought and strategy. These are attorneys who are always quick in changing their negotiating tactics and strategies depending on the personality and level of reasoning of the other party. Good negotiating attorneys will remain cooperative as long as their clients or colleagues are cooperative in the way they are negotiating with each other. In every negotiating situation there are 4 likely outcomes which are; win/win, lose/lose, win/lose , and no outcome. In a lose /lose situation , neither party is able to achieve his or her goals and in a win/win situation, each party is satisfied with the outcome. In a no outcome situation, no agreement was reach before the conclusion of the negotiation.

To be a successful negotiator, an attorney must understand that the other party’s needs and aspirations are quite different from his own and it is very essential that you narrow down your negotiations to one issue, though you must be prepared to list and plan several other negotiating options. As an Attorney you need to do some quality research on many negotiation components such as the delivery dates, quality of services, possible outcome of a case , and many other things that can make your negotiation very flexible.

You need to develop as many negotiable points as possible, and relay these to the other party while negotiating, don’t be angry if you are losing out on some of the points you made, if you lose some , you will gain it from another source. You need to read the mind of your clients psychologically to be able to convince him about your points.

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Important web pages you must include on your law firm web page design Monday, May 17th, 2010

A well thought-out plan is needed if you actually want to build a reputable law firm web design. There are some web pages you cannot do without, for instance, your law firm website brochure for instance is often needed especially when you want to provide adequate details about your law firm. Such law firm brochure page will include essential information such as ; Home page, About us page, Practice areas, attorney biographies, attorneys cases, representative pages and contact us page. These pages do contain brief description of your law firm as well as mission statements. Some also contain the lists of links to each attorney biographies, and information on degrees and cases handled. The home page is what determines whether you gain or lose a prospective client.

If you want to maximize the potentials of your law firm marketing strategies on your law firm website, you will need to include some certain pages and such include; case summaries, frequently asked question pages, and many others.

The frequently asked question page is one of the most disregarded pages on law firm website, most attorneys do not understand the importance of this page in their law firm marketing and web design strategies. The frequently asked question page can serve different purposes to different potential clients, For instance, most new clients do not need to come to your office to make enquiries about your services, they can easily find answers to their questions on such page. Your frequently asked question pages will also help your potential clients prepare much better for a legal case and it such page will also explain some legal procedures that may apply to their own peculiar legal needs.

A law firm news feed is another important part of a law firm web design that must not be neglected. The newsfeed is just a news supply stream system which briefs you law firm website visitors about the current happenings both in and outside the legal world. News feeds can serve different purposes just like any other component of your law firm web design. As a matter of fact it can be used in giving news announcements about a situation of things in a particular place within your locality or internationally. You can also use it to announce new products and services being rendered by your law firm.

Attorney biography pages are used in getting personalized information about your law firm’s attorneys. Attorney biography page will let your clients know more about the professional qualifications as well as the backgrounds of your attorneys with a view to create more familiarity between your law firm and such potential clients. You Also need to understand that practice area specific articles will add significantly to your traffic generation online.

Case summary pages should go along with your newsfeeds, your clients will build more trust in you when they know the rate of your success through your case summaries. They will trust you more regardless of your chargeable fees , as long as you can get their legal matters resolved.

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Tips for developing a law firm website Thursday, April 1st, 2010

Before you can actually start thinking of recording success from your
law firm which is a function of the quality and quantity of crowd
generated through your law firm website, you need to put into practice
some proven tips. They are laid down below.
To start with, you need to choose a web developer whose ultimate goal
is to ensure your law firm succeeds. Choosing on the basis of prize or
size alone may not actually yield the desired goal you want. You need
to cross-check with the designer’s experience before you have your
website designed by them. Only experienced law website designers know
the requirements suitable for your website to stand out. The type of
personalized services offered by such website designer is often the
key to knowing how fully well you can be represented. For example, a
website put-up which looks similar to others will definitely not stand
out as a good marketing tool. In a few cases, exceptional law firm
designers can be patronized if they support their claims of ranking
you high on the search engines.
It is also ideal to personalize your website in order to suit your
professional style. In fact if it is done well, you will be giving
your visitors the opportunity to break through the impersonal nature
of the web! Photos of your office, messages from reputable people like
your attorneys and integration of audios and videos surely create your
brand! Doing things differently will surely give you the competitive
advantage over others. And you cannot afford to fail here!
Before you go about floating a law firm website on the internet, it is
advisable you consider and research thoroughly what your competitors
are doing. Always seek ways of out-smarting them! Never forget that
web users are ever ready to compare law firm website results and sieve
out the best. So, why not have a website that will succeed through and
the visitor will take more interest in afterwards? This is a good way
to follow if you will not loose your potential client.
You should maintain a good communication with the project manager in
charge of developing your law website. Remember, you alone know what
you want your law firm website to look like, the developer can offer
useful information too to help you. When you are planning, make sure
you give the developer as much information as required so that he will
put exceptional touches only to the picture you have created. With
good law firm developers, you can feel free to ask for progress
reports so that you know he is working in line with your requirements.
After the site is fully developed, it is important you quickly report
any problems you discover to your law firm website developer. Be it
grammatical errors, broken links or missing pages, do not let it give
you a bad name and direct your potential clients to other sites! A
good rule of thumb is to actually ask for performance statistics from
your project manager or developer. That way, you can judge the
effectiveness of your website!

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Generating sales through your law firm website Friday, February 26th, 2010

One of the most important questions you should ask yourself is whether your law firm website is making you generate sales or not. You should know that people will not stop at the first hand information they hear about before hiring you, they will like to make searches online to find every information about you before even considering your for a trial.  Your law firm website play a key role in the recovery process and in it dictates the tone which a prospective client will use in evaluating you.
Once you have settled for a good law firm marketing strategy, the next thing is to get a powerful-packed law firm website that will strategically position your law firm in the top ranking search engines is very critical.  Bios and flattering photos of your law firm and attorneys will make your law firm easily located online and those vital contact information will trigger in their hearts the possibility of contacting you.  You don’t have to rely on electronically printed brochures all the time, turn your law firm web design into a sales generating tool for your law firm and you will see the great bargain in terms of investment you will receive.
Some incredible facts have shown that about 80% of law firms gain their clients whose first awareness are through the internet, similarly more than  60% of general clients use  the websites of law firms they hire. According to some researches, prospective clients are demanding the value for their money outside the billable hours and they always go for law firms that have a track record of their recent legal experiences on the internet.
It is very pathetic to note that many law firms are spending millions of dollars in branding and differentiation strategies with little or no successes. There are no better ways of protecting your law firm’s distinctive qualities than getting the pictures, video presentations and blogs on your website and putting them on the internet- simply because more than 1 billion people make use of the internet on daily basis.  Some of the ways through which you can generate sales through your law firm website includes;
1 Keeping your law firm website current;  Your most recent deals and legal representations must be included and updated on your law firm website, this will help prospective clients in similar situations. The most recent articles, speeches , and legal jobs of your attorneys must be presented in a clear and concise manner. Likewise try to make some objective points on recent happenings in the society.
2  Showcasing your legal expertise is another step you need to take in generating sales through your law firm website. When you publicize your attorneys’ accolades, seminar activities, speeches and likes, you give them more exposure and prospective clients will have more confidence in subscribing to your services.
3 Since your law firm website is the face of your law firm, it is very critical that you make everything easy on it. It must come with easy navigation, useful functions and potential clients must get the information they are looking for.
4 Focus more on their needs rather than your law firm and ask them to do business with you

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Developing your law firm marketing muscles Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

Working out in a gym is just like working out on your muscles. Law firm marketing just like exercises is like doing the same thing over and over again and just as having  a partner in a gym will help you stay much more focus so also is having an attorney partner for your law firm marketing.  Your attorney marketing partner could be  an attorney you have known for a long time, or your colleague , it is important that you check the goals and values of  your attorney marketing partner before choosing him. You also need to detect the sense of urgency you think will help your individual goals to be accomplished.
Developing your law firm marketing strategies with a reluctant or lazy attorney will only put your marketing strategies in jeopardy , a good attorney marketing partner must be patient, tactical, understanding, and effective, he must be a good listener and someone who is genuinely committed just the way you are to his own referral needs.  Your attorney marketing partner should not be a destructive critic but someone who criticizes genuinely simply when things are not done in the proper manner , your partner should criticize you only when necessary.
Developing your law firm marketing muscles will also mean you have to get the best resources that will actually make you plan for a more effective marketing strategy. You must include all forms of internet marketing tools including affiliate marketing techniques, PPC { pay-per-click marketing},  banner ads, and several others. Aside this, it will be beneficial if you can include some law firm advertising techniques alongside your marketing strategies and such include online and offline strategies. You don’t have to rely solely on online advertising techniques only , make sure you make use of yellow pages, publications and other advertising media in projecting your law firm.
Your law firm marketing success will depends on how careful you are in selecting the right components for your marketing needs, you wouldn’t get your law firm anywhere when you don’t study the application of some marketing ideas before applying them to your law firm, applying wrong strategies will only amount to waste of time, resources and energy. Let a professional law firm marketer help you evaluate your marketing plans and strategies from the beginning,  there must be a periodic evaluation as time goes on so that you can have a lasting positive marketing effect.

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Search Engine Marketing tips for a law firm Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

There are basically two main ways by which your prospective clients can find you online and these are; online directories and search engines. When searching for a legal service online, individuals are always on the look for law firms that have dealt with situations that are similar to theirs , they also look for law firms with market differentiators and those located within their geographical location, hence it will be ideal for a law firm to optimize its marketing strategies  keeping these three points in mind.
Some of the preliminary requirements of a law firm  for an effective SEO marketing techniques include; Domain name purchasing{ especially if it is your first attorney website}, Search engine submissions, and keyword optimized pages alongside standard SEM audits to review the performance of the law firm website.  Keyword research is the first step towards keyword optimizes pages on your law firm website. The use of a proprietor tool for your keyword research is ideal, this tool will generate the ideal phrases and words which you need to optimize your pages on search engines.
The performance monitoring of attorney search engine website involves the periodic changing of the algorithm of the website for a better repositioning of the site on internet. The use of performance monitoring techniques will ensure a better search engine volatility and when a search engine analysis software is included, then your law firm SEO  techniques become much more efficient in the sense that you can track and monitor your visitors behavior on your website even when you are not logged on.
As an attorney , you need to understand that your search engine optimization techniques will be slightly different from what obtains on other professional websites. Your chosen keywords for instance should be restricted to your area of practice and not a generalized legal profession. When you use keywords relating to general law firm practices then you may likely face some problems as both desirable and non desirable clients prospective clients will likely contact you and it wouldn’t help you if your turn them down simply because you don’t have the expertise to meet up with their needs.
Use the right keywords and you get traffic from those who genuinely need your services, aside this , an attorney should try and combine all his marketing strategies to  achieve the maximum profitable results that  he could get.

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Things you need to know about law firm marketing Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

There are several things you must take note when planning your law firm marketing strategies. Before you market your law firm, you need to ascertain  what exactly you are selling and that depends on the perspective from which the public perceive you. If you decide to make your law firm very exclusive then you will have to be expensive in your dealings, if you are not then you must make your prices extremely affordable. Being cheap does not mean you have to charge ridiculously low fees for your services, that may have a negative impact on your law firm because ridiculously cheap law firms are considered to be quack in their legal dealings. The best way of handling legal fees is to deal with individuals as they appear.
One other factor you must considered while marketing your law firm is that you will always come across different individuals in your everyday legal deal, as a matter of fact the more people you meet , the better and more confident you become in handling their issues and that will bring out the best in you. You should know the difference between law firm marketing and solicitation{ you will need to understand the ethics of the legal profession while making your law firm marketing plans}.
You need to understand the period when you must handle your law firm marketing strategies alone and the periods when a law firm marketing experts. There are times you will need a law firm marketing consultants to help you design the best law firm marketing strategies for you{ not all law firm marketing strategies will work for your law firm, hence you need an expert in this area}.
You need to determine the kind of law firm marketing tools available at your disposal. You need to note that you can’t do without the internet for your law firm marketing, hence you must be ready to use all the tools available on internet for your law firm marketing strategies. When it comes to budgeting for law firm marketing strategies , you may have to spend around $5,000 to $10,000 hiring a law firm marketing consultant alone , though you may spend less, and the amount you spend will be determined by the number of combinations of attorney marketing strategies you want to use and then  the size of your law firm will also significantly determine your budget.

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