Category: Communication Media & Internet

A Law Firm Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Guide to Understanding Your Website’s Rankings

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How Long Will it Take My Site to Rank?

The world of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a lot like the Wild West.  You have the barkeeps and the bandits.  The barkeeps work hard and earn an honest living for a long time (unless they are gunned down by a bandit).  The bandits steal and earn money quickly but are more than likely to be gunned down themselves during their next heist.  If you haven’t gathered already, the barkeeps are white hat SEOs and the bandits are black hat SEOs.  Their earnings are derived from your rankings.

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Many search marketers work very hard to stay on top of the latest trends and work tirelessly to create a place that people want to go and hang out (the bar).  They will tell you the truth about where you are and how long it will take you to get where you need to be.  There are others who really have no real talent or resources other than the ability to sell you on quick wins and a fiverr.com account where they can buy a truckload of easy links that may make your site rank in the short term before it gets penalized for spammy practices.

In order to create value for your visitors and for you as a law firm, you have to know where you are and form a plan to get you where you need to be.  So let’s start with the basics.

What Are the Basics That I Need to Know as a Lawyer About SEO?

Pay Attention to Your Design

First, you need a well organized site that is visually appealing and applies current design trends so that your visitors do not feel like you stopped caring about them years ago.  It is normal to redesign a site every 2-3 years, especially if your ROI or conversions have dropped. (Pro Tip: WordPress makes it easy to redesign a site by just building a new theme instead of rebuilding each page.)

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A skilled law firm Web designer thinks about how the visitor goes through the site, what they are most interested in and what will compel a visitor to contact the law firm. Designing for your visitors is critical and is the foundation of good search optimization.

Make Your Content Easy to Understand

Google has to crawl (basically download and parse) and understand the pages on your site.  Your visitors need to understand your site as well as how it is organized.  Relevant content is a must for your law firm website.

Many times companies build sites around their business structure instead of their visitor’s needs.  This is so common it is alarming.  If your firm’s focus is car accident cases, you need to have an obvious link on the homepage that encourage visitors to click for more information on car accident cases.  Build that page to be better and more useful than the page of any of your competitors.

Don’t make visitors hunt for information.  Use a content outline to help plan and organize your site so that it is logical (for search engines) and easy to find (for visitors).

Don’t Sell, Be Useful

This is a pet peeve of mine.  I have never been to a law firm’s website and not known that it is a law firm’s website.  It is obvious.  There is no need to tell people in the content that you can handle their case.  Instead, provide what they seek.  Add value to their visit.  Use social proof (testimonials, reviews) judiciously, show some cases you have won, but above all tell them what they need to know and answer their questions.

Be Interesting and Authoritative

If you do not have the time or resources to write high quality content, pay a top notch writer to do it for you.  Google analyzes content for relevance and readability.  Google has the world’s largest testing platform for Web pages.  Their goal is to return a result that answers the question entered and that the searcher finds interesting enough to stay and read.  This is commonly called time-to-long-click.  If a searcher finds your content and immediately returns to Google to pick another Web page, they have told Google that your content was either not relevant, informative or unhelpful.  Next time someone searches for that query, Google is less likely to show your content in the results.

What Are the Factors that Drive Rankings?

How Google ranks websites is a closely held secret.  If anyone tells you they have the magic formula, they are not being truthful.  However, there are several things that we do know.  A list of the top factors that Google has announced as well as from our experience include:

  • Authoritative links are huge.  Links from trustworthy sites that are on pages which are relevant to the content on your site they are linking to is one of the biggest ranking factors. For example, a scholarly website discussing car accident causation factors that links to your car accident infographic is a successful and powerful link.
  • The number of different high quality domains that link to you is highly correlated with good rankings.
  • Have a physical location in the city where you want business. All of the searches that have keywords indicating a business (lawyer, law firm, attorney, etc.) will return local listings at the top of the results 90% of the time.

google reviews

  • Reviews on Google (as well as other trusted rating sites) increases your visibility and chance of a prospect contacting you with their case.   If you put yourself in your potential client’s shoes and do a search for “Palm Beach Car Accident Lawyer,” would you pick the attorney with no reviews or the firm with ten five-star reviews?  This is also highly correlated with rankings.
  • Brand and business mentions help search engines know who you are.  Google used to return EMDs (exact match domains) for certain keywords because it had difficulty distinguishing the difference between a keyword and a brand name.  If you search for Rackroom Shoes, you probably want rackroomshoes.com.  Google uses brand (co-citations/co-occurrence) along with instances of your business name and address found on quality sites to understand the strength and trustworthiness of your brand.
  • Having well-written, properly organized, and properly optimized site content is also critical to rankings.  No one wants to click on a search result that just says “Home – mylawfirm.com”.  Google will probably display a better (more relevant) title for you anyway but you get the point.  The title and description of your page are important elements that tell Google and the visitor what your page is about.
  • There is also some early evidence that having active Google+ profiles can be very helpful in gaining rankings for your site.

What Is the Amount of Time That it Will Take My Law Firm’s Website to Start Ranking?

This is a very difficult question with several variables, but I will do my best to lay this out.  Your search vendor is not a black box that drives traffic and conversions.  The vendor is a partner that magnifies what you already do to put you in the best position to get the cases for which you are looking.

In my experience, law firms that are active in the community (online and off), have good relationships and actively promote their brand are the ones who experience the most success with their websites.  This is because Google uses many factors to determine rankings, not just links.

For now, high quality, relevant links are still a primary factor in determining rankings and should be sought. If you have a new site with no links and your top competitors have established sites with hundreds of sites linking to them, you should obtain a similar amount in order to be competitive.  Remember to follow the tips above on the type of links to target.

If you take the number of linking sites that your competitors have; let’s say 200, then you will need to get close to that mark in order to be in the ballpark to start ranking with them. But one thing to keep in mind: not all links are created equal.  One link from a university website can be equal to a hundred blog articles or directory links.  So, it really has to do with the quality and number of links that you acquire that will enable you to compete with other firms’ rankings.

It is possible to buy thousands of links in a month to rank for what you want, but with the advent of manual penalties and Penguin filters from Google, we highly recommend against this.  Instead, go the slower route of convincing people to link to you.  This can be done in the following ways:

  • Create content that people want to link to.
  • Do promotions that people will share and link to.
  • Ask people you know for links.
  • List your company in authoritative directories.
  • Share quality blog posts with non-competing blog owners.
  • Write a glowing article about another business or organization.
  • Ask a business if you can put a testimonial on their site in exchange for a link.

There are many, many other ways to build links in a quality way.  Finding a strategy that works for your firm can be a process of trial and error when first starting out.

law firm marketing web strategy

Your overall Web strategy also needs to be considered when planning your firm’s link building plan.  One of your practice areas may be extremely competitive and have very established competitor sites.  Instead of starting with that area, it may be a better approach to shoot for a slightly less lucrative practice area or location with less competition in order to rank more quickly for terms that can drive results.

The reality is that, depending on the amount of competition in a particular location and practice area, it can take a year, or years, to get to where your competition is.  Your competition may have spent tens of thousands of dollars on their Web presence.  Keep in mind that your competition did not stop what they were doing just because you entered the game.  You will have to catch up to where they were, plus how much they did while you were catching up.

What Can Law Firms Do to Help Speed Up the Process?

The really cool thing about Google is that they want to reward brands, trustworthiness, and authority.  There are some easy shortcuts that law firms can take to help their vendors help them while still sticking to white hat tactics.  Here are the top five:

  • Share relationships that you have that can lead to great link opportunities.  Several of our clients who were on the boards of organizations and have bio pages on those websites.  There is nothing wrong with asking for a link to your website or to your bio on your website.  Another example – if you have a good relationship with a local newspaper, see if you can get a great story written and posted on the paper’s website about something you did or an opinion you have.
  • Get reviews!  Reviews influence rankings as well as conversions.  People love social proof and use it to make decisions.  If your law firm has none or only one or two reviews on Google, Yelp or Avvo, you are missing the boat.  Your Web vendor cannot do this for you.
  • Read your content.  If you do not feel comfortable sharing a new blog post on your personal Facebook account, then it is probably not interesting enough for anyone else to want to share or link to.
  • Participate in your community.  Hold an event.  Sponsor a charity.  Create a charity or scholarship.  Give away free legal counseling for students at your alma mater.  These things get natural links and brand mentions because people like to share great things that others are doing.  Keep your vendor in the loop and they can do outreach to leverage these offline activities online.
  • Share what is important to you.  Share your knowledge: videos, resources, papers and important changes to laws.  Visitors to your website are determining whether to choose you or not.  Help them know what makes you different.

Well, if you have made it this far, thanks for sticking with me. To close, I think it is important to say that some sites take months and some take a year to start producing results.  It really depends on competition and how new you are to the Web.  Being new to the Web is not such a bad thing these days, contact us to ask why.

The most important advice that I can give is to make sure that your Web vendor actually reviews your site before suggesting a strategy.  There should be clear expectations and goals established for your site.  Your vendor should have regular meetings with you and partner with you to create a plan for success (even if takes longer than you would like).  Remember that a high-quality vendor will tell a potential client the truth even if it is not what they want to hear.

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7 Steps to Create a Lead-Generating Website [INFOGRAPHIC]

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It is estimated that 95% of law firms already have a website (I’m not sure what the other five percent are holding out for…perhaps they still think the internet is a fad), but too few attorneys are consistently generating quality leads from their online presence because they lack great content.

Google has made it increasingly difficult to rank high without putting a lot of quality content on your website. One of the best ways to do so is via a blog, which allows you to add unique, high quality content every day to your website.

The infographic below from ReachLocal.com provides 7 essential ingredients you must have in your website to help you land more leads:

Moving Parts of a Successful Law Firm Social Media Campaign

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Social Media seems pretty straightforward on the surface. Everyone is doing it! It seems simple enough to create a profile, upload a profile picture and start posting. And for the average Internet user, it is. However, if you want to achieve marketing goals, Social Media becomes a much more intricate process.

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Because it sends a message to potential clients that your firm is transparent, professional, approachable and connected, choosing to use Social Media is important. Sharing a good blend of content will enhance these qualities and showcase your law firm’s expertise.

Identify Your Goals

A successful Social Media marketing strategy begins well before the accounts are created. Start by identifying your goals.

Is your primary goal branding, conversions, social proof, traffic to your Website or simply creating a network around your brand where people can approach you, leave reviews, or even refer your law firm to their social network?

You must identify these goals early. They will even affect many choices you will make, including which social platforms you will be active on.

Choose Your Social Media Platforms

Once you know your goals and have set aside a budget, it’s time to look at the various social networks – namely Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn and Avvo. Each of these platforms functions differently. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses. And each one will accomplish different goals.

For example, if you are looking to enhance your SEO campaign with Social Media, create personal and firm Google+ profiles. On the other hand, if you are looking to share your content and connect with more people, create a Facebook business page.

Choose as many social networking sites as necessary to meet your demands. No one says you can only choose one.

To help you with creating an initial Social Media strategy, here is a brief look at each platform’s strengths and weaknesses:

  • Facebook – This is the most popular social network. It makes it much easier to connect with people and drive traffic to your website. Facebook Insights are in-depth and informative, while paid ads are cheap and effective. Facebook is also the most successful for converting followers into clients.
  • Google+ – This platform is closely tied to Google search, Local, and authorship / publisher mark-up. Google+ Communities are also a great place to target users who will likely find your content interesting or helpful. For SEO, Google+ is essential. However, its network isn’t as copious as Facebook.
  • LinkedIn – This is the place to connect with professionals. It is a great place to feature B2B businesses, start a referral network, create Groups to showcase your expertise, get endorsements or find clients who may be in need of your particular field of law (such as estate planning, immigration or business law).
  • Avvo – This is best for showcasing your expertise and connecting with people in your geographical area who currently need a lawyer. It requires vigilant maintenance to earn a good rating. We don’t suggest starting Avvo unless you plan to participate regularly.
  • Twitter – This platform’s use for law firms has been dwindling lately. It has a large network of users and doesn’t differentiate between people and businesses, which makes for easier networking. However, nearly everyone on Twitter has an agenda and is therefore deaf to everyone else’s agenda. There is much more spam to wade through.

Build Your Social Media Network

Once you have chosen platforms and created profiles, the next step is arguably the most important part of Social Media marketing – building your network.

There are many ways to do this on various platforms. However, one maxim remains constant: Build an organic network.

Paying for followers, +1s and likes looks impressive. However, it will hurt your campaign in the long run. Posting to a page with no followers is like speaking to an empty room, and posting to a page with bought followers is like speaking to a room full of mannequins. The result is the same: No one is seeing your content.

Here are a few effective ways to grow your network:

  • Use charity or community initiatives, donations and scholarships – These initiatives showcase your law firm’s passions and attract loyal like-minded followers.
  • Use paid ads – These ads keep your law firm in front of new users and target the right people. This is also a fantastic way (via Facebook) to promote your content and drive traffic to your Website.
  • Use outreach – This is a great way to foster mutually beneficial relationships. If done properly, outreach efforts can enhance your Social Media and SEO campaigns.

Post Quality Content

Posting quality content is essential. After all, what use is a large, loyal network if you never engage them? Post a variety of content that is interesting and shareable, such as:

  • Pictures
  • Blogs
  • Local and national news
  • Firm news.

Never try your hard call to action on Social Media. At best, it will be ignored. At worst, it will drive your followers away.

Social Media is about making your law firm approachable and connecting with people. You can achieve this by posting interesting, quality content that your followers will want to read and interact with.

It’s arguable which is more important to a successful Social Media campaign – content or networking. We believe it’s safe to say that one relies on the other. Both are crucial.

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Social Media and Divorce

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The following is a good article on forbes.com about how social media can affect your divorce: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jefflanders/2013/08/20/how-social-media-can-affect-your-divorce/

In my experience, social media is a better source of evidence for proving adultery and obtaining useful information for a custody battle than for finding hidden assets.  But the author is spot on when he writes that even if your spouse is not a “friend” and does not have direct access to your Facebook page for example, chances are that one of your other “friends” will allow him/her to access your page.  Thus, photos of you drunk at a party will find their way into evidence during trial.  Even if you did not post the photo, your friend might tag you in his photo, and thus your spouse gains access.

Another common mistake is having a teenage child as a friend on Facebook, and then writing negative comments about the spouse which the child has access to; having a child as your friend on Facebook is not a good idea and frowned upon by the courts.

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A Tech Industry-Friendly Stance On Cloud Computing Tax

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In a pleasant surprise, the New Jersey Division of Taxation recently issued guidance announcing that sales tax is not due on most cloud computing services. New Jersey’s position is contrary to a growing national trend in which many states have taken the position that cloud computing is subject to sales tax as the sale of software.

New Jersey demonstrates a pro-information technology industry position. It also comes at the same time that Massachusetts, traditionally an extremely technology-friendly state, appears to have changed its policy direction on taxation of information technology services.

New Jersey Technical Bulletin 72 addresses three types of cloud computing services:

software as a service (SaaS), which offers the use of software on a per transaction basis, through a service contract or by a subscription;

platform as a service (PaaS), which provides access to computing platforms; and

infrastructure as a service (IaaS), which provides hardware, software and other equipment and services necessary to support and manage the content and dataflow of its customers.

The technical bulletin says that software as a service is not subject to New Jersey sales tax as the sale of software because it is not delivered in tangible form, it is not downloaded onto the customer’s computer and title to the software is not transferred to the customer.

However, the bulletin does say that certain types of SaaS may be subject to sales tax as a taxable information service. A taxable information service is defined as:

The furnishing of information of any kind, which has been collected, compiled or analyzed by the seller and provided through any means or method, other than personal or individual information which is not incorporated into reports furnished to other people.

The bulletin then cites examples of taxable information services such as Westlaw, LexisNexis, Commerce Clearing House (CCH) and Rich Internet Application (RIA). But it would appear that most other classes of

SaaS that do not involve compiling or analyzing information should not fall into the taxable information service category. This is a fact-based determination, which would require analysis on a case-by-case basis.

The bulletin states that platform as a service and infrastructure as a service would not be subject to sales tax because they do not represent the sale of tangible personal property, but merely access to the software. The bulletin states that IaaS arrangements that show billing for the rental of hardware (e.g., servers) are not taxable because the customer does not have title or possession of the equipment.

Finally, the bulletin says that web hosting and data hosting services are not subject to New Jersey sales tax.

The position taken by the New Jersey Division of Taxation is quite favorable to providers and customers of cloud computing services, as other states have been taking the opposite approach, saying that many of these services are taxable, including states such as New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont.

Companies that provide cloud-based computing services should determine the states in which they might have a sales tax collection obligation, and whether the services they provide are subject to that state’s sales tax.

To see the full text of this new technical bulletin, please follow this link and click on TB-72.

This pro-IT industry move is in contrast to a new Massachusetts law that went into effect on July 31, just a few weeks after the bill being passed by its Legislature. This new Massachusetts law signals a sea change in the Bay State’s pro-technology industry policy.

Massachusetts now imposes sales tax on most software and hardware design, installation and integration services, including the modification, integration, enhancement, installation and configuration of prewritten software.

So, this new tax will include amounts paid in order to customize any prewritten software for the needs of the customer, including macros and plug-ins that operate in conjunction with the software (although there are exemptions for modifications to free open source software, and software that operates industrial machinery).

This expansion of the Massachusetts sales tax will cast a wide net that will tax hardware and software consulting services that have not been taxable in the past, from the biggest, most sophisticated software consulting firms that manage the integration of software for large corporations, down to the high school student who helps non-tech savvy baby boomers set up their home computer for $20 an hour.

This apparent new direction taken by Massachusetts is a huge contrast to the position staked out by the state’s then-Gov. Paul Cellucci in the early years of the Internet boom, when the debate on the taxation of e-commerce sales was just beginning.

A bill had been introduced in Congress to exempt all e-commerce sales from state taxation. Cellucci was quoted in the Feb. 4, 2000, edition of State Tax Notes as being in favor of the measure because it would be bad tax policy to tax the emerging Internet industry:

Arguing that ‘the rapid growth of high-tech in the past five years’ has created 450,000 new jobs in his state, Cellucci said the taxation of remote and electronic commerce is ‘not just a real threat to the economy of Massachusetts, but for the nation as a whole. Unlike traditional brick-and-mortar businesses, e-commerce ventures are extremely portable, and could easily move their headquarters to an offshore island where they would be immune from any sales tax from this country. (Tax Analysts Document Number: Doc 2000-3441.)

The new Massachusetts law indicates a reversal of the state’s earlier pro-industry policy, while New Jersey, which in prior years has taken an aggressive tax approach to IT taxation, has apparently also reversed course, but in the opposite positive direction.

It is possible that Massachusetts has grown complacent, assuming that its enormous stockpile of human innovation capital will stay put, while New Jersey appears to be recognizing the value of cultivating the IT industry in the Garden State. Time will tell if these shifts in policy toward the IT industry will result in any measurable migration.

This article was previously published by Law360.

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Yelp Wanted: For Law Firm Reviews

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If you are like most businesses, you consider word of mouth your most valuable marketing channel. Increasingly, online reviews are a critical component of Web word of mouth.

Frequently used lawyer review sites include Google+, Citysearch and Yelp. The rise of review sites, and Yelp in particular, has been of significant importance to business owners across the world. For example, Apple iPhone’s Siri application primarily uses Yelp for its reviews. This article will walk you through the basics of leveraging Yelp to improve your word-of-mouth marketing and grow your business.

Getting Started on Yelp

yelp law firm website internet marketingThe first step every law firm should take with Yelp is to activate its business page. The public can see and review your business profile whether or not you activate the page, so proactively filling out your business profile sends a clear message to previous and prospective clients that you care about your online and offline image. Be sure to complete all of the fields, including photos, descriptions, phone numbers and office hours, to create a solid profile. Including photos of co-workers and other employees will communicate a safe and inviting environment.

Many people are intimidated by law firms and research them online before calling or emailing a firm. Meeting those visitors on Yelp with appropriate photos and information will give them a positive impression that your firm is approachable.

Once your firm’s Yelp account is active, the real benefits can begin and you can start leveraging your online reviews.

Respond to Your Law Firm Reviews

At some point, if you haven’t already, you will start to receive reviews. Some will be glowing testimonials of your professionalism and competence. Others may ask questions or express concern. It is vital that you respond to your reviewers. If someone had a less-than-ideal experience, follow up with that individual and ensure that his or her concerns are addressed. In many cases, your follow-up will prompt your client to edit or add a new review, which may help your online image. Learn more about responding to existing online reviews here.

Leverage Yelp Offline

Post a sign or sticker in your office letting clients know they can find and review you on Yelp. Most law firms send out some sort of direct mail or newsletter. Add the Yelp logo to these mailings to encourage recipients to leave a review. You can also notify Yelp next time you host a community event or fundraiser. Posting these events online will spread your offline positive influence even further via the Web.

Display Your Positive Yelp Reviews

Framing awards, articles from local newspapers and other publicity items has long been a standard practice in law firm lobbies. Doing the same for recent positive online reviews is no different. Viewing positive reviews of your law firm will likely cause your clients to think of your firm in a warm light and will encourage them to also leave a glowing review online.

Refer Your Referrers

No advertising operates in a vacuum. Encourage clients to visit you on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, and other Social Media networks. Likewise, make sure those connected to your Social Media profiles know you are on Yelp. A simple “Check us out on Yelp” can encourage many clients to leave a review.

Live Up to Their Positive Reviews

Finally, and most importantly, you must continue providing excellent service. It is impossible to get away with sub-par service in today’s world. As you know, competition grows stronger every day. If you are not good at serving clients, the word will get out—through Yelp or other types of word-of-mouth. Positive reviews will follow naturally when you provide outstanding service.

Keep Your Review Practices Ethical

Never, ever, ever, under ANY circumstances, purchase positive reviews. Yelp is very strict with its review policies, and suspicious reviews are flagged and dealt with regularly. Just as spamming Google and other search engines can lead to major penalties or even blacklisting, paying for or offering bribes for reviews on Yelp can be detrimental to your business. As with all your marketing efforts, check with your state Bar Association to be sure you are operating within its guidelines when it comes to your online review strategy.

Why Tweeting Doesn't Make You A Twit

The Rainmaker Institute mini logo (1)recently presented at the American Bar Association annual conference in San Francisco on “Why Tweeting Doesn’t Make You a Twit!”
 I was shocked and amazed at the number of attorneys I spoke to who still don’t believe that using social media is an effective way to acquire more clients, establish credibility and get a steady stream of referrals.

More often than not I heard comments such as:

“Social media is for younger generations;”

“People don’t use the Internet to look for attorneys;”

“I know firms that spent money on social media and never saw a return;” or

“The type of people who I want to do business with aren’t on social media”

twitter social media

These statements are categorically not true. In fact, believing these statements can be detrimental to the success of your law firm. Actively and appropriately engaging in social media is no longer a “nice to have” it is a “must have” if you truly want to build a successful firm.

Think about your own experience. If you are considering buying a new product or service, and you go onto the Internet and can’t find information on a website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Amazon or any other number of social media platforms, your enthusiasm and interest in that particular company or product begins to diminish.

You may even find you trust the company less, are more skeptical of the product or service and begin to seek out competitors who offer the same product or service.

When people search for legal help the process is no different. It’s human nature to want to avoid making bad decisions that cause us financial or emotional harm.

Our fears are calmed and our skepticism is lessened when we can read and learn about the product or service we are about to invest in. When we read or watch third-party reviews we feel safer. When we see that a company is actively offering valuable and powerful information to those who may need the product or service, we believe we are mitigating the risk of a bad decision.

You must always remember that people buy emotionally and justify logically.

That’s why Twitter is one of the fastest growing online social media platforms. When used correctly and ethically it is a powerful part of a firm’s overall online marketing strategy.

Some basic and impressive statistics about Twitter easily demonstrate why this platform must be utilized.

  • There are 200 million active users;
  • 20 percent of individuals who “follow” a company on Twitter do so to give feedback and share ideas;
  • 71 percent of individuals who positively review a company on Twitter (with a Tweet, Re-Tweet) go on to suggest the company to his/her peers;
  • 56 percent of consumers would be more likely to encourage friends and family to try new products from a social brand than in person or over the phone;
  • 63 percent of consumers agree that social experiences make them more interested in a brand’s product;
  • 64 percent of consumers have made a purchase decision based on social content;
  • 67 percent of 18-34 year old consumers prefer to do business with social companies;
  • 91 percent of 18-34 year olds using social media are talking about brands.

If the above reasons don’t compel you to jump on Twitter and actively use it to grow your firm, here are three additional reasons to use Twitter.

With Twitter, you can build a massive platform:

A platform helps you effectively grow the number of people who know who you are, know what type of people/companies you are qualified to assist and know how you are different than every other law firm out there.

Twitter helps you establish credibility:

People do business with people they know, like and trust.

Being active on Twitter helps you establish yourself as a thought leader.

You can effectively position yourself as the “go-to” attorney for your practice area and geographical region.

You offer followers powerful, relevant and helpful information that begins to build a relationship and positions you and or the firm as a valuable and credible source of information.

Drive traffic to your website:

You can engage people on Twitter with powerful information and then direct them to your website. It is your website’s job to educate, engage and compel the viewer to take action and call or email the firm and/or set up an appointment with an attorney.

On your website you can showcase who you are and how you are different from other firms. If you do not actively display how you are unique and different from all your competitors out there, people will begin to make decisions based on price. This is the single worst position you can find yourself if. You never want to get business because you are the “cheapest attorney out there.”

There you can also give viewers the opportunity to: Learn about you and the firm, hear about others’ interactions with you through testimonials (when permitted by state) and case studies (demonstrate expertise), and discover how you can help them navigate their pressing legal issue.

Twitter of course, must be used effectively and ethically. Marketing is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. You must invest either the time or money into these strategies consistently so your efforts can gain traction and eventually give you a return on your investment.

This article originally ran in The Record Reporter, an Arizona newspaper and website that covers legal business news:

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Internet Peeping Toms and The Internet of Things Face New Hurdles: Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Settles with TRENDnet, Inc.

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The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) recently entered into a settlement agreement with TRENDnet, Inc., a company that sells Internet Protocol (“IP”) cameras that allow customers to monitor their homes remotely over the Internet.  Notably, this is the FTC’s first action against a seller of everyday products that connect to the Internet and other mobile devices, commonly referred to as the “Internet of Things.”

The Complaint

In its complaint, the FTC alleged that, despite representing to its customers that TRENDnet’s IP cameras are “secure,” TRENDnet failed to reasonably secure its IP cameras against unauthorized access by third parties.  According to the FTC, TRENDnet transmitted user login credentials in clear, readable text over the Internet and stored user credentials on a user’s mobile device in clear, readable text, despite the availability of free software to secure the transmissions and the stored credentials.  The FTC Further alleged that TRENDnet failed to employ reasonable and appropriate security in the design and testing of the software that it provided consumers for its IP cameras.

Due to TRENDnet’s inadequate security measures, in January 2012, a hacker exploited the vulnerabilities of the TRENDnet system and posted live feeds for nearly 700 of TRENDnet’s IP cameras, including customers that had not made their video feeds public.  These video feeds displayed people in their homes, including sleeping babies and young children playing.  Once TRENDnet learned of this flaw, it uploaded a software patch and attempted to alert its customers of the need to update their IP cameras through TRENDnet’s website.

The Settlement

Last week, TRENDnet entered into a settlement agreement with the FTC to resolve the FTC’s claims.  Pursuant to the settlement agreement, TRENDnet has agreed that it will not misrepresent:

  • the extent to which its products or services maintain and protect the security of its IP cameras;
  • the security, privacy, confidentiality or integrity of the information that its IP cameras or other devices transmit; or
  • the extent to which a consumer can control the security of the information transmitted by the IP cameras.

What’s more, TRENDnet is required to establish, implement and maintain a comprehensive security program that is reasonably designed to address security risks that could result in unauthorized access to the IP cameras or other devices, and to protect the security, confidentiality and integrity of the information that its IP cameras or other devices transmit.  TRENDnet is further required to conduct initial and biennial assessment and reports of such security program by an independent third-party professional every two years for the next twenty years.   Again, some real bottom line costs as a result of these settlements.

Finally, in addition to the measures that TRENDnet must take to protect its customers in the future, TRENDnet must also notify all of its current customers about the flaw in the IP cameras that allowed third parties to access the live feed of TRENDnet customers, and TRENDnet must provide these customers with instructions on how to remove this flaw.

The TRENDnet settlement is the FTC’s first step at regulating data security in the land of the Internet of Things.  Keep a look out to see whether this becomes the FTC’s next hot topic.

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What Works for Business to Business (B2B) Content Marketing

The Rainmaker Institute mini logo (1)he B2B Technology Marketing Community on LinkedIn has more than 50,000 members, making it one of the largest groups on the popular business social network. Recently, 815 members of the group responded to a survey about content marketing about what works and what doesn’t for B2B content marketing.

According to the survey results, content marketing is used primarily for lead generation; here are the tactics being employed and their effectiveness rankings:

social media, linkedin, business, marketing

Not surprisingly, LinkedIn tops the list for the most effective social media platforms for content marketing, followed closely by YouTube. Video is becoming increasingly more popular since it is an easily digestible format:

 

social media, linkedin, business, marketing

In addition, the survey uncovered the following trends:

More than 82 percent of B2B marketers are increasing their content production over the next 12 months.

YouTube is gaining popularity as a social media platform to reach and engage B2B audiences – Facebook is losing ground.

Marketing automation is on the rise. 61 percent of marketers use marketing automation platforms, up from 43 percent last year.

You can click on the following link to see a slideshow of the entire survey results: B2B Content Marketing Report 2013.

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Photocopiers – A Recurring Data Security Risk

DrinkerBiddle

In a case that illustrates the data privacy risks associated with modern copiers, the United States Department of Health and Human Resources (HHS) has announced a $1,215,780 settlement with Affinity Health Plan, Inc. (Affinity), arising from an investigation of potential violations of the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules.

This matter started when Affinity was advised by CBS Evening News that CBS had purchased a photocopier previously leased by Affinity.  CBS explained that the copier’s hard drive contained confidential medical information relating to Affinity patients.  As a result, on August 15, 2010, Affinity self-reported a breach with the HHS’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR).  Affinity estimated that the medical records of approximately 344,000 persons may have been affected by this breach.  Moreover, Affinity apparently had returned multiple photocopiers to office equipment vendors in the past without erasing the data contained upon the internal hard drives of those returned copiers.

After investigating this matter, OCR determined that Affinity had failed to incorporate photocopier hard drives into its definition of electronic protected health information (ePHI) in its risk assessments as required by the Security Rule.  Affinity also failed to implement appropriate policies and procedures to scrub internal hard drives when returning photocopiers to its office equipment vendors.  As a result, OCR determined that Affinity also violated the Privacy Rule.

In discussing this issue, Leon Rodriguez, Director of OCR, stated that, “This settlement illustrates an important reminder about equipment designed to retain electronic information: Make sure that all personal information is wiped from hardware before it is recycled, thrown away or sent back to a leasing agent…HIPAA covered entities are required to undertake a careful risk analysis to understand the threats and vulnerabilities to individuals’ data, and have appropriate safeguards in place to protect this information.”

In addition to the agreed upon settlement payment of $1,215,780, the settlement also requires the implementation of a Corrective Action Plan (CAP).  The CAP requires Affinity to use its best efforts to retrieve all hard drives that were contained on photocopiers previously leased by the plan that remain in the possession of the leasing agent, and take protective measures to safeguard all ePHI going forward.

Points to Consider

Affinity’s case demonstrates the risks presented by the modern copier – they are specialized computers that will store data and retain itindefinitely.  Thus, they pose a security risk for any company that processes and/or possesses personally identifiable information or proprietary information, such as trade secrets, research and development records, marketing plans and financial information.  Clearly, this risk applies to businesses regardless of specific business sector.

Therefore, when acquiring a copier, consider all options available to protect the data processed on that machine, typically through encryption or overwriting.  Encryption will scramble the data that remains stored on the copier’s hard drive.  Overwriting (or wiping) will make reconstructing the data initially on the drive very difficult.

Finally, anticipate the copier’s return to the vendor or other disposition.  Make sure that arrangements are made prior to the copier’s departure to effect the hard drive’s removal and secure disposition so as to make any data on it unusable to third parties.  Often vendors will provide such a service as will IT consultants.

Note that protecting sensitive information is a company’s ongoing responsibility.  Make sure that copiers are considered as part of any comprehensive data security or privacy policy (as are PCs, laptops, smart phones, flash drives and other electronic devices) to avoid an avoidable, but costly and embarrassing, data breach.

For additional information from the FTC on safeguarding sensitive data stored on the hard drives of digital copiers, click here.

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