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Tech Tips for Attorneys CLE
Law Firm Tips for Social Media and Website Design
Wednesday April 2, 2014 An Andrew Cabasso and JurisPage Joint
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Social Media
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Why Engage in Social Media?
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Why Engage in Social Media?
1) SEO: Google’s search algorithm cares about social media sharing
2) Go where potential clients are (advertising / solicitation issues)
3) Engage other professionals / get referrals
Either use it or don’t – don’t half-use it
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How Time-Consuming is Law Firm Social Media?
• Post Automation
–Hootsuite
• Social Engagement
–Can’t automate
• Progress Review
–Can’t automate
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Which Social Networks?
• Google+
• Quora
• Esqspot
Focus on 1 or 2
• Meetup
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Google+
• Highest SEO ROI
• G+ gets “authorship” for blog posts
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Google+ Authorship
https://plus.google.com/authorship
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Here’s your online resume
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Have a Company page that your current employees can join, a personal profile so that clients can give testimonials
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Testimonials act as “social proof” / make prospective clients more confident in your abilities
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Endorsements on your skills also boost credibility
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• Link to blog posts
• Discuss events in your practice area that don’t warrant a blog post
• Engage at conferences (e.g. “#reinventlaw”)
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• Find new, relevant content
• Engage in discussions with other attorneys
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Quora
A Q&A website – use it to answer relevant questions in your practice area and build authority
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Esqspot
In-person networking / online community
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Hootsuite
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Hootsuite
• Saves time, posts to every social network simultaneously
• Schedules posts
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Websites
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Things You Need to Have a Website
1. Domain: yourfirm.com
2. Hosting: to make your site accessible
3. Website: preferably using a CMS like Wordpress
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What’s a Website For Anyway?
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What’s a Website For Anyway?
• Getting new leads
• Convincing current leads to become clients
• Establishing authority in your niche among other attorneys
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What it Should Have
1. Clear indication of the type of law you practice
2. Contact: Forms and Phone Number
3. Attorney Bios
4. Practice area pages for each type of case
5. Social Proof: Testimonials/Verdicts/Settlements
6. Professional design / layout
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Make it Mobile-Friendly
?% web traffic from mobile
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Make it Mobile-Friendly
40%% web traffic from mobile
Google’s algorithm penalizes non-mobile sites
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Mobile-Friendly Example
Not Mobile-Friendly Mobile-Friendly
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Websites – Mobile Sites
http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/08/making-sure-your-website-is-ready-for-smartphones/
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Getting it Built: DIY
Wordpress, Wix, Godaddy
Pros
• Cheap• You’ll know how to update your
content
Cons
• Steep learning curve• Hard to design• Have to worry about ethics rules• Bad SEO
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Getting it Built: Professional
Use a Legal-Focused Developer
Ask Them: Be Careful:
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Getting it Built: Professional
Use a Legal-Focused Developer
Ask Them:
• Will it be mobile-friendly?• Will I be able to update it myself?
• If not, will you update it?• What CMS will you use?
• Use Wordpress if possible• Will it be SEO-ready?
• Sitemap, Meta Tags, Content• How fast will it load
• Under 3 seconds is best• Can I see an example of your
work?
Be Careful:
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Getting it Built: Professional
Use a Legal-Focused Developer
Ask Them:
• Will it be mobile-friendly?• Will I be able to update it myself?
• If not, will you update it?• What CMS will you use?
• Use Wordpress if possible• Will it be SEO-ready?
• Sitemap, Meta Tags, Content• How fast will it load
• Under 3 seconds is best• Can I see an example of your
work?
Be Careful:
• Don’t use other peoples’ content• Templates can be boring• Make sure your site isn’t available
through both www.yoursite.comand yoursite.com
• Make sure they’re accessible
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Building a Second Website
• Useful for class actions
• Geared towards a specific client type
• Plaintiff / defendant sites
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Google AnalyticsTools
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Google AnalyticsTools
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Google Analytics
• Track social engagement
• See which content is shared the most
• How is your social campaign paying off?
– Goal setting
Tools
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Google Webmaster ToolsTools
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Thank YouAndrew Cabasso
Phone: (800) 863-7603
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @andycabasso
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/pub/andrew-cabasso/a/770/614
Blog: jurispage.com/blog
Slides available at slideshare.com/jurispage
Free SEO for Lawyers eBook available at jurispage.com/ebook