Q: I have been practicing law (solo practice, mostly estates and
related matters) since 1983, but lately less of it than I would
like. So I decided to take a seminar on marketing a legal practice,
which I've not had to do in a significant way before. I was
prepared to set up whatever kind of website is reasonably
affordable (and I am fairly computer literate), but by the time I
heard about the necessity to use Twitter, Google Plus, Facebook,
blogging, search engine optimization and more, my head was
spinning. Since then, I've done nothing to market my practice,
since it seems too overwhelming at this point to "learn new
tricks." How do people find time to actually serve their clients,
and when did professional life acquire the necessity to be a tech
wiz?
A: We agree that the kinds of input you would get from a seminar,
conference, article, etc. about modern marketing can feel as alien
and incomprehensible as some of the current crop of musical
performers, and one's impulse is to switch to another channel.
Whether one's life is actually enriched by Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, etc., and whether these activities are worth one's time
as a person, is certainly debatable (assuming you can get someone
to look up from their smartphone to debate).
But lawyers, unless someone else is generating business for them,
can no longer ignore the need for marketing. Think back, too, to
the early/mid-1990s, when even email seemed new-fangled and
confusing, and you felt helpless when your PC kept crashing with
"fatal errors." Gradually, you probably adapted and became familiar
with at least some aspects of new technology that previously seemed
unnecessary. So, here are some suggestions, for those of us who are
old enough to have mastered cursive writing:
- The older marketing strategies still work - you can call or
send letters to people who have been referred to you in the past,
or who might be interested if they knew of your services (as long
as you make sure whatever you do is consistent with the Mass. Rules
of Professional Conduct on Advertising and Solicitation.) This
includes your peers whose practices do not specialize in the
population you address. (In this regard, defining your niche is
helpful, and that requires no technological proficiency.) Another
non-technological approach is in-person networking and placing ads,
e.g., in a local newspaper.
- When it comes to marketing your practice technologically,
starting small and going slowly is better than burying your head in
the sand. Although a simple, inexpensive website cannot compete
with a sophisticated one that has synergistic connections to blogs,
Facebook, etc., it is much better than having no internet presence
at all, and it is a way for you to "get your feet wet." And, if you
like to write, blogging, may be relatively painless - it is
basically a way to write a short column (fact or opinion, but with
an emphasis on exhibiting your particular expertise), or something
like a letter to the editor, on a recurrent basis. The initial
set-up of either of these, if you are not sufficiently tech-ish,
can be done by most people under 30 pretty much in their sleep. For
examples of content, look at what other lawyers with similar
practices have done.
- Instead, you could start with a personal Facebook page or
simple LinkedIn profile, to develop a feel for those worlds, or you
could start reading other people's tweets on Twitter, before you
think about contributing your own. There are many more media and
ways to coordinate media, but you can postpone all that until you
master some basics, one at a time.
- Of course, another approach that would get you up and running
much more quickly is to hire a professional firm to develop a
website and blog and assist with social media strategy and
implementation. This will cost real money, but perhaps less than
one good case per year.
The main point is to go at your own pace. For help with
marketing/technology, our associated service the Law Office
Management Assistance Program can be helpful (providing not only
group offerings and extensive information via their website, MassLOMAP.org, but
individualized consultations as well). For help with the anxiety
and avoidance triggered by all of this, contact us at LCL.
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and disguised concerns expressed by individuals seeking assistance
from Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers. Questions for LCL may be mailed
to LCL, 31 Milk St., Suite 810, Boston, MA 02109 or called in to (617) 482- 9600. LCL's licensed
clinicians will respond in confidence. Visit LCL online at www.lclma.org.