Martindale Hubbell Connected - Lawyer Social Networking

I signed up for a free account with Martindale Hubbell's Connected Web Site today. I like the concept and think it has good potential. My first reaction was "great, just what we need, yet another social networking site." However, after exploring it and thinking through the various opportunities, I think that this new LexisNexis product definitely has strong potential to develop into a valuable niche tool.

LexisNexis has really taken considerable steps to become a highly customer centric organization through both acquisitions and internal process enhancements. As a result, I am pretty confident that MH Connected, or any product and service they introduce into the marketplace has been well researched and designed to maximize end user value.

LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook are not conducive to the identification and selection of lawyers, because they do not have the type of information that LexisNexis stores in its databases. The available areas of practice on Martindale are what make it all happen. It enables a corporate executive in Memphis to immediately link up with an M&A lawyer in Buenos Aires.

There will be tremendous value in being able to display exceptional client recommendations via this site. A corporate general counsel who may be using one defense law firm, may opt for another upon finding out that two close peers are using another and are extremely satisfied by the results.

Plaintiff's firms and other consumer-oriented practitioners will not be able to generate new business directly using the service, however, may realize considerable benefit in using it to develop a strong referral network that can lead to increased customers.

The one thing to remember is the transparency that the Internet is enabling. If you are a decent, hard working, honest and respectable individual, the Internet can be your best friend. If you are a professional shyster, it will catch up to you and you will not be able to hide. Think of it as a magnifying glass on your reputation and act accordingly.

Visit LitigatorEdge.com to reduce lead Internet Marketing lead generation costs.

Law Firm Marketing - No room for 2nd best

If your SEO program is not successful in placing your law firm in the #1 position for Google natural search results, you lose. Statistics show that close to half the clickthroughs go to the top position. Go below the top 3 and your traffic becomes meaningless and your program is not worth the cost.

Even is an SEO firm can get you up there, can they keep you up there? Doing so takes time and resource investments. Ultimately, you will not be able to sustain over the long haul, when your competition is paying 1/3 to 1/2 the fees for comparable SEO efforts. Today I am pitching you on why you should trust LitigatorEdge with your business. In several years, law firms and legal marketers that treat SEO like a professional service will begin to understand why getting the greatest value for your dollar is what ultimately drives SEO impact.

Put all your doubts out of your mind for 5 minutes and call me, or e-mail me and I will call you and ask me to explain in detail why LitigatorEdge is a better value to your law firm than any other Internet marketing vendor in the vertical. You are a lawyer and I am sure you are very persuasive. If you disagree with anything I say, I welcome a debate as to why using another Internet marketing firm, or handling online marketing in-house makes more financial sense for your law firm's bottom line.

LitigatorEdge - Lawyer Internet Marketing

Law Firm Marketing - How to Outperform Competing Law Firms With Greater Internet Marketing Budgets

Law Firm Marketing

There is a secret that the top Internet marketing companies in the United States do not want you to know. What I mean are the firms that command fees upwards of $25,000 per month to keep one client Web site at the top of search engines. The companies that are used by the biggest name e-commerce companies, whose CEOs illuminate the halls of convention centers and attract flocks of loyal worshippers at dozens of speaking engagements.

They are not quite as special as their fees may indicate.

What most clients fail to realize is that, when it comes to Internet marketing, law firms do not always get what they pay for. While being successful online certainly requires a particular skill threshold and having a veteran expert on staff to lead the troops is critical, with quality training and supervision, the skill element required to be successful as an Internet marketing foot soldier is nothing like, say, the level of skill a lawyer needs to prevail in a major litigation.

Some of the most prestigious SEO firms are nothing more than housewives, or young techies led by a management team of clever Internet marketing whiz kids. They demand the fees because they keep clients happy, by ensuring that their PPC programs are well-optimized and their favorite keywords rank organically, at or near the top of Google's search results.

As a law firm seeking to market online, you would be very unlikely to seek out a market leading Internet marketing firm. It is more probable that a law firm will attend a conference, where they will select one of 4-5 Internet marketing vendors. These firms are often polished, put on strong presentations and many law firms will give them serious consideration, possibly even their business. What the client does not realize is that these quotes are typically 200%-300%, of what a US managed offshore delivery team would cost them.

Progressive marketing executives have discovered that Internet computer experts are the best Internet marketing delivery experts. The best talent pool available for these types of roles are in India and China. What this means is that your law firm can obtain Internet Marketing programs that are equal to, or greater than those offered by the "tradeshow firms" at a fraction of the cost.

At the end of the day, all law firms want one thing - client cases at the lowest possible cost per lead. It is basic common sense that 30 hours of Internet marketing efforts per month will yield more than 12 hours. Unless, of course, the firm really doesn't know the basics. However, given the fact that every advanced Internet marketing secret is now available online, even a lawyer can become an expert Internet marketer, if he or she dedicates 6 months to nothing but this.

So, when it comes to Legal Marketing on the Internet, ignore the scare tactics and go for value. If you are not happy with results, you can always upgrade to a more expensive company later. Law Firm Marketing on the Internet is increasingly becoming a commodity type service, so law firms should be aware that it does not pay to overpay.

Law Firm Marketing - My Latest Thoughts on Twitter

I have been carefully monitoring Twitter over the last several months. Instead of sharing my opinion, I have been reading those of others. I have listened to the perspectives of marketing and law firm marketing luminaries, both supporters and detractors of the service.

Click here for a Wikipedia refresher if you first want to understand more about the application and its recent growth.

Here are the general conclusions that I have come up with based on the information that is out there. Again, note that this is less gut feelings and more compilation of aggregate feedback that I have come across.

1) Twitter, has been used to effectively distribute information and connect with peers.
2) Celebrities have found it valuable for increasing relationships with fans and creating buzz
3) Corporations have found that it is a useful tool for listening to customers and impressing with a cuting edge customer service approach. Some have also found value in its ability to disseminate product and event information to clients, prospects and industry peers and increase traffic to its blogs and Web sites
4) In essence, Twitter is yet another tool that facilitates the commoditization of information. If you want to make money, it might be better to use the energy you would otherwise spend on acquiring 10,000 random followers and use it to open a hot dog stand.
5) Quality of followers is much more important than quantity - very important for lawyers to remember this. If they don't care about you, they will tune you out - Twitter is about building a community, it is not modern day SPAM e-mail.
6) Twitter is important enough that you should get an account and learn to use it. Start by following other lawyers and industry experts - some have valuable information that can make you more competitive in your business.
6) Twitter is not important enough that you should be spending more than 15 minutes a day on it today - so don't get hooked on useless (or even seeming useful, but distracting) information.
7) The 2 most important benefits I see for consumer oriented law firms are: (a) the ability to connect with existing clients to build lasting relationships that extend beyond the representation and will lead to increased referrals and (b) the ability to network with other professionals (lawyers in the same and different areas of expertise, as well as other potential referral sources - accountants, financial advisors, etc...) and to send periodic updates on the law, as it pertains to your area of expertise.

So remember the following point well: Twitter is a referral enhacement tool for law firms, that will add some value if and when the service becomes more mainstream. It is nothing like the panacea that ranking #1 on Google for "New York Mesothelioma Attorney" can be.

The service is not sufficiently mainstream today and therefore, consumer oriented law firms will not be able to speak with enough of their clients this way - I would still stick with e-mail / newsletters for the time being, but definitely start exploring Twitter. If for no reason other than the fact that it never hurts to be more connected.

LitigatorEdge - Law Firm Marketing

Law Firm Marketing - Get Your Facebook Vanity Names

As of 12:01 EDT on 6/13, anyone with a Facebook account can claim a "vanity" name of their choice to use as part of their profile page. For example, www.facebook.com/johndoe.

Currently Facebook simply assigns a string of numerals that users cannot modify or readily recall to type in.

So, if you remember the craze with .com domain names when they first came out... here's my prediction - it may not be as bad with Facebook vanity names, but this is, in my opinion, the second hottest speculative name blitz to hit the Internet. Bigger than .net domain names, bigger than Twitter, bigger than Yahoo e-mail accounts.

Why? Well, because everyone Gen Y and younger is completely hooked on Facebook and no one knows just how far Facebook will continue to evolve. Is it really that unforeseeable that small businesses would move away from expensive traditional Web sites and begin using more advanced Facebook widgets that provide greater flexibility in customizing an Internet presence?
This is one reason why I advise clients not to invest in ultra expensive Web sites with videos and instead to focus budgets on relevant Web content and lead generation? That's OK though - some will keep overpaying for Internet marketing, no matter what I say and the lesson will come by trial and error.

The rules of the Internet law firm marketing today may change drastically tomorrow. Look what is happening with Facebook and Twitter. This is what makes the Web so exciting.

So, get your Facebook vanity names before someone else does. Speaking of, I can give you one name that is off the market; I decided to pick facebook.com/injurylawyer. Yeah, I knew you'd be jealous... I registered it 5 seconds after 12:01 AM. It never hurts to have a career backup plans...

I can see the tv ad now... John Zissu, personal injury lawyer to the Facebook generation...

LitigatorEdge - Lawyer Internet Marketing

Personal Injury Law Firm Marketing - Managing Internet Content

Personal Injury Marketing - Internet Content

My 5/21/09 post, addresses the importance of content quality and quantity, its impact on Google rankings and why this should be a critical component of most law firm Internet marketing strategies.

The next questions that usually come to mind are:

1) What do I write about?
2) Should I use a blog, articles, or both?
3) How often should I post?
4) Who should be handling these posts?
5) Is there anything else I need to know in order to make this a profitable use of my time?

Ok, let's address these one at a time.

1) What do I write about?

First, decide how you want to position your firm to the marketplace. Are you a generalist personal injury firm, do you specialize in medical malpractice, worker's compensation, auto accidents, junk faxes, securities litigation, nursing home abuse, police brutality, inmate rights, toxic torts, no fault, or some of the above? This is a critical business decision that requires serious consideration, because you will be branding yourself to the world as such.
How you make this decision may be a good topic for another post, but the bottom line is that once you decide on your focus, your content should be consistent with this.

You can write on anything related to this subject. For example, even if your specialty is as narrow as "construction accidents" you can still come up with creative ideas. Tell you readers how to avoid construction accidents, share updates on your verdict and settlement successes pertaining to these types of cases, talk about what a client can expect during the claim process, talk about what makes commercial claims different from auto injury claims, provide different links to interesting facts and statistics on construction accidents, other Internet resources that someone who has been involved in this type of personal injury accident may find useful.

2) Should I use a blog, articles, or both?

The two most common ways to generate low cost exposure online is through the use of a blog or articles. I happen to use both in my Internet marketing strategy. If I deem that some of my blog posts are sufficiently applicable to a broader audience I tweak and turn them into articles and then submit them to a major online article site such as http://www.ezinearticles.com/. I recently started using this service and am already at around 100 article views and it has already started generating meaningful traffic to my Web site - not too shabby for a niche focus, I think.
You can blog, post articles and send out Internet press releases - the choice is yours. Of course, the broader the range of tactics, the greater the impact on your search results and the stronger your overall online exposure and brand.

3) How often should I post?

Let your own time and resources dictate how much time you spend. Now, without plugging LitigatorEdge too much here, this is one of the main reasons why a low cost managed law fim Internet marketing program can be so effective. You never have to worry about topics, or content - you can just review everything to make sure that your Web content is to your liking and the result is a low cost marketing machine that is working nonstop to maximize exposure and increase your firm's visibility, at the detriment of your competition.

4) Who should be handling these posts?

This depends on the size of your firm and your resources. If you are a solo practitioner, maybe it's something you set aside a few hours for. If you already have a steady flow of business and have the capital to grow, but not the time, an efficient way to accomplish this could be to have a highly competent offshore copywriter resource research idea topics and produce preliminary drafts for you and then you can either have them approved by someone in your firm, or alternatively, an outside marketing consultant, etc...

Decide what works best for you and your firm, but make sure that you do not take up too much of your revenue producers' time with non-core law firm activities. Remember, everything you do is all about achieving a positive return on your marketing investment. If you spend too much money, or too much time, your return will be diminished.

5) Is there anything else I need to know in order to make this a profitable use of my time?

Yes. Promote your Internet presence to clients and other referral sources. This is the other piece of the puzzle. These efforts are not only designed to drive more Internet traffic to your law firm Web site, but also to increase your reputation and brand among those in your network.

In addition, and this is very important. Your content should not be arbitrary. Your keyword phrases should play to the search engine results you desire. Now, there is an art and science to doing this and this is where it pays to have expert backup. For example, back in the day, I could simply have the term "personal injury law firm marketing" appear two dozen times in this article and up to the top of search engines it would go. No more. Google is smarter and knows what to look for and what to ignore.

The way to be successful is to write content naturally, while also remaining mindful of the keyword phrases and incorporating them in an appropriate manner. Yes, this takes thought and time, so if you are planning to generate a solid income for your firm, you may want to consider outsourcing your marketing efforts to a law firm Internet marketing firm that will get you top value (read new client cases) for your buck.

Visit http://www.litigatoredge.com/ today for more information on our revolutionary onshore legal expertise - offshore Internet marketing team model that will save your firm 0ver 50% in online marketing costs.

Internet Marketing is a Superior Value for Lawyer Lead Generation in Recession

Recent figures released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) found that despite the recession, Internet advertising revenues in the U.S. were at $5.5 Billion, for the first quarter of 2009, representing only a 5% decline over the same period in 2008.

Accroding to the organizations, the recession has hit other media much harder and is a testament to both the accountability afforded by online advertising and the growing share of consumer time spent online.

What does this mean for law firms seeking to increase their incoming case leads?


Lawyer Lead Generation

First, it means that online marketing presents less risk. If you are not generating the return on your investment, you can react and modify. This may mean changing your law firm's Internet marketing provider to one delivering greater value for your money, or changing your lawyer lead generation strategy.

Next, it means that Internet marketing is becoming increasingly important in the marketing mix. You wouldn't buy stock in a company with a steady decline in revenues and a bleak future, so why would you continue to invest your valuable resources in antiquated methods of reaching prospective personal injury clients, while ignoring the Internet as a primary lead generation channel?

LitigatorEdge - Law Firm Internet Marketing

Marketing a Plaintiff's Firm: The Pros and Cons of Top Personal Injury Law Firm Marketing Tactics

So, you recently won a major verdict, or settlement and are ready to take your plaintiff's personal injury firm to the next level. How do you put your limited law firm marketing budget to good use? Do you pay for a billboard on a local highway, buy television advertising, go on the Internet, target a niche community? There are many directions you can go in and while I usually pitch the Internet because of its growing influence, high return on investment and accessibility, today I will objectively address the pros and cons of a number of the more popular law firm marketing tactics.

Network Referrals

Pros: Minimal cost - very high return on investment, relationships can be perpetual and provide a steady stream of business, can open new business opportunities, additional revenue source on referrals,
Cons: Can take considerable time and effort to build network, not all lawyers have the skillset to network effectively, fee sharing with another plaintiff's firm can reduce profit margins, ensuring accountability on cases you refer, may not always be a reliable source - circumstances change

Television

Pros: Can lead to high volumes of incoming cases, Low cost per qualified lead relative to other forms of traditional marketing, immediate results, measurable and controllable
Cons: Expenses of producing ads, expertise required to stand out and maximize response, may be less effective at lower frequencies, national firms can buy ads cheaper than local ones

Media Coverage

Pros: Exposure to huge numbers of consumers, Having a tv or radio legal program can help your firm dominate a market, can have sustained positive impact on firm's brand, You are always one case away from potential stardom
Cons: Hard for PR firms to deliver without truly newsworthy material, need to be very lucky, or very connected for homerun-type publicity, easy to get caught up in distracting and self-serving efforts that do not generate results

Yellow Pages

Pros: Once a powerful lead generation tool: measurable, consistent and predictable
Cons: Internet has greatly diminished its effectiveness, too many brands caused saturation, hard to compete with big spenders

Internet Search Engine Optimization

Pros: Can yield high return on investment, provides flexibility for focusing on niche, there is room for small budgets despite big spenders, investment can have positive long term lead benefits, measurable, highly qualified leads, consumers prefer organic search results
Cons: Requires several months of ramp-up time, vendor choice is absolutely critical in keeping cost per lead low, changes in algorithms require regular program to stay on top, if keywords are not in the top 5 results in Google, you do not exist, more challenging to use to target new torts, best results require considerable content production (like this blog)

Pay Per Click

Pros: Immediate results, easily measurable, works with any budget, great for immediate response to toxic torts and product defects, small budget programs can be "do-it-yourself", no clickthrough - no pay, allows for very strategic niche marketing that other firms may not be aware of
Cons: High value keywords get bid up and return on investment goes down, can lose money until expertise is developed, pay for every lead, consumers prefer organic listings to pay per click ads.

There are many marketing options, but whatever you choose make sure to always monitor and measure impact to maximize the efficiency of your marketing program.

LitigatorEdge Achieves 1st Page Google Rankings For Plaintiff Lawyer Internet Marketing and Similar Key Word Phrases

I am a very happy camper today. LitigatorEdge is now on the 1st page of Google for the following keyword phrases: Plaintiff Lawyer Internet Marketing Plaintiff Law Firm Internet Marketing, Plaintiff Firm Online Marketing, Plaintiff Lawyer Web Marketing and many more similar keyword phrases.

I am not looking to pound my chest, rather to highlight just how plausible it is for your firm to achieve top rankings. This one was all me - no delivery team backup - they are busy servicing clients - just quality and relevant content (at least I think so) :-).

The amazing thing is that our offshore delivery staff can put me to shame. I have seen them deliver #1 Google rankings for keyword phrase after keyword phrase. What they can do is absolutely amazing and I have not seen this type of online marketing firepower within the legal niche - this is why I am so excited about introducing this type of talent to the legal community. If I can accomplish these types of rankings solo imagine what a team of trained experts with way more time and experience on their hands than I have can do with scores of keyword phrases that are relevant to your law firm practice niche. There are hundreds of thousands of consumers seeking out lawyers on the Internet, on a monthly basis.

The toughest part is getting law firms to understand the profound impact that being ranked #1 for dozens of keywords will have on annual client leads and dedicating a meaningful budget toward a form of marketing that is still novel for many practitioners.

Please visit our attorney Internet marketing informational page or contact us today.

Law Firm Internet Marketing: A How To

It is remarkable that there are still a large number of established plaintiff's law firms with no defined Internet marketing budgets. I'm not talking solo practitioners here, but firms with three, four or more lawyers. OK, so your firm dominates its market because you landed a local television legal expert gig, or you have thrived as a result of seven figure case referrals from your network.

5 years ago, a professional Web site was par for the course for any successful law firm. Today, a mature Internet marketing program is a "must-have" and no longer a "nice-to-have". For a list of reasons why lawyer Web marketing has become so critical, download the informational guide on the LitigatorEdge.com home page.

So, how do you start and what do you focus on? The answer to this depends on what you are trying to accomplish and the type of new business leads that you are looking to generate.

A well designed Web site is typically the first step for most firms. Design is much more than aesthetics. It is about how conducive your Web site is to capturing leads and how well your content reflects the type of search traffic you wish to generate.

The second step for most plaintiff's firms is search engine optimization. There are onsite elements (including tags, keyword phrases, specific landing pages) and offsite elements (including directory submissions, link building, article submission, press releases). Search engine optimization has become very sophisticated and it pays to do your homework and to speak with multiple vendors before making a decision.

Because of the growing role of content in search engine formulas, the next consideration for law firms is the degree of internal or external resources to dedicate to content creation for the firm. Of course, having SEO experts monitor and optimize all content produced by your firm greatly increases its value.

Some firms may decide that Pay Per Click is a viable alternative in particular situations. In certain toxic tort or product defect cases firms have to react quickly and SEO has too long of a ramp up time and is not sufficiently predictable. While SEO may work well for a search phrase such as "dog bite lawyer New York" it will not fly for "Hydroxycut lawsuit", where time is of the essence and firms are seeking to reach a specific claimant audience before the competition does.

The best advice I can give is to learn as much as possible about SEO and PPC. There are many free Internet resources including the LitigatorEdge Web site. If you have any questions please contact me and I will gladly discuss any specific areas of marketing interest.