We obviously face uncertainties as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread across our country and throughout the world. Solo practitioners and small firms, themselves, are also presented with misgivings due to challenges with working remotely, closed courts, and downturns in workflow. It’s important, though, to acknowledge the fact that we will rise above these difficult times. With this in mind, attorneys should use any type of current downtime to position their firms for life post the coronavirus. This means doing the following to better market their firm and capture new clients.
Update and Modernize Firm Websites
Take a look at your business website and ask if it needs a change. Perhaps it needs a new practice area page because you’ve expanded your reach into a new area of the law. Or, maybe you’ve built your resume as of late and your bio needs changing.
It’s also important to take a look at the content within the site. Can it be re-written to more effectively sell your services? Can you condense the content or make it easier for readers to skim it? If a “yes” to any of these, then it’s time to make some revisions.
Don’t forget about the style of the website. Many of us have not changed our site since its creation, which is probably years ago. Take a look around the web and view the websites of other firms in your practice area. After doing so, modernize a bit, if necessary, to make the site more current.
Create a Downloadable Whitepaper
Information has value, and potential clients and readers love when they can get something of value for free. So, give it to them. A whitepaper is a great tool to make this happen. Once it’s made, simply attach it to your website for all to view.
A whitepaper is simply a brief report on a particular topic or issue. These papers are used as marketing tools by many different businesses. The length of a good paper is typically a few pages.
If you’re stuck on a topic, think of questions clients often ask or issues that often arise in your practice area. Answer the questions or inform on the issues. Step-by-articles are also great to create. In today’s DIY world, people (especially millennials) love to feel empowered and enjoy the ability to accomplish something while saving money.
Get Back to Blogging
Many of today’s practitioners started a blog years ago but gave up on it due to a lack of time or a perception that it wasn’t useful in attracting clients. While a blog does take time, it’s still considered an effective tool in gaining new business and boosting SEO rankings. With a sudden emergence of a few extra hours in the workday, use this time to bring an old blog back into existence.
Lawyers don’t have to blog every day, or even every week for that matter. A quick 500 or so word post will fit the bill if done just twice a month. This does not mean attorneys have to actually write a new blog every two weeks. You can create them in bursts, like five in a week, and then post them to your website in weekly increments.
Attorneys can even find someone to manage their blog for them. Consultants or freelance writers can step in and take care of the dirty work, generating posts on your practice area and making certain they get on your website. These same professionals can also supply you with web content and white papers.
Solicit Reviews from Past Clients
Testimonials are huge in today’s legal industry. People want to know that the attorney they hire has solved similar issues in the past – with efficiency and success. Reach out to past clients and ask for a review of your work. This can be done via letters, emails, or direct postings to a website.
Pay attention to Social Media
This pertains to sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. Social media is effective in grabbing attention and boosting business, so you should make sure that your online presence in this area is up to date. As with your firm website, make sure all your information is current, including contact information, email(s), physical address, practice area(s), and firm summary.
If it’s been some time since you’ve created a post, it’s okay to launch back into it. Use LinkedIn to publish links to blogs that you’ve recently written. You can also publish links to whitepapers and other downloadable sources of information.
As to Facebook, use it for more socially engaging bits of information. For example, you can provide access to helpful articles on Covid-19 or “success stories” for how patients or medical professionals have overcome challenges. You can also highlight any useful CLE’s that you’ve taken or new firm undertakings.
It’s a very serious time right now – for obvious reasons. Hope should not get lost though. There will be a time when we’re back to business. Although it might not look the same as we’re used to, some sense of normalcy will return. Just make sure you do some marketing work now, when you have the time, to ensure your successfully positioned for the future.