Integrity Marketing

Why Newsletters Still Produce Leads for Law Firms

We remember back to the time when law firm newsletters were delivered by fax. At the time, it was revolutionary. Today newsletters still play a significant role in estate planning and Elder Law firm marketing, whether they are hard copy or eNewsletters, because they work on several levels.

Demonstrate thought leadership. A law firm newsletter shows that you are up on the latest developments in estate planning and Elder Law. It also shows clients and prospects that you are watching out for them. Remember that a big obstacle for clients is deciding whether or not they can trust you. An attorney who makes the effort to stay out in front of news indicates a higher level of commitment to their clients.

Demonstrating authority and credibility. If you are on a committee, whether it’s the local bar or a respected national organization in estate planning or Elder Law, and you are involved in creating legislation or impacting public policy, your authority in the field takes a quantum leap above and beyond competing law firms.

For one thing, clients and prospects think you must really know your stuff if you are involved at that level. And let’s not overlook the “celebrity” appeal of working with the attorney who shows up in the newspapers, legal publications or even on legislative documents. We all like to feel like we have the inside track; having an attorney who is publically recognized for his or her work is like having Martha Stewart catering your dinner party.

Regular communications build loyalty. The key concept here is “regular.” If clients see an email from you once a year or twice a year, with no particular rhyme or reason for the arrival date of the newsletter, you are missing an opportunity. If your email newsletters arrive with timeliness—when Medicare enrollment opens, for instance—then you are providing a service. If your newsletter shows up around the time that they are thinking about making contributions to charity for the tax year, again, you’ve provided another useful service.

Overcome inertia. While estate planning is central to your activities, for most people it feels like a burdensome task. That's what your practice and every estate planning practice out there battles every day. To overcome the inertia of your prospects and clients, you have to be the one that starts the ball rolling. A newsletter is a way for you to provide good information and reminds readers that this is still an outstanding task, in a helpful and thoughtful manner.

Why Direct Mail Still Matters to Law Firm Marketing

Direct mail is alive and well, especially for estate planning and Elder Law firms. In certain regions, direct mail has never gone away. In others, the move to digital marketing has pushed direct mail out of the picture. But if everyone in your community has gone strictly digital, a hard copy newsletter or a personalized letter will really stand out.

Newsletters perform on a number of different levels. Newsletters help to establish you as a credible and authoritative source, by providing informative and intelligent discussions of issues concerning your target market. They also remind people that you exist. Yes, you have to remind them.

Estate planning is at the center of your day-to-day work world, but for clients, it’s a task, and not one that they particularly look forward to. You know from experience that most people would rather postpone their appointment. By sending a newsletter on a regular basis—quarterly works—you remind people of your existence.

See if this sounds familiar: your office means to send out a newsletter by direct mail to prospects and clients, but you get busy, and before you know it, one month has slipped away, and then another. When you finally do return to the task and the newsletter is sent out, clients and prospects call to say “I’ve been worried about this problem and your newsletter arrived just at the right time.” We hear about this happening more frequently than you’d expect.

Make it personal for more impact. Using the E2-CRM, your direct mail can be extremely personal. Group recipients by age, stage of life, family dynamics (if you are aware of any relevant issues) or zip code and create a letter that references that unifying factor.

Birthday cards are back, in a big way. Walk into any big retail store and you’ll find numerous aisles dedicated to greeting cards, some with microchips that play songs on opening or lots of glitter and feathers. If your office sends birthday cards, and we think it’s a nice touch, be mindful of bulk cards that look inexpensive—they’ll send the wrong message.

Condolence cards are part of the estate planning and Elder Law practice area. They are also the source of some gaffes. For one thing, don’t send an inexpensive card. If you purchase cards in bulk, buy quality. The card should be signed by hand by the attorney who worked with the individual or the couple. And in the “we can’t make this up” department – do not enclose a business card. It may seem like a very practical and helpful gesture, especially if this is the second spouse to pass and you’re not sure if the adult children know who you are. Develop a relationship with the adult children before their parents pass away.

What Happens IRL—In Real Life—To Boost Your Online Performance

IMS takes care of the online marketing for your estate planning and Elder Law firm, but until we get our virtual reality lawyer marketing system up and running, there are a number of activities that still require your live participation. With proper time management, you should be able to incorporate the following into your law firm marketing schedule:

Speaking engagements to professionals and to the community should be part of your strategic marketing plan. Even if you only speak four times a year, twice to professionals and twice to consumers, you will have reached the audiences, the people who received information about the events but were not able to attend, and you have content to blog about and four additional photos for your social media accounts. Your credibility online and IRL is enhanced when your name appears on other’s websites, like those belong to bar associations and community organizations.

Publish or perish is not just for academics. An estate planning attorney who stands out from the crowd shows up in print, online and hard copy. That could mean an article every six months in the local bar association’s newsletter, where you will be seen by your peers in different practice areas, or a monthly column in a local community newspaper. Similar to speaking, you leverage these articles by posting them on your blog (with the publisher’s permission and appropriate copyright notice being used) and use them on social media. You can also use them as a reason to send out an email blast, with a link to either the PDF on your website or a link to the article’s home site.

Step up to AdWords or Facebook ads to ramp up your website traffic and conversions. In a highly competitive market, where you face off digitally and daily against other law firms and digital marketing giants in the online legal services space (you won’t mind if we don’t use their names, they don’t need further promotions), the basic website and social media will be strengthened with the use of these additional tools. Not a fan of Facebook? That’s fine, but make sure you are appearing regularly on other high-profile social sites, like Twitter and Linked In.

You’ll also need a tactic called “offpage SEO.” This relates to how popular or authoritative your site is. This includes links to your site from other robust websites and social shares of your content. Another offpage SEO technique: guest blogging on websites that are complementary to yours. Do you have a colleague who has an estate planning practice in another state who does not complete with you? Guest blogs on each other’s sites, with links, could be helpful to your SEO.

What to DO with Online Reviews of your Estate and Elder Law Firm

Getting online reviews of your estate planning and elder law firm is step one. If all you did was collect online reviews, that would be good, but not great. To maximize your online reviews, you want to leverage them and use them in a variety of different ways. Start by conducting an inventory of the reviews so that you know what you have to work with. Making this a monthly task, for yourself or a team member, will serve a few purposes. It will remind you that you need to ask raving fans for online reviews, create content for blog posts and email newsletters, and keep you current on your online presence.

Once you have an inventory list of online reviews, consider what belongs where. For instance, a blog post that consists of a short, two-sentence testimonial is going to leave a lot to be desired. But that same short two-sentence testimonial will fit perfectly in a testimonial section on your website. Just be sure to ask IMS to alternate long testimonials with short testimonials so the page will look more balanced.

If you have a testimonial that reads like a short novel, that’s perfect for your blog. Remember to alternate testimonials with news items and other topics on your blog, so that it’s not one long stream of testimonials.

Consider adding a reviews section to your email newsletter. If your newsletter is made up of sections, like a newspaper, add an online review section that will be included in every edition. This way, your readers will expect to see a good review every time they receive the email.

Remember that one of the key elements of marketing is repetition. When someone sees a positive review once, it registers. When they see it again, or when they see a second and a third positive review, the message becomes clearer with every repetition: this is a great law firm that solves client problems. Especially in today’s crowded media environment, messages must be delivered more than once.

Online reviews can be used in non-digital marketing also. If you have a print newsletter or a firm brochure, you may want to dedicate some space to include these reviews. Yes, these hard copy marketing tools are still used by many law firms. Something a little unexpected in a law firm: a self-published book of reviews for clients to leaf through while they are waiting in your reception area. Edited selectively, this collection of reviews would reinforce your client’s sense that they are in the right place, meeting with the right lawyer to help solve their problem.

Personal Messages – Why They Matter

By Anneliese Krull

Birthday cards were always a big deal in my family when I was growing up. Whenever a cousin, aunt or uncle’s birthday was coming up, my mom would have us drop whatever we were doing—whether that was homework or play—to write a personal note to that family member.

Although the card started as just a typical store-bought piece of cardstock with a generic birthday greeting, it became something personal and special with just a few short words. This extra step strengthened our relationship because this family member knew I cared enough to include a personal message.

If you are client with our Essential Solution or Essential Solution 2.0, you have an ENews drip campaign set up as part of your marketing. For example, your Monthly ENewsletter, like my family’s birthday cards, is a good start. But it could be better.

It could be personalized.

People are more likely to read or click on an email if there is a personal message from the sender. Why not write a short paragraph to get a little personal with your clients. You might let them know how the change of seasons reminds you of life changes and estate planning.

At Integrity Marketing Solutions, there are two simple ways to update your ENews message.

1. If you don’t have the E2 CRM, submit a support ticket via our website with the message you want to include. Note: the message must be submitted by the 15^th to be included in the following month’s ENews distribution.
2. If you do have the E2 CRM, then your deadline is the 4^th day of the publication month. Simply go to your ENewsletter Group, click Communicate, then open your ENews Template. Once there, replace the ENews message and Save over the existing ENews Template. Yes, it is that easy.

Looking for a little inspiration?

Here are a few actual messages our clients have used to get more personal:

“Building wealth is only half the job. Protecting wealth for your loved ones and yourself is equally important. Through estate planning and corporate, real estate and elder law, Estate Planning Law Partners, LLC will help you protect everything you love – family, friends and favorite charities. For more information be sure to visit our web site at www.eplawpartnersdomain.com where you will have access to our Blog, a Free Newsletter Subscription and a Free Report on Trusts!”

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“Our Mission: To provide peace of mind to you and your loved ones. We strive to earn your trust and confidence by offering you personal counseling and unique planning strategies. Building a long-term relationship with you enables us to meet your needs, exceed your expectations and to create an estate plan that works. Through our commitments to one another, we realize our personal goals by helping you, achieve yours.”

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“A special greeting at Thanksgiving from our Family to yours.

We are deeply thankful for your confidence and loyalty in us and we extend to you and your Family our warmest wishes for a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving Day!”

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“LIVE LIFE AND LEAVE YOUR LEGACY BY DESIGN, NOT DEFAULT

How you live your life impacts everyone around you. How you leave your legacy has even further consequences. When we take the time to think through our values and goals and live (and die) by them, we have a greater opportunity of having a positive influence that can impact many generations. And when we are not intentional about our lives and legacies, unfortunately, the opposite is also true.

At Life Legacy Law Partners, we help you develop and build your life, your business, and your legacy according to your vision.”

Remember, people choose to work with people. Make it personal—include a personal message!

Offline Marketing

A few weeks ago, a new Internet provider came to install their system at my house. For those few minutes between the old router being unplugged and the new one installed and activated, I started to panic!  I started thinking about everything I couldn’t do – no website browsing, no social media, no online shopping. After a few deep breaths, I was able to calm down and remember that the world does indeed keep turning, with or without an Internet connection.

What about your marketing – does it keep working even when your target audience is offline? We all need a break from screens now and then, and your clients are no exception. Integrity Marketing Solutions offers many solutions to expand your marketing off the screen and reach your audience even when they are taking a break from screen time.

Print Newsletters

Print newsletters are a great resource to have available to your clients. Each issue offers information and resources on a different aspect of Estate Planning and Elder Law. If you have built up a great mailing list, this is a great way to reach out to your clients and professional referrals personally. You can also get brochure versions of the newsletter to hand out to clients in your office.

Custom Print Newsletters

If you want to include customized articles or more extensive custom branding in your newsletter, talk to us about creating a custom newsletter for you. The customization can be as simple as customizing the photos used or as comprehensive as a completely unique layout designed just for your firm.

Brochures

Brochures are always a good resource to have on hand. They are a good way to introduce new or prospective clients to your firm and your brand by displaying the resources you offer. Brochures can also be useful for existing clients, reminding them to check in with you for any updates or introduce them to the idea of complimentary services that you could provide.

If you think your marketing needs more offline options, call James today at 877-352-2021. We’d love to discuss any of these options or design a custom marketing piece just for you!

 

Revive Your Marketing Messages with Some Tough-Love Tactics

Do any of you watch television shows like Bar Rescue or Restaurant Impossible? I always 
find these interesting as a viewer – getting to see the “insides” of a business and all the crazy things going on, and then watching a no-nonsense team of experts come in and “lay the smack down” so to speak. They may come across as harsh at first, but the reality check they deliver can save a business. Instead of throwing in the towel, the business owners and staff do what is necessary to survive and thrive. All it took was a little bit of tough love from an expert.

I think many business feel this way about their marketing too. They know it’s not really working, but they just don’t have the time to deal with it OR they don’t really want to face the issues head on. If only there was a team of marketing experts that could help ….

Um, hello. Integrity Marketing Solutions to the rescue!

I found a really helpful article from TopRank Blog that offers 4 Tips for Saving Your Brand’s Content Marketing. Let’s get to work.

First, Assess!

You need to take an assessment of your current marketing. Asking a few questions can help you figure out where to begin:

• Who are your customers?
• What do they want?
• Are you providing a user-friendly experience?
• Does your marketing appeal to your customers?
• Is it working??

Once you know where you stand, you may already start to see where you need to make some changes. Just as those television shows would start to shake things up and make drastic changes, you can do the same.

4 Tips for Saving Your Marketing

1. Know the Neighborhood = Identify Customer Demographics. You have to know who you are dealing with. Are your current customers mostly families? What about Veterans or seniors? Whether you work with one or several different segments, you want to determine what each segment really wants. Don’t be afraid to ask your clients what they like about your business, this can be extremely helpful in crafting effective marketing messages to other people in that demographic.

2. Eliminate Difficult Staff = Create a Good User Experience. If you do not focus on the customer experience, you will not survive (at least not for long). Make sure your marketing messages are user-friendly: mobile accessible, clear call-to-action, targeted content, esthetically appealing, etc.

3. Improve the Decor = Create Visually Appealing Content. Look, with all the information people take in on a daily basis, you have to make an impression to get noticed. Invest in a top-notch website design, make sure your logo is attractive and effective and use quality images in your blog posts. Your visual marketing leaves a huge impression on a potential customer, so don’t miss out by having outdated marketing. Time to spruce things up!

4. Update the Menu = Find the Right Mix of Content Marketing Tactics. Marketing tools are not commonly effective on their own, but as part of a system they can be extremely powerful. Take our clients for example. They start with an Essential Solution foundation of a website, targeted content, blog, social media, SEO, email newsletter and reporting. Then, depending upon their market they can add enhancements through Video Marketing, Google AdWords, custom publications and branding strategies. Once you have the basics in place, you can determine other areas that may be helpful in your marketing like eBooks, video, webinars and more.

If you feel your marketing could use a makeover and you’re ready to bring your law practice back to life, give us a call at 877-352-2021.

Reference: TopRank Blog (May 2015) – “Content Marketing Rescue: 4 Tips for Saving Your Brand’s Content Marketing Strategy”

Account Management Theatre Presents: The Tale of the RSS-Driven eNewsletter

The scene opens to (ahem) a bright, young marketing account manager, face lit by the glow of her computer monitor. An olive green blanket is wrapped ‘round her legs, as it’s nearly summer, to fight the Arctic Tundra winds of the AC.* A phone is propped up on the Kleenex box before her, allowing her hands freedom to navigate those Interwebs at a moment’s notice. On the screen is the client’s monthly eNewsletter template. The account manager begins her spiel…

AM: And here we have the draft of your monthly eNewsletter.

Client: Oh, wow!  That looks really great!

AM: Yes, we’ve pulled in your branding here in the banner at the top as well as provided your contact information at the bottom, in the footer.  If a viewer were to see your message on their mobile phone, the telephone number is a live link that would connect a call to you directly.

Client: Excellent. Ya know, the text in the footer is a little bit difficult to read. Is it possible to make that a different color?

AM: Certainly, I believe we can do that.  The great thing about this is it’s an RSS-driven eNewsletter and the layout is mobile-friendly, so your message will properly adjust to whatever size of screen is in use. Your team will also be given access to upload new subscribers each month to your mailing list and you see your stats after each mailing, so you know how many people open your eNewsletter, click on the links inside or unsubscribe.

After a little more discussion about these excellent features as well as a few more color tweak requests, that’s when I heard it. The question:

Client: Uh, I’m sorry if this is a silly question, but, umm, what does RSS-driven mean?

The call falls silent. The account manager can hear her heart beating. Thud-thud… Thud-thud… dun-Dun-DUN!! (Cue murder-mystery-thriller music)

Ok, that last part was just to add a little drama to the scene. But really, that isn’t a silly question at all! 

What does RSS stand for? What does it mean for you and your monthly eNewsletter?  And why do account managers think this is such a good idea?

I know what it looks like on our end here at Integrity, but wanted to dig a little deeper and find out more with some help from HubSpot.

Today, we are in the information age.  Likely, you are actually overloaded by the amount of information to which you have access.  But before social media became our resource for news, people spent time navigating and checking in on numerous different websites until someone thought, “What if there was a way to have new content – only the stuff that I haven’t read before – directly delivered to me, instead?” Sound interesting?

Here lies the beauty of RSS.

Referred to as “Really Simply Syndication,” RSS takes the articles and other information online and formats them in a similar way and organizes it all into categories.  Avid learners can then use an RSS reader and sign-up to receive particular bits and pieces of information that are of most interest.  Basically, you’d get all the up-to-date, breaking news you want fast, in one spot, sans the searching around multiple sites.

As Hubspot posted in a later blog that the popularity for “residential” RSS use waned a bit with the death of Google Reader and the increase in available news on social media platforms, there are still benefits to “commercial” RSS use.

For example, here at IMS, we, too, publish new information in the form of articles that interest your estate planning or elder law clients and prospects.  When we do publish a new article, once per month for the eNewsletter, your eNewsletter template is automatically notified of the new information!

Why do account managers think this is so great? Because your eNewsletter will be beautifully and fully visible on all types of devices and screen sizes! And, honestly, it reduces the possibility of any copy and paste errors, as well as saves our team some time so that we can assist you in other marketing areas!  Not to mention, this new set up allows you direct access to upload new subscribers and see how well the most recent monthly mailing was received.

If you are interested in more information about RSS-driven eNewsletters, feel free to visit our website today.

Reference: HubSpot - "Understanding RSS: A Quick Guide For The Insanely Busy Executive"

*Rest assured, I’m grateful for the blessings of an office with both heating and air conditioning! It does seem to happen that office temperatures are rather drastic, no matter where you go, described perfectly by someecards. 

Want More Google Reviews?

Many of our clients want to know how to get on Google's good side. Not a surprise, considering 3.5 billion searches are done per day through Google -- and counting!

So what can you do to make sure your website is coming up in the mix?

There are several ways to make sure you are in Google's good graces. We "preach" about these Essentials often, such as having a responsive and mobile-friendly website, top-notch SEO coding, relevant keyword-rich content, branded blog with daily posts, and active social media accounts.

In addition to the Essentials, there is one more thing you can do to help land your website on Google's radar -- and that is asking for Google reviews.

Why Are Reviews on Google so Important?

Well, because Google says so. Google's algorithm -- or way of ranking which websites are going to show up for online search -- pays close attention to online reviews. You see, Google caters to the consumer or searcher. They want to make search as easy and efficient as possible. Google knows that people want to see reviews when searching for products or services, so a review goes a long ways in your local SEO results.

And besides pleasing Google, having good reviews of your firm helps attract potential clients who are trying to decide if they want to work with you. Think about it -- if you are searching for a dentist online and notice one that has several good reviews (and lots of "gold stars"), would you consider that dentist over one that doesn't have any feedback online? Probably so.

Asking for Google Reviews

So, how do you get more reviews on Google? It's simple. You ASK. 

Some attorneys aren't sure how to do this, so I found a great article from Foster Web Marketing that offers some tips. Here are a few to try: 

The Do's and Don'ts of Asking for Online Reviews

• Do politely ask for reviews in person when you are finishing up a case. Make it part of your protocol at signing.
• Don't offer an incentive or gift in exchange for a review. You want real reviews with no strings attached -- no fluff!
• Do include a suggestion in all newsletters that clients review your practice.
• Do set up an account for your business on the most used review sites in your area. So it's not just Google -- think Bing, Yelp, Avvo, Lawyers.com, Facebook, LinkedIn and other review sites.
• Don't set up a computer in your office for people to use to review your firm. This puts too much pressure on the client and doesn't give them time to really think about what they want to say in their review -- which could result in generic reviews that don't give potential clients enough information.
• Do encourage potential reviewers to use the review format they like the best. Give them options, but let them choose the one they are most familiar with. You want to make this process as easy as possible because clients are doing this on their own time.

As an example of the last "Do" above, I received an email from my realtor last week asking for a Google review. It was a very nice email with simple instructions and even a link I could click on to add my own review for the realtor online. And even though we sold our home last year, I was happy to provide the review for our realtor! Don't feel like you can only ask your most recent clients for reviews, reach out to your entire database and just ask. You'd be surprised at how many clients are happy to help! Afterall, you have already helped them with their own estate planning or elder law issues and many clients are forever grateful for your assistance.

So whether it's an email to clients, part of your signing protocol, a request on your email and/or print newsletter (or ALL of the above) -- start asking for reviews and you'll be sure to add more muscle to your local SEO results.

Reference: Foster Web Marketing - "Why Your Local SEO Efforts Better Include an Online Review Strategy"

Save the Sticky Notes and Get It Together!

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m “Type A.” I love lists. Like some of you, I add things I’ve already done to my lists, just so I can check them off.  In college, I used to write out my plan for nearly each and every moment of the day: 6:30am – Wake up, 6:35am – Shower, 6:55am – Breakfast, 7:11am – Brush Teeth… (My college roommate still hasn’t let me live down “Brush Teeth” yet…).

My co-workers have mentioned being mortified by my Google calendar.  If you ever want to know what I worked on yesterday, last week or month, what I am currently doing or plan to do in the future, check my calendar.  It’s all on there.  (Almost) Every. Single. Thing.

Although it stresses some people out, for me, it makes sense to have a plan and be as prepared as possible for the day.  I know the top three or four things that I have to accomplish for the day and I (generously) allot the required amount of time to do so. 

Anything that doesn’t make the cut this morning still gets taken care of, just perhaps tomorrow.  If someone calls and wants a meeting, I can clearly see when I am next available, or, if it’s a higher priority than my current task, I can easily adjust my calendar to accommodate the new task.

It takes a bit of elbow grease ahead of time, but streamlining my tasks frees me of (some) stress.

I was listening to Build Your Tribe, a personal and business development podcast by Chalene Johnson, and I don’t remember the exact episode of her quote, but on a daily basis people now take in as much content as reading about seven newspapers front and back each day. 

We don’t have the time or space in our minds to try and remember all the little tidbits that pop up over the course of a day. One thing I’ve learned that works for me is, whatever it is, write it down. Better yet – save the sticky notes and organize it on a calendar.

Still, honestly, there are a couple of things that are on my calendar that stress even me out.  One being writing this blog.

While I actually really enjoy writing and am excited to have the opportunity to share what I’m learning and what our company is doing within this industry, I usually have 5-10 client projects going at once.  It’s tough for me to just sit down, focus in and think, “Hmm… what should I write about this week?”

My current method could use some work.  I’m on about 30 marketing trends e-mail lists.  Over the course of the week, any new messages I receive are filtered together in a folder.  Then, when I’m ready to write my weekly blog, I read through the ones that appear interesting and decide what might be helpful to share with our clients. 

Another approach is to answer questions from clients that I see come up a couple of times or more. Or, if we know there is going to be a major change, like Google’s “Mobilegeddon,” I try to write something in line with the associated marketing implications. 

Regardless of my approach, it’s very challenging for me to have to come up with ideas week after week after week.

Maybe you feel this way when your account manager asks you to share a page of your website or an interesting article weekly (or more!) on all your social media platforms?

Maybe you feel like your marketing message is a bit random and you’re not sure how to keep those engaging with your online presence moving down the steps of the Customer Journey toward becoming clients?

It’ll take some effort, but here’s something we can all try together. In the marketing world, it’s called an Editorial Calendar. 

Garrett Moon of CoSchedule.com put together some really great background information on content marketing and tips for creating your very own plan in a recent blog post, including free, online, interactive calendar templates.

An editorial calendar will help in so many ways:

• The team will be working together to drive toward the company goals = GROWTH!
• Your marketing message will be aligned, more cohesive and, therefore, more effective.
• Events will be promoted well in advance to boost your attendance.
• You’ll have record of your marketing efforts to compare with your success.
• Clearly identify what works (to continue more of) and what doesn’t.
• Increased efficiency lead by a guiding direction of goals, instead of guessing.
• You can delegate and assign tasks and set deadlines.
• Team members can easily see what has already been written about or what is already scheduled – no more staff covering the same information twice.

To begin your Editorial Calendar, start by outlining a rough draft of activities and goals for the rest of the year.  Are you hosting any upcoming events? What are things that you hope to accomplish before 2016? Do you want more clients coming to your workshop, downloading your eBook or “Liking” your Facebook Business Page?  Whatever it may be, grab a pencil and some paper and start making your timeline.

Now get with the other members of your team and brainstorm some ideas of how you can accomplish those goals.  You may not be able to come up with a plan for your entire year right now, but you can at least start with what’s coming down the pipe and meet again next month.

If you have an upcoming workshop, research some articles or take note of in-house resources that would provide people with information about that topic. Find photos, songs or videos that you can share (legally) to engage your users. Or perhaps gather client testimonials of those who attended a similar event.

Then, mark on your calendar the dates you would like to start your “campaign” or promotion.  For the workshop example, you can share an article on Facebook weeks in advance about the topic you’ll be speaking on. 

Continue to think through different ways you can provide information to your readers and set dates on the calendar.  You’ll need to allow time for researching as well as time actually on your social platforms posting, etc.

Important!

1. Always include a “Call to Action” when sharing articles.  Introduce the subject of the message you are trying to convey and wrap it up with, “Click here to register for our upcoming workshop on [Topic],” and link back to your website.
   
2. Be sure to note on the editorial calendar who is responsible for gathering the content and posting it online.

Is this something you and your company already have in place? Do you have any questions?  This is really right up my alley, but did I just create more stress for you?

If you need help getting started, please feel free to contact Integrity Marketing today.  It may be that the goals you outline could be incorporated into your Essential Solution pieces as well – including your e-mail or print newsletter, website, or video. 

We would be happy to discuss your ideas – and maybe even host you here at our office for a Private Firm Retreat!

Reference: CoSchedule Blog - "Create Consistent Content With A Content Marketing Editorial Calendar"