Email Marketing – Is Above the Fold, Where It’s At?

 

We know the phrase that goes, “don’t judge a book by its cover”, but let’s rethink this concept. 

 

When it comes to marketing like email marketing, we do judge a book by its cover. The cover of this proverbial book is where law firms grab users’ attention. 

 

Within email marketing, as well as website designs, there is a concept known as above the fold. It refers to the website or email that being visible when the user first opens the page without having to scroll down. This concept evolved with the birth of print media and the way newspapers were, and still are, read. (It dates way back to the 1700s!) Incredible, isn’t it?

 

Although it was a rule of thumb to always place the centerpiece content above the fold (digitally speaking), in today’s world it carries a heated argument in regards to its functionality. So, how exactly does the above-the-fold content placement work? And is it really still relevant? Is it applicable to law firms?

 

Stay with us as we uncover pros and cons, fun facts, tips, and tricks for above the fold. 

 

Pique your visitors’ curiosity  

We’ve mentioned that the concept of “above the fold” dates back to the 1700s. The reason is that the entirety of the printed newspaper was too large for a newspaper stand, so the paper was folded in such a way that the front page was split in half. Because of this, the concept of above the fold and below the fold emerged.

 

Still to this day, if you decide to buy a printed newspaper you’ll notice the upper half is where the attention grabbers, shocking headlines and initial interest takes place. 

 

The same concept can be applied to digital media. In the realm of email marketing and websites, above the fold is considered the visible section without the need to scroll. 

 

Before a user decides to scroll (or exit), it is crucial to grab the user’s attention… and this usually proves to be easier said than done. 

 

According to Tribute Media, the current human attention span is shorter than a goldfish’s. We have an attention span of 6-8 seconds while a goldfish has an attention span of a whopping 9 seconds. (So, our ADD is up to 30% worse than a goldfish’s. Isn’t that mind-blowing?!) Digital-first impressions clearly require a lot of work in sight of this. OptiMonk states that whatever you place above the fold does matter.

 

OptiMonk argues that content placement above the fold optimization should be part of content marketing. To do so law firms can: 

1. Optimize a responsive design – if a website and email look great users want to stay for longer periods of time, interact and purchase more. (For law firms, it could mean calls and cases).
2. Add Calls to Action at the beginning – Powerful CTAs can directly impact conversions.
3. Place the important content first  – Headlines, calls-to-action, other vital information should be the first thing a user reads. 

OptiMonk argues that if the user is not initially intrigued, they will leave and find someone else. 

 

While all of this may be relevant, others argue the contrary. Let’s look into that…

 

“In Your Face” Sales and Marketing Can Be Too Much

On the other hand, the counterargument is that above the fold is now outdated because it is too much of a “in your face” sales approach. 

 

Users online are very different from users in the 90s and early 2000s. Before, the internet was evolving. Now, the internet is intuitive. Let’s face it, in this day and age, even babies can scroll without giving it a second thought. The big difference between then and now is that back then information was limited. Now? It’s the opposite! We have too much information that is readily available.

 

For this reason, VWO argues that not all the necessary information has to be above the fold. To support this argument, they add: 

1. Users are familiar with scrolling. Users already expect information below the fold. 
2. There are a lot more mobile users than desktop users according to Perficient. This means it’s near impossible to define where above the fold is for all types of devices and a single content piece. 
3. “In Your Face” approach by adding too much above the fold can counterattack and drive people away. Plus, it may increase the user’s anxiety. 

Neil Patel reiterates this. He emphasizes that “Higher conversion rates have nothing to do with whether the button is above the fold, and everything to do with whether the button is below the right amount of good copy”.

 

Learn to Pave The Way 

We’ve given you the pros and cons. But whatever road you decide to take, you can pave your firm’s way with some actionable tips. 

 

As MailChimp adds; you can ‘break the rules’ with email marketing and make it your own. There is not a one-size-fits-all and what works for your firm might not work for another. Be flexible with what you want versus what works for your clients. At the end of the day, you should always have your clients in mind. 

 

Hubspot also adds that what your firm should focus on is grabbing attention, and to do so you must: 

 

1. Keep a simple design – don’t overwhelm your users. 
2. Create engaging content – use your unique brand voice.
3. Design with usability in mind – have content that is easy to interact with and see. 
4. Solve problems – Include answers, keywords, images, and designs that will help your user.

The Ball Is In Your Court

There are clear pros and cons for focusing on what content to place above the fold for email marketing (and your website). Like it was said earlier, there is not a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to digital marketing for your law firm. Every firm requires a unique digital marketing approach to get quality results and cases. 

 

At the end of the day, the ball really is in your court. But whether you decide on the extent of your firm’s needs to implement optimizations to your current content placement strategy (or not), you’ll need a strong digital marketing team by your side. 

 

Do you want to know how you can implement a plan of action for growth? You don’t have to go through all the trials and tribulations by yourself. Get started with us now. 

 

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How to Compile a “Power Page” to Grow Your Firm

A power page, better known as a pillar page, is more than a simple blog post. Your law firm should not be missing out on the opportunity to easily supercharge its SEO potential. According to Rocket Content, when implemented correctly, you can expect to:

• Boost SEO rankings.
• Increase your content marketing promotion.
• Fill in informational gaps.
• Keep clients on-site for longer periods of time.
• Have scannable and searchable documents in one page.
• Get more leads.

As you can see a power/pillar page really does do its name justice.  So, what exactly is a pillar page?  In short, it is a web page that is dedicated to extensively offering information on a given topic, and that links to pages that cover related topics on the same domain.  And how does a pillar page apply to my law firm?  It will serve both sides of the coin:

1. Your clients will benefit from a pillar page when they’re looking for information and answers while reading through your law firm’s website.
2. Search Engine algorithms use pillar pages to navigate and rank your site based on keywords and relevant information your law firm adds to this page.

If you want and need to retain more clients AND improve your ranking, then keep reading! We’ve taken a close look at how pillar pages function, and how they can serve your website to help you achieve the growth you want for your law firm.

A Foundation to Grow Your Firm

Think of your pillar page as the architecture structure that houses many scattered themes around a common theme.

This house made of “pillars” helps the bigger building: your firm. And how do all the pillars help the firm? By giving your firm’s inbound marketing an extra push. Inbound marketing is, in essence, the process you take in order to help prospects find your business. This means you’re not attracting just any ‘ole’ visitor to your firm’s website, you’re attracting the people who are most likely looking to convert to clients! (They are the people that want to be in your house.) How convenient, right?

Take Your Existing Content to The Next Level

A pillar page is convenient when it’s built with efficiency in mind. To do so, you’ll first need to gather copious amounts of content. And as overwhelming as this may sound; worry not. Your firm has options.

Option 1 – Audit your content.

According to Fulcrum Forge, you can work with what you already have. There is no need to start a pillar page from scratch. You can put on your thinking cap and search for themes by:

• Reviewing existing content and collecting possible themes.
• Reviewing the previous campaigns.
• Reviewing promotional content pieces.

Fulcrum Forge emphasizes that once you’ve looked into either, you can decide to find a core topic based on popular themes in:

1. Topic titles.
2. Keywords and hashtags.
3. Social metrics (likes/shares).
4. Conversion metrics.

If you need help measuring the best-performing content, Google Analytics and Hubspot can give you a quick overview on your firm’s track engagement.

Option 2 – Build around a common theme.

If your firm already has data in regards to popular keywords/hashtags etc. you can work around those.  Brafton focuses on seven simple actions to follow if you do have a list of core topics:

1. Focus on one primary keyword – pick a keyword that has a high search volume but isn’t too broad.
2. Identify relevant subtopics within that core topics.
3. Link your firm’s internal content and related external content.
4. Create a table of contents.
5. Write a pillar page within the table of contents.
6. Look into additional designs to add to the pillar page.
7. Add a CTA (Call-to-Action).

Brafton did their pillar page explanation in pillar page format. To take a look at what a pillar page can look like, check out the structure here.

Decide on Your Pillar Page’s Purpose

Now, you already have an idea of how your firm can benefit from a pillar page and implement it. But, what exactly is the purpose for your firm’s pillar page meant to be?  Semrush emphasizes three kinds of pillar pages:

1. The “Guide” Pillar page
   • If your firm is looking to establish itself as an authority within a subject, then a guide pillar works best. It can help your clients gather information from an instructional approach. This builds on your firm’s expertise and trust.
2. The “What Is” Pillar page
   • Covers a topic that is interesting, controversial or timely. If your firm wants to tap on the desire and curiosity of clients then this is it.
3. The “How-to” Pillar page
   • Unlike the previous pillar pages, this one is primarily focused on the question of how something is done. The main purpose here is to help solve a problem.

Decorate Your Pillar Page

Let’s say your firm gathered all the relevant content and wrote it all in one document. Great! But there is one last crucial factor missing. Content like a pillar page without visuals can push your clients out of your site within seconds. Luckily, that is preventable with the help of visuals. Besides relevant content, clients want to scan/read content that is easy on their eyes. You can do this by assuring your pillar page covers the basics:

• A designed structure that is easy to follow.
• Additional visual images/videos/graphs/charts etc.
• Easy navigation.
• A clean table of content.

If you want to give your firm’s pillar page an extra push, Semrush notes that there are eight additional interactive content pieces your firm could add:

1. Quizzes
2. Calculator and tools
3. Infographics
4. Image sliders (before/after pictures)
5. Interactive game
6. Interactive map
7. Webinars
8. Film and video

Walk The Extra Mile

With the help of a pillar page, you can assure your firm is able to provide an answer to all of your client’s questions. We know how ambitious this initiative can be, and have experts on call and ready to have a chat with you on how we can help you walk, or run, that extra mile to give your prospects the added value they deserve. Contact us to propel your firm ahead.

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Call us your SEO MYTH-BUSTERS!

Search Engine Optimization, also known as SEO, is not something you want to overlook. Why is that? The relevance of SEO in today’s digital landscape is increasingly predominant and can be considered a necessity in your strategy to ensure marketing success.   According to Semrush, you can improve your law firm’s online presence in many ways including (but not limited to):

• Credibility.
• Get relevant clients.
• Improve your organic traffic.
• Conversions and ROI.
• Leads through your sales funnel.
• Low cost.

And the list goes on! The options you have are countless!  Of course, this is great but you may have questions like, “How do I apply it?” “What works?” And most importantly, “What doesn’t work?” There’s a lot of local SEO misinformation, so let’s focus on what doesn’t work for your law firm’s GMB (Google My Business) account first to work our way up from there..  Before we dive into some local SEO myths we have a powerful tip to help your firm dominate the local market:

Don’t underestimate the power of GMB.

Let’s face the reality here: Google dominates search engines. As Google dominates today’s search engines, it’s important law firms take full advantage of Google’s FREE Google My Business (GMB) tool. On it, your firm can collect reviews from past clients, you can have full information on all of your locations and  Yes, you heard this correctly, it’s a free tool! When (and if) your law firm uses GMB correctly you can expect:

1. Improving your law firm’s local exposure
2. Boosting revenue to calls and cases

GMB is not only important for your law firm’s SEO, it is vital for your law firm’s online survival!

If you’re still not convinced of GMBs’ importance, hear it from Awebco. GMB can help your law firm by:

1. Boosting your local SEO
2. Helping potential clients find your law firm online
3. Giving clients the chance to leave a good review for your law firm
4. Communicating with clients
5. It’s a FREE tool (who doesn’t like free stuff?)

If you’re starting to realize the importance of GMB for your law firm’s reach and revenue then read along and let’s debunk popular SEO myths.

A GMB Service Area will Impact Rankings

Having a GMB account is definitely helpful. If your business has multiple locations you can use this platform to add all of them, which also helps your clients make personal references of the individual locations and decide which one suits them the best.  BUT…the truth is that it will not have an impact on your law firm’s overall local ranking.

 

“Keyword Stuffing” the GMB Description Improves Rankings

Have you heard of keyword stuffing? Basically, it’s trying to manipulate your site’s position in the SERP by using relevant keywords repeatedly, hence the term “stuffing.” Though this tactic is used quite frequently, the reality is that keyword stuffing is not helpful within the description box of GMB. Google doesn’t look at this box for rankings. (Plus, keyword stuffing is considered a black hat strategy, and may cause your site to be de-indexed by Google if it is identified on it.) So, what’s the best thing to do here?  Sales writing! AKA – Sell your law firm! Add interesting, captivating and relevant information about your law firm. If you need a question to get inspired perhaps think: “What solution(s) does your law firm offer that others don’t? And how will you fix a prospect’s problem?” Make sure to get prospects interested enough to take the action you’re aiming for and call your firm.

Stuffing Keywords to GMB Reviews Impacts Rankings

Piggy-backing on the previous myth, getting reviews on GMB is great! But what’s not so great is “keyword stuffing” your responses to those reviews with keywords. It doesn’t improve rankings however, we do recommend you give the reviews an authentic human response back. It may not help your rankings, per se, but it will give your clients a personalized view of your law firm.

Call Tracking Has a Negative Impact On Your Rankings

The short answer is: No. A call tracking does not have a negative impact on your Google rankings…if you do it the correct way.  Before diving into what’s right let’s look into a common mistake: using different phone numbers on different listings.  Having an inconsistent number around the web means clients will have different contact results around search Google, Apple Maps, Bing and other forms of directories. Losing a client due to jumbled up phone numbers would be a painful loss that’s completely avoidable!  To assure this doesn’t happen here’s how you can verify you’re using the correct numbers:

• Your primary number should be within the “call tracking number”.
• Your business number should be within the “additional field”.

Organic Rankings Improve By Paying Google Ads

You’re in luck, because as the saying goes, you’re “hearing it straight from the horse’s mouth!”  Law firms cannot request Google to improve their organic rankings. Organic rankings are called organic because they aren’t influenced by paid ads. Organic rankings occur due to the client’s natural search for your law firm and consequently leading to a natural response to review/rank your law firm’s service. Google even states that “There’s no way to request or pay for better local rankings on Google. We do our best to keep the search algorithm details confidential, to make the ranking system as fair as possible for everyone.”  You can pay for an ad and rank #1 in the paid world, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll lead to organic rankings.

All That Matters is Ranking #1

False! In fact, sometimes businesses that are ranked #1 have FEWER LEADS than other businesses ranked under them.  So, what should your law firm focus on?  Improving your GMB listing

1. Add photos.
2. Respond to reviews.
3. Add the opening hours.

See the differences for yourself here:

Source: https://whitespark.ca/blog/10-common-local-seo-myths-debunked/

“It Will Take a While Until You Rank Within Your Local Search”

Will it take a month? Six months? A year?  You can start ranking the minute your listing goes live. Whitespark clarifies that businesses start ranking within their immediate area. Businesses don’t immediately start ranking in a whole city, though. Your law firm will start to grow out of the immediate area’s ranking once there’s a higher accumulation within the GMB listing for that specific area..

You Need to Geo-Tag Images

Before debunking this myth let’s look into what’s geo-tagging. According to Romain Berg, it is “the process of adding precise global positioning data, such as specific latitude and longitude, to a website or image found online”.  And why do businesses do geo-tagging?  Geo-tagging helps search engines make the link between the added location/information and the photo. Romain Berg even adds that “web search engines are factoring the person’s current location into the search results they deliver”.  Adding metadata to your images can help Google understand when and where the image was created. But the reality is that when it comes to local SEO rankings it has little to no effect. According to a geotagging study conducted by Tim Kahlert, “Only areas with very little or no competition offer good opportunities to rank using only geotagged images.”  In short words, save yourself the time (and headache). There’s no evidence behind this working. Stuffing keywords into an image has little to no effect with the Google ranking.

A Google Map on Your Website Will Impact Rankings

Embedding a Google Map to your site does not directly improve rankings. However, as Sterling Sky notes, there are still benefits to adding a Google Map to your website:

1. Saves your clients from leaving your website.
2. Business contact is already there.
3. Gives your clients reference points (for example: ‘a parking area near me’).
4. Clients stay longer periods of time on your website.

In Conclusion…

Bottom line, law firms should not fall under false pretense that any of these myths “might work” for them.  Recognizing what does not work is a step forward for your law firm’s online success. Applying what does work is a science of its own…and our team has crafted the art and science behind SEO optimization for law firms. Want to optimize your law firm?  Expand your law firm’s reach + ranking and get results with us today.

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How to Create the Perfect Lead Magnet to Target Your Ideal Client

There are many ways to turn your law firm website visitors into paying clients. Just because you have website traffic, doesn’t mean your visitors will fill out your contact form or call for a consultation. To transition your website visitors into leads, you must motivate them enough to give up their contact information.  You must begin nurturing a relationship quickly with your visitors and build trust. Then the only next “natural” step would be for them to hand their contact information over. 

But, conversions won’t always be in the form of phone calls or consultations. Often, website visitors aren’t ready to speak with a lawyer directly. They might still be in their comparison or research phase. It’s at this point you’ll want to:

• Cater to their specific needs
• Offer them something of value in exchange for their personal information
• Begin the relationship nurturing process

Then you can start funneling them toward becoming paying clients.

A good way to do this is by using lead magnets.

Lead magnets have been around for many years. They continue playing an integral role in lead generation for businesses, marketers, and even law firms. With a lead magnet, you’re offering something of value for free in exchange for your prospect’s name, phone, and email.

Lead Magnet Tips for Targeting your Ideal Client

To make the most of lead magnets in your legal marketing strategy, you’ll want to follow the tips below.

1. Be Specific with your Lead Magnets

Don’t be vague with your lead magnets. They need to provide a highly specific solution to a highly specific target audience. An unclear or ambiguous solution won’t intrigue potential clients. 

When creating your lead magnet, ensure it’s not:

• Complex
• Lengthy
• Time-intensive

Long and complicated lead magnets generally convert poorly.

You’re basically looking to solve a specific issue that a distinct segment of your market is dealing with.

2. Make your Lead Magnet Quick and Easy to Consume

Your lead magnet should ideally take no more than five minutes for your ideal clients to consume. If it’s long and complex, it’s not likely it’s specific enough to solve their problems. This will defeat the purpose. You want to create a lead magnet that provides incredible value within the first five minutes of your prospects opting in. If it’s too difficult to consume (i.e. a 30-day email course or a 300-page ebook) your conversion rates could suffer.

Create lead magnets that:

• Provide value
• Provide immediate gratification
• Offer speed and ease

Your market is looking for solutions to their problems now; not 30 days from now.

3. Be Proactive with the Promotion of your Lead Magnets

Once you’ve created the perfect lead magnet to attract your ideal clients, you must now promote it. There are many ways to promote your lead magnets, including:

• Send out emails to your clients
• Create social media posts
• Share with strategic partners and promote your lead magnet to their audience
• Use paid ads through LinkedIn, Facebook, Google, or other online ad-options
• Create a LinkedIn article and/or blog post

You can also target different audiences with different lead magnets. Your target market has different problems they need solutions to.

Types of Lead Magnets to Incorporate into your Legal Marketing

 

Not all lead magnets are created equal and serve the same function. You can experience a 20% opt-in rate with an effective, highly-targeted lead magnet. A general, across-the-board lead magnet, however, will likely only reap you a measly 2% opt-in rate. There are different types of lead magnets for different purposes. Some include: 

1. Resource Lists

A resource list allows you to put a bunch of disorganized information all in one place. This makes resource lists quite popular. You can turn your law firm into a single point of reference with a well-done resource list. The next time your ideal clients are looking for something that relates to your services, they can turn to your resource list instead of searching on Google.

2. Checklists

These are also popular with all types of readers since they’re simple to read and digest. You can condense a lot of information into easy-to-read, quick lists that offer your readers value. For instance, you could offer guidance on:

• Preparing for a tax audit
• Getting ready for a court date
• Preparing for a tenant filing in housing court

Ultimately, any type of guidance you can provide to your readers that will help them solve a problem will do great.

3. Free Consultations

This type of lead magnet invites potential clients to connect with you personally through a free consultation. It establishes credibility and allows them to get to know you and your services better, before they retain you. By providing them with a free consultation, it helps boost their confidence in you and your services, helping to transition them into paying clients.

Free consultations allow you to build one-on-one rapport with ideal clients. It helps you learn about their problems and pain points. 

To make your free consultation most effective, you need to set expectations. Let your leads know:

• What the consultation will cover
• How long it will last
• What they can expect to take away

Warm your clients up. During this free consultation, provide your clients with a brief introduction of the services you provide and answer any questions. 

4. Case Studies or Data

One perfect lead magnet idea your law firm can offer is case studies or data. This provides your prospects with a deeper insight into a certain area of law. It’s a great way to show them how you solved a similar issue before that they have and brings them into a story. It can reassure them, particularly since many law cases are often overwhelming and seem complicated to most individuals.

5. Legal How-to-Guide

Creating a legal how-to-guide will allow you to offer your ideal clients a guide based on your own knowledge and professional experience on any given issue or area with legal implications. 

Legal how-to-guides build credibility and trust. They carry a lot of weight since they’re written by qualified attorneys.

If you were to ask any law firm what they most struggle with, there’s a good chance they’ll tell you it’s finding new leads for their law firm business. To tackle this common issue, oftentimes law firms will simply spend thousands of dollars on ads (both online ads and local media). But, there’s a more economical and easier way of generating leads into your law firm — lead magnets.

 

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Buyer Personas: The Drivers Behind Successful Businesses

We call them the ideal users, buyers, or customers, but in the end, it all boils down to the same concept: a buyer persona. 

 

The idea of buyer personas emerged in the 1990s and ever since the social media boom, most (if not all) law firms that are going digital have their ideal buyer persona already figured out. Knowing who their ideal client helps law firms put “a face” to the ideal customer. You could say that your buyer persona is basically like the compass within your customer journey map that guides you in the right direction towards more qualified leads.

 

As your law firm evolves, so should the buyer persona. Businesses change. People change. But many businesses fail to realize this and never go back and update the buyer persona. Why? A lot of businesses get distracted with measurements and metrics and fail to look back at their most important asset, their clients. 

 

According to the Search Engine Journal, “Many content marketers had changed their targeting/messaging strategy […] but fewer had revisited their customer/buyer personas.” In other words, a lot of businesses like law firms are missing out on opportunities to grow. You might be, too!

 

Make it Personal

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “it’s not personal, it’s strictly business,” from The Godfather, but  we much prefer the tagline, “it’s business, therefore make it personal.” 

 

Business objectives without having the clients’ wants and needs aligned simply won’t do. Nowadays, users have plenty of options to pick from and users want brands they can trust. And how do you build trust? You make it personal. Understand the buyer personas from all of the angles.

 

Yes, looking into demographics (age, gender, location, etc.) is important…but there are a few other aspects you’ll want to consider, too.

 

According to Business to Community, you need to know who you are speaking to. To do this, it’s important to go back and create different buyer personas according to their common goals and not common characteristics. (This very important factor is often overlooked).

 

Why is it important to dig deeper into the buyer persona? 

 

To personalize content. According to Search Engine Journal, “Having a target audience of ‘everyone’ puts you in danger of appealing to no one.” Here’s an example for you to visualize: What perception would you have of a store that sells clothes, groceries, pharmaceuticals, small electronic appliances, and car parts? We asked ourselves the same question and concluded that by targeting so many different audiences with this massive portfolio of offerings, they risk for their potential customers thinking they might have sacrificed quality over quantity.  The same applies to the process of content creation!

 

To survive in today’s competitive legal marketing industry, content has to be personalized to the client. And the more personalized you can get, the more spoken to the right prospect will feel.

 

Speak Your Client’s Language 

According to Hootsuite, keyword search to monitor mentions and competitors is vital real-time information to know what is being said about a business.

 

According to Neil Patel, gathering all the information from the keyword search gives the business a better reflection of the persona’s search intent and the relationship between certain words. 

 

And why is this important? Because it’s far more efficient to appeal to people that are actually interested in you than trying to please everyone online. 

 

By speaking your customer’s language you can create content that will speak to them directly in channels they are found. This is the moment to make your client’s business your business. 

According to Hootsuite it’s important businesses get out of the feature mindset and start focusing more on the benefits.

 

Why? Because a feature just says what your business is but the benefits tap into the persona’s psychological wants and needs. For starters, you can think of this: “How would the persona’s life be better if they chose your services over your competitors?”, “Why are the attorneys at your law firm the best bet for a specific client?”

 

The Power of Emotions 

In today’s world, everyone is so focused on metrics, but the reality is that clients are emotional drivers.

 

Search intent is driven by emotions. According to Kantar’s NeedScope, a new framework tapping into emotional marketing, the “Why?” Is far more important than the “What?”

 

The truth is that demographics rarely tell (SEO professionals, content creators, writers, etc.) what they need to know about their consumers. It only emphasized the what. According to Google search terms and emotions, there are 6 “Canonical” consumer needs: (Each driven by a combination of “emotional, social, and functional needs”)

 

It is important businesses within the legal industry tap into the emotional side of the persona’s search intent to understand their goals and objectives more deeply. 

 

Unlocking Growth 

It is important to break out of traditional marketing metrics and tap into the psychological and emotional side of the consumer.

 

If businesses within the legal industry want to understand where they are heading, it is important to look back, and remember that the client DOES come first. Your client should be considered a personal business, and your client taps into their emotional side with their search intent and loyalty

 

Business does have to be personalized. It not only gives the entire company-specific directions but it could push your business to long-term success and loyalty with their clients. 

 

Establishing success is also at your reach. If you’d like to know about a more personalized approach to your law firm’s marketing, reach out to us! We’d be happy to help.  

 

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How Prospects Convert to Clients by Implementing “The Messy Middle”

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Easy come, easy go.” This is applicable in today’s online world. Potential clients are deciding if your law firm is worth their money within minutes…if not, seconds!. 

 

If you don’t catch your potential client’s eye within moments, you’re out of the game. With the fierce competition within the legal industry, you’ve really got to shine when it counts. And here’s the kicker: recent events may have exacerbated this sense of competition even more! The UNCTAD shows that COVID-19 has accelerated consumer’s online research habits when purchasing a service/product. 

 

What this means for you: More online prospects = more online competitors = an increased need to stand out from the crowd and get your prospects to tune into your broadcast and not your competitors’.

 

“OK, that makes sense. But how do I persuade my prospects to choose me?”

 

Learn how to speak your clients’ language so they pick you along their purchase journey. “What’s that about the purchase journey?”, you may ask. Here’s a quick summary: 

 

“A buyer’s path to purchase” as Hubspot notes. What’s in it for you?

1. It will help you understand your current clients’ behavior.
2. It will help you understand the thin line between winning and losing potential new clients.

We have compiled Google’s Consumer Insights Research into a short article. Read on to find out how to use the ”messy middle” to your firm’s advantage. 

 

A Powerful Tool to Fight Off Competitors

Before today’s online era, consumers would compare prices and go for their best financial option. But now? 

 

Nowadays, consumers compare everything. This means that acquiring a new client is great but it is simply not enough. There are other factors such as: retention, fighting off competitors, and external distractions online. 

 

Although this may sound overwhelming, worry not. There is a solution. 

 

Thanks to research, there is an updated customer journey. This updated chart can be a powerful tool to stay ahead and differentiate yourself amongst your competitors.

Google and The Behavioural Architects, a Market Research Company, developed the new consumer journey as follows: 

The overall purpose of this model is to decode how consumers decide what to buy. In other words, what makes a consumer go from online “Triggers” to actually “Purchasing”.

The Breaking Point: Winning vs Losing Customers

 

To summarize, the “Messy Middle” within the Exploration and Evaluation space is the equivalent of the breaking point. This is where you can either win or lose clients.

 

Whatever a person is doing online falls under one of the following mental modes:     

1. Exploration mode: A customer’s expansive activity online 
2. Evaluation mode: A customer’s reductive activity online

 

In the middle, the consumer goes back and forth between exploration and evaluation and repeats the cycle until they make a purchase decision.

 

This is where it gets interesting. This is the middle ground where law firms can shift a potential client to an actual client calling in and converting it into a case. 

 

“How do I persuade clients to choose me?”

 

Potential clients want to quickly get to what really matters to them. They are avid shortcut seekers if you will. 

 

According to the research conducted by Google, here are the 6 effective biases that influence a client’s purchase decisions:

 

1. Category Heuristics: Short descriptions of the product/service.
2. Power of Now: We are wired to live in the present. This is why clients want solutions now and not later. 
3. Social Proof: WOM (Word of Mouth) and Reviews are powerful tools for others to follow through. As humans, we have the tendency to copy what others are doing. This is also applicable to your law firm’s online presence. 
4. Scarcity Bias: Limited offers are desired.
5. Authority Bias: When humans are unsure, they tend to follow a leader or someone with a voice and authority.
6. Power of Free: Who doesn’t love free? Never underestimate the power of zero. 

The 6 biases to influence your clients may come as no surprise to some of you. This is because all 6 biases are deeply ingrained within human psychology. According to Healthline, these biases have always been a part of our brain decluttering information, and they are still relevant in the online decision-making process (as well as other decision-making processes!). 

 

The Power of Online Social Proof 

According to Crobox, a retail product intelligence company, social proof is the most powerful bias. This can be difficult to attain, because it relies on clients that have already used your law firm’s services and are willing to express their satisfaction with your services online. (This makes it all the more satisfying when they do and you get a new client from it, though!)   

 

Why’s that? 

 

Well, once you acquire a client you can ask them to review your law firm’s services and share their post-hiring experience. This will help your law firm in 2 ways: 

• Externally: Future client’s reassurance of your law firm’s quality.
• Internally: Evoke claims with reassurance. For example:  “The Best in ____ ”, “Proven success with ____”, “Professionals in the areas of ____”  etc.

 

“How am I able to compete and succeed within the online market?”

 

Supercharge your law firm with a mix of the 6 biases. 

 

The good news about this updated consumer journey is that, whether you are a small/medium/large scale law firm, you can apply this to your business model! 

 

For established law firms: Be aware that “the messy middle” means you cannot stay fixated on the constants of your marketing strategy.  In fact, you will need to keep an open mind within your digital marketing plan and adjust accordingly. 

 

For growing law firms: “The messy middle” means there is room for opportunity. Make sure to use this to your advantage.

 

According to the published study by The Behavioural Architects, for any established or growing company to succeed keep the following in mind: 

1. Ensure your law firm’s online presence.
2. Apply behavioral science (such as the 6 effective biases previously mentioned).
3. Close the gap between “trigger” and “purchase”.

 

Download the full free report by the Bearchitects here

 

In Chaos, There is Opportunity! 

In conclusion, today’s legal firm industry faces fierce competition. But, no matter where you are within your firm’s establishment, retaining and acquiring customers is possible.

 

By supercharging the digital marketing aspects of the customer journey within your law firm you can differentiate your law from “fine” to “first-class”. This is not only appreciated but it is vital for your firms’ survival. 

 

Feel like you might need some additional help figuring things out and identifying where your “messy middle” is?

 Contact us today and we will happily discuss strategies to help your law firm flourish.

 

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5 Must Have Marketing Metrics for your Law Firm

Let’s jump into the hard facts, here. 

60% of law firms don’t measure their marketing ROI. This number is astounding, considering the livelihood and efficiency of their marketing strategies rely on how much return they generate! If your marketing isn’t getting you any new business, there’s no sense in continuing on the same route, right?  

It’s a big data world and every metric is a piece of the puzzle. When put together, these metrics paint a true picture of where you stand-from your finances, to social media following and what your clients think of you. 

We’ll share ten must-have metrics for your law firm to help you make some more sense of your marketing efforts and where they’re headed.    

1. Return on Marketing Investment

Launching your digital marketing campaign is just the beginning of your marketing journey! In order to see it thrive, assessments to its performance, especially its return on investment, is paramount.

This will help you decide whether you want to keep your campaign running as it is or not, by pointing out what’s working and what might need some toggling.

For instance, if you spend $15,000 on your digital marketing campaign and gain $18,000 out of it, your return on investment is 20%. On the other hand, if you see that you are generating less money than what you invested, you’re dealing with a negative ROI. Here are useful ways to help you track your ROI.

• CRM Forms. A typical CRM comes with customizable forms. These forms can also make use of and store the info from the URLs such as the lead source to see what your prospects are doing with your links.
• Tracking URLs. Tracking URLs are normal URLs with parameters attached to them. These parameters act as tracking codes that specify the campaign, term, medium used, the content, and the source.  Tracking URLs also share the info with your tracking system.
• Phone Tracking. Phone tracking primarily uses phone numbers to generate and track info. Avvo Ignite, for example, allows users to set up all tracking numbers and provides a dynamic call-tracking system. This works through a code that can be incorporated into your website, online advertising, and other marketing avenues.
• CRM Software. CRM systems are jam-packed with monitoring features that keep track of a slew of online customer interactions-channels, emails, phone calls, and so on. 

2. Landing New Clients

Landing new clients is always an indication that your marketing efforts are working. If you’ve had significant traffic growth but are still unable to land new clients, you’ll want to revise your marketing strategy.

Return Visits

You have 15 seconds to catch a user’s attention. If you’re getting return visitors that’s a good sign, but there’s more to it. This metric categorizes your repeat visits as follows:  2-3, 4-9, and over 10 visits. It also shows the browsing rate and time spent on your site. 

The percent MoM (month over month) columns indicate the comparative periods, which enable you to see how they are trending over time. You can use this metric to reverse engineer traffic dynamics to find out how content marketing affects viewer behavior.

3. SEO Metrics

SEO helps you get found, and with the right strategy, it will also build up your online reputation and get you new business. To make sure your SEO tactics are falling inline nicely, make sure you keep tabs on the following metrics:

• Organic SEO. 53% of all trackable website traffic comes from an organic search. It’s growth indicates that you’ve achieved your key SEO goal – increasing site viewers and visitors.
• Search Ranking. The higher your rankings on Google, the better for you. Your rankings directly affect leads, traffic, and conversions. You can use different tools to track how your rankings for the relevant keywords change.
• Search Visibility. This indicates how often you appear in search results. Google search console can help you track just how visible or invisible your sites are.
• Links. It is tempting to think that the more links you win, the better, but we heed caution here. Quality goes over quantity here, as low-quality links do not help your site’s authority. In fact, they damage its rankings. To be sure you have only quality links, track their quality score with online tools like Serpstat’s Backlink Analysis Tool, Ahref, and Majestic.

4. Leads

Successful lead generation is meant to result in several conversions. What conversions are, depends on your specific marketing needs! They could be form submissions, phone calls to your firm or simply a PDF download on your site! Ultimately, however, these conversions should lead to clients. 

Make sure you are tracking conversions on your site properly, and if possible, try to follow your lead’s journey to see whether they do end up turning into a paying client or not. With time, you will start to see trends and correlations, based upon which you will be able to refine your marketing strategies. 

5. Content Sharing

It’s difficult to quantify social interactions, but we all know just how important they are. Shared content increases your visibility. A shared tweet, post, or video is one step closer to building brand ambassadors!

Get Smarter Marketing for your Law Firm

Are you getting less than you deserve for your marketing needs? At Consult Webs, we help your law firm with tech-driven, effective and measurable marketing. Contact us today to start this journey.

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