In my last blog post, I wrote about maximizing your law firm marketing ROI, in this post I would like to share an example on how to put these strategies into action.
Yesterday a family law firm called me because they wanted an ad for a LGBT magazine featuring families in the upcoming fall publication. They were on a tight time-line and needed the ad by the end of the week. The original plan was to do a one-time ad in the special feature on Families for the publication.
Before moving forward with the one-time ad, I wanted to learn more about the firm’s bigger picture goals. One of the goals for the firm was to be recognized as a family law firm knowledgeable about the important family law issues facing the LGBT market. Instead of putting an expensive one-time ad in the publication, limiting the firms return on investment, we created an integrated and targeted campaign to position the firm as a thought leader on family law for LGBT families. The campaign included the following strategies:
- Write and submit an informational press release to the editorial staff. Focus the release on a single topic relevant to the target audience and provide helpful, practical and valuable information. Note: Substantive and current information on gay marriage and divorce is a strong hook for the media given the recent change in gay marriage laws.
- Develop a series of 3 advertisements targeted towards the interests of the magazine’s readers. Maintain a consistent ad for 6-12 months.
- Include a call to action in each advertisement.
- Create a relationship with the publication as an expert in family law issues related to the LGBT community.
- Identify social media opportunities to leverage the campaign including re-purposing the press release for a blog post and putting the blog post on Face book, LinkedIn and Twitter.
- Leverage LinkedIn groups to spread the word to the local LGBT community. Include a link on LinkedIn to the editorial article in the LGBT publication.
- Update web site to include a section on LGBT partnership agreements.
- Promote the firms focus on Collaborative Law as a beneficial option for gay marriage and divorce.
In summary, a one-time project with questionable “ROI” value was transformed into a targeted marketing strategy positioning the firm as a thought leader in the LGBT community. Your firm can increase your marketing ROI by executing the following key elements:
- Align all marketing activities with the firm’s most important goals.
- Implement an integrated marketing strategy to reinforce your message.
- Avoid a generic “all thing to all people” approach and target your message to a specific audience.
- Provide relevant content that makes a contribution to your intended audience.
- Focus press releases, blog posts and articles on current, substantive, newsworthy topics verses self promotion, announcement-oriented content.
If you have questions on how to maximize your marketing investment, email me at eferris@ferrisconsult.com