Legal Internet Marketing Blog

Legal blogs, or blawgs, have contributed to the creation of many online communities, providing helpful resources of information for those searching the Internet for various data. Blawgs also provide a space where you can highlight your law firm’s achievements. While this can be done through describing a recent jury verdict or case settlement, many attorneys forget one of the most important components to add on their blawg: testimonials.

Testimonials capture the voice of a person who is not just a client; they are someone whose life you have truly touched and made a difference for. The value in personable connections cannot be lost through business transactions. Most clients are your clients not only because of being drawn to your skills, knowledge and experience, but also because you stood out to them as someone that they could relate to, depend on, and benefit from. As a legal Internet marketing firm, we recognize the significance of testimonials from our clients as well; every business should. Just last week, I received the following email from Los Angeles Criminal Attorney Neil Shouse:

Hi Susan:

I also wanted to say, everyone is doing a super job getting our new material up quickly, doing great work on structure and design issues, and being extremely helpful in getting our new email systems set up and with SEO planning.

We got more than 80k unique visitors last month. And we may set another record this month, even though it's a short month with holidays.

I just want to extend a thank you and recognition to everyone. Their hard and great work is paying off!

By posting a testimonial to your blawg, you are also expressing your appreciation for your client’s acknowledgement. While you may not want to post every single testimonial to your blawg (you can create a “Testimonials” page on your website instead), don’t you want your clients to know that their opinions matter to you?

If you doubt whether your client will provide a testimonial, there’s only one way to find out: ask them. If you don’t ask, they may not write down their experience with you or how you’ve helped them in the same way that the above email reflects.

In any case, you don’t want your blawg, or any blog for that matter, to be bombarded with testimonials. This approach is a good one to incorporate every once in a while. A blawg should contain a mixture of information in order to create a balanced resource as well as keep your readers interested and draw in new ones.

Last month we addressed two key points about why it is crucial for law firms to establish and maintain an online presence in order to create communities and provide Internet users with the information and help they need. BlogWorld and Media Expo 2010 emphasized these points, which are to provide relevant, updated content, and to establish online authority through authenticity. Sounds simple enough, right? Right. But this is easier said than done, as are most aspects of Internet marketing. Here are a few more highlights from BlogWorld that lawyers still need to know:

3. Identify Your Target Audience
Who are you trying to help? This is a major question that shouldn’t be difficult to answer. As an attorney, you have handled many cases and helped several people to say the least, so you are already aware of whom you want to help. However, how do you make sure that this is accurately translated to your website, blog, and social media profiles?

In the world of Internet marketing, the “who” is your “target audience.” These are the people you must have in mind when organizing the structure, design, and content of your online platforms. Information should be easy to understand, easy to find, and guide your target audience to a way to contact you. But they won’t contact you if they stumbled upon your site and don’t really need the specific services you provide. How the information is distributed and organized online plays a vital role in helping your target audience find you, or rather, you finding them. The right information can be on your website, blog, or social profile, but if it isn’t seen by the right audience, then you won’t reach the people who are looking for your type of services.

4. Engaging Current Readers and Drawing in New Ones
One way to ensure that the information on your website, blog, and social networks is getting to the right people is to write for your audience. Think of the most frequently asked questions that you receive from clients and provide a way for these questions and answers to be available to those searching the web. What you think of as basic, straight-forward information may be what someone else just can’t wrap their brain around.

Why do visitors return to your website and why do readers subscribe to your blog? One answer is that they like what you have to say. How does this happen? A major part of this answer has to do with people growing to know, like, and trust you through what you have distributed online.

Don’t be afraid to be yourself and share what you know, you may end up helping more people than you ever thought was possible.

5..6..7..Keep Up and Stay Informed
The Internet is always changing. Check in with what is going on in the web-world before you find out that you missed it. Once again, this is easier said than done. However, there are ways to simplify the chaos. Why not sync your work email to your cell phone? Why not start tweeting as a way to stay connected with fellow attorneys, government agencies, and other organizations related to the area of law in which you practice?

If you feel overwhelmed after reading this, you haven’t read anything yet. These points only touch on the many different efforts that you can make to increase your online presence and help your firm reach the top. Visit our blog again for more tips on how to simplify these processes as well as how to effectively highlight and distribute your accomplishments online.

The United States Department of the Interior has been sued by Google, Inc. in regards to bidding over the agency’s e-mail contract. According to an article in The Los Angeles Times, Google claims that the Interior Department excluded its bid and deliberately favored Microsoft to supply the agency with its e-mail system. As a Cabinet-level agency, the Interior Department employs about 88,000 individuals working to sustain and manage natural and cultural resources throughout the U. S., making it a desirable customer for large corporations like Google and Microsoft.

Based on the lawsuit, which was filed on October 29 in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the Interior Department stated that it would take offers into account from systems that utilized Microsoft’s business e-mail software. Google referred to this limitation as “unduly restrictive of competition.” In seeking to stop the Interior Department’s process of initiating an e-mail contract with Microsoft until it adheres with the law, Google alleges that the agency has violated federal law mandating that government agencies use open and competitive procedures when soliciting contracts.

The article states that Google has been up against Microsoft on a national level to better establish itself in a $20-billion office software market. And yes, you did just read “billion.” It seems as though every business, whether it employs 5, 50, or 50,000 people, interacts with employees, existing clients, and potential clients through e-mail. And many of us know that a business e-mail may seem like a dead end to some without a website.

Microsoft has been in the lead in the race of office and e-mail software worldwide with its Outlook and Office products.

In its lawsuit, Google claims that the Interior Department’s chief technology officer told Google executives that “a path forward had already been chosen” and that Google wouldn’t be able to compete due to a lack of its product complying with Interior security requirements.

Whether the Interior Department officials showed favoritism to Microsoft and limited Google’s ability to bid on the e-mail contract or not, one thing stands true: the Internet plays a key role in the functionality and accessibility of a business, no matter how big or small.