A quick 20 minute overview of top recommendations with regard to law firm websites, social media marketing, driving inbound traffic, email marketing, ethics rules, and more.

1. Digital Marketing: The Basics
in 20 Minutes or Less
HTLA Law Practice Management
Seminar
October 2, 2014
Houston, Texas
STACEY BURKE
ATTORNEY/OWNER
415 WESTHEIMER ROAD, SUITE
209A
HOUSTON, TEXAS 77006
OFFICE (713) 714-8446
FAX (877) 314-9990
STACEY@STACEYEBURKE.COM
WWW.STACEYEBURKE.COM

2. State Bar of Texas – Advertising
Rules and Regulations
www.staceyeburke.com

3. Texas Disciplinary Rules
of Professional Conduct, Part VII
• The bulk of violations will occur under Rule 7.02 “Communications Concerning
a Lawyer’s Services.”
• Board Certification by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization conclusively
establishes that a lawyer meets the requirements of Rule 7.02(a)(6) (the ability
to designate/advertise a particular practice area) in any area in which the Board
has certified the lawyer.
• The most common violations occur with regard to:
– Case results (“unjustified expectations,” aggregate results, and net/fee disclosure)
– Stating that a lawyer is an “expert” or a “specialist” (cannot use)
– Board Certification (specifically mandated format)
– Principal office location (must be listed and be staffed at least three days each
week)
– Joint venture advertising (you must disclose all financially interested parties)
www.staceyeburke.com

4. Law Firm Websites
www.staceyeburke.com

5. Most Important Aspects in Law Firm
Website Design
• Custom designed home page
• Easy navigation
• Appropriate information architecture
• Use visual content, not just text
• Optimize your copywriting for both people and
search engines
• CTA – “Call to Action”
– Contact us vs. sidebar sales methodology
• Your contact information/methods of contact
• Use Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools
www.staceyeburke.com

6. User Interface and Information
Architecture
Potts Law Firm potts-law.com Fibich Leebron Copeland Briggs
& Josephson MyBackWages.com
www.staceyeburke.com

7. Law Firm Website Traffic: The Basics
1. Drive traffic to your
website via a variety of
methods mapped out in
a comprehensive
marketing strategy.
2. Add content to your
website on a regular
basis, including news,
case results, speaking
engagements,
whitepapers, awards,
etc.
www.staceyeburke.com

8. Law Firm Website Traffic Drivers
• Online press releases and media coverage
• Banner and display advertising
• Email marketing
• Social media marketing
• Paid search advertising
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• YouTube videos
• Offsite blogging and article writing
www.staceyeburke.com

9. Social Media for Law Firms
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10. Social Media & Your Law Firm Website
• Include social sharing functionality on your blog
and throughout your website
• Include links to all of your social media channels
in the footer of your website and/or in another
design element such as a right column
www.staceyeburke.com

11. Social Media Marketing:
Which Channels are Most Important
• Facebook
– 829 million people log onto Facebook each day, a 19% increase since last
year.
– Highest traffic occurs midweek between 1-3pm
– Engagement is 18% higher on Thursdays and Fridays
– 16 million business pages, a 100% increase since 2012
• Twitter
– 100 million daily active users of 1 billion registered users, but only 550
million of those have ever sent a tweet
• LinkedIn
– 100 million American users, 40% check in daily
– Your profile is 11x more likely to be viewed if you include a photograph
– Maintaining professional relationships, an online resume
• YouTube
– More than 1 billion unique users visit YouTube each month
– 323 days of YouTube video are watched every hour on Facebook
– Advertisers spent $5.6 billion on YouTube in 2013

12. Social Media “Set it and Forget it”
• DESIGN/BRANDING
– You are, at least in a digital consumer’s eyes, what they see online
• ETHICS
– Failure to timely respond to client communications
• MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
– Missing referrals
• A 2012 ABA survey showed 95% of ABA members have profiles on LinkedIn
and that 70% of corporate counsel regularly use LinkedIn as a tool to find
and vet outside counsel.
– Missed media inquiries
• REPUTATION MANAGEMENT
– Bad feedback left unaddressed in public
• BASIC MANNERS
– Connection requests left unanswered can be perceived as rude
www.staceyeburke.com

13. Social Media “Set it and Forget it”
Customize Your Social Channels
• Never leave the default
imagery
• Utilize customizable features
like app tabs on Facebook
• Claim vanity URLs
• Make sure to include:
– Firm logo
– Firm website URL
– Contact information
– Some imagery
Have a Social Media Protocol
• Use a professional voice and
tone
• Always be aware of client
confidentiality and
inadvertently forming an
attorney-client relationship
• How to respond to
communications from:
– Existing clients
– New leads
– External lawyers
– Media and press
www.staceyeburke.com
www.staceyeburke.com

14. Email Marketing and CRM
www.staceyeburke.com

15. Email Marketing Quick Facts
• 50 million people will check email at least 5 times
today
• Email reaches 93% of internet users
• Response rates to email are 10x greater than direct
mail
• Adults will account for 87% of all U.S. email users in
2013
• There will be 216.6 million U.S. email users this year
• Two out of three people in the U.S. will be email users
in 2013
• Use an ESP for its greater deliverability and “white list”
status
www.staceyeburke.com

16. Analytics, Metrics, ROI:
How Do I Know What’s Working?
www.staceyeburke.com

17. Monitor Your Metrics and Return on Investment
• Do all of your websites have active, current
Google Analytics code?
• Do you track social media Key Performance
Indicators (KPIs)?
• Do you asses and track your acquisition costs?
• Do you conduct monthly, quarterly, and/or yearly
reviews of your marketing metrics to adjust
expenditures?
www.staceyeburke.com

18. How to Succeed Online
• Audit existing marketing efforts and
associated internal systems for effectiveness
• Consider an update/redesign of the firm’s
logo/branding/website as part of a new, global
strategy (this new identity will live on many
channels and needs to look and feel cohesive)
• Create consistency across the firm’s lawyers
with regard to online presence
www.staceyeburke.com

19. My PowerPoint presentations:
SlideShare.net/StaceyBurke
www.staceyeburke.com

20. STACEY E. BURKE
ATTORNEY/OWNER
415 WESTHEIMER ROAD, SUITE 209A
HOUSTON, TEXAS 77006
OFFICE (713) 714-8446
FAX (877) 314-9990
STACEY@STACEYEBURKE.COM
WWW.STACEYEBURKE.COM