The administrative board for the New York Unified Court System has lifted an old ban that prevented law firms from advertising based on trade names or domain names. This update to the rules of legal ethics will bring New York closer in line with other states that already permit the use of trade names in attorney advertising. However, there are still some cases where attorneys might get in trouble for advertising, depending on what trade name they choose for themselves. Continue reading “NY Court Reverses Rule Banning Law Firms from Using Trade Names”
Tag: marketing
Part II: Choosing a Webinar Platform
Part 2 of a 3 part series
Choosing a webinar platform can be challenging. At the Public Relations and Marketing Group, we are here to assist you with your webinar needs. We will choose the most cost-effective platform for your practice and walk you through a step-by-step process on preparing and hosting a webinar. When choosing a webinar platform, it essential to consider the following:
What are you looking to achieve from the webinar?
- Brand exposure
- Lead generation
- Relationship with clients
What tools and features does the webinar provide?
- Multiple presenters
- Presentations
- Screen sharing
- Live chat
- Question and Answer sessions
How often do you plan to host a webinar?
- Once a week?
- Once a month?
How can you use webinars to measure success of your practice?
- Email leads
- Client feedback
- Client questions/concerns on your products and services
Overall, there are various factors to consider when choosing a webinar platform. If you are interested in hosting a webinar please contact johnzaher@theprmg.com or call 631-207-1057 Ext. 107.
Part I: Why Host a Webinar? 4 Benefits to Consider
Part 1 of a 3 part series
Webinars make connecting with your audience easier. Presenters can use video, audio and screen sharing to market products and services to viewers anywhere. Begin building personal connections, engagement, and trust by inviting attendees to a webinar and engaging them through question-and-answer sessions, live polls and more. If you are considering new ways to grow your practice and attract new clients, here are 4 benefits to consider.
- Hosting Webinars Raise Brand Awareness
Webinars provide the opportunity to utilize video conferencing technology to reach a wider audience. With this technology, your firm can reach clients across the globe and increase brand exposure. In addition, the people viewing your webinar are showing their interest, and therefore, are most likely potential clients. If they are satisfied with the webinar, they may even encourage family and friends to engage with your firm. Overall, this word of mouth communication is guaranteed to leave a lasting impression for your brand.
- Webinars Assist in Building Relationships with Potential Clients
By speaking to a group of potential clients, you have the ability to understand your target audience on a deeper level. A few examples include what they are interested in, what concerns they may have, and also understanding what motivates them. In opposition, viewers can get to know you as a person and gain your trust. They are able to connect to the video call while they are in the comfort of their own home or office, therefore there is no pressure. Accordingly, they will have the option to participate in interactive question and answer segments. With each webinar hosted, you can establish a strong relationship with potential clients.
- Webinars Build Your Email List and Generate Qualified Leads
Sign-up forms for your webinar enable you to collect lead information such as email addresses, phone numbers, and job titles. In correlation, the details that you provide in your webinar educates and qualifies your audience. Examples include informing them about your background or services your brand offers and responding to questions or concerns your audience has.
- Webinars Can Allow you to Stand Out Against Competitors
Are your competitors currently hosting webinars? Right now, is the perfect time to stay ahead of your competition. Building a strong online presence is essential in promoting your brand. In today’s world, 97% of clients find firms online first. By responding to these consumer actions and standing out online, you have a higher chance of growing stronger than your competition.
Overall, there are various benefits to hosting a webinar. Most importantly, webinars open up a new entry way in growing your practice. With the eligibility to invite and promote potential clients, share your brand message, raise engagement, and analyze and convert leads, webinars are the perfect option. If you are interested in scheduling a webinar for your audience email johnzaher@theprmg.com or call 631-207-1057 Ext. 107.
Don’t Let Your Revenues and Prospects Drop; Manage your Law Firm’s Online Reputation
In the vast world of the internet, information travels in the blink of an eye. Although it is valuable tool for law firms to reach out to clientele and potentially grow a business, the internet can just as easily make a firm come crashing down.
Hackers, internet “trolls” and hate sites are a reality that haunt many business owners. This results in specific firms being projected poorly due to untrue information, or bad reviews being vastly distributed and easily accessible. To avoid this as much as possible, it is important for law firms to be proactive about their online presence in order to stay on top of scammers and divert clients away from negative material.
Think of having a strong digital footprint as part of your overall brand. If your online presence is low, then your firm does not stand out and clients are unaware of where to look for your firm online. That leaves plenty of room for negative influencers to divert your potential clientele to inaccurate information. So, the stronger the footprint, the more control you have over your company’s image and the content that is present online about it.
In most cases of reputation crisis, publishing content online in a strategic manner that will push the damaging material out of the spotlight is the best course of action. However, this is not an easy and rapid task by any means. New content must compete with other materials and somehow make it to the first page of search engines. Content and review management programs may be a helpful to rise your content to the top at a faster pace to avoid negative repercussions as much as possible.
One program that could be established is to reserve applicable domain names. Malicious websites can easily host a website address that is similar to a firm’s name, diverting the attention of search engines and clients to the hate site and away from your firm.
One may believe that something as drastic as this would never happen to their law firm, but the truth is that anyone could be a target for malicious sites that are meant to attract inappropriate attention; sometimes for no reason at all. By purchasing all the appropriate domain extensions of your firm’s name, which can sometimes mean buying over 10 domains in a variety of iteration, you lessen the chances of potential attacks.
Some other ways to take control of your reputation include:
- Making sure that the photos of you that appear online are appropriate and depict an image that you wish to portray.
- Utilizing LinkedIn for most of your information sharing and connecting.
- Maintaining a consistent schedule for publishing content to build a professional and reliable online profile.
- Having a comprehensive AVVO profile.
Although there are several ways to deter the negativity online, many law firms simply do not have the time to regularly maintain an online presence. But, being there for your clients online is just as important as being there for them in the courtroom. That’s where PR4Lawyers can help.
PR4Lawyers integrates traditional marketing techniques the modern marketing necessities of social media, web development, and SEO. PR4Lawyers’ multifaceted approach helps law firms reach potential clients across all media, while also managing your online reputation to help your law firm succeed.
If you would like more information on managing your law firm’s digital footprint, or to set up a complimentary consultation, please call 1-866-PR4LAWYERS (866-774-5299) or fill out our online contact form.
How to Market Yourself Using LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a great way to showcase your professional brand and identity as well as your accomplishments. Not only can your profile reflect your resume, but it can also inform your network of the work you are doing. Utilize LinkedIn to network with people in your field of work, draw potential clientele to your business, and expand your brand over the wide web of digital connections.
Presenting Yourself on LinkedIn
To begin, fill out your entire profile completely. Below are some factors to consider when developing your profile:
- Make sure your profile picture is professional. If you’re marketing yourself to gain more clients for your business or firm, use your picture to demonstrate that you are an expert in the field and take your job seriously.
- Your cover photo should be just as professional, but instead of a headshot, it should promote your work. Use this photo as a digital billboard for promoting your firm’s services. Let viewers know that your firm specializes in divorces, injury law, or another field of law as soon as they click on your profile.
- Keep your bio short and to the point. Tell page visitors who you are, what you do, and why you love doing it. Make sure to show your passion for your career, this tells people you’re dedicated and committed to your position.
- Showcase your job experience; add your current position and at least two previous positions. This illustrates growth in your career and shows that you have extensive experience in your field of work.
- Add projects or volunteer work to display the things you’re passionate about in life. If someone can find you relatable, this may lead to more clientele.
Networking
There are three different types of connections: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Your 1st connections are people with whom you are already connected. This means you have either accepted their invitation to connect with you or vice versa. 2nd connections are those that are also 1st connections with one of your 1st connections. 3rd connections are people that are distantly connected to your network. For instance, they may be a 1st connection of one of your 2nd connections. The more connections you have, the more exposure and opportunities will become available to you.
Growing your network is important if you want to gain more clients and connections. Start by connecting with people you already know such as colleagues, previous people you have worked with or worked for, old schoolmates from college and even peers from high school. Join groups with alumni from your university, or if you were in a fraternity or sorority, connect with your fellow brothers and sisters.
Sharing on Your Newsfeed
When sharing posts and status updates on your newsfeed, be sure to sprinkle in any blogs or articles you have written. Articles created by you prove that you are extremely knowledgeable of the article’s topic and can increase your credibility on the subject matter. LinkedIn Publishing is great for generating articles, but another option would be to create a Medium account and write your articles through that site. Medium is a platform where thought leaders, CEOs, business leaders, and anyone really, can create a blog and share their stories and articles on Medium. You can post these articles on any form of social media including LinkedIn.
Another great way to increase visibility is to post any videos you may have of yourself giving a public speech at a conference or a similar event. There is no need to worry if you do not have any videos like this, regular articles and blog posts will suffice. Also feel free to share other people’s videos and posts that you resonate with to increase your presence on LinkedIn. Sharing other people’s articles and videos may help grow your network base as well.
Use LinkedIn’s tools to promote your business even further. Lastly, when it comes to marketing your firm or business, don’t forget the most important marketing tool is you.
PR4Lawyers is an experienced attorney marketing firm that has accomplished successful strategies for over a decade. For more information about our services, please call 1-866-PR4LAWYERS (866-774-5299) or fill out our online contact form.
Is Television Commercial Advertising Still Worth It?
With the rise of streaming sites such as Netflix, Roku, and Sling, do people even watch cable television anymore? The answer – yes.
Earlier this year, CNBC took a survey consisting of 801 Americans throughout the United States to find out just how many people still have cable television and actually watch it as well. Out of this group, 30 percent of people stated they only have cable or satellite TV and 36 percent said they have both cable and streaming services. That means 66 percent of the people still have cable television and have the potential to see your ad.
Streaming vs. Television
Even though the number of people watching TV is still large, there’s no denying that streaming services are becoming extremely popular especially among the younger generations. Streaming services are often a cheaper option than regular cable or satellite TV. This allows people to sit for hours upon hours binge-watching their favorite shows at their leisure. Whereas, regular TV tends to cost more and has a programmed schedule.
However, programmed schedules are valuable to those looking to advertise their firm or company on TV especially when it comes to a high-profile event, such as the Super Bowl, or a show airing at a specific date and time. For example, one of the most popular shows Americans watch these days is This Is Us on NBC. Securing an advertising spot on NBC Tuesday nights from 9p.m. to 10p.m. Eastern Standard Time could allow you to reach millions of viewers across the nation while they’re enjoying This Is Us. Many cable channel programs also command large audiences, such as TLC, Bravo, HGTV, and others.
Forbes even stated, “Television advertising revenue was up 7.1% in January 2018, according to the latest stats from the Standard Media Index.”
Besides the potential numbers of viewers, think about the effect being on TV has to large audiences. We instantly attribute a company being on TV with having a distinct and respectable status. Just seeing your advertisement on television can impact viewers to see your business in a prestigious light. Not only will your ad boost your fame, it will portray your business as credible.
So, don’t be blind to the steady influence of TV advertising in this digital age, it may be just the advertisement your company needs to be seen.
For more information please visit www.pr4lawyers.com.
PR4Lawyers is an experienced attorney marketing firm that has accomplished successful strategies for over a decade. For more information about our services, please call 1-866-PR4LAWYERS (866-774-5299) or fill out our online contact form.
Facebook: The New Face of Advertising
An In-Depth Look at How Facebook is Outpacing Traditional Advertising
By Erin Marine, Legal Account Executive at PR4Lawyers
The Wall Street Journal recently published an article on Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson’s advertising strategy for his political campaign. At the time, Carson was the leading candidate in the Republican primary polls, surpassing even the “seemingly unstoppable” Donald Trump, but Carson was also leading his political rivals in another arena: Facebook advertising. As of this writing, Carson has over 5 million Facebook fans, compared with Donald Trump, who currently has 4.8 million fans and leading Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, who has just under 2 million.
The article quotes Erik Hawkins, group director of Facebook’s global marketing solutions team, as saying that Carson is the most active presidential candidate on Facebook in terms of paid and organic activity. In fact, Carson campaign officials have already launched over 240 different advertisements on Facebook alone. The Carson campaign has made Facebook advertising a key component of its advertising strategy, while other candidates continue to cling to print and television platforms, the traditional darlings of political advertising.
Clearly, political campaign managers are starting to pick up on what many businesses and organizations have already discovered: Facebook is the future of advertising, and the future is now. Continue reading “Facebook: The New Face of Advertising”
Start Planning Your Holiday Marketing
The fourth financial quarter and the holiday season are approaching. How can your firm capitalize on the holiday rush? Start planning your holiday marketing efforts now! Use your firm’s social media sites, online marketing, and public relations efforts to build a comprehensive holiday marketing plan.
Social Media Marketing
As each holiday season comes and goes, we are becoming more engulfed in our social media accounts. Therefore, it is beneficial to use social media as a way to directly influence your client base. First, grab their attention by adding fun and festive elements to your usual marketing strategies.
The holiday season means that consumers want a good value for their dollar. By offering a promotion on social media sites (whether it is “Take 10% off your consultation” or “$50 off services provided”), you are giving existing and prospective clients alike a reason to visit your firm. Even visitors who were not previously considering your goods or services may be enticed to do so. Continue reading “Start Planning Your Holiday Marketing”
Where Should a Law Firm Spend Its Marketing Money
Marketing is essential for the growth of any law firm. Even if your attorneys have impeccable reputations, without sufficient exposure, potential clients may never be aware of what your firm has to offer. Unfortunately, many small firms and solo practitioners do not have a large budget to spend on comprehensive marketing campaigns. Costly forms of marketing can be very effective in attracting new clients, but if the budget isn’t there, law firms can take advantage of alternative methods. Fortunately, there are many ways to attract new clients without breaking the bank. Even basic tools, such as a website, can help inform prospective clients about your practice areas and can convince them to request a consultation. Here are some more tips on where you should be spending your money when dealing with a tight marketing budget.
Continue reading “Where Should a Law Firm Spend Its Marketing Money”
Is Direct Mail or Email Marketing Better for Attorneys?
Recently, the popularity of Internet-based advertising has increased dramatically among lawyers. One of the most widely used methods of Internet-based advertising is through email. Email marketing offers law firms a cheap, easy way to directly target past clients, prospective clients and potential referral sources. Meanwhile, there has been a decline in direct mail advertising, a more traditional system of sending tangible advertisements to your target audience. Despite the lower costs associated with email advertising, does it bring in a higher return on your investment? Overall which is better: direct mail or email advertising?
Advantages to email advertising: For starters, emails can link back to your website, social media pages, recent verdicts and settlements, and much more. Also, emails are sent immediately. Advertisers do not need to wait for the pieces to be printed, shipped, stamped and delivered. Lastly, the main advantage to email advertising is very basic: it is cheap. As long as a firm is connected to the Internet, sending an email comes at almost no cost. Direct mail incurs costs such as printing and postage, which can add up quickly if a firm is trying to reach a large number of businesses or households.
Downsides to email advertising: While emails can be an effective way to reach a target market, what happens if a firm doesn’t have a large email database? Organically building a list of email addresses is a difficult process that can take months to sufficiently complete. This can be avoided by using agencies that offer lists of addresses, but all of this comes at a price. Also, a large number of emails are never seen by its audience. Email advertisements are often viewed as junk mail and automatically end up in spam boxes or are deleted before they are read.
The main advantage of direct mail: You are ensured the audience will see the advertisement. Even if they immediately discard the mailer, they will still briefly look at it, giving your firm increased exposure. This also presents the opportunity to change one’s opinion with catchy designs and content. Someone may delete an e-newsletter before it loads, but an eye-popping postcard in the mail can often lead to new clients. Also, certain demographics of people, such as senior citizens or low-income households, are more likely to respond to direct mail than emails.
The Direct Marketing Association found in a 2012 study that letter-sized direct mail has a response rate of 3.4% from a house list and a 1.28% rate from the general public. Email, on the other hand, only has a response rate of .12% and .03%, respectively. These rates can be even higher with a well-segmented list. Direct mail can still have a high return on investment and reach a wider audience.
In the end, the method that works best depends on the law firm, the practice area(s) advertised, and the resources available. Even if direct mail may benefit a firm, if it does not have the resources immediately available to make the investment, then emails may be the way to go. Often, a combination of both methods can be the best system for a law firm.
In either case, it is important to contact a marketing firm with a total understanding of the current attorney advertising rules in your state. PR4Lawyers prides itself on strict adherence to all advertising regulations and attorney rules of conduct. If you have any questions regarding advertising strategies, please contact PR4Lawyers at 866-PR4Lawyers or email: johnzaher@pr4lawyers.com.
