One of these images is a link to our website; one is just text. Can you tell which is which?
No? Neither can I... but my smartphone can.
Both of these images are QR codes, a type of barcode that is readable using camera phones, among other technology. They’re showing up all sorts of places... real estate signs; ad flyers; at a conference, linking to a list of events (no need to carry the paper schedule anymore!).
QR codes reduce the possibility of mistyping a URL when entering it, which leads to several potential uses for law firms. The most obvious use is on business cards, either on the front or back, depending on size and layout preferences, using either the link to the law firm’s home page, or customizing the cards to each attorney, linking directly to their information on the website.
It doesn’t make much sense to put QR codes on the Web pages themselves (why would you link back to the page you’re on?), but QR codes can be added to the print quality materials available on your website, such as the PDF versions of the attorney biographies and practice areas. This will allow visitors to easily refer back to your website from materials they’ve printed or saved on previous visits.
And what about your marketing materials? Your firm brochure probably has an available corner for a QR code, allowing you to link to the firm’s home page. The one-sheets about each of your practice areas can include QR codes linking back to the practice area’s Web page.
You may never install a QR reader application on your smartphone. But if you have clients that are technologically inclined, a conveniently placed QR code may be the way to keep them coming back to your website.
Your personal Web site and blog are all about you. You can write to an audience or to yourself; the real audience is you and what you want to share with the world. Your law firm’s Web site, on the other hand, has an audience: your current and potential clients. With the astounding growth of the internet over the last decade, your law firm’s Web site is your strongest marketing tool... if used right.
A great Web site design will capture your visitors’ attention when they arrive at the site, but it’s the content that keeps both your audience and your search engine rankings. A lot of the effort needed to have a great Web site for you law firm is in creating and maintaining the content. A great Web site design, tailored for ease of use, is intended to enhance your high quality, concise content that is presented to your visitors and updated regularly. The content should be written with an 'outside-in' focus, taking into consideration how a client or prospect would likely look for information.
-- Frances
Social media provide an abundance of opportunity for the business person looking to expand their networks, but they are so easy to misuse, whether intentionally or accidentally. You want to capture the attention of your network, but must avoid scaring off potential and current clients.
I recently read an interesting book called Relationship Economics: Transform Your Most Valuable Business Contacts Into Personal and Professional Success, where the author, David Nour, said it best: "the worst thing you can do on social media is to sell; doing so unequivocally turns everybody off."
Unfortunately, I can give you examples from my personal experience. I recently received a request on Facebook from someone I didn’t know, explaining that he had noticed we had a mutual interest. I was slow to respond - I prefer to only friend people I know - but I eventually accepted his invitation to connect with an e-mail about our common interest. About five minutes later, he posted a sales link on my “Wall”, which everybody on my Friends list could see. Five minutes after that, I had deleted the link and blocked him from my Friends list.
Similarly, one of the lists I follow on LinkedIn periodically gets hit with badly written ads for the industry the group supports. Summaries of these discussions are e-mailed to the members of the group; the universal response on LinkedIn has been “this is spam, why is it here?” It’s annoying to see these on an otherwise productive group, and is akin to walking into a clothing shop and trying to sell clothes to the salespeople.
Use social media to expand your networks and showcase your work... save the sales for the sales meetings. What can you share via social media? As a Web site design and development firm, our Facebook page showcases some of the Web sites we've worked on; our LinkedIn page has an RSS feed from our blog and information about some of our products and services. Law firms with blogs, newsletters or regular news updates should showcase those on their social media profiles.
-- Frances