Using Facebook to Market Your Law Firm

Attorney Marketing on Facebook

I am generally not a big fan of using Facebook to market your practice. The main reason for this is that you need to diligently monitor your Facebook account for scams or anything that may harm your firm's reputation - like your aunt who insists on selling Amway on your wall. Most attorneys simply don't have the time to monitor a separate firm Facebook account. This is a problem, particularly when you consider that even the most savvy Facebook users can fall victim to scams. The founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg was tricked into joing a NAMBLA fan group just last year.

But if you are diligent, Facebook can be an effective 2nd home page for your business. For me the best use of Facebook is to build up an audience for your BLOG content. For example Board Certified Dallas Family Attorney, Lisa McKnight, has a very active and effective Facebook page, where posts from her BLOG automatically post to her firm's Facebook page.

If you are just starting a Facebook page for your firm, be sure to pick a good name. Just like picking a website URL, having a keyword rich Facebook URL is helpful. Arizona Bankruptcy Lawyer, Joseph McDaniel has a great one: http://www.facebook.com/bankruptcy.arizona. The bankruptcy focused Facebook page is one of the best and most effective attorney Facebook pages I have ever seen.

Once you have established your facebook fan page, the next step is to optimize it. I use the word "optimize" loosely here because the chance of a Facebook page coming up in a competitive legal search in Google is very remote - ecspecially now that Facebook has signed an agreement with Bing. But if you have the time, you should maximize the content and keywords in your "info" and "about" tab. The website InsideFacebook.com contains a number of helpful Facebook SEO strategies that you can also employ to boost your Facebook Fan Page.

One thing I would avoid is Facebook Paid Advertising - Facebook's version of PPC. The idea is seductive - a person on Facebook complaining about his recent DUI arrest will see your ad pop up on the right hand side and click on you. I have had numerous clients try this method of advertising with little to no success. Until I see differently, I am convinced that people on Facebook are there to connect with friends and waste time on things like Farmville, not shop for legal services. The relatively low cost of these ads is no defense. Remember, cheap advertising is only a good deal if it works.

Organic SEO Vs PPC for Attorneys

PPC vs. SEO

Recently I wrote an article talking about pay-per-click (PPC) as an adjunct to attorneys marketing efforts. While it can be beneficial in certain cases, it is by no means the first priority when it comes to online marketing in the legal space. Over the long term, organic optimization is superior and will give your law firm a much higher ROI.

I ran across this graph on www.seomoz.org. The graph does a great job illustrating the opportunity in the organic space , relative to what companies are spending on PPC advertising. Even though PPC only accounts for 12% of clicks, US businesses directed 10x more money towards PPC than organic web optimization.

You can see this disconnect play out every day in Arizona, as big advertisers in areas like criminal law and DUI spend close to 20k a month in PPC - chasing a narrow range of keywords. How many of those clicks are from salespeople like me? competitors? a phone bank in Bangladesh? The numbers are particularly galling when you realize a robust organic web presence can be achieved for a fraction of that spend.

Freestanding Office for Rent in Phoenix

Freestanding Office Building For Lease

If interested call:

Morris Kaplan of www.mkaplanandassociates.com

or

Scott Fey
Principal
Omni-American LLC
15601 N. 40th St
Suite 130
Phoenix,. AZ 85032
office 602-956-6060 ext. 102
cell 480-216-1140

"Attorney at Law" - March Issue Released

Attorney at Law Magazine

The March Issue of "Attorney at Law" magazine just hit news stands. This week's cover story features the President of Basketball Operations of the Phoenix Suns- Lon Babby. If you haven't read the cover story yet, its worth a read. The article covers his career from prominent Washington DC lawyer (he successfully defended John Hinkley), to sports super agent, to his current role with the Phoenix Suns.

As always, I provided an article on Lawyer Marketing. This month I talked about the possible usage of pay per click (PPC) advertising. You can access my article and the entire magazine here.

My back page advertisement this week features a screenshot of Steve Leshner's successful website and a very gracious testimonial:

"I'm very pleased with my Findlaw website. Alex Morris and the Findlaw staff listened to me about my vision for my practice, and crafted a website that allows me to communicate directly with my potential clients. With the volume of potential clients that contact me through my website, I have been able to consistently maintain a caseload containing the type and variety of cases and clients that interest me, and as a result, I am enjoying the best years of my professional life. Thanks, Alex."

*Steve is a successful personal injury lawyer in Phoenix.

Phoenix Law Clerk to Sing in China

Opera Singing Law Clerk

Robert Erlichman has been selected to headline an opera company's tour of 50 Chinese cites this coming summer. Robert attended the prestigous Juilliard School and recently headlined a production with the Maine Opera Company. You can hear and see Robert perform here.

Robert is currently a law clerk at his father's personal injury law firm in Phoenix. Erlichman Law Offices handles personal injury matters with a special emphasis on bicycle accidents and dog bite injuries.

Did You Know??? As a teenager, Robert defeated eventual American Idol champ Jordin Sparks in a singing competition.

Phoenix Social Security Lawyers - Wilmer & Testini PLC

Phoenix SSD Attorneys

Congrats to the law firm of Wilmer & Testini on the release of their new social security and disability focused website:

http://www.wmtlegal.com/

Wilmer & Testini help workers recieve their disability benefits in both social security and workers compensation matters in Arizona.