Successful law firms must employ both marketing and business development to grow their practices, but many firms frequently (and incorrectly) use the terms interchangeably. While both marketing and business development contribute to growing your law firm’s bottom line, each has different and distinct responsibilities.
Even if you aren’t on it, you have probably heard of Twitter. It is a free social media platform with a mobile app, website, and third party applications. Sometimes it gets a bad rap for its constant stream of updates, including “what I had for breakfast” posts. I maintain that the value of Twitter, and really all social media, comes with who you follow and how you use it. I’m a Twitter-evangelist. Why? Twitter trumps Facebook for engagement, audience building and search engine optimization. As a law firm on Twitter, it is perfectly acceptable to “talk” to someone you have never met. It puts the networking in social networking.
If our client requests constitute indicators of the legal marketing landscape, print collateral, direct mail, brochures, business cards, print advertising, and all things print-related remain in high-demand at law firms. As lawyers, our print marketing materials must comply with the applicable state bar advertising rules; therefore, these rules need to be considered at every stage of print collateral creation, especially considering the initial review process for pre-approval can take 30 days or longer.
In January of this year, I wrote a blog post describing what law firm document management software is, how it differs from case management software, and examples of document management software in the legal market today. Building upon that previous post, it is important to also discuss the advantages of having a document management system and what it can do for your law firm.
Are you spending too much time marketing your law firm – or not enough? Do you know how many hours you and your staff spend on marketing? While best practices will vary by firm and talent, below I provide industry guidelines to help you quantify your marketing efforts.
Stacey E. Burke