In 2013, there were a surplus of real estate companies and landlords in Chicago that made tenant liability insurance mandatory in both condos and apartments. Suddenly tenants who’d been living in apartments for years without these charges needed to understand their legal rights. Should they get renters insurance? Why did they need renters liability insurance? What did tenant liability insurance cover that landlord liability insurance did not? Could they trust insurance companies to tell them whether this was worth the extra living expenses?
While many tenants either bought the insurance or shopped around for apartments with landlords that hadn’t made this a requirement yet, many may have ignored the disclaimer at the bottom suggesting they speak with a legal official before signing the tenant agreement. More than likely the reason they opted out of talking to a lawyer because they assumed they’d be charged a large sum of money just for a few minutes of advice.
Other tenants took their chances and contacted group legal organizations, such as NOLO to see if they could receive from local lawyers. But the World Wide Web and social media were also at their disposal, and not enough lawyers took advantage of this newsworthy trend.
While it is easy to pass out business cards and post an ad online, social media engagement and active blogs bring far more exposure to law firms that aren’t already well known. People who can run down law firm names off the tops of their heads are either lawyers already, business executives or are entirely too familiar with police. But these don’t have to be the only three groups who actively engage with lawyers.
Law firms have just as much of a right to expand their audience through online engagement. Here are a few tips for how to do so without comprising too much time needed for clients.
Set up Google Alerts For Blogs Talking About Your Specialty Area
The upside of search engines is they’re helpful at directing people to a subject. The downside is good content gets buried if it’s not on the first couple of pages. Popular content shouldn’t outrank quality content. Actively engage in interesting blogs, maybe because the content is so high quality or because the content is inaccurate and too many readers believe it. Be cordial and informative in an open discussion form. Make sure to leave the name of your company so other readers are able to find your firm online.
Don’t Be Shy With Introducing Your Firm to Bloggers
Reach out to bloggers who may be able to spread the word to their readers about your firm. Be open to phone interviews or answering a few frequently asked questions (FAQs) that the average person may not know about your area of expertise. If you’re a legal official who handles prenuptial agreements, a wedding blogger is just as viable as an investment blogger.
Interact With Social Media Users Who Reply or Mention Your Company
Social media savvy users will quickly be able to identify accounts with scheduled and automated tweets. They usually leave uniform comments, never reply to follow-up questions and tend to do a poor job of keeping up with trending topics or redirect to a related topic. While most Google trends and trending topics may not be important to your firm, keep track of newsier content or trends that show up every once in awhile. Either set aside an hour of time to interact on a daily basis or consider investing in a social media marketing person who would be able to master the culture of your firm and interact on your behalf.
Keep the blog professional but emphasize clear, relevant content.
If a firm’s blog is solely for other legal professionals to read, they can throw in all of the bills and amendments they want. But it may take some discipline to think back to a time before law school. If legal terminology must be used within a blog, make sure footnotes can successfully break this content down. Try to find topics that the everyday user will care about as opposed to trying to force them into wanting to talk about what the firm does. Make sure to blog on a regular basis, too. If the blogs are too sporadic and don’t have a subscription function, a blogger for any category may lose loyal readers.