The mobile phone is the most widespread and most rapidly adopted technology of all time. In the past few years, usage has grown dramatically. There are now almost 6 billion active mobile phone subscriptions around the world – almost 84% of the people on Earth have a mobile phone! In 2011 more smartphones were sold than all types of personal computers added together including desktops, laptops, and tablets like the iPad.

Mobile Apps for Attorneys
One way for individual attorneys and small law firms to take advantage of the boom in mobile phones is by offering their clients a mobile app. A mobile application (or mobile app) is software designed to run on smartphones, tablet computers and other mobile devices.

Most importantly, a mobile app for solo practitioners and small firms can help you increase client loyalty, generate referrals, differentiate your law practice from the competition, and stay on the forefront of this exciting new technology.

Here are four benefits of offering your clients a mobile app.

1. Stay connected with your clients.
Your best clients are your repeat customers. Staying in touch on a client’s phone is a great way to encourage on-going business. Knowing that you’re readily available through someone’s phone confirms and strengthens your relationship with the client. In a crowded marketplace where clients may not have allegiance to one attorney or may have concerns about the accessiblity to their attorney, a mobile app helps establish that bond, affirms your commitment to the client, and makes you the first “go to” resource.

2. Get referrals with a click of a button.
Your best leads come from referrals from your clients – people who have worked with you and know you. An app can take that offline referral and make it mobile. A referral button sends your contact information to a prospect and makes it quicker and easier for your clients to make a referral in one click. This helps them promote your practice and lets you leverage that valuable referral network.

3. Keep clients informed about the law and your firm.
An app’s alert/notification feature allows you to send a notice to your clients at any time on any topic. A simple message like “We’re closed on Monday” or a substantive change in the law can be broadcast to everyone easily. You can also keep clients informed and share your expertise with links to reviews of your practice, legal resources, articles, or Q&As on your website.

4. Establish your firm as leading edge.
Having a mobile app has practical benefits and it also shows your clients that you are engaged with the latest technology. An app that is customized with your firm’s logo, colors and photos shows innovation and Internet savvy and will differentiate your firm from your competitors. It’s a subtle reminder that you care about staying on the forefront – a quality that helps you be a better and more knowledgeable attorney.

Promoting your mobile app
To get the most from your mobile app, make it part of your business, starting with how you introduce your practice to new clients. In your engagement letter and on your business cards, include the phrase “Please download our app so we may stay connected.” Post a link to download the app on your website, in your email footer, and on all your online profiles – Avvo, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to spread the word.

Get your mobile app
Offering your clients a mobile app is an effective way to  increase client loyalty, generate referrals, differentiate your practice from the competition, and stay on the forefront of this exciting new technology. If you would like to learn how to get a custom design mobile app for your practice, contact Bardorf Legal Marketing at BardorfMarketing.com.

Mobile phones are a growing part of everyday life. We get directions, find local businesses, play games, and more. Here are the latest statistics on how Americans use our phones.

• Accessing maps and directions is the number one mobile activity, followed by social networking, finding local information and reading news (comScore).
• Mobile searches have quadrupled in the last year (Google).
• One in seven searches are now mobile and one in three mobile searches are local (Google).
• After looking up a local business on their smartphone, 61 percent of users call the business and 59 percent visit (Google).
• 80 per cent of mobile time is spent on apps (Flurry).
• People are now using more apps than ever, launching 7.9 per day (Flurry).
• When given a choice, consumers prefer using an app (85%) over a mobile website (Compuware).

There are more than 6.5 billion mobile devices in use worldwide today, significantly more than the number of Internet users. Consumers are adopting new technology as fast as it becomes available and expect to be connected at all times in order to find the products and services they need. Today’s multi-tasking consumers depend on their trusty smartphones for so many important activities. And to stay in front of these phone-dependent clients, savvy attorneys who want to advance their businesses and leverage technology are jumping into mobile. It’s like the first days of the Internet when early adopters launched websites for their law practices – got ahead of their competitors – and have reaped the benefits ever since.

Mobile Apps Are Exploding

One way to connect with on-the-go clients is through a mobile app. A mobile application (or mobile app) is software designed to run on smartphones, tablet computers and other mobile devices. The term “app” has become so popular that it was listed as “Word of the Year” in 2010. Mobile applications are the next frontier and the industry is predicted to skyrocket over 1,000% in the next three years to a $56 billion market (Gartner Group).

The popularity of mobile applications has continued to rise, as their usage has become increasingly prevalent across mobile phone users. Last year, comScore, an Internet analytics company, reported that more mobile subscribers used apps than browsed the web on their devices.

Engage Your Clients, Grow Your Business

Although you may consider using a mobile app to help you work smarter, faster, or more efficiently, perhaps the best use of a mobile app for most attorneys is simply to keep your current clients engaged. As an attorney, one of your greatest assets is your client base. Your clients are your best source of repeat business and referrals. A key to success is your ability to retain those clients. Think of the power of staying connected with your clients through the privacy of their personal mobile phone.

A mobile app that is downloaded to your client’s smartphone and is branded with your firm’s name, photo, and logo will have many long-term benefits for your business. An app can offer your clients several useful features and reinforce the idea that “I am your attorney” and “I am available when you need me.” When you tell potential clients that you are accessible, now you can also show them by downloading your custom “My Attorney” app. Establishing yourself early in the mobile market will help retain existing clients, attract new clients, and differentiate your firm from your competition.

Here are just a few of the benefits of offering your clients the “My Attorney” mobile app:

• Stay in touch with your clients
• Keep clients informed about the law and your firm
• Give clients with active cases easy access to you and to the information they need
• Get referrals via your client base with a click of a button
• Differentiate your law firm from your competitors
• Establish your firm as cutting edge and engaged with latest technology

A branded app like this can offer customized forms of communication with clients, including leads and referrals. It can also include links to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or any other social network; the ability to distribute notifications and newsletters directly to client phones; and much more. Other popular features such as direct call to cell or office, instant messaging, access to relevant documents, GPS and directions to your office or court, pictures, and videos make it easier for your clients to do business with you and refer you to others in need of legal expertise.

Why Mobile?

If you knew then what you know now about Internet marketing would you have launched your website sooner? Would you have done things differently? Mobile is the fastest growing industry in history. Offering a mobile app is one way you can increase client loyalty, generate referrals, differentiate yourself from the competition, and stay on the forefront of this exciting new technology. Don’t get left behind. To find out more about mobile marketing for attorneys, contact Bardorf Legal Marketing at BardorfMarketing.com.

Ian M. Bardorf is an Internet marketing and social media advisor to attorneys and law firms seeking to grow and advance their business via the web. This article is copyrighted as original content by Ian M. Bardorf and Bardorf Legal Marketing. This article may be reproduced or republished with appropriate attribution and credit.

Here in the Northeast we’re “on the go” and tend to be early adopters, rushing out to buy the latest thing. We’re using all kinds of mobile phones and tablets more than ever. What’s interesting is that as the demand for mobile devices grows so does the need for local business information like your firm’s name, address, and phone number. According to a recent study, search for local business information on mobile phones continues to grow with nearly 86 million people accessing this info on their mobile phones last year, a 63% increase since 2010.

Two things lawyers can do now to make sure prospects can find you via their mobile phone are 1) make sure your website is readable on a mobile phone and 2) make sure your local listings are up-to-date on sites like Google Local, Google Maps, CitySearch and Internet Yellow Page sites. With more people searching for information on their mobile phones, you need to make sure clients and prospects can find you quickly and easily and that they’re getting the most accurate information about your firm.

A directory listing is one of the most traditional ways to promote your services. It used to be that attorneys would be listed so that other attorneys could find them for referrals. Now that most directories have moved online, more and more consumers are using them to find the legal representation they need. Some of the biggest providers include FindLaw (a part of Westlaw) and Martindale Hubble. These are established companies that once produced only print directories and have since moved into the world of online attorney directories and marketing. Many of you have paid to appear in their listings and have hired these venerable firms to create and host your websites, and advertise your practice in their online directories.

But over time, many clients of these big companies become dissatisfied by the results they get for what they pay. If you’re a FindLaw or Martindale Hubble client, you’re most likely spending more than you need to for inferior results and missing out on other opportunities to help your business succeed. Read on to find out if your listing in the FindLaw or Martindale Hubble directory is worth the cost, and what some good alternatives are.

National Listings vs. Local Clients
FindLaw and Martindale Hubble serve a national clientele. Their directories contain thousands of attorneys across the country and their products are not tailored by geography. But when people search for an attorney these days, they tend to look for one that’s close to them. Someone looking for an attorney on FindLaw may have to page through hundreds of profiles, most offering sparse information with only a name and address. The pitch from the sales team is that their directory attracts millions of visitors every month and is a viable source of qualified traffic. While millions of visitors sounds impressive, most attorneys are really only concerned with attracting prospects that are quite literally within a 25 mile radius of their office. Those are your clients. The rise of local search and the fact that more people trust local listings makes local online directories more important for attorneys than national ones.

Static Listings vs. Rich Content
Another way that the older directories miss the mark is that static information directories have recently seen a decline in use, while more dynamic content sites containing recommendations, reviews, forums, Q&A’s, and ratings show increased use. Avvo is a good example of a site that offers rich content for consumers and engages them in a more social way. Described as “an expert-only Q&A forum where people can ask legal questions of lawyers,” Avvo caters to consumers and its forum offers an effective way for attorneys to interact with prospects. Avvo’s rating system also allows attorneys who complete a full profile with video and other rich media to get the highest rating, which FindLaw and Martindale Hubble don’t.

Their Listing vs. Yours
Typically FindLaw and Martindale Hubble’s directories appear high in the search engine results while individual profiles within do not. While you do want a higher listing in general, the reality is that if a prospect searches for a term like “Metrowest divorce attorneys” and both the FindLaw directory and a local law firm’s website appear in Google’s results, more people will choose to visit the law firm’s actual website than get trapped in a massive legal directory. If they do choose to click on the directory they may have to drill down three or four pages to find the listings they’re looking for, wade through multiple other results from sponsored listings, and they may never see your profile.

Short Term Payoff vs. Long-Term Costs
Many FindLaw and Martindale Hubble clients spend over $2,000 per month. While this may be worth it to get your marketing up and running quickly, that cost soon becomes prohibitive in years two, three and beyond. What most don’t realize is that you can easily get locked in to depending on their services for years to come, which of course is exactly what they want. If you spend $24K a year to get your Internet marketing underway, that expense quickly adds up. Consider the return on your investment over time. With the bigger firms there is definitely a case of diminishing returns. Thinking about ROI long-term will save you from making an unworthy investment.

One Channel vs. Many
To make the most of Internet marketing, a savvy attorney will take advantage of all the opportunities online – not just a directory listing — creating a “’digital arsenal” that they can use to attract prospects and engage clients. This can include Facebook, Twitter, monthly videos, LinkedIn, Google Places, Google AdWords, and listings in other effective and affordable legal directories like Justia and Avvo. FindLaw doesn’t offer these services and having just a website and a directory listing with just one company won’t cut in in the competitive world of Internet marketing. Being in more places will help you save money, spend more wisely, and get as good or better results. To find out more about local Internet marketing for attorneys contact Ian Bardorf at BardorfMarketing.com.

If you don’t have a website or your website is simply a business card online without video, testimonials, articles, or Q&As, you may benefit from investing in these services for a year or two to jump start your marketing efforts. Then you should harvest your investment by transitioning your site to a more affordable option and invest the money you saved in even more marketing opportunities.

The point is that you don’t have to pay just one company a premium rate year over year. Once you decide to take your Internet marketing to the next level, it’s time to move on to an agency that’s dedicated to your success.

Just a few months ago the search engine giant Google launched a new feature called Google Authorship. Google Authorship lets you link any content you publish on a specific domain (such as www.yourwebsite.com) to your Google+ profile.

This means that every time someone searches for your name or someone with your expertise, anything you have written with your byline (by Jack Smith, for example) will show up on the Google results page with your name and your photo. It will also include a link to a page with any other articles, blog posts, or even Q&As with your name on them!

For example, Googling the phrase “Greater Boston litigation attorneys” produces:

Appearing on the results page with a photo and byline adds credibility, which builds up your reputation as an authoritative source on the topics you cover. Plus, search results with profile images attract a higher click through rate than those that do not have an image. Remember, three out of four people seeking an attorney search online and almost 70% of all searchers use Google.

Why did Google introduce this new feature? Google is always trying to improve our search experience. The company wants us to have successful searches, to find what we’re looking for quickly and easily, and to minimize results that aren’t relevant to us. Google Authorship verifies content creators’ information to reduce “spam” and duplicated content.

Get the advantage.
Once you’ve been “verified,” Google rewards you by inserting images and links into search engine results for your work. These enhanced results receive a higher click-through rate compared to more traditional results because of three factors: visibility, placement, and trustworthiness.

Search results with pictures are more eye-catching than results without images and they stand out in a list of text-only links. The thumbnail profile pictures shown in connection with content make the web a more personal place. These photos also make the link descriptions slightly larger, which helps them be more noticeable.

Some experts even suggest that Google favors Google+ results over other social media listings. Even to those who don’t know what Google Authorship is, having your photo and byline appear in the results looks impressive and since few “content creators” (or many other attorneys) have taken advantage of this new feature, you’ll be part of an exclusive group.

How it works.
These are the steps to link your Google+ profile to the content you create.
1.    Create a Google+ profile if you don’t already have one.
2.    Upload a high quality headshot and fill out your profile information such as occupation, hometown, etc.
3.    Add account names and URLs for your other social media profiles such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
4.    Go to plus.google.com/authorship, sign up with your email and click on the verification link Google sends you.
5.    Make sure a byline containing your name appears on each page of your content (for example, “By Ian Bardorf”).
6.    Make sure your byline name matches the name on your Google+ profile.
7.    Verify you have an email address (such as ian@bardorfmarketing.com) on the same domain as your content.
8.    Add Google’s “rel=author” tag to any page you want Google to find and link to your Google Profile (be sure to get help with this step if you don’t know HTML).
9.    Ta da! Increased visibility and credibility.

Get to work.
Of course, taking advantage of this new feature means you’ve got to have original content to link to. You can’t just expect Google to add your photo ‘cause your momma thinks you’re cute’.

Posting on your blog, answering questions on AttorneyConnect and Avvo, writing newsletter articles, representative case updates and results, and case summaries for your website are all great ways to get your name and your expertise out there – both for prospects who come to your site and for those who are searching online.

All the time and effort you spend writing will be repaid many times over. It’s not just a one-time win. By reposting this great information to your Facebook Page and LinkedIn profile and groups, and tweeting about it, you’ll get greater visibility and drive prospects and clients back to your site.

Taking advantage of Google Authorship is just one more aspect of online marketing that can help you improve your visibility to searchers, outrank your competition, get the most out of your digital assets, retain loyal customers, and generate leads efficiently and cost-effectively.

Ian M. Bardorf is an Internet marketing and social media advisor to attorneys and law firms seeking to grow and advance their business via the web. This article is copyrighted as original content by Ian M. Bardorf and Bardorf Legal Marketing. This article may be reproduced or republished with appropriate attribution and credit.

Client reviews are one of the most valuable factors for building your business. Asking a happy client to write a few words about the quality of your work and the help you provided shows prospects that you are a knowledgeable, credible and trustworthy attorney. Ratings and reviews are the digital equivalent of “word of mouth” referrals and are critical for raising your profile online and helping you stand out from the competition. In fact, 70 percent of consumers say reviews are important to them.

The three best places for attorneys to ask for reviews are on Google, LinkedIn, and Avvo. These sites are committed to including only legitimate reviews, which in turn raises their value to you. On Google, for example, you must write a review from an active established Google account. Someone can’t create an account simply for the purpose of writing a review. These reviews are listed initially, but don’t stay up for long once Google checks the account’s history.

A good review is a valuable gift that just keeps giving. Each time a client writes a review you can republish it on your website and add links to it from your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Legitimately earned client reviews are vital for your firm to gain visibility on search engines and directories. Don’t miss out on this great business booster. Ask your clients to write a favorable review for you.

The business of law is at a turning point. A recent article in the ABA Journal reported, “The legal profession is undergoing a massive structural shift—one that will leave it dramatically transformed in the coming years.” The shift stems from a combination of events including new laws and changes in enforcement, the mobility of businesses and individuals, as well as new competition from non-legal firms such as accounting and real estate and the availability of legal documents online.  The average person today requires more legal representation than ever before and how they choose their legal representation has changed too. The attorneys who have the most to gain are probably those like you: a mid-career solo practitioner or a lawyer at a small firm. Why? Because consumers want you!

You, the mid-career solo practitioner, are quite literally the core of the legal profession. On one side are those young attorneys who have recently passed the bar and are trying to make their way. What they lack in experience they make up for with web savvy, technology skills, and aggressive online marketing tactics, but it is your experience the consumer wants. On the other side are large firms with significant marketing and advertising budgets, a small army of junior attorneys and paralegals pushing a high volume of work, and a team of technical experts to help them advance online, but consumers are wary of high costs, inattentive or indifferent care, and marginal results.

So why do consumers want you? Here are a few reasons why today’s consumer seeks the seasoned solo practitioner.

Experience
At this point in your career you have a solid base of experience in your area of expertise. You have over twenty years dedicated to the practice of law, both at big firms and as a solo practitioner. You are as accomplished and seasoned as the big firm partners with a proven track record and a solid reputation to bank on.

Local Reputation
Today corporations and companies hire large law firms because they typically require expertise in many different areas of law. Individuals, on the other hand, hire attorneys — not law firms — to handle a particular legal issue. When people search for an attorney, they tend to look for one that’s close to them, generally within thirty miles, and they start online with an Internet search. They search for attorneys who concentrate in the particular area of law they need, generalists need not apply. People want to read reviews, testimonials, and representative cases that connect with their own legal issue and help establish the attorney’s credibility and reputation.

Value
Today’s consumers are wary of hiring big firm attorneys because of exorbitant hourly billing (rates at $500 or more) and the fact that work is often handed off to less experienced and less efficient junior attorneys. Your combination of legal expertise and local reputation, without the big firm’s high hourly rate, means you are the best option for most consumers seeking a solid return for their investment and proven results.

This is very good news for seasoned attorneys, but just because the consumer wants you does not mean they can find you easily!

Here are six tactics the mid-career sole practitioner can do to help leverage this opportunity:

Specialize
Don’t try to be all things to all clients; concentrate in fewer practice areas. Laws and current enforcement of them are more complex than ever and continually changing. Since consumers’ legal needs tend to focus on a particular issue they don’t look for general practitioners but specialists. The future of legal services may not be a hundred lawyers working for one firm but 100 solo practitioners, each with their own specialty.

Embrace the Web
Not only do the vast majority of Americans have access to the Internet (whether from home, school, office, library, or phone) nearly one-third of Americans now use high speed Internet access. Analysts have found that people tend to research their medical, financial, and legal issues online before speaking with a professional. Most significantly for attorneys, most people seeking assistance start their search on Google by entering their location and the specialty they need. For example, someone researching a real estate issue in a Boston suburb may type “Newton condo attorneys.” 61 percent of online searchers consider local search results to be more relevant and 58 percent consider local search results to be more trustworthy than non-local.

Look Ahead
While the average baby boomer client doesn’t want to create a will or trust online or research incorporating a business, 25-year-olds, soon to become the typical legal consumers with families, are so used to conducting their business on the Internet that that’s how they’ll also buy their legal services. By connecting with Generation Y and Millennials now you’ll be laying the foundation for future business.

Be Engaged
Although many mid-career attorneys may view Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networking sites as forms of entertainment, they are critical elements of an online presence. Sixty-three percent of social networkers are more likely to use a local business if the business has information available on a social networking site, according to the 2012 Local Search Usage Study. For small firms and solo attorneys whose clients are increasingly using social media, as we all are, devoting some time and resources to this effort can pay off at the local level, both for marketing promotions and for customer service.

Retain Clients
Prospects aren’t the only ones looking for attorneys online. The best source of business is your current clients, who may have legal needs you’re not aware of. Connecting with these clients online reinforces your expertise and makes them aware of your complete range of services. They’ll be more likely to return with future issues and refer you to family, friends and colleagues.

If You Haven’t By Now…..Get Online!
Taking advantage of online marketing can help you improve your visibility to searchers, outrank your competition, get the most out of your digital assets, retain loyal customers, and generate leads efficiently and cost-effectively. The goal of an online social network is to allow you to use your arsenal of digital assets – online profiles, videos, blog posts, podcasts, and legal documents — to get as much visibility online as possible. By completing a profile on mainstream and legal social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Places, AttorneyConnect, Avvo, and Justia and optimizing properly you can dominate the search engine results pages and make it easier for potential clients to find you.

As the balance of power shifts from traditional law firms and toward clients and a raft of tech-savvy legal services vendors, the price of continued prosperity for lawyers is going to be innovation and doing more with less. Although the mid-career attorney may feel at a disadvantage when it comes to knowledge of new technology and the Internet, you have a distinct advantage when it comes to providing experienced legal representation in your local community at an affordable rate.

Ian M. Bardorf is an Internet marketing and social media advisor to attorneys and law firms seeking to grow and advance their business via the web. This article is copyrighted as original content by Ian M. Bardorf and Bardorf Legal Marketing. This article may be reproduced or republished with appropriate attribution and credit.

YouTube is an excellent place for attorneys to promote themselves with short online videos. Videos hosted on YouTube may be embedded or link to your website, and other online profiles like LinkedIn, AttorneyConnect, Avvo, and Justia. A short intro video of yourself can help break the ice for potential clients who may be hesitant to call your office to discuss a legal matter. Videos give folks a glimpse of who you are and can be an effective way to present yourself when you can’t.