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Over the last couple of years, engagement on LinkedIn has been booming. According to its parent company, Microsoft, the platform got so popular in 2021 that its overall revenue jumped 36% in the fourth quarter alone. And it hasn’t really slowed down since.

This is great news for you, because more people using the platform to connect professionally and nurture business relationships means more potential eyeballs on your content — which will generate leads, referrals, and ultimately revenue. 

To cash in on this popularity, you need to level up your LinkedIn game. Here are three tips to help you go that extra mile on your personal and business pages. 

1. Maximize your connections

LinkedIn shares your content to all of your connections on the platform, so the more you have the better! To beef up your list, try exporting your contacts from your email. LinkedIn will automatically search out accounts with those email addresses and make growing your contact list easy. 

2. Take advantage of the LinkedIn Publishing Platform

Did you know you can write and publish blogs directly on LinkedIn using the article publishing tool on your home page? You can even use images and hashtags. This is a great secondary spot to store your content and get more visibility with your network. Your blogs will appear on your profile, further positioning you as the expert.

3. Host events with LinkedIn Events

Yes, that’s right—you can host events and webinars with live-streamed videos right on LinkedIn. It’s even easier than setting up a Zoom meeting, and it’s another great way to show off your expertise, nurture your connections, and add value for leads and clients following you on the platform. Visit Business.LinkedIn.com/marketing-solutions/linkedin-live for all of the details. 

LinkedIn is also a great way to find and attract talent. According to Business Insider, roughly six people are hired through LinkedIn every minute. Whether you want to strengthen your network, convert leads, or grow your team, this is a tool you can’t afford to overlook.

Before you read anything else, visit our friends over at Spotlight Branding, schedule a consultation, and pay them for marketing service. Did you do it? Probably not. You haven’t gotten anything out of this article yet.

So then why do so many lawyers use social media as nothing more than a digital billboard that constantly tells people to call their office? And so many of you wonder why social media doesn’t work for you.

The impetus behind content marketing is to provide value to your audience before asking for anything in return. (Sometimes you won’t have to ask at all.) When you do this, you build trust and nurture relationships, which are components of long-term success. By sharing educational and useful information, you attract and engage people, making them more likely to choose your firm when the time is right. 

The Power of Giving 

Giving is a central piece of content marketing. Your content should share valuable information so future clients can solve problems and make informed decisions. This could be through blog posts, videos, newsletters, or social media content. You position your business as a helpful resource by consistently providing valuable content.

Continuing to give valuable content keeps your audience engaged and builds loyalty. When people see that you consistently provide helpful information, they are more likely to return to your website, follow your social media channels, and open your emails. This ongoing engagement strengthens their relationship with your firm.

Consistently putting out blogs, resources, videos, and other content helps prospective clients understand how your firm is uniquely positioned to resolve their legal issues. It also enables you to build loyalty and retention with clients you have previously worked with—who can also refer you to their friends, family, and colleagues. 

The internet completely disrupted the way customers research products and make purchasing decisions. Historically, companies relied on traditional sales and advertising tactics such as TV and print ads or face-to-face relationship building to drive sales. Seth Godin referred to this as interruption marketing. But the internet has made information broadly available so people can do their own research without needing to engage directly with an organization unless they want to.

The Right Time to Ask 

After consistently giving value, asking people to book a consultation is appropriate. When you read blogs, you will notice that the last paragraph is when someone is trying to sell you something. By the end, your audience trusts you and is more likely to respond positively to your request.

Content marketing is important today because it reaches clients who do their own research. Compelling content motivates prospects to learn more and ultimately convert. Create a content strategy that supports your firm’s overall marketing plan. A content strategy typically includes audience personas, topics, channels for distribution, and a publishing schedule. 

How About Now?
Now is the right time to ask. If you got any value out of this article about content marketing and would like to continue this conversation with us, we would be happy to do so. We’ll discuss how we can write blogs, create social media posts, make videos, and create educational and value-based content for your firm.

Nearly every business claims to provide great client service—maybe even you make that claim (though most consumers don’t rate law firms particularly high on that scale). However, the ability to provide that level of service versus just promising it depends on a number of factors. Foremost is a great client experience. Let’s take a closer look at 5 tips that can help your firm exceed expectations and thrive no matter how tight or competitive your market.

Tip #1: Develop a Client-Centric Culture

In a client-centric firm, everyone strives to provide an exceptional experience. This includes a friendly voice on the phone, quick responses (more on that below), and exceptional products or services. For law firms, this might include free consultations, complimentary ebooks, and a website that speaks to its intended audience. 

Tip #2: Easy Communication with Rapid Responses

When clients want to reach you to book an appointment, ask a question, or even express a concern, how easy do you make it for them? Are your contact details available on a clearly labeled section of your website or do visitors have to go looking for them? The easier they are to find, the more you’ll come across as a firm that cares.

Proactively offering different ways of communicating with your firm is also important, especially after hours. You can provide customers with options such as email, Facebook messenger, an FAQ page, chatbot, and telephone support during business hours. Whichever options you offer, make sure you respond by the next business day at the very latest. For some queries, you can use automation for immediate results.

Tip #3: Show You Value Feedback

Asking for feedback is essential to ensuring satisfaction. Not only does it show that you’re willing to listen, but the responses can help you better understand the experience people are having with your business. Just make sure you act on what you’re told: by learning more about their experiences, you can improve the strategies that serve you well while discontinuing the ones that don’t.

Tip #4: Personalize the Client Experience

One of the best ways to ensure customer satisfaction is to personalize the service experience. Analyze each client’s history with your firm and recommend solutions for their specific needs. You can even send them a personalized “Happy Birthday!” Little gestures like that can mean a lot.

Tip #5: Show Them How You’ll Help Them Succeed

Telling prospects how you will assist them along their journey (especially after the main job they hired you for is finished) while explaining the next steps is a surefire way to keep them satisfied. Your clients will know exactly what to expect from you and how to contact you for help if needed. For example, great family lawyers offer support and guidance on getting back into the dating scene after a divorce or tips for coparenting with a difficult ex–spouse.

Conclusion

Consumer expectations are higher than ever. As clients become more empowered, their experience becomes even more important. In fact, clients with the most positive experiences spend 140% more and stay loyal for up to six years. A great experience strategy on your part can make a positive impact on customer loyalty, retention, and revenue growth.

Marketing is as broad of a term as legal counseling. Under both umbrellas, there are a multitude of disciplines that apply to different types of problems, yet many lawyers seem unaware of the alternative view and solutions to them. All four marketing misconceptions we outline here can be traced back to this thought process. 

Misconception #1: Blogs are for SEO

Some marketing companies view blogs as a means of packing keywords, providing backlinks, and serving as a platform for internal linking. The theory is that the blog provides a landing spot for a Google algorithm to find. Though there have been leaks, Google has never outright told people what its algorithm is. 

Rather than writing for Google, provide valuable information to your clients through your blogs. When someone is referred to you, they will look you up. (This is the easiest way to ensure you land on the first page of Google.) You want them to access a blog that provides the much-needed solutions to their problems when they visit your website. When they see pages of blogs, they’ll view you as a credible expert in your field. This brings a prospect one step closer to choosing you as their attorney. 

Misconception #2: Only Large Firms Can Market Themselves

Larger firms have a bigger budget, more attorneys, and may even have an entire marketing department. Here’s one thing that they don’t have: your network. How many people have you helped throughout your career? These same people are the ones who will strongly recommend you to others. A referral from a friend, family member, or trusted colleague is infinitely more substantial than any billboard or SEO result. 

Stay in contact with your network by sending them email newsletters and asking them to follow you on social media. The idea is that they won’t forget you, especially when someone asks them if they know any good attorneys. If you have been in practice for several years and have built up your network, then you possess a massive source of new business. Instead of competing with larger firms for cold leads, utilize your network. 

Misconception #3: “I Am Great at Generating Referrals” 

Yes, you will get referrals without marketing your firm. However, the mistake people make is assuming that avenue is covered simply because they are getting some referrals. They then consider marketing tools for lead generation and hunting down cold leads. The problem is that they only get a fraction of the referrals they could get if they simply marketed to their existing network. 

We have had clients triple their referrals by having a newsletter and a presence on social media. Before shifting your attention to lead generation (people who have never heard of you), figure out where you top out on referrals. You may find that you will never need to spend money on other marketing initiatives. 

Misconception #4: Email Marketing Is Dead

By the end of 2024, email marketing is expected to generate over $12 billion in revenue. Though the numbers show that email marketing isn’t dead, people assume it has been replaced with social media.

Things such as spam filters forced email marketers to spend more time creating engaging and relevant content. Even though the average person receives about 121 emails daily, it doesn’t detract from email marketing. Why? People have become diligent about what comes in their inboxes. Anyone who stays subscribed to your email newsletter wants to be in your circle. Your job is to create the newsletter that they will want to read. If you provide value, then people will invite you in. 

Focus on What Actually Works

Marketing your law firm doesn’t have to be complicated, but it must be intentional. The key is staying top of mind, providing value, and nurturing relationships. Whether through blogs, email newsletters, or social media, your efforts should highlight your expertise and connect with your audience in a meaningful way.

By avoiding these common misconceptions and focusing on what truly works, you’ll see more referrals, attract better clients, and build a stronger reputation—without chasing every new marketing trend. Keep it simple and stay consistent.

Need help with your marketing strategy? Spotlight Branding can help. Contact them today!

Lobbying is a term we normally associate with politics. According to dictionary.com, lobbying is an activity where you seek to influence someone on an issue. However, I believe there is a better way to go about lobbying for business than what we see in the political arena. 

As a business owner and marketer, you should always be lobbying others to do business with you. This should be one of the KPIs you keep a close eye on as you review your Business Growth Dashboard.

As an author, you have one of the most powerful lobbying tools known to man; your book. One referral strategy we teach our clients is to use their book to lobby for referrals. The process is very simple. 

Identify a few centers of influence: other professionals who are in positions to recommend that their clients use your firm. Most of these professionals have lobbies where their clients wait to meet with them. You should arrange to have your book prominently displayed in their lobby so their client can read your book while they are waiting to meet with them. I’m sure what you write will be more interesting than what they’ll read in the magazines that are normally beckoning their attention. 

And to make sure that your book remains present in that lobby, you should have extra copies behind the front desk. That way, when someone asks if they can have a copy of your book, the answer is “Absolutely!” Then your book is replaced in the lobby by the receptionist and we’re back to lobbying. 

Additionally, your center of influence friend should have multiple copies in their office. This way, when they come to the point in the conversation to recommend you and your service, they don’t simply hand a business card to their client. They actually get up, walk to their bookshelf, pull off a copy of your book, and physically hand it to their client.  This is a much more powerful way to gain referrals from your centers of influence than simply giving them a stack of your business cards.

Lobbying for referrals is a fantastic way to grow your business for pennies on the dollar. And since your book is in the lobby and should be taken home occasionally from those prospects, this gives you a reason to stop by and visit with your center of influence on a regular basis. 

Always remember that the relationship you have with your center of influence is the primary driver of referrals. Don’t be lazy and simply drop off your book. Be proactive and cultivate the relationship so that you can benefit from multiple referrals over time as you implement this strategy to lobby for referrals. 

There are dozens of ways to use your book to gain more clients and increase the number of referrals you receive every month. Lobbying for referrals is simply one of the strategies we teach our clients. You should track the number of lobbies your book is in as part of your KPI Dashboard. You’ll be amazed at the correlations you see between Leading and Lagging Indicators when you track this metric properly. 

If you are looking for a way to make a greater impact in your community, expand the number of referrals you receive every month, and create a marketing asset that will last the rest of your career, let’s have a conversation about how we can help you create your book without writing a word so that you can use your book to gain more clients.

Your law firm’s website is a valuable marketing tool. It’s your digital business card, your digital office space, and the first impression your firm makes with the vast majority of people who seek you out.

While the main goal of your website should be that it communicates who you are and how you help your community, it should also convert leads for you.

Many law firm websites only capture the hottest leads who are ready to book a consultation at that moment. However, tons of people can be captured earlier on in the marketing funnel that you can then nurture and ultimately retain. All you need is a good lead magnet—a downloadable resource that you can use to entice website visitors into giving you their contact information (generally their email address) in exchange for access to the content. This resource should be substantive enough to justify obtaining their information, so it needs to be bigger than the blogs you post on your website for free.

Here are five unique lead magnet formats you can use to start generating leads on your website today!

1 – Special Report/Whitepaper/E–book

This is the most common. Provide a short E–book, whitepaper, or special report that covers the area of expertise you want to be known for the most. Some examples might include:

  • X Steps to Starting a Franchise
  • A Comprehensive Guide to Building Your Estate Plan
  • A Step–by–Step Guide to Getting Divorced in [STATE]

An easy hack to figuring out what might work well is to check your Google Analytics pageviews to see if you have a particular blog post that worked well. If so, expand on it so the article stretches for multiple pages and becomes a little more robust.

2 – Seminar or Workshop Recording

Do you speak at events? Maybe you hold regular workshops or seminars. If so, record your next session and then make it available as a lead magnet, especially if you’re covering a topic in a similar style to the examples we mentioned before.

3 – Checklist

A checklist can be a great tool to help people understand the potential scope of their legal issues. (It can also help them realize that you’re the right firm for the job if the issue involves a lot of materials to be collected.) A few great examples of checklist lead magnets include:

  • The Complete Auto Accident Checklist
  • Items You Need to Start a Business in [STATE]
  • Compliance Checks

4 – Infographics

In general, you want to make sure any lead magnet you create is well–designed and visually appealing. Work with a freelancer on Upwork or use a free site like Canva to develop your lead magnet.

An infographic is another great way to convey information but in a more succinct way. In this instance, you could take a blog that has 4–6 key points and turn it into an infographic that displays all of those points on a single page in a much more visually engaging way.

5 – Worksheet/Calculator

This is for the more advanced crowd and will require the work of a programmer to integrate into your website. Despite that, if you have worksheets that you ask people to fill out, this would make a great lead magnet and help you gather more data from potential clients (and streamline your internal processes once they retain you).

You could also provide a calculator for things like child support or another form of cost/settlement estimator as long as you know the formulas and calculations yourself in order to communicate that to the programmer.

Your website can do more than just make you look good. It can convert leads for you, too! These lead magnets provide real value to your audience, and in turn, makes you look like the go–to experts they need to hire.

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The key is not the will to win… everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.” —Bobby Knight

Do you ask your clients for testimonials? Maybe you don’t because you’re worried it will make you look needy. Or maybe you do, but you drag your feet through the process because it feels awkward to ask. Those positions are totally understandable, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Asking for testimonials doesn’t need to be a gut-wrenching, unsatisfying process. With the right strategy, you can solicit them quickly and easily.

Our Winning Strategy

  1. Choose three or four of your best clients.
  2. Send them an email that says, “Hey there! Would you be willing to share a couple of words about your experience with our firm? I’d love to put your thoughts on our website as a testimonial. If you have time to draft a few quick sentences about what it’s like to work with us, I’d appreciate it.”
  3. When they send you their thoughts, tweak the phrasing to make the testimonial flow better. Then, email them back with the new version, saying, “I’d love to use this on our website with the minor tweak I made. What do you think?”
  4. When they give you the green light, put it up! We recommend creating a page on your website exclusively for testimonials that you can add to over time.

Pro Tip: If the client is busy, you can even offer to write the testimonial for them! Create a testimonial from their perspective and alter your email to add, “I know you’re busy, so I’ve summarized your experience below. Please feel free to make any changes that you’d like, and let me know if you’re comfortable with me adding this to our website.”

When you’re putting the testimonials up, remember that visitors to your website will be particularly drawn to those they relate to. Instead of using a client’s name, consider using details about their demographic or case. For example, if you’re a family law practice, the byline “Mrs. Jones” won’t be nearly as effective as “a divorcing mother of two.”

A great testimonial is invaluable. It’s social proof that you’re an experienced, effective lawyer, and the right person to take a client’s case. If you have any more questions about our process, reach out to our team today.

Content is king, right? If your website and social media profiles are stagnant and haven’t been updated in a while, you’re losing out on thousands of dollars in business. Why? Because people are looking for information.

We believe the content you produce should include evergreen, practical information that your visitors can come back to over and over again when they have questions. Not only does it build your reputation at the authority in your practice area, but it brings more informed clients to your desk to sign the deal and start working with you.

Unfortunately, it’s not enough just to produce content. Equally as important as what you produce is howyou produce it. However – a lot of lawyers write a blog and stop there. If you can repurpose your content and distribute it across multiple channels, it exponentially sends your credibility upward.

Diversifying Your Content – The WHAT

We all learn and consume information differently. Just producing one kind of content is doing you and your audience a disservice. Here’s what you can do:

1. Blogging – It’s tried and true, and a robust library of blog articles looks great on your website. A blog is a great way to share information and break down legal concepts so people can become more educated on their situation before talking with you further.As a bonus, it’s easier than you think to self-publish a book. You can even take your blog library and compile it into book form. Think about how great you’d look if you had copies of your own book available in your office?
2. Video – Visual content is exploding. Don’t believe us? Here is (ironically) a blog article highlighting a ton of statistics proving it.
3. Podcast – Having your own podcast does two things: First, it provides a third way for people to consume information, especially if they need something to listen to on their commute or something to take in at the office while they get work done. Second, having your own podcast is a really impressive credibility tool. This fast-rising medium can do wonders for your firm, and there are stats to back it up, too!
4. Events and Webinars – Yes, this can be considered content, too. Sign up for speaking events, host webinars, do whatever you can do to get your voice and your knowledge out there.

Diversifying Your Content – The HOW

It’s one thing to have all that content, but it can’t reach its full potential unless you’re putting it somewhere. There are plenty of places for your content to go, including:

1. Social media – share your content on all of your social channels!
2. YouTube – post your videos here!
3. Apple Podcasts/Stitcher/Etc – put your podcast episodes on a good server and syndicate them to a popular app so people can download your episodes as they become available.
4. E-newsletter – this is a great way to stay top-of-mind and remind people what you do!
5. Directories – sites like Avvo allow you to upload your videos and blogs as legal guides, giving you another outlet you make your content available.

There are countless ways you can distribute your content, and the more you diversify, the more you can elevate yourself and build a premium brand.

It pays to be the expert. This is true in just about every field – and it’s certainly true in law.

Most consumers looking for a lawyer are facing significant issues – divorce, bankruptcy, defending their business in a lawsuit, helping a loved one immigrate, planning for the future of their estate, and so on. These are significant issues, and they’re often overwhelming. Consumers facing these situations want to hire a lawyer that they can trust to guide them through.

Developing your status as an expert in your field is a critical way to establish this trust. And if you can do so, it will pay off handsomely. Your expert status will allow you to stand out from your competitors, to bring in more business, and to charge higher rates.

To illustrate why this is the case, imagine that a loved one was diagnosed with a rare disease. When you’re looking for a doctor to treat this disease, would you prefer to work with a recognized expert in their field, a professional with books published, papers written, awards won… or would you prefer to work with a generic and unremarkable provider?

Obviously you’d prefer the expert. And you’d be willing to pay a premium for that expertise. Most of your prospective clients would do the same when they need to hire a lawyer. So it’s well worth investing the time and resources to build that “expert” perception.

Here are a few practical ways to begin doing so:

Give speeches. Whether it’s a networking group, an industry gathering, a trade show or convention, or some other forum… public speaking is a great way to demonstrate your knowledge and build credibility.

Write articles and blog entries. Write on subjects and topics that appeal to your target market and/or your referral sources. Well-written content establishes your expertise and gives readers a chance to understand your thought process and your approach to their legal challenges.

Invest in a modern, mobile friendly website. In many cases, your website creates the first impression of your law firm. A modern, content-rich website helps to reinforce your professionalism, while an out-dated site may make visitors wonder about your commitment to your practice. Keep in mind that consumers today use a mobile device more often than not to access the internet – so your site needs to be mobile-friendly.

Use video on your website, in email marketing, and on social media. Well-filmed and well-produced video is a powerful tool. High quality audio and video can make you look and sound like the trusted professional you are. We recommend building an “FAQ Library” in which you answer common questions and concerns that potential clients often ask. For more information, check out this blog entry on the subject.

There’s a lot more you can do. Other effective strategies include leveraging media like TV and radio – or even publishing a book. Contact us today if you’d like to learn how we can help. But whether you utilize our services or not, remember… it pays to be the expert.

 

There’s a stigma out there that says attorneys only care about getting every last cent they can out of people. And while that may be true if you’re an attorney who goes up against bigger corporations in court for big settlements, this notion typically doesn’t ring true for most attorneys, especially when they’re working with their own clients.

So how do you eliminate that stigma? By offering free information on your website. What does that look like? Well first, it’s easier to tell you what it doesn’t look like.

If your website is no more than a couple of pages that has your contact info, lists the areas of law you practice, and simply says “We can help,” then your website isn’t actually very helpful. It’s not highlighting your expertise and it isn’t addressing your visitors’ concerns. Instead, your website should have the following:

1. A Regularly Updated Blog

We’ve talked about this before, but having a regularly maintained blog with evergreen topics that cover your practice areas is a great way to provide information on your website. You don’t have to recreate chapters from your law school textbooks, but you can provide basic, surface-level overviews of a given issue and show that you’re the expert they can trust.

2. A Robust Video Library

For people who prefer watching videos to reading text, a video library is another great way to provide free information. Even more, video has a couple of psychological benefits that blogs can’t provide.

First, they break down any sort of barrier that exists between you and the client where they lose any intimidation they felt by you. They can now feel more comfortable around you knowing they can put a face and a sound to your name.
Second, the videos mentally prepare viewers for when they take the next step and come into your office for the consultation. Even if it’s just slightly, that extra preparedness will make your job easier.

3. A Newsletter Signup

Whether you have an email or print newsletter campaign, make sure there’s a way people can opt into it on your website. Then, if you’re doing your marketing right, they’ll receive your latest blog or video (or both!) in your next newsletter without them ever having to regularly check your website.

4. A Complimentary Download

This is a great way to capture leads on your website. Having a free download, such as a white paper or ebook, is arguably the biggest credibility booster you can have on your website. And here’s the thing: You don’t need to actually write a full-length book or legal brief. You can take one of your most evergreen blogs, expand it a little bit, and turn it into a free download. Anything more than 1,500 words becomes laborious for the reader.

If your website lacks one or all of these free resources, you risk having a website that isn’t living up to its fullest potential. If you’d like help implementing these features, give us a call today.