Originally posted on blogsforlawfirms.com.
"It's old hat to make claims about the importance of law firms having a strong online presence. It's akin to suggesting that "social networking is changing the way people interact." We all know it. It's cliche. Move along.
But the clear reality is that the importance for law firms of having a strong online presence is growing every single day. For example, in a new post from Business.com on marketing tips for lawyers, the editor-in-chief of Lawyers.com highlighted one staggering fact:
Three out of every Four people who actually hired an attorney within the last year went online to find the attorney
Let that sink in. 75% of all new clients found their attorney online. We all knew that online legal searches were soaring, but few thought we had reached this level so soon. It is likely that previous investigations into the issue understated the case, because they counted people who hired attorneys in the past. This new analysis of those looking for attorneys only in the last twelve month makes the reality clear: those looking for an attorney for the first time are going online. The trends will no doubt continue in that direction, as the younger generation is programmed to look for everything online--there is simply no thought to do anything else.
Legal Blogs & Content The Business.com blog goes on to suggest common sense techniques to capitalize on this reality. The biggest mistake is a failure to be active online.
But how does one actually become "active" online? Isn't a website enough? Of course not. The website is just a home base--everything grows from that. At the end of the day the main way to be "active" is to publish new content--FAQs, comments on case law, summaries of interesting news stories, and more. This naturally leads to the creation of a blog. The post notes that "It should be updated at least once a week, if not more. A blog allows attorneys to demonstrate their expertise and discuss legal issues that consumers face. The more content that is created, the more there is for Google to index."
Besides helping with SEO, the legal content creation is essentially a "non-sleazy" way to market online. That is because it is all about marketing via education. Blog posts, new website content, frequently asked questions, short books, and similar helpful material is the most logical way to get your name out there while actually providing a service that paints the firm in a good light.
The story concludes with the basic idea behind law firm blogs and value of new content: "If people see that a lawyer is consistently providing helpful information that people can put to use in their daily lives, that lawyer will have a following of loyal clients."
