5 Basic Steps to Success in Law Practice SEO and Social Media

Effective Use of Internet Marketing Can Dramatically Improve Lawyer Office Income

"I just don't have the time or the energy to stay on top of Facebook, Twitter, Google, or Linkedin.  I haven't ever seen a Pinterest site.  My kids talk about Instagram and Tumblr, but I have no idea how or why I should use them in my business.  Write a blog?  You must be kidding.  Do some videos?  I'm sure they are effective, but I wouldn't know where to start.  My website seems just about right, but I'm not sure if I get any new clients from it.  SEO on the site?  No idea!"

Does that sound like your Legal Practice?  If yes, then you are not alone.  That is exactly how most attorneys view their internet marketing effort, assuming they think about it at all.  In fact, unless you are in the minority, you don't really spend much time thinking about other elements of marketing that have nothing to do with the internet like:

• Networking
• Events
• Teaching
• Local advertising on radio, mail, newspapers, television
• Newsletters 

For some lawyers, business has been ok during this recession.  For others it has been a disaster.  Many of my legal clients tell me they have never had to advertise or promote before 2008.  Now even the best firms are trying to figure out the new normal in promoting a legal practice

You Can Start to Build a Powerful Internet Presence Now to Create Long Term Business for Any Economy

Step 1.  Create 5 YouTube Videos Per Month - It doesn't take more than 2 hours to shoot them, and another 5 hours to edit. 

Step 2.  Set up a blog as a subdomain of your website.  I suggest you use Blogger, as it is much easier to use than WordPress.  Do three posts per week.  Use the videos as one of those three posts.  Embed the video and write a short paragraph or two to tease the video.  Write about legal matters that will be interesting to you core demographic, and write it using words they will relate to.

Step 3.  Set up Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and Google+.  It should take you about 5 hours each to set these up and make them look nice.  Do you know someone who likes doing this sort of thing.  Pay them.  Promote your YouTube Videos and blog posts on these sites.  It will take you about 15 minutes a day to put something up on each site.

Step 4.  Gather thousands of emails.  Use every method you can think of to gather emails.  Send out one email blast per month.  Promote your social media sites, blogs and videos, and talk other things that will be interesting to your clients.  Promote seminars or webinars

Step 5.  Set Your Practice Up and Claim Your Listings Everywhere Online.  Google Place, Google+ Local, City Search, Yelp, Hot Frog, YellowPages.com, AVVO, Lawyers.com, etc. 

That's it.  At least for the Internet side.  Easy!  But I have one more secret to share with you.  This one is the most important of all.  You will be SHOCKED when I reveal the truth about your future internet effort.  Ready?   Scroll down.

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Your not going to do any of those.  Maybe you'll start a blog, but you'll give it up after two months.  You should do all of the above.  I can give you testimonial after testimonial of how this is working for lawyers.  I have law clients who are getting 100 unique visitors per day to their YouTube videos, 1000 unique visitors per month to their blogs, and dozens of impressions per day on their Google Places.

Here is an alternative solution that you can try.  Hire Randy Kirk & Associates.  We'll do all of the above for you. 

Call me right now!   310-910-1848.  You won't get a clerk or a salesman.  Just me. 

Trending in Social Media for Small Local Business

Blogging,YouTube, LinkedIn,  Instagram, Google+ are Biggest ROI for Most Local Small Businesses

Coming on Strong - Pinterest and Tumblr

 One of my longest term clients noted Wednesday that he has no idea how small business owners can possibly be keeping up on social media without someone like me working with them.  I laughed.  Sometimes I think I need somebody like me to do the social media for my small business. Here for your consideration is a quick review of where things are today based on my personal observations and reading the opinions of others. 

Blogging Is #1 at the top of the list of what you need to be doing for social media

The algorithm changes introduced by Google in the past 15 months have made long form content King of the Hill.  See my much longer post about Long Form Content here.  Your blog becomes the foundation stone for all the rest of what you do.  You tell the whole story on the blog.  It stays up and relevant for years.  Google loves the fact that there is great, unique, valuable, content and they give it better ranking.  Now you tell the world about your post on Twitter, FB, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr, and whatever else you have going.  Folks see the headline and if that is their cup of tea, the head to your blog to read the rest.  Now if they like the way you write or report they may subscribe or join your email blast or buy a product or go on to your website or pick up the phone and call you.

Other content you create can also go on your blog.  YouTube videos, PR releases, sales and information created for you eMail blasts, or even company brochures.  You can also report about community events, industry updates, and personal info about you, your staff, and your customers.

YouTube is still high on the list of critical social media locations that return sales for time invested

If you aren't doing video you should be.  In most cases video will give you the most return for your money over the long run.  I have videos created three years ago that still make my phone ring, and videos for clients that were made 5 years ago that are still helping them ring up the cash register. 

Videos are so easy to do now, and so easy to edit, that they should be something that you have 30 or 50 or 80 of online. 

LinkedIn is soaring in popularity because it is so useful.  

While Facebook stock was plunging from $40 to $20, LinkedIn stock was going crazy.  Also starting around $40, it is now around $120.  There is a reason.  Linked in is now approaching 200,000,000 users and they are owners and decision makers.  They have high incomes.  And the content they discuss in updates and in groups is actually worth talking about. 

I have provided a series of articles on how to optimize your Linkedin profile and potential on this blog.

I don't suggest for a moment that I am an expert on every single aspect of social media.  Therefore I will not provide you with more that this about Instagram.  It is very, very popular.  It is super easy to use.  And as witness to the changes at Facebook and Google+ this week, a picture is worth a 1000 words.  Visual is big. 

Google+ will eventually rule Social Media unless they mess it up.

Where do I spend any time on social media for my own benefit or enjoyment.  Google+.  It is a man's world of hype and puffery and arguing politics and religion and whether iPhone or Android is better.  It is also serious and useful and easy to navigate and there are more and more and more and more people like me who are seeing all of that.  (Don't show that last sentence to my English professor.)

In the next month or so, I will be writing extensively about Google+.  Subscribe now so that you are on the list when those posts start appearing.