How Legal Analytics Can Give Your Firm a Competitive Edge

Accelerating your firm’s strategy with data 

Building on your firm’s reputation has never been more critical – and one way to nourish it is through the use of legal data analytics. According to Lexis Nexis, this refers to the science of drawing insights from large volumes of data. 

Data is increasingly gaining the traction it deserves. As we keep diving into a more data-driven age, there’s no denying the power analytics has on all businesses, including legal firms. 

However, even though data is expanding users seek anonymity and privacy. The reason being is that more and more consumers are growing skeptical about the way businesses use personal data. With all that said, they’re still accepting cookies and data tracking in hopes that law firms leverage this data to provide an even better customer experience. 

This brings us to the usage of legal data. According to AALM, 93% of attorneys feel data analysis adds value to their practice areas. Yet, there’s still a gap. Fewer than half of these respondents incorporate it in their business and practice. So, why exactly is there such a disconnect? The answer could lie in another factor the survey uncovered: the majority of attorneys don’t quite see the potential advantage analyzing data could play in their firm. 

Overall, data is leveling the playing field in the legal sector. Before, it was standard when lawyers spent hours, days, and perhaps even weeks studying books of court records. But, today, these headaches are preventable. Legal cases are recorded on digital platforms, which means firms can be faster, better, and stronger.

 

Securing your firm’s winning strategy is “anchored by history.”

“Anchored by history.” These words were said by Carla Rydholm, Director of Product Management from Lex Machina, a legal analytics company for legal professionals. 

In litigation, like in all practice areas, the goal is to get the best outcome – to win. To reach that goal, firms must master the art of anticipating, and the only way to do so is through, you guessed it, data. It may sound like a paradox, but understanding patterns and behaviors of the past can help attorneys predict the behavior and outcomes of what’s to come in the future. 

Although the future isn’t set in stone, examining facts and figures can help your firm strike strong while the iron is hot. Those who do so can expect to:

1. Drive profitability – By looking into automated trend analysis, attorneys can identify opportunities where they’re able to expand relationships. For example, you could analyze existing information from your clients and create different alerts for specific sequences. 
2. Enhance the points of focus – By using client’ statistics, lawyers can amplify strategic decision-making across many aspects, including business expansion, geographic focus, talent acquisition, etc.  
3. Improve effectiveness – In today’s practice of law, there are many functions a firm needs to partake in that aren’t focused on legal tasks, e.g., the marketing aspect. Data can improve many elements in this sector, including amplifying target reach, expanding the communication lines, and easing the entire campaign monitoring portion of your strategy. 
4. Save time – Businesses working with data are two steps ahead. Most importantly, they are saving time. Because analytics already handle an immense amount of information, these machines speed up every aspect of the firm’s performance, which implies a higher potential ROI because of the time saved.
5. Find trends – Constantly searching the web for trends and issues is possible, but it’ll take a big chunk of your time (which could be used to attend more calls and cases!). By analyzing historical claims of the past with legal analytics, firms can predict how key players, like the judge, might act based on history. 

What is behind legal analytics? 

Behind closed doors, a lot goes on in the legal analytics world. This may sound like science fiction, but data-driven by AI (artificial intelligence) is already impacting legal professionals. In short, machines are improving a computer’s ability to recognize our natural human language patterns by understanding the real context behind words and phrases. 

There are hundreds of legal analytics providers, but they all have one thing in common: reliance on massive data sets. These engines examine petabytes of legal information. For clarification, one petabyte is 1 million GB. As an example, one petabyte could hold 11,000 4k UHD (ultra high definition) movies. If you were to watch this nonstop, it would take you 2.5 years to get through this media. Let this sink in for a moment. 2.5 years. A quarter-decade-long movie binge-fest and this doesn’t include popcorn breaks!  

Now, for the crowd wondering if legal analytics could ever surpass or even replace lawyers, the answer is… no! At least not now or the foreseeable future. Besides the fact that we’re still in the infancy of legal analytics, it’s best to think of it as a supplement. Taking advantage of this supplement (data) can give you more strength and power, but ultimately the decisions are entirely up to you; as humans. 

 

“What kinds of data should my firm collect?” 

To drive value, the integrity and quality of the data have to work hand in hand. At Lex Machina, they recommend firms seeking these services should sit down and ask all the necessary questions about where and how that specific legal analytics company vets its database. The reason being is that there isn’t a single resource that has all the historical legal information in one place. 

On that premise, firms have to pick from the menu of analytical tools. Think back to the supplement scenario. In real life, one has to choose a specific supplement to have certain added benefits. In addition, there isn’t one compact supplement that has all the vitamins and nutrients we need to survive. The same goes for data – there isn’t a single platform with all evidence known to mankind. Hence, it’s best to ask all the necessary questions before settling with a legal analytics company.

In addition to working with a specific service company, attorneys can harness individual and internal data. 

1. Individual data – This comes from tools like Google Analytics, cookies, and campaigns. Here, attorneys can see the website performance, speed, content analysis, and visitor activity. 
2. Internal data – This refers to facts and figures discovered in your own operating system. In other words, it means looking back at daily activities such as billing rates, time tracking, and the client lifecycle.

Add a square with:

• Facts, Tips & Tricks:
  • How often should your firm analyze internal data?
    A game-changer is analyzing necessary information as part of your firm’s monthly work process instead of “once in a blue moon.” 

Square example:   

Predict and design the winning approach.

Lawyers that are in-it-to-win-it know that it’s critical to capture a holistic picture and gather information from multiple sources. As a result, one is able to pinpoint details along the way. 

Undoubtedly, legal analytics is here to stay, and more and more, it’s becoming an indispensable supplement for firms looking to maintain their overall health and wealth. To drive better and faster decision-making in the years to come, using data comprehensively is a must. Keeping well informed about strategies like this is a significant first step. The second step? Maintaining a leading position. 

Want to expand your revenue? Stay ahead of the competition? Make confident decisions backed up by bulletproof data? Talk to us today. We’ll be more than happy to walk you through specific, actionable steps your firm should take to stay ahead of the curve. 

 

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Discovering Your Passion Within Your Law Firm & Choosing Your Legal Niche

Tanner Jones, your host and Vice President of Business Development at Consultwebs, welcomes you to another episode of the LAWsome Podcast by Consultwebs.

 

In today’s episode, Tanner is accompanied by Joe Fried from Fried Goldberg LLC.   He is known for being an outstanding truck accident attorney in the U.S. 

 

Together, they discuss how attorneys can find their purpose and passion when navigating the different niches in the legal sector. 

 

Key Takeaways:

[0:17] Introducing Joe Fried. 

[1:05] Why is it important for attorneys to choose a legal niche?

[2:00] The journey to becoming a subject-matter expert attorney. 

[3:00] The growth limitations of a generalist attorney. 

[4:10] What happens when an attorney decides to niche down? 

[5:05] Finding your legal niche in a place where you are passionate.

[7:34] Joe discusses his beginnings in the legal sector. 

[8:30] Joe weighs on the topic of overcoming the management of fear and doubt.

[9:44] How attorneys can overcome and manage the imposter syndrome. 

[11:21] How does niching down help an attorney scale their law practice?

[14:10] Niching down is all about having a focus area. 

[16:05] Specific actionable steps for attorneys exploring the early stages of niche targeting. 

[18:50] Joe’s impact on highway safety in the United States. 

[19:45] Joe discusses a series of legal niche self-assessment questions attorneys can ask themselves.

[21:00] Case study of one of Joe’s mentees’ finding his passion within the legal sector.

[24:43] Joe introduces the “Step 0” in the legal niche.

[26:32] How lawyers can actively become subject matter experts in a legal niche.

[29:10] The power of a mentor and mentoring. 

[30:55] Types of data attorneys can use to help quantify/ reinforce their niching decision.

[35:06] How data prompts the focus towards litigation or industry-specific niches.

[36:50] Joe emphasizes the natural benefits of niching down. 

[39:15] Key elements lawyers can take away.

 

Best way to contact Joe Fried:

joe@friedgoldberg.com 

404 – 429 – 6677 

 

Discover More About the Podcast and Consultwebs:

Subscribe to the LAWsome Podcast by Consultwebs on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify

 

Visit the LAWsome website

 

Follow Consultwebs on social for legal marketing updates:

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Learn more about Consultwebs at the links below.

Law Firm Marketing Agency Services 

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Law Firm Email Marketing

Law Firm Digital Marketing 

 

Consultwebs

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(800) 872-6590

https://www.consultwebs.com 

https://www.google.com/maps?cid=13646648339910389351

 

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3 Steps Towards Personalizing your Customer Experience

Plan your work and work on your plan

Having a strategic marketing plan can position your firm as the leading expert in the legal industry. Additionally, it helps build brand awareness, trust, credibility, improve conversion rates, and it can skyrocket your ROI. Sounds powerful, huh? It is, indeed.

All these benefits (and more) are possible thanks to personalization. With this, your firm should be able to take actionable steps that are in line with the realities of your vision and mission. Before diving in, let’s look at what personalization even is.

Personalization in marketing refers to the process of creating relevant, individualized interaction based on the information your firm learns about its consumers. This concept is creating a buzz in today’s world because clients expect a unique customer experience based on their pains and desires. According to recent customer analysis, the vast majority of consumers (80%) said they are more likely to make a purchase when businesses provide a personalized experience. In addition to this, 91% said they are more likely to do business with companies that remember, recognize, and provide them with relevant recommendations and offers.

To put things into perspective a little more, just think back to the times you went to a business, and they called you by name or remembered your accomplishments or preferences; it feels nice to be recognized! Your audience is no different. Because of this, your firm should plan the work towards a more personalized customer experience. Don’t know where to start? Here are some ideas.

Step 1: Start the process of market segmentation

Most firms start off with a buyer persona. In it, you can include information like demographics and interests. This is a great starting point, but you can take it up another level with segmentation. 

Segmentation is the process of using data to re-organize broad customer personas according to shared characteristics. For example, you can divide audiences in line with their different purchasing habits or their level of interaction with your firm. Let’s look at a real case scenario. 

Let’s say Bob and Linda are both interested in your family law firm. On the one hand, Linda is starting to go through major life changes, including the possibility of filing for a no-fault divorce or legal separation. She is searching the web for questions like, “what are the legal grounds for obtaining a divorce?” Or “What is the cost of divorce, and how long does it take?” 

On the other hand, Bob is already in the process of divorce, but he is looking for more information with regards to property and business division. He is searching the web for questions like, “My ex-partner and I own a business together. Do we need to have an outside expert evaluate who stays with what?” 

Although both Bob and Linda are interested in the services of a family law firm, they have separate wants and needs. Linda is at the initial stages of gaining awareness and gathering information. She is probably comparing and contrasting your firm with other firms. Meanwhile, Bob is aware there’s a problem and needs more specific actionable steps. He is perhaps checking more specialized pages on your website. 

In order to start the creation of a killer personalized strategy that meets the desires of users, like Bob and Linda, it’s better to take a step back to analyze and organize the existing customer data. You can start off by dividing audiences according to the four different types of market segmentation. 

 

1. Demographic segmentation: (Focuses on the who) This is the most straightforward segmentation. It classifies audiences by age, gender, income, level of education, profession, etc.
2. Psychographic segmentation: (Focuses on the why) Segmenting different personalities and interests. You can define the audience by hobbies, personality traits, values, beliefs, and lifestyles.
3. Geographic segmentation: (Focuses on the where) This includes grouping people according to their locations, i.e., county, cities, regions, etc. 
4. Behavioral segmentation: (Focuses on the how) You can gather this data through your website analytics and additional marketing channels. Here you can check for the customers’ spending habits, click behavior, browsing habits, level of loyalty to your firm, and any other ratings/reviews they’ve left.

• Specific metrics you can find on your website’s backend include time spent on your site, pages visited, referral source, exit intent, and the number of sessions. 

Step 2: Craft tailored messages with your content

Besides segmenting, it’s important your content targets all the audiences with a tailored messaging strategy. 

While there are numerous ways you can perfect your content game, we’ll focus on a website and email strategy because these two channels are some of the top ways you’re able to control your own voice to capture and nurture different kinds of leads.

• Converting CTAs: Adding calls to action in the first person enhances the user’s perspective rather than the business’s perspective. Plus, first-person CTAs have a 90% better conversion rate! Make sure to add words like “me, my, I, you.” Make it all about the client. 
• Add content recommendations according to their interests:  Use your existing data to show the content they are most likely interested in. Let’s take another look at the case of Bob and Linda. Since Linda is at the early awareness stage, you can offer more content in regards to what divorce entails, what the process is, etc. On the other hand, Bob can be redirected to, e.g., your blog post content that details the basic principles of property/business division or suggests a consultation with your experts. 
• Personalize emails and landing pages: Think of the landing pages and emails as you rolling out the red carpet for clients to walk in. Once you segment the audiences, you can create different landing pages according to their needs. Additionally, you can create email series and landing pages that are in line with past behavior on your site, geo-location, and any other segmentations. There’s no single approach to this. Just remain flexible and A/B test. The possibilities are endless! 
• Timing your content: Be there “at the right place, at the right time.” Certain days are proven to be better than others when you send out content. According to email marketing data: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays have a higher open rate. As for the timing, the middle of the day works best. However, feel free to test other days and times. Just like emails and landing pages, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. It’s a matter of A/B testing. 
• Set up trigger emails: Trigger emails have a 152% higher open rate compared to traditional emails. They can be automated by the different actions users take, i.e., welcome emails, re-engagement emails, cross-selling emails, abandoned shopping cart emails, birthday emails, etc.

 

Step 3: Add relevancy

Nowadays clients have enough options to pick from; what they are looking for is the best – not the cheapest. To be the best and offer the best, it’s necessary to tap into what your prospects are truly after. Relevancy refers to how fitting your services are to the wants and needs of the users.

Besides seeking the best option, clients want to feel seen and heard. Today, they are more inclined to try many brands and services and only stick to a brand if and only if their needs are constantly met. Harvard Business Review points out that businesses shouldn’t focus on a customer archetype (a buyer persona) but rather segment audiences to meet them at the right place, at the right time (louder for the people in the back: and this is relevancy.). 

Due to the immense control and choice clients have over their purchasing journey today, Harvard Business Review suggests businesses meet the different buyers through this new Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: 

1. Purpose: clients feel your firm shares and advance their values. 
2. Pride: They feel inspired to use your services. 
3. Partnership: Make sure they can relate to you and they can work well with your team. 
4. Protection: When you make sure consumers feel secure when doing business with you. 
5. Personalization: This is considered an addition to the traditional hierarchy. With personalization, clients should feel their experience with your firm is constantly being tailored to meet their needs. 

Build an ongoing relationship

In this day and age, adding personalization into your businesses’ vocabulary will help you stay relevant and reach more customers. In fact, it can propel you to shift towards a more focused mindset. 

Although we have been able to share some top actionable steps today towards personalization, it requires more than a one-size-fits-all approach. If you’d like to learn how your firm can offer personalized content that’ll recharge the client’s user experience and connect more calls and cases, let’s talk. 

 

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Tanner Jones, your host and Vice President of Business Development at Consultwebs, welcomes you to another episode of the LAWsome Podcast by Consultwebs.

In today’s episode, Tanner is accompanied by Joe Fried from Fried Goldberg LLC.   He is known for being an outstanding truck accident attorney in the U.S. 

Together, they discuss how attorneys can find their purpose and passion when navigating the different niches in the legal sector. 

Key Takeaways:

[0:17] Introducing Joe Fried. 

[1:05] Why is it important for attorneys to choose a legal niche?

[2:00] The journey to becoming a subject-matter expert attorney. 

[3:00] The growth limitations of a generalist attorney. 

[4:10] What happens when an attorney decides to niche down? 

[5:05] Finding your legal niche in a place where you are passionate.

[7:34] Joe discusses his beginnings in the legal sector. 

[8:30] Joe weighs on the topic of overcoming the management of fear and doubt.

[9:44] How attorneys can overcome and manage the imposter syndrome. 

[11:21] How does niching down help an attorney scale their law practice?

[14:10] Niching down is all about having a focus area. 

[16:05] Specific actionable steps for attorneys exploring the early stages of niche targeting. 

[18:50] Joe’s impact on highway safety in the United States. 

[19:45] Joe discusses a series of legal niche self-assessment questions attorneys can ask themselves.

[21:00] Case study of one of Joe’s mentees’ finding his passion within the legal sector.

[24:43] Joe introduces the “Step 0” in the legal niche.

[26:32] How lawyers can actively become subject matter experts in a legal niche.

[29:10] The power of a mentor and mentoring. 

[30:55] Types of data attorneys can use to help quantify/ reinforce their niching decision.

[35:06] How data prompts the focus towards litigation or industry-specific niches.

[36:50] Joe emphasizes the natural benefits of niching down. 

[39:15] Key elements lawyers can take away.

 

Best way to contact Joe Fried:

joe@friedgoldberg.com 

404 – 429 – 6677 

Discover More About the Podcast and Consultwebs:

Subscribe to the LAWsome Podcast by Consultwebs on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify

Visit the LAWsome website.

The post appeared first on Consultwebs.

from Consultwebs https://www.consultwebs.com/blog/choosing-your-legal-niche
via https://www.consultwebs.com

Are you on the crest of the Instagram wave? You could be.

Instagram remains untapped by many law firms, but this is rapidly changing. Why you may ask? Businesses have come to realize that jumping on the social media bandwagon is in their best interest.

To give you a few statistics and figures, around 90% of Instagram users follow business accounts. Moreover, 140 million users are U.S. based; and since the pandemic, the usage has increased from approximately 25 minutes to 30 minutes per day. Let that sink in for a moment.

People aren’t just trying to stay connected with their friends and family; they’re also interacting with brands and services. It’s clear to see, this platform is relevant for the networking of businesses and individuals alike. Specifically for businesses, this social media channel is valuable because your firm can create a space for increased engagement.

Additional benefits of opting-in on this channel include:

• Gaining followers.
• Increasing networking possibilities.
• Positioning your firm as leaders and experts.
• Building upon branding.

And the most sought out benefit: engaging and nurturing a relationship with all the users on different stages of the sales funnel, from the prospects building awareness to the loyal followers/clients participating and engaging.

While these benefits indeed sound great, setting up an Instagram business account is just the beginning. If you really want to reap the insta-rewards, you’ll need to create a posting strategy that’s aligned with your firm’s culture and brand.

Step 1:

Define who you want to engage with.

For starters, if you have a defined buyer persona, it will make sense to reuse this same information, at least during the early stages. If you don’t have this, worry not. Start by assessing, ”

Who is my service designed for?” and, “What are they looking for?”

Around these questions, create a detailed description of your ideal client and add information like age, gender, location, occupation, level of education, monthly income, desires, and pains.

In addition to this, you can flip the coin and look at competitors. You might be surprised and learn a lot by looking into their Instagram audiences. While the audiences might be somewhat different, it’ll provide a better understanding of what legal industry audiences look like. Just like the buyer persona analysis, you can also create a competitor analysis checklist and answer the following:

• Who are the people engaging with my competitors?
• Where are they located?
• Where is my competition located?
• What type of content are users interacting with the most and least?
• What seems to inspire this audience?

Step 2:

Find the spaces where your audience(s) engage in.

Instagram is a world of its own. There are many spaces, communities, and groups where your prospects might be.

By experimenting with the following, you can get a better understanding of the question, “Is my content reaching the audience I need?”

A/B test different hashtags

– The right hashtag positions firms in front of the right sets of eyes. Besides following other users, it’s also possible to follow hashtags on Instagram. To find relevant keywords, you can begin by researching the relevancy of specific industry keywords and measure the level of interaction and number of mentions.

Brand mentions

is one of the many online tools offering this type of analysis.

• Trending hashtags in the legal industry are #law, #firm, #legal, #attorney, #justice, #lawyerlife, #lawfirm, #instalawyer, #attorneyatlaw, #lawyerup
• Other hashtags are more specific to the practice area(s). For example, a personal injury law firm can add niche audiences like truck accidents, car accidents, etc.

Make use of geo-location tagging

– This means adding the location to your posts. Since firms focus on acquiring calls and cases in a particular area, adding this is essential for local discovery.

Conduct social listening

If you’re in need of more ideas for improvement, then conducting social listening will help. This means tracking mentions of your firm and competitors, tracking the responses, analyzing what works best and least.

Step 3:

Brand yourself.

This is the part where it gets interesting. While there’s a great deal of information, tips, and tricks that are applicable in branding, a good starting point would be to think back to the following: why is your law firm using Instagram? To build a community? Build brand awareness? Showcase mission and vision? Sell services? Make sure there’s a purpose in mind.

Before diving into the creative aspects, first thing’s first: create a solid first impression with the following:

1. Add a profile picture
   
   – To encourage recognition, keep the profile picture uniform across all platforms.
2. Write a quality bio description
   
   – This section only allows 150 characters, so make the best of it. The first part should explain who you are, and the second part should focus on what you offer. Don’t be afraid to use emojis and save up space!

And now to the fun part. You can think outside the box when it comes to content creation. The number one rule is developing a cohesive and consistent branding strategy. To begin, stick with a color palette and max. 3 fonts. To get a better understanding of what we mean, check out a sample of our Instagram feed @consultwebs:

If it helps, create a content guide outlining regulations and directions for photo filters, fonts, hashtags, and content type.

If you’re looking for more ideas and inspiration, begin with the following:

• Introducing your law firm and all team members.
• Highlight practice area(s).
• Provide videos and images of the office and business culture.
• Promoting the website/ blog section.
• Adding thought leadership videos with tutorials, hot takes, and how-tos.

@lawbymike develops similar content, and he’s currently building a great deal of momentum on Instagram and TikTok.

Additionally, jump on celebration trends like National Coffee Day, National Pro Bono Day, National Law Week, and others like International Be Kind to Lawyers Day. Every day is a celebration, according to the National today

Step 4:

Create a content calendar.

With a content calendar, you can plan to publish with purpose. Platforms like Later.com can help with this.

While scheduling seems like a “set it and forget it” deal, it entails much more than that. You can actively experiment with different days and times to post. According to research, the best global times to post on Instagram are earlier, between 5 AM – 6 AM. In other words, the early bird gets the worm. Accounts benefit from posting earlier in the day because there’s less competition.

In addition to planning, creating a content bucket can be a lifesaver in times when you’re running dry on inspiration (don’t worry, this is normal and totally to be expected after a while!). These are themes or topics that can give the content strategy uniform guidance. Are you feeling in need of inspiration now? Feel free to grab a bucket below:

Connect and build a community.

Instagram followers are more than numbers. They’re living, breathing human beings looking forward to sharing and receiving content from family, friends, and businesses. Due to this, you must be actively building and nurturing long-term relationships with audiences here.

You can start by constructing the content strategy with the previous tips and tricks, but a profitable Instagram needs a steady stream of content and ongoing planning. We’ve got additional

social media guides for lawyers if you’d like to start or continue connecting with audiences. What’s more, we’ve got a team of professionals ready to help cultivate your firm’s long-term success.

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Optimized Targeting in Google Ads: Everything Your Firm Needs to Know

Target people beyond your imagination.

You’ve probably been told that to sell, your central focus should always be around your ideal buyer persona(s). This is true, but this only scratches the surface.

There are plenty of arguments in favor of targeted audience segmentation: it’s cost-effective, focused, and helps tailor your messaging strategy. But, what if we told you there’s a new marketing strategy that can help you reach people beyond your imagination?

It’s called optimized targeting, one of Google’s latest additions. This new concept is still a form of audience segmentation, but it essentially reaches people outside your pre-determined demographics. This may sound counterproductive, but there is a reason why Google rolled out this new update: redirect the people outside your firm’s circle towards you.

Let’s say after a few months, your firm hits a plateau when trying to acquire new clients. There are little to no calls and cases coming in, but you are putting all your marketing efforts towards reaching your desired audience. What can be the possible solution?

You need to find new ways to reach people who are more likely to engage with your firm, and this is a prime example of a situation in which Google’s optimized targeting may well be you ticket to success.

What is optimized targeting?

Optimized targeting is Google’s latest feature that has been automatically applied to advertisers leveraging demographic/audience targeting on display, discovery, and video campaigns. Its purpose is to find people outside your pre-determined circle and that essentially mirror your current audience.

The beauty behind this new form of advertising is that, although it’s automatically on, you always have the power to turn it on or off at any given moment. In addition, it’s not exclusive to a specific campaign; it considers your account as a whole.

You can also adjust the mode. Either keep the targeting setting automatic or change it to manual.

–Automatic mode: Leave it as is. It’s already configured to be on.

–Manual mode: It’s possible to change any campaign setting to target by keywords or demographics. You can do so by following these instructions.

 

Optimized Targeting vs Audience Expansion. 

They both mention target and audience, and they’re Google features, but there are differences between the two: 

 

Audience expansion: Focuses on increasing conversions by expanding your reach to audience segments that look like your existing and manually-selected audience, in addition to the latter audience. For example, a firm that adds reaching the target for “car accidents” expands to “auto injuries” and “vehicle accidents.”

 

Optimized targeting: Focuses on expanding to users that are most likely to convert, based on conversion-data that is being gathered from your current audience. Your manually-selected audience provides the data-driven foundation for this model and reaches prospects outside your pre-determined audiences. 

 

Think of the two types of campaigns as being in the same family tree. They are essentially from the same roots, but they are different branches. 

 

Although both terms have grown to different branches, there are some similarities between them: 

1. The purpose is the same: expand your reach.
2. Google automatically applies both. It doesn’t prioritize one over the other. 
3. They can work together, not against each other. 

How does optimized targeting work? 

We know so far, this type of ad goes beyond manually-selected campaigns. Nevertheless, how does it work? 

1. As previously mentioned, it’s automatically set and turned on for all your Google campaigns. 
2. Once you have an active campaign, it will start looking for users that match your campaign’s goal(s). The following are the three primary campaign types:

• • Display campaigns: Image ads that appear on the sites or apps that your audience visits and uses.
  • Search Network Campaigns: Text ads that can show on the Google SERP when someone makes a search query for a service you offer.
  • Video campaigns: Video ads that are typically 6-15 seconds long and that show right before or during a YouTube video. 

1. Google gives you the option to add targeting signals, the criteria the search engine will follow to find people outside your circle.

• • Do you want to reach similar audiences according to their behavior? Then you can choose the audience segment as the target signal. 

• • Do you want to reach more people according to search query similarities? Then you can pick ‘keyword’ as the target signal. 

 

If you decide you’d like to turn this setting off, you can follow these steps: 

1. Select the campaign you want to launch. 
2. Select the ad group. 
3. Click on Settings.
4. Click on edit the ad group targeting. 
5. Turn the optimized targeting off. 
6. That’s it. You’re done!

“Does my firm need optimized targeting?“

You need to reach people who will engage with your firm, but it all boils down to usability. Is this something your firm’s ads need? If you’re still unsure, follow the checklist below: 

• Has your firm seen substantial results with audience segmentation alone? 
• Have your campaign efforts been slow at getting you the results you need? 
• Is working with smaller audiences getting you enough quality calls and cases?
• Do you want to increase your conversion rate without hurting your wallet? 
• Would you like to identify new people who are responsive to your campaigns? 

The biggest question is, are you looking for new ways to scale up? We are guessing your answer is “Yes” or, more accurately, “Of course!” 

If this is the case, your firm should seize this opportunity. 

 

Working smarter, not harder.

It may happen that a business sometimes hits a wall on growth. But, it’s also possible to grow by taking full advantage of new opportunities coming your way. 

Sometimes this means stepping outside your comfort zone and trying new growth strategies, i.e., adding optimized targeting in your ads. 

If you want to experience new ways to reach clients in your area, let’s formulate a campaign strategy that generates more business for your firm. 

 

The post Optimized Targeting in Google Ads: Everything Your Firm Needs to Know appeared first on Consultwebs.com.

from Consultwebs.com https://www.consultwebs.com/blog/optimized-targeting-google-ads
via https://www.consultwebs.com

How to run a successful personal injury law firm in today’s market

Tanner Jones, your host and Vice President of Business Development at Consultwebs, welcomes you to another episode of the LAWsome Podcast by Consultwebs.

 

In today’s episode, Tanner is accompanied by David Vtipil, partner at Younce, Vtipil, Baznik & Banks, to discuss what it takes to run a successful personal injury law practice in today’s market. In addition to this, David highlights the permanent impact Covid-19 has had on the legal industry.

 

Key Takeaways:

[0:45] Due to unforeseen events like the pandemic, what are some of the changes David Vtipil’s law firm has implemented? 

[1:15] David discusses how his firm optimized a new communication strategy for his staff and clients.

[2:20] Business lessons learned during the pandemic. 

[3:35] What are occurring changes in personal injury law firms? 

[3:50] How personal injury practices can benefit from new forms of technology.

[4:55] New opportunities for firms to stand out. 

[5:50] David talks about the pandemic and workers compensation from home. 

[6:40] What trends are impacting the firm, Younce, Vtipil, Baznik & Banks, when settling cases? 

[7:53] How is David’s firm reassuring prospects that they are a quality option for legal representation?

[8:10] Providing excellent service and showing results are key in marketing. 

[8:33] David states that law firms need digital marketing, regardless of referrals. 

[8:50] Law firms need Google LSAs, local service ads.

[9:26] What are core ideas/ principles that remain rock solid when running a successful law firm? 

[10:05] David talks about strategic steps law firms can take to keep the lines of communication open.

[10:54] What are actionable next-steps after attorneys settle a case?

[12:15] David talks about how law firms can benefit from an internal work-flow system. 

[14:00] Final advice from David: continuous learning.

 

Best way to contact David Vtipil: 

Website: https://www.attorneync.com/

Local number: 919 – 661 – 9000 

Toll-free number: 1-800- 811-9495

 

Discover More About the Podcast and Consultwebs:

Subscribe to the LAWsome Podcast by Consultwebs on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify

 

Visit the LAWsome website

 

Follow Consultwebs on social for legal marketing updates:

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Linkedin

YouTube

 

Learn more about Consultwebs at the links below.

Law Firm Marketing Agency Services 

Law Firm SEO

Law Firm Web Design 

Law Firm PPC 

Law Firm Social Media 

Law Firm Email Marketing

Law Firm Digital Marketing 

 

Consultwebs

8601 Six Forks Rd #400, Raleigh, NC 27615

(800) 872-6590

https://www.consultwebs.com 

https://www.google.com/maps?cid=13646648339910389351

The post How to run a successful personal injury law firm in today’s market appeared first on www.consultwebs.com.

from www.consultwebs.com https://www.consultwebs.com/blog/how-to-run-a-successful-personal-injury-law-firm-in-todays-market/
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The Web Design Elements Your Firm Needs to Improve its Digital Footprint

Is your website doing everything it can?

Law firms face hefty competition. Additionally, the era of digital transformation is dramatically driving prospects towards online channels, particularly websites.

Long gone are the days when websites were just an optional asset for businesses, today it is a must-have. There are many reasons a website is essential today. Examples include giving your firm credibility and boosting your local SEO results. A big part that affects these two aspects lies in how well the technical side of your site is optimized, but the design is a big part that shouldn’t be overlooked. Its most crucial goal is to improve your visitors’ user experience and ultimately draw them in as loyal customers.

And how can your firm successfully achieve this? One of the most important steps you can take is optimizing its design. Today’s websites consist of more than just visual elements put together. A well-thought-out website is tailored with your firm’s vision and mission in mind in this day and age.

However, for your website to outperform the rest, you’ll need to take one step back in order to leapfrog ahead of your competition. In doing so, you can assure your firm is keeping up, surpassing the competition, and meeting clients where they are today: online.

Having said that, researching all the design elements you could add, toggle and optimize on your site can be overwhelming. You could easily spend hours and even days evaluating components like typography, templates, imagery, and more. We have compiled the essential design elements your firm needs to keep on crushing your competition.

Follow the visual hierarchy

The visual hierarchy in design ranks elements in order of importance. You can think of the visual hierarchy as the architectural blueprint behind your website’s design and it makes it easier for both humans and bots to understand the flow of your site.

The hierarchy starts with the most important elements and trickles down to the least important ones. To give you one hierarchy example, elements like titles and headlines should go on the top as they immediately grab the user’s attention. You can then follow with quotes or subheadings and end with the body copy.

Every hierarchy is going to look different. However, these are some hierarchy elements you can include:

• Sizing and scale – Anything you scale larger will attract more attention. Like the example mentioned above, headlines.
• Balance and symmetry – We are naturally attracted to symmetry. By adding a form of symmetry, you can have a geometrical balance on your website. You can also lack balance on purpose to give it a more flexible flow.
• Colors – According to research, there is a science behind colors. For lawyers, the color blue gives the signal of professionalism, power, security, and success.

“Less is more.”

Adding too many elements at once can backfire. Because of this, designers may practice the “less is more” philosophy. Adding the necessary design elements might be enough.

In websites, the minimalistic approach is called flat design, which focuses on usability. What this means is that the aesthetic is clean, two-dimensional, and gets rid of unnecessary clutter.

Furthermore, this type of outline focuses on harmony and simplicity, helping users understand information rapidly. Flat design has an added value, and it allows pages to load faster! A quick loading time reduces the bounce rate.

Additional factors under the flat design umbrella include:

• Minimalism: Simple colors and text.
• Sans-serifs typography
• Modern, simple appearance
• 3-5 signature bold colors (A popular choice of colors in flat design is monotone. These are color schemes based on one color.)

This is an example of a monochromatic blue palette:

Don’t forget about mobile!

The number of clients searching for services online continues to rise. Until recent years, mobile and desktop searches were eye to eye, but mobile searches are surpassing desktop at an increasingly rapid rate.

Your firm’s web design has to be optimized for phones. And it’s not just people that are growing to rely more on mobile than desktop: Google predominantly uses the mobile version of the content for indexing and ranking.

To guarantee that your website follows a mobile-friendly design, you can include elements like:

• Media like images and videos.
• Readable text.
• Calls-to-action buttons with every scroll.
• Social media links
• A hamburger menu, which is a collapsed clickable menu.

Check out our website’s mobile hamburger menu icon below:

Go the extra mile with additional efforts

We have covered some basic design elements. Still, if you want to go the extra mile, you can experiment with the following:

• Getting creative with your ‘Contact Us’ call to action. Some alternative ‘Contact Us’ calls to action that drive conversions include:

1. Begin Inquiry
2. Grow Your Business
3. Do I Qualify?

• Unique typography – Typography magnifies your personality. In the case of law firms, formality is key. Therefore serif fonts could work best. As a general rule, try not to exceed three types of fonts. (And please avoid comic sans at all costs!)
• Follow the user’s eye direction – Our eyes naturally focus on certain things first. This is also known as “the flow.” The human eye tracking tends to follow the F or E shape from the left. Thus, make sure important information is placed on the left side.

Make it easier for yourself and your clients.

A quality web design helps drive business to your firm’s door. But building and launching a website is just the start. Maintaining and updating your site is equally as important and your first impression should come off strong.

You can start by following the design elements mentioned above, but you should have a unique blueprint to meet today’s digital expectations and see optimal results.

Ensure your firm is hitting the mark with a website designed with a purpose. Talk to our team of experts.

The post The Web Design Elements Your Firm Needs to Improve its Digital Footprint appeared first on www.consultwebs.com.

from www.consultwebs.com https://www.consultwebs.com/blog/web-design-elements-firms-need/
via https://www.consultwebs.com

The Web Design Elements Your Firm Needs to Improve its Digital Footprint

Is your website doing everything it can?

Law firms face hefty competition. Additionally, the era of digital transformation is dramatically driving prospects towards online channels, particularly websites.

Long gone are the days when websites were just an optional asset for businesses, today it is a must-have. There are many reasons a website is essential today. Examples include giving your firm credibility and boosting your local SEO results. A big part that affects these two aspects lies in how well the technical side of your site is optimized, but the design is a big part that shouldn’t be overlooked. Its most crucial goal is to improve your visitors’ user experience and ultimately draw them in as loyal customers.

And how can your firm successfully achieve this? One of the most important steps you can take is optimizing its design. Today’s websites consist of more than just visual elements put together. A well-thought-out website is tailored with your firm’s vision and mission in mind in this day and age.

However, for your website to outperform the rest, you’ll need to take one step back in order to leapfrog ahead of your competition. In doing so, you can assure your firm is keeping up, surpassing the competition, and meeting clients where they are today: online.

Having said that, researching all the design elements you could add, toggle and optimize on your site can be overwhelming. You could easily spend hours and even days evaluating components like typography, templates, imagery, and more. We have compiled the essential design elements your firm needs to keep on crushing your competition.

Follow the visual hierarchy

The visual hierarchy in design ranks elements in order of importance. You can think of the visual hierarchy as the architectural blueprint behind your website’s design and it makes it easier for both humans and bots to understand the flow of your site.

The hierarchy starts with the most important elements and trickles down to the least important ones. To give you one hierarchy example, elements like titles and headlines should go on the top as they immediately grab the user’s attention. You can then follow with quotes or subheadings and end with the body copy.

Every hierarchy is going to look different. However, these are some hierarchy elements you can include:

• Sizing and scale – Anything you scale larger will attract more attention. Like the example mentioned above, headlines.
• Balance and symmetry – We are naturally attracted to symmetry. By adding a form of symmetry, you can have a geometrical balance on your website. You can also lack balance on purpose to give it a more flexible flow.
• Colors – According to research, there is a science behind colors. For lawyers, the color blue gives the signal of professionalism, power, security, and success.

“Less is more.”

Adding too many elements at once can backfire. Because of this, designers may practice the “less is more” philosophy. Adding the necessary design elements might be enough.

In websites, the minimalistic approach is called flat design, which focuses on usability. What this means is that the aesthetic is clean, two-dimensional, and gets rid of unnecessary clutter.

Furthermore, this type of outline focuses on harmony and simplicity, helping users understand information rapidly. Flat design has an added value, and it allows pages to load faster! A quick loading time reduces the bounce rate.

Additional factors under the flat design umbrella include:

• Minimalism: Simple colors and text.
• Sans-serifs typography
• Modern, simple appearance
• 3-5 signature bold colors (A popular choice of colors in flat design is monotone. These are color schemes based on one color.)

This is an example of a monochromatic blue palette:

 

Don’t forget about mobile!

The number of clients searching for services online continues to rise. Until recent years, mobile and desktop searches were eye to eye, but mobile searches are surpassing desktop at an increasingly rapid rate.

Your firm’s web design has to be optimized for phones. And it’s not just people that are growing to rely more on mobile than desktop: Google predominantly uses the mobile version of the content for indexing and ranking.

To guarantee that your website follows a mobile-friendly design, you can include elements like:

• Media like images and videos.
• Readable text.
• Calls-to-action buttons with every scroll.
• Social media links
• A hamburger menu, which is a collapsed clickable menu.

Check out our website’s mobile hamburger menu icon below:

 

Go the extra mile with additional efforts

We have covered some basic design elements. Still, if you want to go the extra mile, you can experiment with the following:

• Getting creative with your ‘Contact Us’ call to action. Some alternative ‘Contact Us’ calls to action that drive conversions include:

1. Begin Inquiry
2. Grow Your Business
3. Do I Qualify?

• Unique typography – Typography magnifies your personality. In the case of law firms, formality is key. Therefore serif fonts could work best. As a general rule, try not to exceed three types of fonts. (And please avoid comic sans at all costs!)
• Follow the user’s eye direction – Our eyes naturally focus on certain things first. This is also known as “the flow.” The human eye tracking tends to follow the F or E shape from the left. Thus, make sure important information is placed on the left side.

Make it easier for yourself and your clients.

A quality web design helps drive business to your firm’s door. But building and launching a website is just the start. Maintaining and updating your site is equally as important and your first impression should come off strong.

You can start by following the design elements mentioned above, but you should have a unique blueprint to meet today’s digital expectations and see optimal results.

Ensure your firm is hitting the mark with a website designed with a purpose. Talk to our team of experts. 

The post The Web Design Elements Your Firm Needs to Improve its Digital Footprint appeared first on Consultwebs.

from Consultwebs https://www.consultwebs.com/blog/web-design-elements-firms-need
via https://www.consultwebs.com