I recently read a post on a lawyer’s blog that questioned the need for lawyers to hire marketing experts in order to help them generate leads and grow their business through online marketing.  His contention is that anyone can generate more leads and get more clients through the effective use of social media, blogging, PPC advertising, etc., if they are willing to put in the time and follow  a few simple steps.  He went on to say, “ There are no secrets. There are no secrets to getting more clients, referrals, or writing 140 character messages. There are only people who claim there to be secrets in order to convince you that (for a fee) you can know something your competition doesn’t.”  As a lawyer myself, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the hypocrisy of this statement.

First, let me say that in many ways I agree that there are no “secrets” to effective online marketing for lawyers or any other industry.  There are general principles, techniques, strategies and tactics that, if used properly, will improve your chances of achieving your desired goals and objectives.  The proper techniques and strategies to implement varies from client to client and the industry is ever-changing, requiring marketers to keep-up with those changes in order to best serve their clients.  Sounds an awful lot like what lawyers do for their clients doesn’t it?

Now I’m sure this blogger might scoff at comaparing the requisite expertise of a marketing professional to that of a lawyer. After all, he paid a king’s ransome for three years of law school to get J.D. behind his name.  But that’s not the point.  The point is that lawyers and marketing professionals sell the same product;  their knowledge and expertise.  Whether the professional gained their expertise through a formal degree blessed by the State Bar or through trial and error and self-teaching  is irrelevant.  What really matters is that they have information and experience that their clients don’t have and are willing to pay for.

They say a man who represents himself at trial has a fool for a client.  Are you handling your own online marketing?

We are a society of consumers constantly looking for products that help make our lives easier and more enjoyable. We are presented with a sometimes mind-numbing variety of choices between brands for the products we use on a daily basis. In our ever-busy lives we have grown accustomed to instant access to information in order to make quick decisions. Advertising that is personalized to individuals is a natural extension of our desire to get what we want, when we want it, without having to sift through all the garbage. Rather than resist this trend, I suggest we embrace it. A major complaint about online advertising as it stands now is the amount of garbage that we are subjected to that is of no interest to us. By allowing marketers to use targeting technology we would be creating a more enjoyable viewing/listening/browsing experience for everyone. Who knows, you might even see an ad for a product that you actually want.

Please visit www.virginiatrialfirm.com for more on this client.

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Constant Joy is a subscription based greeting card service located here in Richmond, Virginia.  The product is greeting cards but as they like to say, they’re really in the business of curing loneliness.  Their website isn’t up yet but I’ll be sure to post the link when it is.

Bruegger’s Bagels is in the business of serving up their world famous kettle cooked bagels in over 250 locations around the U.S.  Bruegger’s also serve delicious sandwiches, salads and soup along with the freshest coffee around.  RedShift has put together a series of online display advertising campaigns for Brueggers in several markets around the country with tremendous success. 

We look forward to a long and prosperous partnership as Bruegger’s online media service provider.

That’s all for now.  When we dig out from our mountain of proposals we’ll be sure to keep you updated on what’s going on in the world of online marketing as we see it.