We have a host of great legal client examples and are excited about continuing to grow this user base as it is just such a great fit!
Almost every legal client has some forced localization (states you serve, etc.); there is ample content and thought leadership; there is an innate need to build trust with prospects (which business blogging can do) and finally, it's a relatively competitive market where a low cost business blogging solution can product a 100% ROI with the addition of one client.
I did run across a pretty great article about Blawgs (which there are now over 2,000 of these law focused blogs out there) that brought up a few important points that not only apply to law bloggers, but pretty much any business blogger out there!
- Be passionate. Don't be boring.
- Engage in conversations, comment on other blogs and respond to your readers when they comment on your articles.
- Use a clean, professional template -- don't put too many plug-ins, widgets everywhere.
- Keep your posts short and sweet.
Check out the original article, "How To Build A Better Legal Blog", when you get a chance!
Change is the one stronghold for the intelligent marketing professional. Change is the fuel for innovation, and insurance that you will have every opportunity to win customers away from your competitors.
Change in the economy, and change in the way consumers choose to respond to your messages is ripe with opportunity. Taking command of your marketing spend, and holding every single dollar accountable is not only possible, it is becoming the standard.
Change equals a far lower average customer acquisition cost for all businesses, and it evens the playing field for SMB's. The large companies are unable to turn their ship fast enough to keep up with nimble start-ups and well capitalized small businesses poised to take their enterprise level crown.
Change doesn't pick who will earn customers, it takes the game to a whole new plane. A place where the innovative decision makers can hurdle larger competitors because they chose to act.
When you Blog for SEO you take advantage of a lower average customer acqusition cost while increasing the amount of qualified search volume your company can capture.
The question I have is now that change is hitting us hard, what do you have to lose by considering blogging to earn customers?
Misplaced priorities, and a misinterpretation of what advertising is supposed to be. That is my take on the
New York Times article titled:
For Luxury Brands, Less Money to Spend on AdsAn excerpt from this article reads as follows:Graff Diamonds, the London-based retailer, is also cutting its budget.
“We’re definitely not taking on any new advertising, and we’re cutting
back on all our current advertising,” a Graff spokeswoman said. She
declined to specify a figure, but said the cuts were higher in the
United States than in Britain.Advertising as an expense should be cut, and that is a wise decision for just about any business interested in realizing a profitable average customer acquisition cost. Print should be recommending to all of the major luxury brands to stay the course. To play upon fear that decreasing an already hefty spend will completely turnoff the remaining drip of customers that come from their publications.
This being said, luxury brands need, now more than ever, to invest in driving highly qualified customers to their brands. They need to be more strategic in supporting their dealers who are in the trenches working to earn customer wallet share. Blogging for SEO is a strategy that plays in this market. Google has the luxury brand customers every day. Search is stronger than ever, and PPC is 15% of the value.
Luxury brands can be using Blogs to cast a wide net over search to significantly decrease the average customer acquisition cost, while capturing highly qualified consumers. It is a win win when you cooperate with Google and structure your content in a manner that serves the searcher.
When planning what's left of your 2008 budget to drive sales, consider blogging to increase SEO in organic search, and realize 100% accountability for your investment.
Earning customers through blogging is an easy decision. The challenge is putting your marketing budget to the test, and calling out all of the media outlets you've invested in to grow your business. Marketing channels for your business should be held to full circle accountability.
Blogging for SEO provides you a channel that can be held fully accountable for it's results. If you choose the right partner for your business blogging, winning customers through search engines can be realized in weeks.
Let's just focus on average customer acquisition cost for your business. Trade shows, networking, print, television, sponsorships, and outdoors advertising get pricey fast. Blogging is a tool that can drive absolute unique traffic through search engines day after day.
As an interactive marketing professional a big mistake small market businesses make is playing a round robin with their marketing dollars, and not systematizing their approach. It is much more simple now than it ever has been to keep your marketing expenses down, and realize much more buying power with your marketing dollar. Tracking is a must, and when you choose a partner for you business blogging platform this should be provided to you in your terms and measured against your average customer acquisition cost.
The beauty of blogging is the full circle accountability for every dollar you spend, not to mention the power it gives you in winning search. If you haven't done so yet, find out your average cost per customer acquired and then let's talk about how Blogging can match or beat any other channel you have set up.
Law Firms should be participating in business blogging because as consultants Lawyers have a need to build credibility. Blogs help tell stories and at the end of the day, potential clients convert based on how much the lawyers experience matches up to my specific problem. A typical lawyer website is all about the lawyer...it's basically just another form of lawyer advertising that does't look or act any different than the Law Firm down the street.
But by incorporateing blogging best practices and actually telling stories about cases and clients over time, two great things happen. First you rank highly in the search engines on various topics...that SEO benefit helps with attracting new clients and lowers the average customer acquisition cost. People do Attorney Search almost anytie they have a problem...this is why Attorney Marketing through blogs is such a critical tactic.
Blogs also convert. One Attorney we work with has a dedicated phone number on his blogs. This lawyer spent 5 months tracking that number compared to his Yellow Page Advertising...and at the end of that five months he dropped the Yellow Pages.
Corporate Blogging works for Law Firms.
Non-profits and organizations are notoriously 'behind the times' in regards to technology. This is not an insult...just reality; and of course there are exceptions, however, when I was trying to find these exceptions I really couldn't find one non-profit or organization that was doing a great job on blogging...anyone have an example of this for me?
Personally, I still get the bulk of my communication from non-profits and organizations via snail mail --- and while I appreciate the multiple brochures and postcards with the similar glossy message of: "Thanks for donating. Look what we are doing to change the world. Please donate again soon. Oh, and can you send a check to do that...we don't do credit cards." These usually hit the trash pretty quickly. The alternative
to these mailings is phone calls; another somewhat effective method --- but this can
polarize some of your potential donors and volunteers who just "hate
telemarketers".
As most people in non-profits and organizations know --- frequent and meaningful communication is key to having great volunteers and donors. What a better way to do this then through an organizational blog? And there are passionate people wanting and waiting to talk about your non-profit or organization --- a few ideas for content contributors: volunteers, headquarters staff, members and even those that have benefited from your non-profit. Worried about the cost of blogging software with a limited budget? Look for an upcoming post on the overall cost savings of blogging for business (and organizations).
