Once you have a clear idea of what you want from your marketing plan (see our previous article “Shoestring Marketing”), you need to start focusing on the best way to get the desired results. What services do you choose? Which will work best for your firm? Will it be a lot of work and how much will it cost? Each of these aspects depends on your firm’s resources and what you are trying to convey to your target market. The tips below cover some of the more common marketing tools used by firms, and what kind of firm would use them successfully.
Client e-Newsletters
We’ve said it before in this series, and you’re probably going to hear it again - client e-newsletters have been at the core of every large firm’s marketing plans for decades because they work. If you do your research online, you’ll find that email-based marketing is rated one of the best forms of Digital Marketing available, with a consistently high ROI. A well written newsletter sent out at the correct intervals boosts your firm’s image with your target market, and gives you a loyal following of grateful readers.
Law firms of any size can produce newsletters, as a variety of services exist to cater for your needs (LawDotNews for example). In a future article “Marketing Made Easy” we’ll show you how to use your client newsletter as your most powerful marketing tool.
GhostMarketer
We’ve spoken previously about the free marketing platform GhostMarketer, which is included with GhostConvey. GhostMarketer is brilliant for segmenting your contacts in GhostConvey and sending them very targeted emails. Outside of the standard personalised birthday emails or Christmas wishes, you can use this tool very strategically. Do you want to be reminded which key estate agents have birthdays this week? Maybe it’s a good opportunity to call them and speak to them personally.
Showcase your branding by using GhostMarketer to personalise your GhostConvey transactional alerts, and keep that spaced repetition going. If you’re using GhostConvey, you should be using GhostMarketer as well.
Email Branding
Email Branding allows you to turn your firm’s everyday emails into powerful marketing opportunities. Not sure what Email Branding is? Take a look at our previous GhostDigest article Branded Emails. Whilst Email Branding is great, some smaller firms may struggle with the costs, as normally you pay a monthly fee per email address that uses the branding. A budget workaround for this, which unfortunately excludes the benefit of marketing banners but will certainly make the most of your branding, is to ensure that your Outlook signatures are set up in a professional manner, such that your branding and contact details are both visually appealing and easy to find.
Be sure that a design professional looks over the look and feel of your emails – far too often this crucial aspect of your daily communications and corporate image is overlooked.
Social Media
(Fun Fact – LawDotNews was founded two years before Facebook even began!)
Social Media has become one of the hottest buzzwords in marketing and we are constantly getting enquires about how law firms should be using this tool. Something to bear in mind is that although signing up for a Social Media presence is free, the time and effort that you put into it is not.
We normally advise that every firm should be on LinkedIn for professional networking and often it is one of the first search results when users search for individuals at your firm. Google+ is often overlooked due to its small user community, but it has some really impressive Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) features that make a basic presence there really worthwhile. Facebook is a little trickier and its effectiveness will depend on your firm’s needs and available resources. Facebook is great for engaging users and getting people to comment and like events or firm news, but it requires a dedicated person to keep it active and constantly provide new content.
Be sure that the Social Media you’re on is right for your firm. All too often firms start a presence on a platform that doesn’t suit them or their target market. A great example of this is Twitter which has a particularly young demographic and requires someone dedicated in your firm to use. Although great for talking to and targeting certain demographics, if you fail to engage regularly with such a platform you could be setting up a “ghost account” which can negatively impact your firm’s image.
Integration of Channels
Integrating all of these channels is another great way to boost engagement. Be sure to have Social Media links on all of your emails and newsletters, have a newsletter sign-up button wherever you can and be sure to keep your branding and corporate image the same across all of these mediums.
In our next article “GhostMarketer – Getting started” we’ll look at an overview of what conveyancers need to know to get moving on this free and powerful marketing tool.
More articles in the GhostMarketer series by LawDotNews -
Article 1: Are you using GhostMarketer yet?
Article 2: Six reasons to market your firm
Article 3: Shoestring Marketing
Article 5: GhostMarketer - Getting started
Article 6: Client newsletters
Article 7: Branding: The basics
Article 8: Marketing mistakes
Article 9: The proof of the pudding
Contact us on 086 110 5904 (or email info@dotnews.co.za) for more on your free set up on the GhostMarketer platform and other LawDotNews services.
Paddy Crook, Digital Marketing Manager at DotNews, completed his BSc at Rhodes University and has specialised in email marketing, social media, ppc, ad-serving and other online marketing mediums. This has given him a broad knowledge of the channels and techniques used within the digital space and how best to apply them to professional practices for maximum results at minimum cost.
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