Five Marketing Tips Today’s New Attorney Must Follow

Think about your target clients, and what forms of media they encounter.

Are you in a big city or a small town where a Facebook campaign will reach nearly everyone within a week?

Pare the list down to three to five approaches to start. If you’re still unsure, many firms that specialize in legal PR usually will give a free consultation.

Here are five pieces of advice any new practice or solo practitioner should follow.

Supersize your website. Many attorneys rush through creating a website—put some thought, creativity, and effort into creating a robust, clean site that highlights your specialties and tells your story. Think of the site as a commercial that will replay for years to come. Shouldn’t yours be more engaging and appealing than your competitors’?

The Facebook company page. A company page on Facebook is a must. Post your logo, location, specialties, and a photo or three. Write a few interesting posts that link to your website. Invite your Facebook friends to “like” the page, and ask others to get their friends to do the same. Try to post at least once a week with news, views, victories, or fun moments—always linking to your core website. It’s great free promotion that boosts your SEO, which is why top website and SEO contractors insist on them.

Traditional media. Get mentioned in at least three to five online media stories, and post them on your Facebook page and your website. It’s a great way to establish credibility and plant some nice goodies online for potential clients who Google you. One basic approach is to identify reporters already writing within your area of expertise. Reach out with helpful advice—answer the relevant questions that they haven’t had time to ask. Explain who will win the lawsuit or trial they just wrote about and briefly explain why. Offer to be a free resource anytime they need you.

First round’s on me. Face-to-face still matters—a lot. Network with other attorneys through bar association mixers and other professionals through myriad organizations. The “Professional Networking” page on Meetup.com lists 18,905 groups with 7.1 million members in thousands of cities, so stock up on those business cards.

Monkey around with contacts. Organize the email addresses of clients and potential clients on a specialty email site, such as Mailchimp, and blast out sharp-looking newsletters once every month or two. Offer advice, news about your company, and links to those great media stories. And don’t forget to link back to that website.