For all the value that numerous digital advertising efforts can bring, there is probably no greater platform for connecting with potential and existing clients than their inboxes. Database marketing is extremely effective, but there can be challenges about how to use it, when to use it, and to whom you should send it.

Emails foster top-of-mind awareness, which is among law firms’ most powerful marketing assets. After all, you aren’t at the scene of an accident or injury, but you can help to ensure that when the need arises, your firm is the first that springs to mind. Invite people to call you when they need your expertise and help. Database marketing is all about establishing a relationship with those who have contacted you, and nurturing and building those relationships. Why did they call you? What made your firm stand out from your competitors?

Thought leadership builds trust with your audience–creating a valuable relationship keeps your brand top-of-mind and gives you an advantage over your competition. Becoming a leading voice in your market can also lead to beneficial referral sources and as a result more quality cases.

You’ve heard that content is king, and as cliché as that might be, it’s certainly true of your clients’ inboxes. No one wants to open an email that isn’t worth reading. Like most other digital marketing efforts, database marketing for law firms should be thoughtful and strategic. But there are a few general rules of thumb: make it engaging, valuable to the reader and interesting. Targeted, engaging emails with information that benefits the reader can build valuable relationships.

As with all our efforts, our focus is on increasing your share of voice & market share. That means monitoring open rates, click-through rates, conversions, and much more. If something isn’t working as well as it should be, we make intuitive changes. In the right hands, email communications absolutely can be effective. Your goal is to be chosen should the need arise for your service, right? Value the power of ongoing connection with your database. It works!

If you’d like to know more about our database marketing strategy, we’d love to hear from you. Call us today at 888-461-1016, or let us know you’re interested online, and we’ll get in touch with you.

Too often, when we think of social media, we still think of teens taking selfies or posting funny pet videos. But that isn’t the case at all. Building a robust and informative online presence can absolutely elevate your brand in your market. However, having a large social media following isn’t enough – you also need an engaged community. What does that mean? It means that your audience is reacting to your posts by liking, commenting, or sharing those posts. They’re thinking about you, they’re learning about you, and most importantly… they’re talking about you. Your online content and actions are laying a foundation of trust; an investment in your firm that can’t be matched by any amount of money.

Professionals in the legal industry need to be in the loop of the latest legal marketing trends to optimize their advertising efforts and gain new clients. In a survey by HubSpot – which reached out to 1,283 social media marketers from around the globe – 90% of respondents say building an active online community is critical to success in 2023.

For example: Nine out of ten consumers read ratings, comments, and reviews (also called engagements) before deciding to contact and do business with a company. What’s being said about you and your firm online is enlightening on two fronts. Not only do these talking points teach your audience something about your firm (Does this law firm really care about me? Do they win? Do they have a good reputation? Do people recommend them?), but they can also teach your firm about your audience (Are there areas we can improve? Are there problems we aren’t aware of? How’s our reputation? Are people recommending us?).

Bloomberg Law recently spearheaded a study which shows that hosting events and community involvement are still an effective way to create new business.

Community engagement can maximize your efforts in getting your community to know you, trust you and like you. As part of your efforts to keep your law firm relevant, make sure that your marketing strategy includes in-person events. Find authentic ways to engage in what really matters to your community, such as sponsoring and supporting charity events and organizations, or perhaps start holding your own local events such as bike helmet giveaways or school supply drives. But be real about it. By investing in a variety of marketing strategies, including social media & outreach, your audience will be watching you. Let them know who you are and what your firm stands for, so that someday, when they DO need a lawyer, they already feel like they know and trust you. Remember… Communication = Community, and your community is your future.

As with any business, it is critical to the growth and success of your law firm that you spend time planning for the future. But, how do you know what the future will look like for your practice? This is where understanding Hard Trends vs. Soft Trends will make a HUGE impact on the decisions you make. According to prominent futurist Daniel Burrus:

A Hard Trend is a future certainty (90%+) … A “WILL happen”. For example, auto accidents will continue to happen.

A Soft Trend is a future probability (10%-89%) … A “MAY or MIGHT” happen. For example, an increase in the use of autonomous cars may mean that you’ll need to up your product liability practices in accident cases involving a motor vehicle.

If you want your practice to remain relevant, now is the time to elevate your strategies to take the greatest advantage of whatever opportunities these trends may present. Why play catch-up when you can lead the way! That includes how you craft your marketing strategies, what creative direction you choose, how you might predict future staffing needs and areas of practice to target or focus on to positively impact your business down the road.

If you’d like to know more about how Network Affiliates can help you identify new opportunities for growth and dominance in your market, we’d love to hear from you. Give us a call at 888-461-1016 or visit us at www.Netaff.com.

When it comes to the creative process, if you let a creative team run amok without any sort of road map, you will spend a LOT of time reeling them back in. The creative process ultimately hinges on defining a clear idea of what you want to say to resonate with your audience and to whom you want to say it.

Once a direction is strategized and your creative team is given time to percolate some ideas, they will delve into deeper thinking:

• Does the concept fit the firm’s brand?
• Does the concept serve the brand?
• Can your budget support the concept?
• If not, what creative ways can you explore to solve the cost issue?
• Who are you trying to reach, and does the concept speak to your audience?
• If not, is it really the right concept?

As much as concepting and ideation is critical to the creative process, trust is also a huge issue! Your creative team (if they’re any good) will understand your business, your target audience, and your firm. As a client, are you willing to trust their expertise? On the flipside, are you prepared to share your expertise to fine tune theirs?

You are as much a part of the creative process as the creative team is. Clarity of goal, an open mind and working with a team you can trust will help get you where you want to be, every single time. If you’d like to know more about how Network Affiliates can help you elevate your brand and your creative, we’d love to hear from you. We’ve been helping law firms turn ideas into success since 1981. Give us a call at 888-461-1016 or visit us at netaff.com

In this exceptional world filled with advertising, media, mediums, channels and ever evolving targeting options, I invite you to ask yourself this question…. Am I leveraging my advertising investment to the fullest? If you invest in advertising at all for your law firm, you know along with branding your name, expertise, service and results via traditional media, nowadays there are literally numerous expanding opportunities within which to promote your brand.

The Legal Services category is one of the most competitive advertising verticals in the country. With more dollars being poured into your market every year, it’s become more challenging to not only defend and protect your market share, but to realize growth as well. So, what to do? Embrace and explore “new” media. 

One such example is Streaming Television (OTT/CTV). This is a thriving and expanding medium that complements traditional media and may expand your voice in the market by at least one third. According to Comscore’s State of Streaming report, as of 2022, 77.5 million U.S. households use ad-supported streaming services (Please read that again). In fact, more than one half of consumers (55%) use at least one free ad-supported streaming TV service for their program consumption viewing habits.

The national average of homes that receive their TV programming without access to traditional cable or satellite services (known as BBO, Broad-Band Only homes) is now above 30%. So, if you are not utilizing OTT/CTV as part of your overall media strategy, you could be missing out on reaching a significant percentage of your market. And yes, every market is different. According to Nielsen November 2022 data, the Seattle and Atlanta DMAs tie for #1 in terms of market percentage of BBO homes at 41%, and the West Palm Beach DMA has the lowest percentage of BBO homes at 20%. 

Really understanding what and how an OTT/CTV strategy can be an effective option in your marketing plan is critical in implementing a successful campaign. If you have questions (…and you should), we have answers. We enjoy exploring new opportunities and hope you do as well. Feel free to reach out via phone at 800-525-3332, and ask for Tammy Kehe, or email at tammyk@netaff.com.

In an era of “Boomerangers” and rising housing costs there are more multigenerational households than we’ve seen in decades. As a result of better healthcare and lifestyle changes, the 55+ demographic is actively holding influence over their families and their communities.

If you look at the 55-64 population today, you’re looking at 100% of Gen Xers and over 50% of Baby Boomers. They have significant decision-making power, watch more traditional linear television, and comprise the largest group of news viewers in the United States.

Does your marketing strategy embrace the 55+ audience? If not, should it? Is your brand relevant in this circle of influence and reaching the largest decision-making demographic in the country? They’re watching, they’re listening, and they’re sharing information! That could mean thousands of additional influencers in your market saying, “I saw this lawyer on TV,” “Did you call (x) law firm? They are confident and experienced and know what they’re talking about,” and even better…. “Yes! I have heard of that firm. I used them for my accident and…”

If you aren’t embracing this audience in your media strategy (and yes, creative strategies as well), you are missing out on a mind-boggling opportunity to influence the influencers, and subsequently expand your brand awareness and your market share. To learn more about how Network Affiliates can leverage our expertise with your media and creative strategy and execution (or if you just want to know what a “Boomeranger” is!) give us a call at 1-800-525-3332 (and ask for Tammy Kehe) or visit us at Netaff.com.

Google responded to the COVID-19 outbreak by sending workers home and operating with a limited support team. This temporarily removes certain Google My Business (GMB) features and delays for remaining features are expected.

According to Google, they’re prioritizing “critical health-related businesses and services” to ensure the public has access to important health and safety information amid the evolving COVID-19 situation.

Client Reviews Are Unavailable

New reviews, new review replies, Q&A, and all videos are currently unavailable. Google has given no indication of when these features will return.

While unclear, it’s believed new reviews will be saved and published after Google resumes normal operations. However, with so many reviews getting backlogged, it’s unclear how quickly they will appear.

That being said, now is NOT a good time to ask clients for new reviews. More importantly, asking for a review may not be received well during these difficult times.

Click here to explore our community communication guidelines amid COVID-19.

Log new client information in a reliable place and ask for reviews once Google has made it clear the review process is back to normal.

Business Information

Business information edits are significantly delayed. This includes changes to hours of operation, temporary closures, business descriptions, and attributes.

However, it’s critical that any changes to your operation be reflected in your GBM profile. According to Google, the best way to make these critical edits is via business attributes or posts.

The post functionality, specifically, has been called out by Google as a reliable way to get important information to your clients. Click here for instructions on how to create a post.

Google has also recommended using the COVID-19 post type, which will make the content more noticeable to clients.

Claims, Verifications, New Listings

Claims, verifications and new listings are currently delayed for all non-critical businesses.

Google’s limited support team is manually reviewing new content for health-related businesses and services—it’s unclear how Google plans to prioritize new claims, verifications, and listings for all other businesses.

Frustrated? You’re Not Alone…

If you’re having trouble updating information on GMB, you’re in good company.

Fortunately, there are other ways to get clients the information they need:

• Add operational changes to your website’s homepage. A pop-up window or top banner will help call attention to important updates.

• Share operational changes on social media and update business descriptions on these platforms to reflect changes taking place amid COVID-19.
  
• Email your client database to help spread the word. Connecting with past clients is also a great way to improve referral business.

While there are certainly challenges your business will face as Google continues to make adjustments, Network Affiliates is here to help.

Connect with our team online or call our office directly at 888-461-1016.