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Automated Intake for Law Firms

Intelligent Messaging

Technology, Marketing

And, Then: Do Each of Your Cases Have a Next Task?

Law firms are busy managing lots of cases.  And, it’s easy for a handful of them to get lost in the shuffle, to fall through the cracks.

And, that’s when attorneys get into trouble.  And, not just ethics trouble.  A missed deadline or submission is a huge problem, obviously; but, it’s also not great that your cases are just languishing.

Law firms that stagnate are caused by cases that don’t move.  And, there’s a significant penalty for that type of thing = you can’t make money on cases that don’t close.

This is why it’s hyper-important for law firms to make sure that each cases gains forward momentum.

How do you do that?

Well, it’s pretty simple: there just needs to be a next step, or a next task, on each case, at all times.

That’s one of the reasons why law firms that focus on workflows, with tasks attached to specific timekeepers, are so successful.

That process keeps thing moving.

Want to get unstuck?  Do the next thing.

Marketing, Technology

Trendsetter: Does Your Law Firm Need a TikTok Account

Well, it depends.  (How’s that for a lawyer answer?)

Now, as we’ve discussed at this blog in prior entries, it’s good to diversify your marketing – so, adding a TikTok account to whatever else it is you’re doing certainly makes sense from that perspective.  But, to do TikTok right, you really have to love the video format – and, be willing to be a bit more animated than the standard law firm talking head video requires.  Successful TikTok accounts generally feature more active subjects, and can include certain edits that standard videos don’t – like quick screen wipes and on-screen graphics.  You also have to heavily commit to a single idea, because the format works best for shorter form videos. 

That’s all doable; but, you shouldn’t do anything you feel uncomfortable with, or that you’re trying to force – because marketing rule #1 is that you are authentic.  That applies to whether you like to write enough to commit to a blog, just as much as it does to whether you want to commit to producing regular TikTok videos.

For inspiration, check out Alex Su and Cat Casey, both of whom are legaltech folks, with great TikTok profiles.

And, the good news is that, if you feel like you can get into TikTok, the return on investment is pretty good, in general, for business accounts – and, likely even better for attorneys, because there are relatively few of them (still) on the platform.

Marketing, Technology

Virtual Option: Make Sure to Followup Online After In-Person Events

Don’t look now – and, let’s try not to jinx this – but, in-person conferences are coming back in a major way.  As COVID-19 becomes endemic, lots of folks are ready to get back out – literally.

That means you’re likely to start attending again – or, to start to attend more – in-person events.  Lunches, dinners, awards shows, conferences, CLEs.  It’s all back on the proverbial table.

And, that’s great: lawyers thrive in in-person networking environments, and are excellent at developing referral relationships. 

But, that doesn’t mean that you should do exactly what you did before: which was probably to wholeheartedly ignore any web-based marketing in favor of in-person networking and events.  Now, I’m not suggesting that another pandemic is on the way – let’s hope to God it isn’t!  But, what the pandemic revealed to many law firms is that: in-person networking can also be done (more widely) online, and that web-based marketing is important for client generation, too.

So, when you go to an in-person event = double up!  If you meet someone, connect with them on social media.  Schedule a Zoom call to followup.  Add them to your newsletter list.

The key to marketing is diversity.  And, as we’re all getting back to in-person marketing again . . . just don’t forget the web attributes that you can leverage in conjunction with that.

Marketing, Messaging, Technology

Breaking News: The Law Firm Newsletter Is Still an Underrated Marketing Asset

The humble newsletter: often maligned, viewed as trite, perhaps even passé, in a world in which digital media options are overflowing.

And, yet – a solid, regular newsletter can be one of the most impressive marketing assets you will build in your law firm.

The reason for that is because it’s probably the simplest and easiest drip campaign you can develop.

Hear me out: You know that the more touch points you can get on your contacts, the more likely you are to generate new work from your contact list.  Newsletters are generally produced on a monthly or quarterly basis, and can cover items ranging from ‘client alerts’ to ‘firm news’.  Newsletters are quite literally constructed to be an online drip marketing campaign – even before such things existed.

So, if you’re not marketing effectively to lost leads and/or former clients and/or referral sources and/or existing clients and/or *anyone* — your newsletter is the trick.  Just get all those folks subscribed to your newsletter, publish it on a schedule, and you’ll generate more leads.  Guaranteed.

And, it doesn’t just have to be an enewsletter.  Old-fashioned newsletters still have their place, too.

Marketing

Rinse, Repeat: Consistency is the Most Important Component of Marketing

Marketing your law firm can be a chore sometimes.  No attorney wakes up every single day brimming with brilliant marketing collateral.  That’s very much not a thing.  So, yeah: sometimes marketing your practice can be a slog – but, pushing through that is probably the most important thing you can do.

Because, the real key to marketing effectively is not that you’re spewing gems each and every time about a legal consumer’s relationship to their law firm – it’s more that you’re saying anything at all.

You want to be producing and publishing marketing content on a regular basis to stay top of mind for your potential clients, existing clients and referral sources.  By producing regular marketing collateral, you also set the expectation that you will continue to do so, and so your audience will look forward to your next push.  Plus, the production of consistent marketing content, to your website and social channels can really ramp up your web presence – and, it doesn’t have to cost anything; it just takes elbow grease.

So, while law firm marketing is not always glamorous, it is essential – and, sometimes you just have to push through the muck to meet the demands of your content calendar.

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