In part two of author and educator Mr. Swanson’s interview with America’s Top Trial Attorney, William Ricigliano of Ricigliano & Filopei, and his business partner, Michael Sorrentino of Nationwide Legal Video Services, they discuss different unique ways to use video marketing at your law firm.

Attorney Matthew Dubin of the Law Offices of Matthew D. Dubin, in Seattle, Washington shares with Author and Educator Michael J. Swanson a few tips for lawyers to better market their firm on Facebook.

By Tina Burns

Smartphones have revolutionized the business world and the ability to work on the go. From social media to content storage, it can feel overwhelming when trying to remember to backup files, add events to your calendar or even check the weather…until now.

In a recent article from Attorney Christopher B. Hopkins of Akerman, LLP, we discover the new app IFTTT (If This Then That) that “allows you to get value from your mobile device and social media without “checking in” constantly — thus reducing your internet-induced stress.” This user-friendly app requires no coding or advanced technical knowledge. You simply create ‘Recipes’ to tell the app what to do after a certain action occurs. Here are some example recipes that Mr. Hopkins mentioned:

• Facebook & Twitter: Eliminate opening both account and set IFTTT so that anything you write on Twitter with the tag “#FB” will be posted on Facebook (or vice versa).
• Save Email Attachments to Google Drive: Set IFTTT to download all email attachments to a folder in Google Drive — or set the trigger so that IFTTT will save PDF attachments in a folder if you put “#receipts” in title of an email you send to yourself.
• Weather: If it is going to rain tomorrow in [location], it will send you a text or have IFTTT send you the weather report each morning.
• Congress or Presidential Updates: Set IFTTT to email you when the President signs a new law or Congress schedules a vote on a bill.

(Read the full article “If This Then That (IFTTT) For Lawyers”)

This is just one of the many free productivity apps available for professions to help organize your life and your business.

Download and try IFTTT today!

(Original post found here)

By Yvette Valencia

Obtaining website comments about content on your site is a sign that you're writing blogs and articles that make people take notice of what you have to say.

There are many types of web comments that could be submitted to your web content and each type should be handled differently. The one similarity is that comments should never be ignored; even writing a simple "thanks" can let readers know you're paying attention to what they have to say.

Responding to Positive Comments

Positive comments, even brief ones that just state how much a reader liked your article, should be acknowledged and responded to in a timely manner. The purpose of web comments is to engage your readers in dialogue to show that you're not an automated content farm. You're a business that truly cares about what its customers or clients have to say.

In most cases, a simple "thanks for the comment!" will do as a response. But try to respond with something relevant and insightful once in a while, especially if a commenter took the time to leave a long and insightful comment. You can also use positive comments as an opportunity to find out what you're doing right.

In your response try asking questions like these.

• What part of the blog/article did you like the best or was most helpful?
• Was there anything I didn't talk about or explain that you'd like to see covered in a future blog post?
• Is there anything I can do to help you with (topic of article)?
• What other similar topics would you like to read about?

Your positive commenters can be a great source of inspiration for future article and blog topics if you take the time to respond and track their comments.

Responding to Negative Comments

The first thing worth mentioning about negative comments is that you should almost never delete them to hide them from your page. The only time you should do this is if they are full of inappropriate language or content. Otherwise, they should be handled just like positive comments by issuing a full and engaging response.

If the comment brings up a specific issue with your web content or company, address that issue as fully as appropriate in a public forum. If the comment is sensitive or personal in nature, ask the commenter to send you a private email or call your office to discuss his or her grievances.

Above all, be civil. Getting angry at rude or childish commenters will do nothing but harm your reputation. Responding with dignity and patience and asking what the problem is rather than yelling, is a much better response in the eyes of other readers.

Responding to Spam Comments

Believe it or not, you should respond to spam comments, just not on your actual site. If you're using a platform such as WordPress to post your web content, you should install an anti-spam measure such as Akismet. If you do not manage your site, talk to your webmaster about automated spam controls.

If you manage spam manually, keep your comment queue clear by deleting spam comments every few days. If you receive a high volume of spam comments, you may want to implement a comment approval system where you must approve the comments before they appear on the site.

Comments on your web content are a great sign for site owners. It means that human readers are coming by and engaging with the content they're offering. Google picks this up by tracking the time spent on pages and uses that as a ranking factor in the search results. If you have quality, relevant content that's easy to read and gives readers something to talk about, you should be getting comments worth replying to!

At We Do Web Content, Inc. our goal is to provide our clients with the kind of quality content that inspires readers to share and comment. Just give us a call or fill out our contact form to learn about our content marketing services and ghostwriting options. Your comment sections will thank you! Call 888-521-3880.

by Gerry Oginski, Esq.

(1) “Objection! I Direct You NOT to Answer That Question.”

That’s the title of one of my videos. Why would I create a video with such a pointed question?

Here’s another video title...

(2) “Surveillance video backfired. New York medical malpractice attorney explains.”

Who is that video title for?

Here's another laser focused video title...

(3) “Why would I discontinue a case against two gynecologists in a failure to diagnose breast cancer case?”

Again, why would I create such pointed and specific titles for videos? Would you like to learn the answer? Come join me as I share with you this great information.

If you are going to take the time, energy and resources to create great educational video, you must have a clear and concise video marketing strategy before ever pressing the record button.

Do not think for a moment that you can take your iPhone, android device, or iPad or video camera and start shooting a quick and dirty video and expect that viewers will flock to watch your video.

PLANNING AND STRATEGIZING IS CRITICAL

The most important part of creating great video involves the planning phase. During your planning you need to map out a clear video marketing strategy.

If you fail to have a clear and concise video marketing strategy your ideal clients will never find you online and here’s SEVEN REASONS why:

1. Your videos will not be found by Google or YouTube. YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world directly behind Google. (Who owns YouTube? Google).
2. Even if your video somehow comes up in a search results page, your ideal client will likely overlook the title of your video and move elsewhere.
3. A viewer who presses the play button on your video will quickly recognize that you do not have great information for him and he will leave quickly.
4. Simply providing rambling content will force your viewer to watch someone else’s video.
5. Most attorney videos lack a strategy to get viewers to pick up the phone and call.
6. You may think you have great content to offer your ideal clients, but if you don’t really know what content your viewers want, you are spinning your wheels and missing great opportunities.
7. If your strategy is to be all professional and use big legal words, your ideal consumers who are searching for you online will eagerly look elsewhere for someone they can relate to.

BONUS

IF YOU DON’T HAVE VIDEO YET, YOU ARE INTENTIONALLY IGNORING THE SECOND LARGEST SEARCH ENGINE IN THE WORLD.

HOW DO YOU GET SOMEONE TO TRUST YOU IN 3 MINUTES?

Remember, as attorneys we have a very large hurdle to overcome when we market ourselves both online and offline. Our ideal clients who do not know us are searching for an attorney to help solve their legal problem. The obstacle is that new clients who don’t know us typically do not trust us.

That’s a fact.

So how is it possible I am able to generate trust and expertise without ever talking about my credentials or selling myself in this video?

The answer is with a clear and concise video marketing strategy.

In the first headline, who is that video for?

In the second headline, who is that content for?

Importantly, what do you think I’m discussing in each of those videos directed to those specific potential viewers?

Want to see what I’m talking about?

Take a look at this video... the embed code is: <iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/n-7E2nKRmqs?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The url for the video is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-7E2nKRmqs.

A FINAL THOUGHT

You must have a clear and concise video marketing strategy when using video to market your law firm. Failure to do that will result in you scratching your head wondering why no one is watching your videos.