Leader Blog: We Hunt Them; We Promote Them; Take their Advice

About Law Firm Websites & Social Media Citing Expert Robert Ambrogi

 

Robert Ambrogi's LawSites blog took a stab at answering the question, "How is a law firm website like a cave or a middle school dance?" in a recent post. 

Bloggers who don't put in the time to take all the steps consistently are classic shoemaker's kid without shoes.

So the Ambrogi's caveman analogy says that the dwellers wait for a "woolly mammoth will just happen to enter the cave (a form of ancient food delivery)?" That doesn't happen, which is why you have to get your club, leave the cave and get social.

Says Ambrogi,"A law firm website is the beginning of your online marketing, but by no means the end. Think of it as your home base, a launching point, a point of reference and a sort of electronic brochure." 

Social media was created so you can engage with your prospective clients and current ones. If you do that by chiming into their conversations, Ambrogi says, maybe you will interest them enough that they will want to learn more about you.That's when the revenue comes in -- it's not a sit and wait kind of activity. Same with public relations. Anything in communications takes consistency. And strategy.

You will surely create some new relationships and links along the way when you go social. When you go ballistic, you'll create the wrong kind. It's an art to get out there and intrigue the right audience in the right tone. More about that

Back to his middle school reference: Ambrogi asks readers to consider the web as a middle-school dance. No matter how great the student looks and how much he or she wants to meet the newest hot guy/girl, if he/she acts like a wallflower, nothing will happen. (And then, tears.) 

If you don't completely engage in social networking (or with your fellow classmates) -- by creating a Twitter account (and actually tweeting), signing up for Facebook, or adding a LinkedIn profile -- join some groups- then you are absolutely missing the opportunity to "explore other social and professional networks that fit your practice or where your potential clients are likely to be."

Your website is how people learn about you, but if you're not in the web conversation, your law firm may end up being a wallflower too- is Ambrogi's analogy (with a great headline!) What to say and how to say is another story. Who to hire to do communications strategy and why is as well. Cookie cutter blah blah will not showcase your expertise in a way that attracts clients that need it.