The theme you may have recognized in this month’s Insider is pivot — the intentional decisions and actions that propel one forward — and that’s exactly what successful lawyers are doing during Covid-19. When this awful disaster first struck, lawyers were immediately presented with the critical challenges of taking their firms remote, and that was no small undertaking. But once the horse was out of the creek, it was time to think about marketing. What to stop doing? What to start doing? What to continue doing? Those three questions should be a mantra that you ask yourself every single week, pandemic or not. It is a great tool to help you focus your efforts in the areas that will help you and your firm grow rather than maintaining the status quo.
Two months ago, successful law firm marketing had a different tone and message than it does now, and marketing will continue evolving in the coming months. Why? Because effective marketing considers who your ideal client is, and what fears and concerns are keeping them up at night. Effective marketing asks, “What will most likely resonate with my ideal client?” When COVID-19 first struck, all of a sudden, everyone was in survival mode and life as we had known it came to a grinding halt. We all (our clients included) became concerned for our very lives, and things that had been relevant just a week before were suddenly irrelevant. That was not the time for business as usual marketing. Many wise lawyers scaled back their traditional marketing and began inserting PSA styled content.
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Even today, as I scrolled through my Facebook feed, I saw our PILMMA Mastermind member Bert Parnall’s heart-warming coloring sheets of health care workers, posted with the caption: “Not all Heroes Wear Capes.” What a fantastic way to stay relevant and gain exposure with potential clients on a platform that everyone is using these days!
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Another PILMMA Mastermind member, Greg Hermann, repurposed his cool motorcycle face wrap swag (a spot-on marketing tool for attracting motorcycle injury clients) as Covid-19 face masks and began giving them away in his community, organizing incredibly popular give-away drives, accompanied with lots of social media posts to spread the word. PILMMA Mastermind member Lashonda Council has been blasting out great FB Lives that keep people informed and entertained and keeps her firm in that top of mind awareness status. Justin Lovely, another PILMMA Mastermind, has been mailing clients puzzles of Myrtle Beach, his market area. (Ingenious, since puzzle sales are off the chain, as you have discovered if you have recently tried to purchase puzzles online!) I could go on, but I think you get the picture.
Now we are rolling into phase 2 of the “New Normal that isn’t Normal at all.” Some firms are starting to tentatively open their doors a bit more, while others are still firmly shut and operating exclusively in remote status. With all the uncertainty across the country, it appears that the months to come will give us more of the same. With a viable COVID-19 vaccine a year or so away, the quasi-remote firm status will likely continue as the order of the day. So, the question to ask is: “What now?”
Here are:
7 Tips for Marketing during the ‘New Normal that isn’t Normal!’
Tip #1: Now is the Time to Work on Your Business! Most law firms haven’t returned to brick and mortar status, and less clients and potential clients are calling. Thus, it is a great time to spend more concerted effort “on” your business since you can’t spend as much time “in” it! Commit to spending an hour a day on strategies to grow your firm and improve your marketing efforts, or to gain clarity and fresh vision. Catch up on PILMMA Webinars and Member Resources that are waiting for you. Read books. Write your own book to market in your firm or take advantage of PILMMA’s done-for-you books, and spend some time making one of them your own.
Tip #2: Up Your Social Media Game! Everyone is spending more time on Social Media than ever before, and most people are accessing Social Media on their phones. Make sure your firm has a presence on every platform that your potential clients use. That includes Facebook, of course, but should also YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and TicTok. Post encouraging messages as well as substantive ones. Repurpose them across all your platforms, and don’t forget videos!
Tip#3: Take the Vulnerability Step and Go Facebook live. It may seem scary at first, but the more you do, the easier it gets. People hire lawyers that they know, like, and trust. The more they see you, and hear you, the more they will feel that they know you! Your posts don’t even have to have anything to do with legal issues, so mix it up. You can give a substantive post that answers a few typical client questions in a conversational style, and then post something that’s just everyday life.
Tip #4: FaceTime Marketing. If you haven’t already, start communicating with clients using FaceTime.
This is an excellent way for you and your staff to communicate with clients and potential clients. The more your clients feel you are there for them, the greater the likelihood they will refer you to friends and family. The more potential clients can connect with you personally, the greater the likelihood they will take the next step and hire you!
You can also record FaceTime conversations and use them to build your video testimonial library. There are apps available that allow you to record the face time audio and video, so you can continue amassing compelling social proof, even if you aren’t in your office and able to record traditional videos. These FaceTime videos can be placed on your website and pushed out on social media (with the client’s permission, of course.)
Tip#5: Work on your content. Now is the time to write a few reports that you can use as lead magnets for your firm. Take the “Top 10 questions that clients ask,” or “Top 7 mistakes most people make in connection with their accident or claim,” and turn them into a short paper that you can offer online, through social media and on your website. Doing so lets you capture your potential client’s info, and then continue nurturing them through an email campaign. Apps like Mailchimp make nurturing email drip campaigns easy and automatic.
Tip#6: Leverage Videos bigtime and Develop Your Own YouTube Channel! A whopping 80% of consumer internet traffic is video! And the average user spends 88% more time on a Website with video.
So, make sure you are leveraging videos on your website and across social media.
YouTube is the second largest search engine and the largest venue for the videos everyone is watching more of these days. Take time to transfer videos you’ve already done to YouTube and categorize them. Add popular search words in the titles for SEO. Start adding to your library now!
Create a simple backdrop, and from your phone or laptop, start recording your own short informative videos.
Explain things that potential clients want to know about, such as: “What to do after an accident,” and “What to say or not say to an adjuster,” and, “How to start a workers’ comp claim,” etc.
Tip#7: Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly. Unfortunately, many law firms don’t have websites optimized for mobile phones. Most law firm websites were created by web designers using a desktop or laptop. Consequently, the end result may or may not be user friendly for a mobile phone audience. Was your website designed by someone using a desktop or laptop with mobile use only an afterthought? most people- over 70 % will access your website on their mobile device; however, many firms’ web designers didn’t design the site from a mobile device or with mobile device optimization as the primary concern.
Make sure you have looked at your website on your own phone and that it is optimized for mobile use. Can you access all the information? The videos? The testimonials? Your Lead Magnet report or e-book? Are there easy to spot drop-down menus? Is the text easy to read? Do you have a click to call or contact button? How fast does your site load?
Mobile optimization is really critical. Most people won’t stay on a site for more than a few seconds if it doesn’t load quickly or if they can’t easily find what they are looking for. If you want to gain several minutes of a user’s time and attention, you must clearly communicate your value proposition and within seconds!
Pivoting your firm forward is possible, even during a pandemic. With ingenuity and effort, you can continue to grow and reach more potential clients. Committing to an hour each day, a day, working on your law firm, you can identify and implement important marketing strategies to help your firm continue to grow!
