Andrew Stickel

Even with the major changes in the media and especially the way news is delivered these days, there remains one form of media that is still appreciated: the local news. Here’s how you can score a segment on your city’s local news.

Building Your Brand Locally

Every community has them: local celebrities and experts on anything from local environmental events to fine dining to even HVAC maintenance.

These are the people whose expertise has not only built a brand, but it has made them the go-to for friends and neighbors who need help with all things related to that expert’s specific field.

If you’ve ever wondered how you can leverage that marketing opportunity while also doing something great for your community and neighbors, here’s an idea for you.

Take advantage of the local network affiliate’s “Submit a tip.”There’s typically a phone number you can call. Ask who to contact in order to submit a story idea.

There’s a good chance you’re already speaking with someone in the newsroom, and that means they will likely ask about your story. They may want you to email it as well.

First things first: you want to be sure there’s a value in your topic and your timing. For example, if you’re a tax attorney, the first of the year is when you need to consider a story pitch. Timing is everything.

It’s A Pitch: Make It Count

Remember that it’s a pitch, which means you’re going to need to offer something from a community value perspective.

If it’s tax season, there may be changes in tax laws that affect small business owners or head of household claims. Bring value to the table.

Just like a pitch to a book publisher, don’t submit to just one news station. Take advantage of the submission opportunities of all of your local news stations. Remember your audience is local.

Unless you’re in New York or Los Angeles, talking about corporate taxes might not be the best avenue to pursue.

Keep in mind that even if there aren’t big changes in federal tax laws, your state might have just revised its estate tax exemptions or changed the way Medicaid qualification is determined. All opportunities for you to take advantage of.

Have Fun And Share Your Knowledge

Remember to have fun and make the most of these few minutes. A good impression is the first best thing you can provide viewers. That’s accomplished via a confident, fact-based interview that invites people to reach out.

Your website is an important element in building both your reputation and brand. You rely on it in the same manner you would any other investment made to promote your firm.

You’ve done everything you’ve been told is necessary to really put your legal marketing into overdrive, but there’s one thing that you might have missed with your digital marketing efforts.

It takes just a few minutes and can significantly improve the way Google ranks your website.

Google Algorithms And Digital Marketing

Google’s algorithms are the driving force in how internet search engine returns are delivered to users. This area of digital media marketing can be overwhelming, partly because the rules and algorithms change often.

Understanding the algorithms and then leveraging them to your organization’s advantage can make a big difference in how your website ranks on search engines. The Google Panda algorithm brought with it important changes in how duplicate content is viewed.

While this applies to plagiarized content, it also applies to content that’s found on your site or blog in more than one place. If duplicate content is found, your site could be penalized.

Lower rankings could affect whether potential clients even find you. If your website isn’t visited as often, your bottom line suffers.

Aggregating Content

Many sites aggregate the content for the sake of convenience. This can help a potential client, especially if he or she’s looking for something specific.

If they’re looking for a blog they read awhile back about DUI laws, they might use your search bar on your site to find it. The returns might show that this post is tagged with different words, such as the year it was published, “DUI laws” or other keywords.

They can then click on the returns from the search, and it will take them to the page they’ve found. It’s convenient, but it can also mean the ranking takes a hit on Google.

Because the content is aggregated with identical text, odds are, it’s also indexed on Google as duplicate content, and therefore, your site is penalized, due to the Panda algorithm.

Avoiding Duplicate Content

There’s a quick and easy way to fix this without compromising the convenience factor for your site’s visitors or the ever-important Google ranking.

There are several websites that will conduct a duplicate content check for your website. It’s fast, and the information you gain from this tool can greatly improve your digital marketing efforts.

One of the better sites we have found to accomplish this is siteliner.com. Type your site address, and you’ll see instantly the percentage of duplicated content and where it is on your website. It checks your tags, author pages, blog entries and any other content you have.

If you find duplicated content, check to see if it’s cataloged within Google. To do this, simply put a “site:” in front of the specific links siteliner.com returns:

site:http://water.com (Note that there is no space added after the colon.)

If the pages are returned in your search, it’s been cataloged, and your site might not be ranking as high as it should.

The fix is simply having your IT people add a “no index” command. Problem solved. There are other ways to make the most of your SEO efforts. To learn more, contact us today.

I posted a poll in my Facebook group a few days ago. In my group, I consistently offer free advice and training for my followers to help them achieve their marketing goals.

When I posted the poll, I had a good idea which option of the two would get the best response. When the results came in, they revealed that I had been right. The first option received more votes than the second.

The poll asked my followers what type of free training they would be interested in from me. I gave the respondents two options to pick from. I carefully selected the phrasing of these options for a reason.

The first option gave my followers the choice to learn about my three-step method for gaining new law clients or retainers. The second option gave them the choice to learn about Facebook advertising for law offices.

As you can see, both of these free training options are relevant to my audience of lawyers. They offer attorneys free marketing tips. However, the first option emphasizes the results. The second one emphasizes the plan or process.

It was no surprise that the majority of people that took my survey were interested in results, not the process. About seventy percent of those that answered went with the first choice! That’s not a small number. But why did they pick it?

Your Clients Want Results!

The majority of the people that answered my survey went with the results-based answer because of one reason. No matter what the offer is, people want to know what’s in it for them. Their primary concern is how something will benefit them. The process is secondary.

Attorneys should keep this principle in mind when promoting their offer or writing their web content. Your clients need to know how you can benefit their lives. Lead your content with the benefits, not the process.

As an example, a personal injury law firm might lead their offer this way:

“Get the settlement amount you deserve for your injury!”

This focuses on the result, not the process. If the same business focused on the process they could lead their offer this way:

“We guide our clients through the process of filing their personal injury claim.”

If you had just been involved in an accident, which one would you choose? I’m confident it’s the first one. The first one tells you what the attorney will do for you, not how they will do it.

Use This Trick For Your Law Firm

Take my word for it. I’ve helped many law firms with effective marketing. The highest converting messages tell the client exactly how you’ll benefit them. Your offer needs to be about the client, not you.

Your law firm needs a social media strategy if you want to get clients! You don’t just need a strategy. You need one that works!

My proven social media strategy has helped me gain a following and get new clients. This is the best social media strategy I’ve ever seen! I’m going to tell you how you can make it work for your law office.

How To Get An Audience For Your Law Firm

The first thing you need to do in order to make this strategy work is getting a mailing list. This is easy with my proven process.

I create a single piece of content that my ideal audience would want. A checklist works great for this strategy.

For example, I could create a checklist that attorneys need to have to find clients on Facebook.

Next, create a simple Facebook ad that links to a landing page. This landing page should give the option to enter an email address to download the content.

When the person clicks on the link to download the content, they should be taken to a page that tells them their next step. This next step is to join your Facebook group!

If you have a Facebook pixel set up, then it doesn’t matter if they don’t join your group right away. If you lose your audience at any step of the way, the pixel will send targeted ads to them later to encourage them to join.

Push Your Content Through Multiple Channels The Easy Way

Once you have your audience, it’s just a matter of publishing fresh content. Each day, you should create a new piece of content. In my case, I like to record videos of actionable marketing tips for my audience.

When I have the daily video created, I send it over to my content team, and they do all the work. This means I only spend about five minutes each day creating videos and the content gets promoted by my team.

They push it out on all of our social media channels. We use Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, and LinkedIn. We also create a blog post written for SEO from the video.

All of the people on my mailing list or Facebook group from the first step of this strategy will see the daily content.

With one piece of content, we’re able to optimize all of our channels! This is a powerful social media strategy that can work for your business, too.

Make Your Firm Visible On Social Media

Are you ready to turn your law firm’s social media presence into a powerful machine that can help you get clients? Then contact me and let’s discuss a custom strategy for your firm.