Michael Reynolds

Law firm marketing plans and how video can help

22 Apr 2010

I was in Reach class (which is life-changing, by the way) yesterday engaged in a lively discussion with CJ McClanahan and the rest of the class about how to differentiate our businesses from the competition. One of our class members, James MacAbee, is an attorney and we were brainstorming some ways that attorneys can create a law firm marketing plan to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

One complaint we came up with about attorneys is that they have a reputation for not being the best communicators. Their clients can sometimes feel in the dark because of a lack of communication while they are working. Jim suggested that maybe he could make a guarantee to his clients that he would send a weekly update to all his clients on a consistent basis via email. This sounded pretty good but then I thought, why not take it a step further and use video? How can a law firm use video communication in a marketing plan?

The attorney-client relationship is a personal one and email may not always be the best way to stay in touch. In addition, it can take quite a bit of time to type up a bunch of email updates all of your clients. So here’s my suggestion: use video email as your weekly update tool.

As part of your strategy to differentiate yourself as an attorney, make a guarantee that you will send a weekly video message with a status report on the project to all your clients. Most laptops now have built-in web cams and it would only take a couple of minutes at most for each message. As an attorney, you save a ton of time because you don’t have to type a bunch of emails. Even more importantly, your clients get to see and hear your expressions, your personality, and your tone. It is an extremely personal way to communicate and really keeps the relationship warmer.

Delivering these messages is very inexpensive (or even free). Take a look at TokBox or talk to Jim Britt. Imagine how unique your law firm would be if you marketed your practice using this point of differentiation. Attorneys that send me video updates on my project? What great customer service! Additionally, this creates a buzz-worthy and memorable selling point that will cause others to refer you more often.

Law firm marketing is tricky because attorneys are not supposed to directly solicit business and so they must rely on a solid marketing plan to generate leads. In addition to a great website and SEO, law firms usually rely heavily on referrals to gain new clients. Unique service offerings like video status reports are likely to generate more referrals from existing clients because they will want to tell their friends how innovative their attorney is.

As a law firm, try marketing your practice with a unique service proposition like video status reports. It can save you a lot of time and may just turn your firm into a purple cow.

Nonprofit web design and why it matters

In: Design| Marketing| Technology

15 Apr 2010

Modern websites should follow some standard best practices in design and usability in order to be effective as marketing and communications tools. Smart businesses understand that following these best practices leads to increased sales and revenue.

However, nonprofits also need to understand how design and usability affects their revenue. Nonprofits are interested in many of the same things that businesses are: increasing revenue, building trust, and reaching the right audience.

For some reason, many nonprofits seems to skimp on marketing and communications because they feel that they need to do everything on a shoestring budget just because of their nonprofit status. I believe that the opposite is true and that nonprofits should be especially conscious of investing in the right tools for marketing successfully.

So how does a nonprofit use the web to grow? Here are a few ways.

Invest in great design. Website visitors make snap judgments about your organization based on the quality of your website. If your website looks outdated, cheap, and unprofessional, what assurance do I have that my donation will be used effectively?

Invest in quality content. Many nonprofit websites have very little content or poorly-written content on their websites. Your website must tell a story for donors, volunteers, and the media. Make sure researchers can find the information they need to understand your mission.

Don’t be afraid to ask for money. Many nonprofit websites seem to forget that they need money and for some reason make it very difficult to make a donation. Be sure that you accept online donations via credit card. The donation button should be easy to find and easy to use. Remove barriers to making a donation and giving will increase.

Understand your audiences. Nonprofits need to target multiple audiences: donors, volunteers, sponsors, and the media. Be sure your nonprofit website has the right tools for all these groups. The media will want press releases and press kits. Volunteers will want clear job descriptions and specifications. Donors will want easy ways to give and will want to know how their money is being used. Event sponsors want to be able to sign up quickly online.

Keep content fresh. Nonprofit websites need to pay special attention to how current website content is. Interested parties want to see that your organization is making a difference and that your mission is current. Blogs and press releases are a great way to tell your story and keep your message fresh. If possible, update content at least once a week.

It’s tempting to try to design and maintain a nonprofit website on the cheap, but this does a disservice to your mission. By investing in a high-quality web presence, your nonprofit will actually become more successful in the long run and attract more donations, sponsors, and volunteers.

Won’t this help you make a difference?

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Tags: blog, blogging, charityvillage.com, communication, communication tools, Design, donations, invest, Marketing, non-profit organization, non-profit technology, nonprofit, nonprofit status, nonprofit website, nonprofits, usability, web designs, website

Money, time, or magic?

In: Marketing

11 Apr 2010

I talk to a lot of business owners who are looking for ways to grow their businesses. It seems that everybody wants to be more successful and is eager for advice on how to do it.

However, I’m surprised at how many of these business owners are looking for magic.

Magic can come in many forms. How about a Facebook fan page? That will bring lots of new customers, right? How about showing up at the occasional networking meeting and exchanging a few business cards? This will lead to lots of great prospects, right? Maybe launching a great new website will do the trick… people will come buy things, right?

I personally don’t put much faith in magic. I prefer to invest either money or time.

When people do one small thing (usually something trendy and related to technology) and expect it to grow their businesses overnight with minimal effort, they are investing in magic. A beautiful new website is a great investment, but it takes time and/or money to make it effective and bring traffic to it. Social media may be a good fit for your business but it typically takes an investment of time to make it really effective.

Some examples of investing money to grow your business:

Paying a qualified SEO firm to run a search marketing campaign for you
Hiring a ghost blogger to write quality content that grows your tribe and SEO visibility
Paying a star employee to run your marketing
Paying a qualified website design firm to create a website that encourages conversions and sales

Some examples of investing time include:

Scheduling time to consistently post optimized blogs to your website
Maintaining a regular, strategic presence on social media with specific goals in mind
Investing time into your network by consistently giving quality referrals to others
Writing educational articles for your email newsletter and sticking to a schedule

It takes either money or time to grow your business. Sometimes it takes both. Those who are looking for magic may end up disappointed.

Where are you making your investment?

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Tags: blog, blogging, business, business cards, business owner, corporate finance, facebook, google, grow, invest money, lot, magic, Marketing, money, networking, social media, website

Associations: Is it time to eliminate the newsletter?

In: Marketing| Technology

26 Mar 2010

As we all know, paper is getting less relevant. Many associations are scrambling to “go green” with their newsletters in an effort to reduce costs and make use of electronic means of delivery. Kudos for this!

However, what most associations are doing is simply emailing out a PDF version of the newsletter they used to print. While this does save money and takes advantage of modern electronic tools, there is a problem with this approach: it assumes that members want to consume information the same way they always have.

We need to abandon our old thinking of just “going green” with our newsletters because all this does is keeps us clinging to the idea that our communication needs to come out on an infrequent, scheduled basis as one big chunk of content called a “newsletter”.

Ask anyone today if they read newspapers or newsletters anymore and chances are they will acknowledge that they don’t have the time or the interest in reading a large publication full of content that they have to filter and digest.

Today’s association members consume information differently. While they typically will not read a multi-page newsletter (paper or electronic), they will notice bite-sized chunks of communication that can be consumed in 2 minutes or less. Examples of communication like this include: articles posted to the association website, a single-article email, blogs, Facebook posts, Twitter posts, LinkedIn discussions, SMS, YouTube videos, RSS, and community comments. Today’s association websites must replace the newsletter by truly becoming information hubs that also encourage social commenting.

Associations must offer choices, as well. There are so many ways to consume information today that in order to reach as many people as possible, we need to create a system that includes many different tools and touch points.

In order to evolve, associations must acknowledge this shift in information consumption and abandon the old idea of the “newsletter”. It takes a new kind of communications strategy to reach members today.

Isn’t it time to eliminate the newsletter?

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Tags: associations, blog, blogging, email, facebook, linkedin, Marketing, social media, twitter, website

Don’t send me “e-news”

In: Design| Marketing| Technology

19 Mar 2010

I see a lot of email newsletters. They vary in their degrees of design quality, content, and general appeal. However, over 90% of them (made-up statistic for CJ McClanahan) fall into the trap of being simply “e-news”. Some of the titles are even things like “March E-news”, “E-news from Company XYZ”, or “March Newsletter”.

These are boring subject lines but the content of the newsletter makes it even worse. These newsletter are typically packed full of little advertising boxes that shout at the reader or ramble on and on about things going on at the company, specials and promotions, and every other marketing message that can possibly be crammed into it. This results in information overload, a hard-sell vibe, and will probably result in a high number of unsubscribes.

Why? Because this type of newsletter has no value to its recipients.

Rather than take this approach, try slimming down and focusing your message. First, take out all the extra advertising fluff and shouting and design your newsletter to consist of one main content area that contains a single message. It’s ok to leave a couple of subtle ancillary boxes but the bulk of your newsletter layout should be centered around one article.

Next, make that article focused on the recipient. Don’t paste in your latest press release, monthly special, or ad campaign. Write an educational article that gives something of value to the reader. Teach your readers something new, give them new ideas, or give them a unique insight into something that will help them in their businesses. Make sure it is well-written. If your organization does not have someone who writes well, outsource the writing.

Finally, customize your subject line to reflect the content of the article. Instead of just “March E-news”, include the actual title of the article. When your readers are scanning their inboxes, a specific and descriptive subject line will stand out among all the other “e-news” messages in the list.

If your subject line is specific and descriptive, your readers are more likely to open it. If your message is simple and direct, your readers are more likely to pay attention to it. If your message is valuable, your readers are more likely to share it with others and stay on your mailing list. If you do this consistently, your readers are more likely to buy from you, donate to your non-profit, or recommend you to others.

Don’t fall into the “e-news” trap. Make your message simple, focused, and valuable to your readers.

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Tags: Design, email, Marketing, usability

So you think you’re in a ROWE?

In: Lifestyle| Productivity

14 Mar 2010

SpinWeb became a ROWE a few years ago. Since then, we have enjoyed a happier workplace, more balanced lives, and improved productivity. From my perspective, ROWE is to the traditional workplace as the Renaissance is to the Dark Ages. I look back on our pre-ROWE work environment and I actually feel embarrassment at how we ran things. I feel the need to apologize to my employees for the senseless way we ran the company. Unfortunately, it happens to be the way most companies today still do things.

The good news is, we are a now in a ROWE and life is good. However, when I describe our company and ROWE to others, I sometimes get interesting reactions. Aside from all the predictable “That would never work in my company” reactions, I sometimes hear things like “Oh, that sounds like my company… we’re already a ROWE.”

Really?

It’s easy to hear a few things about ROWE and then declare that your company is already a ROWE, but in most cases that’s not quite the case. When people claim they are already in a ROWE, it’s usually because they have a flexible schedule, or the option to telecommute. This does not mean that your company is a ROWE. Let’s look at a few indicators. These apply to all employees in the organization.

If you are expected to work approximately 40 hours per week (or more) either officially or unofficially, you are not in a ROWE
If you have to ask permission or even notify someone when you work from home or will not be in the office, you are not in a ROWE
If you have a quota of sick, personal, or vacation days, you are not in a ROWE
If you get the evil eye from your boss or from co-workers when you don’t come into the office for a while, you are not in a ROWE
If you are expected to be available or in the office during a core set of “business hours”, you are not in a ROWE
If you don’t feel like you can decline a meeting with your boss or with co-workers, you are not in a ROWE
If you would get in trouble for sleeping until noon on a weekday, you are not in a ROWE
If the freedoms of a ROWE are only available to management or a select few, then you are not in a ROWE
If you don’t feel like you can leave at 2pm for a matinee movie without asking permission, you are not in a ROWE

If any of these apply to your company, then I would encourage you to re-think your work environment. Are you really in a ROWE? If so, great! If not, let me know. I would love to introduce you to Cali and Jody. ROWE will change your life.

As always, comments are welcome. Are you in a ROWE?

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Tags: ROWE, spinweb

Stop making excuses and start blogging

In: Marketing| Technology

6 Mar 2010

Blogging is hard. I get that. It’s not easy to consistently create new content and make the time to tweak and publish it. However, blogging is one of the best ways to build deeper relationships with your constituents and reach deeper into their networks as well.

Often when I talk about blogging with others, I hear all sorts of excuses:

I’m not a good writer
I don’t have time
I don’t like to write
I don’t know what to write about
I wouldn’t be able to keep up with it
No one would read what I wrote

The list goes on and on. However, like most difficult-but-worthwhile things, a process and a system can make it easier.

When I blog, I don’t usually just sit down and pick a topic out of thin air. Instead, I continuously capture ideas and keep them in a list. Often, blog ideas come from conversations I have, articles I read, or problems I’m solving. When this happens, I capture the idea either by placing it on my list of blog ideas or use Jott if I’m on the go. Then, when I do have some downtime or I’m in a creative mood, I can go to my list and pull out blog topics to write about. By separating the conceptualizing from the execution, I’ve made it much easier to produce content.

Blogging is a great marketing tool for your business because it strengthens your authority in the market. People want to do business with people they like and trust, and they can get to know you and trust you by reading your blog.

Don’t blog like a commercial. Blog with sincerity. Blog about things you know a lot about. Blog about your opinions about your profession. Blog about controversial topics. Blog to teach others something that will help them. Blog about your passions.

Schedule time to blog. Capture ideas throughout the week but maybe you block off an hour every Friday morning to choose a topic and write.

If you want to automate the writing part of it, hire a ghost blogger to take your ideas and turn them into polished articles. This will cost a little bit of money but will be well worth the investment.

Distribute your blogs on social networks. Respond to comments. Use your best blog articles in your email newsletter.

Blogging is a great way to cut through the noise of traditional marketing and give your constituents something of value. They will respect your transparency. They will learn to trust you. They will be much more likely to become your customer. Blogging builds relationships.

Capture your ideas and start blogging. No more excuses.

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Tags: blog, blogging, email, facebook, linkedin, Marketing, networking, social media, twitter, website

Don’t use consumer email for business

In: Marketing| Technology

19 Feb 2010

I frequently attend networking events during which I meet a variety of business owners. Often we exchange business cards and I continue to notice a trend which disturbs me: the use of consumer email as a business email address.

I often see email addresses using the domain “sbcglobal.net”, “yahoo.com”, or (shudder) “aol.com” listed on a business card. This really makes me cringe. It’s poor branding, and says to the world that your business has not invested in a proper email system. It’s also risky to operate your business on a free system or a system that is designed for consumer email due to the lack of support and functionality.

When you are using a proper email system for business, your email address will match the address of your website. For example, my email address is michael@spinweb.net, which matches my company’s website address: www.spinweb.net.

There are many options for excellent business email. At SpinWeb, we provide Google Apps for Business for our clients, which gives them a complete email, calendaring, documents, and collaboration system. Other companies may want to consider using Microsoft Exchange, which is a great business communications system. Scott Sells at ZingTech provides an excellent Exchange solution.

Let’s get rid of the consumer email addresses on business cards. Brand your business properly and use a system you can rely on.

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Tags: branding, email, networking, spinweb

How does building websites change the world?

In: Design| Lifestyle| Marketing| Productivity| Technology

14 Feb 2010

At SpinWeb, we create professional websites and online marketing initiatives. We’ve been doing it since 1996 and have gotten very good at it. We’ve gotten so good at it that it amazes me how fast and how well we deploy new websites on time, on budget, and with amazing design quality.

Sometimes, however, I think we get so caught up in the mechanics of our systems and processes at the “runway” level that we can lose sight of why we are doing what we do. How does our work make a difference? How does it change the world? How does it change lives?

I think it’s important to stay focused on these questions and the answers that go with them. So what does our work really mean?

One very exciting part of our work is seeing how a beautiful new website can inspire confidence, pride, and brand strength in the organizations that we work with. Often, we work with businesses that are looking for that extra push to help take them to the next level and reach new markets and when we create a website that helps them look like an industry leader, it has direct application to business growth and especially company morale.

We also love to empower individuals within the organization to do their jobs well. When we help the marketing director launch her online campaigns in a fraction of the time it used to take, she now has more time to work on other activities or spend time with her family. This improves her quality of life.

It brings a smile to my face when we can help a non-profit modernize the online donation, fund raising, and volunteer recruiting process so that they are able to help more people in need and bring positive change to the world.

When we can provide online tools that help event planners promote and manage successful conferences, we are helping bring together professionals who learn from each other and grow in their professions.

When we provide businesses with a website that helps them reach their customers and deliver solutions in a more efficient way, we are giving them the ability to grow faster and create jobs.

There are so many ways that online marketing and technology can improve the quality of life for those who embrace it. I love being a part of it and creating the solutions and tools that change lives.

No matter what you do, make sure you understand why you are doing it and how it makes a difference, no matter how small. At SpinWeb, we create professional websites and online marketing initiatives that change lives.