Integrity Marketing

Concepting a Law Firm Brand Identity

By Alyssa Mahlberg,
Graphic Designer

Every good designer knows that logo design and brand identity design is about more than just good font choice, typesetting, layout, balance and execution. It is the reasoning behind these choices that makes a truly great logo and brand identity. 

To get there, the designer requires a certain amount of information and communication from the client. So if your law firm is in need of a logo or brand identity, or you think it's time to rebrand, here are some things to consider before you first consult your designer.

1. What is the most important part or mission of your law firm?

2. Who are you targeting?

3. How do you want your target to perceive your brand?

While there are many more questions and things to think about when defining a brand identity or logo, these three questions are an excellent place to start. It may seem like these types of questions wouldn't matter to the person choosing the fonts and colors for your logo and brand identity, but different designs attract different target markets and arouse different emotions in different people. For example, in the picture to the right, notice how the top font choice and type treatment gives off a luxurious and strong feel, while the bottom font choice and type treatment feels more humble and welcoming. 

To learn more about constructing a solid brand identity, be sure to register for our Spring Workshop where I will teach more about law firm branding, identity and graphic design.

Newsletters Connect with Clients

by April Leabo, Production Manager
Customer Service

It's time to update your March print newsletter and connect with your estate planning and elder law firm's top clients and prospects. Not sure how to connect? How about using page four to share a fond memory or tradition from your family. Follow that with a summary about the importance of caring for the elder's in our lives and strategies for proper long-term care planning. Use page four to engage your readers and grab their attention.

If personal memories and long-term care is not quite what you had in mind, how about having a little fun and making up your own holiday? March 26 is National Make Up Your Own Holiday Day.

The deadline for making edits to your March issue estate planning newsletter is February 5 and the default articles we have scheduled for you are: Elder Law Elements and Long-Term Caring.

To see the additional articles available for custom issue creation, download a preview of the article library.

If you would like assistance updating your newsletter give me a call at 877-352-2021 and dial 82 when you hear our greeting.

Still not sure how to engage your readers? Hone in on your marketing skills and join us in Kansas City to Get Your Marketing on the Fast Track!

Give Your Estate Planning Website a Boost with Google Places “Reviews”

By Dana Alley, Personal Account Manager
SEO Specialist

First, I want to mention, that I’ll be teaching a series of classes at our Spring Workshop March 13-15, 2013. If you are finding the information in these workshops series extremely helpful, then you should definitely join us in March! One of my sessions exclusively focuses on how to properly update and re-optimize your Google Places account!

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I’ve noticed online that Local SEO is the biggest, bestest thing for 2013. If you are an Essential Solution Attorney, you are in luck!! Because Integrity Marketing already knew this, and got you ahead of the game a while ago…

As a new attorney to our program, we helped you set up or claim your Google Places listing. We assisted you with correct search engine optimization, and other techniques, such as adding appropriate keywords, and video, etc. 

There is a major contribution to your Google Places account that we have little control over.

Client Reviews!! 

Yes, Google is starting to put more and more stock into positive reviews left on your account. Google has a vested interest in what people think about your business, because it’s their users share that same interest. Gaining positive reviews will help your Google Places listing, and push you up the local search rankings.

What do you do next?

Well it’s pretty easy. You need to start requesting your clients to please leave a Google Review on your Google Places page. There are several ways Google analyzes your reviews.

1. Volume – obviously, more reviews is better than none. Invite EACH client you work with to please leave a review. Try to get 5 reviews up right away.
2. Velocity – you goal is to have lots and lots of reviews, but you need to reach this in a normal matter. Get your 5 reviews, and then strive for 1 a week. Contact past clients, and ask new clients as well. You can remind people also!
3. Sentiment – Of course, 5 stars is appreciated, but if you get a 4, it’s not the end of the world. Your reviews need to be sincere, and let’s be honest; there will always be a tough critic.
4. Keywords – Now this is the tough part. Try to have your clients leave detailed reviews with helpful keywords that will boost your rankings. Instead of “Mr/Mrs Attorney was a wonderful help to my family,” encourage reviewers to mention what you helped them with. Ex: “Mr/Mrs Attorney offers wonderful estate planning services. My wife and I were very happy with the planning process!” Like I said, this can be tricky, but do your best!

What to Avoid

Fake reviews, keyword-stuffed reviews, and do not offer incentives for reviews either! It’s bad business. Reviews need to be freely offered, from happy, satisfied customers.

How to Share Your Google Places Page

Finding your page can be a little tricky. Usually you can find it by typing in your law firms official name in the search box at www.maps.google.com. If your business comes up right away, usually you can just relay these same instructions to your clients.

If you can’t find your business at all, please contact me via email, and we’ll make sure everything is working for you! If none of this makes any sense at all, then I extend an invitation for you to join our marketing workshop this spring!

Law Firm Video Dominates Search Results

By Michael Campbell,
Videography

This morning I checked up on one of our clients, Patrick Kelleher of Hanover, MA. I was happy with what I found online, and want to share his results with you. Back in November of 2011 Pat invested in our Educational Template Videos. This particular video is a mintue long and is about estate planning (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIwwa0MuZr8 ). It's important for your law firm to be ranked well for such competitive terms as "estate planning" in your local market. Important, but often difficult. Pat's video strategy, however, is paying off well for him!

If you do a search for the following terms in Google you'll find not only is Pat's video on page one, but because we host that video (http://www.myfamilylifeplan.com/Massachusetts-Estate-Planning.php ) on his website, his site ranks on page one, too -- effectively dominating local search for these important terms:

Hanover MA Estate Planning

Hanover Estate Planning 

Hanover MA Estate Planning Attorney 

Hanover Estate Planning Attorney

If you limit your online presence to website-only, you may get your site ranked on Google's page one, but you're just another website listing alongside nine others. I've provided a screen shot of how Pat's video looks on page one and it's safe to say he stands out from the competition with both his video and his website listing directly below. I'm also happy to report that this is a common theme for all of Pat's Education Template Videos.   

Want to find out how you can get your own series of Educational Template Video? Then give us a call and let's get started. 1-877-352-2021

Graphic Design for Law Firms

By Alyssa Mahlberg,
Graphic Designer

If you've been keeping up with the IMS blog posts or have checked out our new website that launched in the end of last year (http://www.integritymarketingsolutions.com), you probably are aware that IMS now offers print design and graphic design services. As Integrity's resident graphic designer, I would like to give you a run-down of how this process might work. 

Step One: Place the Order

You (so brilliantly) call James at 1-877-352-2021 requesting a print order. Sometimes you might call asking advice on how to best market an upcoming estate planning seminar, or explain that you are heading to a conference and would like to take some handouts or leave-behind materials. James has tons of experience in legal marketing and can come up with some great ideas to meet your unique needs.

Step Two: Design

From here, James and I meet to discuss the details of the project and he relays your combined vision of the design and marketing goal. Then, with ongoing input from James, I design your project. 

Step Three: Proofing

After the initial design is finished, James will send a low-resolution proof for your review. On some occasions, James will call to reveal the design and discuss various aspects of it with you, review any other related marketing efforts and the call to action. Typically, you will send back a list of minor changes, or -- if we really nailed it for you -- give us your approval to move forward to production.

 

Step Four (if necessary): Editing Session(s)

Each print order comes with a limited number of free editing sessions, where I spend time taking your critique and suggestions and tweak the design. After the free redesigns, an attorney has the option to pay by hour for additional edits, though we do our best to eliminate the need for extra editing sessions. The attorney is sent additional proof(s) until approval.

Step Five: Approval & Order

Once you approve the design, you have two options for receipt. First: we can send you the high-resolution files and you can place your order with a local printing professional. Occasionally the files are small enough to be sent via email or file transfer, but larger files can also be loaded onto a disc or flash drive and sent in the mail. Alternatively, (and this is what we most often recommend) we will handle the printing orders for you. This way, we are able to make sure the designs are produced as I intended (color matching, paper type, bleeds, etc.) and the design will likely turn out with the highest possible quality. An added bonus is that we receive an agency discount on your order, so the printing costs will likely be cheaper for you. 

If you are interested in our print design or graphic design services, check out some more information on our website (http://www.integritymarketingsolutions.com/estate-planning-advertising/ or http://www.integritymarketingsolutions.com/law-firm-logo-design/) and schedule a call with James, who can walk you through our design capabilities and discuss the smartest initiative for your marketing goals.

Keeping Your Law Firm Website Updated

By Dana Alley, Personal Account Manager
SEO Specialist

If you find this tutorial helpful, be sure to attend our IMS Spring Workshop, where I will be teaching several hands-on Instant Implementation classes!

A properly managed website is updated on a monthly basis. Integrity Marketing helps out Essential Attorneys™ by updating your website with a monthly article. We do this automatically, but it’s a smart idea to make sure that your website reflects the activities at your law firm as well. Regular updates can also increase your search engine ranking!

Here are some areas of your website you can keep updated:

1. Workshops
   Send us your schedule exactly how you would like it posted on the website. If you have a PDF flyer, you can send that as well.
2. Staff Members
   Send us new staff photos, tiles, and biographies. Keep old staff bios updated on a regular basis.
3. Seasonal Messages  / Events / Specials
   Your home page is a great location to insert seasonal messages, or special law firm events.
4. Other text edits on web pages.
   Ex: About Us, Home Page, Practice Areas, etc.

How to Submit Edits the Right Way

When it comes to submitting changes, the “Track Changes” feature is the best and easiest way for everyone*.

1. Open MS Word.
2. In your internet browser, go to the web page you wish to edit.
3. Copy and Paste the entire body text to the MS Word Document.
4. In MS Word, Under the Review tab, click on Track Changes and turn it on. There might be a drop-down for you to select.
5. As you start making changes to the document, they should turn blue or red.
6. Finish making your changes – Save – and then send the attached in an email to me.

*Please note, when submitting a new workshop date, it’s not necessary to use track changes. However, if you are editing old text or material on the page, please do use Track Changes for that.

How Did You Hear About Our Law Firm?

By April Leabo, Production Manager
Customer Service

Does your law firm have a protocol for answering the telephone? Is your entire team trained to ask callers if they have been to your web site? Do you have systems in place to promote yourself for free? Let's take a moment to review and implement these law firm marketing procedures with your entire team.

Don't forget to ask: How did you find our number today?

Each member of your estate planning and elder law firm's team should be trained to ask for the caller's name and telephone number, right? Yes. But don't stop there. Be sure the team member representing your firm also asks, "So, how did you find our number today?" (or similar) and record this information.

Let's go one step further and ask, "Have you been to our Web site?" Your firm's representative should ask this question every time they are on the line with a new prospect, unless, of course, the caller found your number by visiting the firm's Web site. Then be sure to review your findings at your weekly meeting.

Utilize Self-Promotion, AKA, Free Marketing and Brand Identity!

Does every single piece of communication that leaves your law firm's desk contain your website address? If not, it's time to update your office protocols.

Each staff member can be instructed to update their email signature to include your firm's contact information and website address. It's also important that the URL be clickable. If you add the URL to your signature like this: www.YourDomain.com and you find that it's not clickable, try editing it to http://www.YourDomain.com. You may also include your blog: http://blog.YourDomain.com, facebook page and Twitter. Also take a moment to request that either no email templates be used or make sure that the entire team is using the same email template if that is your preference.

Next, let's be sure your professionally designed stationery contains your Web site address and adds to your law firm branding. If your stationery system is in need of an update, be sure to give James a call at 877-352-2021x80 for a quote.

Plug that Web Site!

Finally, make sure everyone in your office is familiar with your website's resources and with your website address. Each team member should be able to pass along your law firm's website address to every new client or prospect without hesitation or stopping to go look it up. Does your office have a laptop? Put it to you use when you have client waiting for their appointment. A representative of your firm can lead your guests to the newsletter archive or practice areas section of your website and encourage them to browse around to articles that may interest them or to sign up for a free monthly e-Newsletter. It's also important for your team to read your monthly Animated Newsletter articles. This will put them in a position to promote issues-specific articles as the need arises. If your next client is a business owner, then your laptop can be readied with your Business Owners Beware article or Business Succession Planning practice area.

Essential Goals for Your Law Firm Marketing

By Jennifer Campbell Goddard, CEO
INTEGRITY MARKETING SOLUTIONS

I’m writing to personally invite you to join us March 13-15 in Kansas City for the Fast Track marketing workshop. This workshop is just for estate planning and elder law attorneys.

Join us for three days to focus on your law firm marketing with the best team in the business. You'll get hands-on training in social media marketing for lawyers, video marketing, blogging, search engine optimization and more.

This workshop will help you meet these four essential law firm marketing goals:

1. Stop Wasting Time & Money – When your marketing is firing on all cylinders, you end waste: both in terms of hard dollars and in time wasted marketing to or meeting with people who will never become clients or referral sources for your firm. Put every marketing dollar and every marketing minute to work for you with qualified new clients and satisfying referral relationships!


2. Increase Your Revenue – There are only two ways to increase revenue. You can either raise your fees or close more business. We say do both! Close more business at profitable fees with clients who meet your ideal profile!


3. Lay the Foundation for Long-Term Profitability – Forget about “get rich quick schemes” and build a strong marketing foundation that will ensure your practice success, not just for this fiscal quarter, but for years to come. As time goes on, when you keep doing the right things right, marketing becomes easier, more rewarding and less expensive.


4. Have Fun – That’s right, we want you to have fun at this! We all spend entirely too much time at work to let it become drudgery. Marketing that works is its own reward, bringing you financial freedom and the joy of doing good work with clients (and referral sources) who appreciate you.

Early registration discounts expire January 31st. For more information or to register online, visit http://www.imslegalmarketing.com.

Preparing for Your Law Firm Website Design Consultation

By Alyssa Mahlberg,
Graphic Designer

If you are thinking about a website redesign, rebranding your law firm or are a new client and have a design consult with James, before you meet, you may want to do some research so you can have an idea of the look and feel you want for your law firm website or branding.

We work with lots of different attorneys who vary in many ways. Some come in with well-established brand identities and a clear idea of what they want, others may know what they want, but don't know the terminology to communicate their vision for their marketing. Sometimes we have attorneys who genuinely don't have strong preferences and leave the design mostly to our discretion. Whichever kind of client you may be, if you have adequately prepared for your consult, the road to getting the marketing design that you envision will certainly smoother.

Here are some excellent ways to prepare for your design consult:

• Check out our design portfolio. You can find our past work online at http://www.integritymarketingsolutions.com/portfolio/. By looking through the websites we have already done, you can pick out the structure, look and feel or the technology you would like to have on your site. As you browse through our current client's websites, some things to look for include:

     

 - Header design: do you like floating or fixed headers? Smaller or larger? Image-heavy or simplistic?

     

 - Navigation: Our designs include horizontal and vertical navigations. You may also want to think about the areas of your site that you think are most important to display here.

    
- The home page: Our most current sites typically include a slider, which rotates different pictures, headlines and small snippets of information that link. Another option is to just use an image slideshow, which just rotates images and leaves the focus to other areas of your homepage, like your welcome message. 

Whatever decisions you end up making, browsing through our online portfolio can give you a great idea of the designs that previous attorneys have requested and also the technology that we are already capable of, though we are always willing to give new digital developments a try!

• Research websites of competitors in your area, as well as current design and web design trends. Gizmodo, a gadget and technology website, recently published a list of predicted design trends for 2013. Some of these are: flat and minimalist design, simple, mobile-friendly navigation and design and new & riskier colors (branching outside of blues and navys). You can read the full list here: http://gizmodo.com/5974821/13-design-trends-for-2013 .

• Do you have a logo? If you do, make sure you have a high-resolution or vector file that you can send to us, as it is the easiest for us to work with. If you don't have a logo, ask James about having IMS design a logo for you.

• What do you have in mind for the colors in your law firm marketing? If you already have a color palette associated with your brand, make sure we know what those are, or see some of your previous marketing materials before we begin your design. If you haven't set a color palette, think about that before you meet with James. Check out my post about choosing your law firm's colors based on color psychology (http://blog.estateplanningpartners.com/2012/10/brand-color-psychology-in-legal-marketing.html). Then a great resource to use is Colour Lovers, (http://www.colourlovers.com/) here you can browse thousands of color palettes and send us one that you like.

At IMS, we will work with you to get a design that you will love, but with more preparation, we are able to get a more clear idea of what you envision and the process will be quicker and more satisfying. 

Keeping Your Marketing Expenses Low

By April Leabo, Production Manager
Customer Service

Did you know the United States Postal Service has a first-class mail rate increase scheduled for January 27? That's right; a first-class stamp will increase from 45-cents to 46-cents.

So what can your team at Integrity Marketing Solutions do to help keep your law firm's marketing expenses low?

We can provide Turnkey mailing services. This comprehensive service is the same cost you would pay for a first-class stamp! This means you can focus on your next meeting instead of worrying about getting your letters tab-sealed, addressed, stamped and delivered to the Post Office.

What's included in turnkey mail service? Let's review:

1.    Folding
2.    Tab-sealing
3.    Addressing, including address correction and CASS Certification
4.    Standard postage
5.    Sorting and packaging (per postal standards)
6.    Delivery to the Post Office
7.    All this for the cost of a first-class postage stamp!

You can't beat that!

And most importantly, this means that your estate planning law firm's marketing letters are being distributed in a timely and consistent manner each and every month (or quarter) and all you have to do is maintain your mailing list and upload it once per month (or quarter).

If you are ready to begin using this service, give me a call and I can train a dedicated member of your team on how to manage and maintain your SELECT Print Newsletter marketing system to include your turnkey mailing service. Just dial 1-877-352-2021 then 82 when you hear the greeting.