Scroll down to see the latest and greatest blogs of the month!
May 1st, 2019
5 Basic Tips to Help You Build Your Website The Right Way
Basic Web Design Tips for Small Business
Having a website is crucial to your business's success. Here are 5 tips to help you build your website the right way:
Choose a domain and hosting
The “domain” means what your website is named. For example, amazon’s is amazon.com. A hosting service is where this domain lives (in a server). You should certainly find a domain that relates to your business and sometimes does not need to be your business name – it can often be a way to best describe what your business is. For instance, if I am a clock repairman in Los Angeles, I’ll probably get more benefit selecting clockrepairmanlosangeles.com than I would with a specific brand name.
Choose a platform and begin your design
Think wordpress, weebly, wix, squarespace, and so on. Most of these offer pleasant drag and drop softwares which require little to no coding experience and are perfect for businesses on a budget. Make sure you look at what your competitors offer to see how to fit in AND how to differentiate.
SEO (search engine optimization)
If you take anything from this blog, please put effort into SEO. Think about what your ideal audience is searching for online and place these search phrases throughout your website. If you’re unsure how to do this, we’d love to chat with you.
Content
Make sure you post relevant content on your website. Usually this is in the form of blogs, but it can also be videos, podcasts, infographics, etc. Otherwise, your audience will likely not be interested in what you have to offer since you aren’t providing any value first.
Security
Make sure you are rockin’ that HTTPS in front of your URL and that your security features are active!
Choose a domain and hosting
The “domain” means what your website is named. For example, amazon’s is amazon.com. A hosting service is where this domain lives (in a server). You should certainly find a domain that relates to your business and sometimes does not need to be your business name – it can often be a way to best describe what your business is. For instance, if I am a clock repairman in Los Angeles, I’ll probably get more benefit selecting clockrepairmanlosangeles.com than I would with a specific brand name.
Choose a platform and begin your design
Think wordpress, weebly, wix, squarespace, and so on. Most of these offer pleasant drag and drop softwares which require little to no coding experience and are perfect for businesses on a budget. Make sure you look at what your competitors offer to see how to fit in AND how to differentiate.
SEO (search engine optimization)
If you take anything from this blog, please put effort into SEO. Think about what your ideal audience is searching for online and place these search phrases throughout your website. If you’re unsure how to do this, we’d love to chat with you.
Content
Make sure you post relevant content on your website. Usually this is in the form of blogs, but it can also be videos, podcasts, infographics, etc. Otherwise, your audience will likely not be interested in what you have to offer since you aren’t providing any value first.
Security
Make sure you are rockin’ that HTTPS in front of your URL and that your security features are active!
May 2nd, 2019
Which Social Media Platforms to be on as a Business
Best Social Media Platforms to be on
So here’s something crazy – more than half of all internet users follow a brand they think about buying something from on social media. Consumer behavior has certainly changed because accounts that post more photos and videos have a higher likelihood of connecting with their consumers and thus, increasing sales. Still not doing that? It’s a bit of a daunting thing to take on, so we would love to help you succeed.
Regardless, it’s probably a good idea to know what social media app is most popular in your state! You can view that here.
Regardless, it’s probably a good idea to know what social media app is most popular in your state! You can view that here.
May 3rd, 2019
The Increasing Importance of Branding for Nonprofits
How to brand your nonprofit
Nonprofits are quite a bit different than traditional business in the sense that they require funding and people’s time into a cause that is quite a bit less tangible – but serving a much higher purpose that benefits society as a whole. Here are some tips to help the nonprofits out there:
You can read more about nonprofit branding here. PS: did you know you can get a $10,000 grant from google ads? We’d love to help you get approved!
- Have a clear and simple message that is impactful and memorable.
- Stay consistent across all channels
- Build your reputation in your communities and gain trust
You can read more about nonprofit branding here. PS: did you know you can get a $10,000 grant from google ads? We’d love to help you get approved!
May 4th, 2019
Instagram and... Invisible Likes?
Instagram is thinking about getting rid of like button
Instagram is considering making its likes invisible since the general public may put too much emphasis and self worth into the number of likes their latest post gets. What’s truly interesting here is that the number of likes each post gets can tell how “real” a users audience is and indicated their levels of engagement. However, some my find this as a form of relief given that sometimes a photo can get too much attention and drive more private and sensitive posts to higher visibility. Either way, this is quite an important metric in tracking effectiveness for all businesses, so it will be interesting to see what happens in the near future.
You can read more about this potential change here.
You can read more about this potential change here.
May 13th, 2019
Breaking Down Digital Marketing - For Lawyers and Attorneys
Digital Marketing for Lawyers and Attorneys
As a lawyer or attorney, you may be thinking about getting your digital marketing in shape. The dream of setting up a website or social media presence that actually sends you leads is tougher to achieve than many claim. Here are some basic things to consider and know before diving into it:
SEO
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. This is a process that allows your website to show up higher in Google's search results. SEO is usually applied to websites in order to achieve this result. In the early stages, it requires a lot of research to find out what and where people are searching. These methods are usually longer term and take a long time (at least 6 months) to take effect.
PPC and Google Ads
Google Ads have become nearly synonymous with PPC (pay per click). These are usually ads that show up during a search on Google. in a "sponsored" section. This is a great digital marketing effort to gain initial leads and clients as a lawyer or attorney. Search ads usually have a call to action and can drive valuable behavior such as sending a contact form, booking a consultation, or requesting more information.
Google ads also offer other options such as video ads or display ads. Display ads create general awareness for your law firm and you are charged on impressions usually. Impressions are basically how many people see your ad. Video can do either - create calls to action or generate awareness for your law firm. You just need to have the equipment to film a high quality video.
Social Media
Social media is a fantastic and low cost method to begin forming an audience and following. The key on these platforms is to post frequently and consistently. You will also want to send traffic back to your website through a link to boost your efforts. Sending traffic to your site will actually boost your SEO efforts as well.
Content
What to post as a lawyer or attorney? Legal advice is a good one, but you should keep this minimal. Keep up on local news if you primarily serve a local area. You can write blogs and articles about various topics and then post on your social media and website. If you do it right, you can get a lot of traffic to your site by finding some hot topics and trends.
You can also check on competitors to see what they are posting to get an idea of what followers are reacting to. Regardless, make sure your content is valuable. Do not make it about your services all the time. If you don't provide value, your online marketing will suffer.
What If You Don't Have Time?
If you don't have the time to learn or apply some of these strategies, you can look into various automation softwares on the market. Otherwise, you can hire a digital marketing agency to help you out. Here are a couple things to ask:
Hopefully you found this guide useful for your online marketing as a lawyer or attorney! If you have any questions, feel free to fill out a contact form so we can help out!
SEO
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. This is a process that allows your website to show up higher in Google's search results. SEO is usually applied to websites in order to achieve this result. In the early stages, it requires a lot of research to find out what and where people are searching. These methods are usually longer term and take a long time (at least 6 months) to take effect.
PPC and Google Ads
Google Ads have become nearly synonymous with PPC (pay per click). These are usually ads that show up during a search on Google. in a "sponsored" section. This is a great digital marketing effort to gain initial leads and clients as a lawyer or attorney. Search ads usually have a call to action and can drive valuable behavior such as sending a contact form, booking a consultation, or requesting more information.
Google ads also offer other options such as video ads or display ads. Display ads create general awareness for your law firm and you are charged on impressions usually. Impressions are basically how many people see your ad. Video can do either - create calls to action or generate awareness for your law firm. You just need to have the equipment to film a high quality video.
Social Media
Social media is a fantastic and low cost method to begin forming an audience and following. The key on these platforms is to post frequently and consistently. You will also want to send traffic back to your website through a link to boost your efforts. Sending traffic to your site will actually boost your SEO efforts as well.
Content
What to post as a lawyer or attorney? Legal advice is a good one, but you should keep this minimal. Keep up on local news if you primarily serve a local area. You can write blogs and articles about various topics and then post on your social media and website. If you do it right, you can get a lot of traffic to your site by finding some hot topics and trends.
You can also check on competitors to see what they are posting to get an idea of what followers are reacting to. Regardless, make sure your content is valuable. Do not make it about your services all the time. If you don't provide value, your online marketing will suffer.
What If You Don't Have Time?
If you don't have the time to learn or apply some of these strategies, you can look into various automation softwares on the market. Otherwise, you can hire a digital marketing agency to help you out. Here are a couple things to ask:
- Are they active on social media themselves? And do they follow digital marketing news and trends?
- If the digital marketing agency is active and keeping up on industry news, this likely means that they have updated and high quality methods that can help your law firm succeed online.
- Do they have experience and are they willing to share their success?
- If they aren't willing to share their success stories, this is a red flag.
- Are they transparent about their digital marketing practices?
- If the marketing agency does not share their methods with you, this is a red flag.
- Do they claim to have any secret formulas?
- If so, that's a red flag. This is most common in the SEO field.
- Do they communicate well with their clients?
- You want a digital marketing agency that works well with your law firm. Ask and see how they plan on communicating and working with you so the business relationship can be as smooth as possible for each party.
- Are they willing to give you references?
- If the marketing agency does not give you references, it could mean two things. One is that they are brand new. The other is that they have had dissatisfied clients who are not willing to be referenced. Getting a reference and calling them can help show the marketing agency's quality of work - so it's a good idea to check on this before moving forward.
- What is the contract term?
- You never want to be locked in on a 12 month contract with a low quality marketing agency. At that point, it's pointless. As a lawyer or attorney, you've probably already got this covered, but it is always good to make sure.
Hopefully you found this guide useful for your online marketing as a lawyer or attorney! If you have any questions, feel free to fill out a contact form so we can help out!