Lawyers Can be Legal Consumers, Too

The L & L Law Firm, LLC, focusing on elder law, wants to add more attorney referrals to their client base. Lance and Linda, the owners, believe they can assist the clients of lawyers who don’t practice in elder law and they would like to have lawyers to send their clients to when those folks seek a service outside their area of expertise. They wonder how they can market to lawyers.

The same rules apply to marketing to lawyers as publicizing to consumers with a few additions. As usual, begin by building a good profile—one that features a recent picture, an interesting biography, a list of your practice areas, awards, and contact information. You can include FAQs in your practice area and checklists to help clients organize their thoughts. The website should be attractive and easy to navigate.

To attract lawyers and consumers, go where they are and offer items of interest to them. Add articles, videos, press releases, associations, courts you practice in, arbitrations you’ve conducted, community connections, and links to your blog post to your website. You can add them to your enhanced profile on the SBM Member Directory. They will interest both the lawyer and the consumer seeking a lawyer in your area of practice.

Social media can help, too. But, what social media? There are so many possibilities it’s easy to be caught up in the latest trend. The majority of the new trends are targeting a young population. You will undoubtedly find your potential audience of lawyers and consumers looking for legal help on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Facebook

Facebook can be used to further your business. It strengthens your firm’s web presence, you will get reviews and commentary on your firm and you can announce new blog posts, articles, or events. Facebook now has Business Pages for those who want to create a special page for the firm.

Twitter

Twitter may overwhelm at first, but it can be a useful tool for a lawyer. Using key words for your practice, preceded by the famous hashtag (#), you can post and keep up with the latest information and developments in the legal world. It’s easy to set up; soon you will type a short update to send off to interested consumers and lawyers.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn has become the professional social networking site. Recruiters, executives, and legal professionals respect and use it. If you only have the time and energy to use one of these three social media sites, put yourself on LinkedIn. You can write recommendations of fellow lawyers and they will endorse you. Connections are made every day on LinkedIn. It is a valuable resource that must be a major part of your social media efforts.

Lance and Linda decide that while their website is in decent shape and is getting a good response, they will add the publications they have authored and a connection to Lance’s blog. They will update their LinkedIn and SBM Member Directory profiles and consider starting a Twitter or a Facebook account.

Using the tools provided by the SBM Member Directory powered by ZeekBeek, you, too, can enhance your profile to attract both lawyers and consumers. And soon you will add lawyer referrals to your client base.

Roberta Gubbins has served as the editor of the Ingham County Legal News. Since leaving the paper, she provides services as a ghostwriter editing articles, blogs, and e-blasts for lawyers and law firms. She is the editor of Briefs, the Ingham County Bar Association e-newsletter, and The Mentor, SBM Master Lawyers Section Newsletter.