The 5 Biggest SEO Mistakes You’re Making
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys Blog
May 3, 2013

It’s inevitable. No matter how careful you are about the way you conduct business, at some point you are going to encounter people who may not be happy with the service you’ve provided. To make matters worse, with the widespread use of social media, what was once a private complaint is now a very public review on Facebook, Twitter, CitySearch, and Yelp.

Although you can’t stop negative comments from being posted, there are ways to manage your online reputation and mitigate any potential damage.

• Monitor your online presence. Set up a Google Alert with your name and the name of your firm, so that you immediately receive notice of anything posted about you online. Google has a tool called “Me On The Web” which helps you manage your online presence and, in some cases, allows you to remove unwanted content.

• Quickly respond to any negative reviews, addressing specific issues if you can. Don’t argue with or engage the original reviewer, but offer an explanation, keeping future prospects in mind.
   
  • Respect your guests’ right to their own opinion.
  • Whether the customer’s facts are accurate or not, they perceive they have a problem and therefore, so do you.
  • If the complaint is valid, admit it. Thank your clients for bringing the issue to your attention and detail the steps that you’ve taken to resolve it.
  • Be as positive as possible and always encourage customer engagement.

• Counteract any negative reviews by posting enough positive content through multiple channels to lower the review site’s ranking on the search engine results page. This would be a great time to issue a press release, upload a new video, and blog a bit more frequently.  Publishing stellar reviews and great content is your best defense.

Remember, when responding to negative comments online, your goal is not to be right. Your objective is to minimize the impact of the negative feedback and to satisfy your customers. Believe it or not, the manner in which you react can actually attract new clients who are impressed with your response.

Rita Chaires is an SEO professional, managing SEO and Social Media Marketing for Academy members. She has been part of the Academy SEO team since 2010. Rita is an ongoing contributor to the Academy blog.

Rita Chaires
SEO and Social Media Manager
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com

An important new study about advance directives was just released October 5 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). You and your clients may have already heard about this in the news.

The study’s findings are generally favorable (and certainly not unfavorable) toward advance directives. But — some of the press coverage has the potential to confuse clients or cause them concern about the purpose of the advance directives that you helped them create. Specifically, some of the coverage describes advance directives as a “cost-saving measure” or as “not effective.”  

Here are some of the main points from the JAMA study that may be important for your firm and your clients to understand should clients ask you about this study:

1. This study looked at patients who wanted less aggressive treatment at the end of their lives. It used cost of care as the proxy measure of the treatment received, hence the reporting focus on costs.
2. The findings suggest that people with advance directives who wanted less aggressive end-of-life care did have their wishes met. Specifically:
   

   • this group of patients did not have everything medically possible done for them, as measured by their lower costs of care.
   • these patients had a higher rate of dying outside the hospital (a measure of less aggressive care)
   • these patients had higher rates of using hospice and palliative care (comfort and pain management) services

3. In certain areas of the country, advance directives helped patients achieve their goal of less aggressive treatment. In other areas, advance directives were not necessary for people to have their wishes met because of less aggressive treatment norms there.
4. The study did not find or even suggest that advance directives were used as a cost-cutting measure. Nor does it suggest that patients received less care than they wanted for any reason. In fact, the study did not evaluate the care of patients who specifically stated in their advance directives that they wanted the most aggressive treatment possible (to determine if advance directives helped them achieve this goal).

In closing, this study suggests that having advance directives either helped or at worst had no effect on patients getting the less aggressive care that they wanted at the end of their lives. It did not find that advance directives were counterproductive to these patients receiving their desired care.

If you have any questions about this study or its meaning for your clients, please feel free to call me at 610-667-3524 or email me at rsiegel@docubank.com.

Randi J. Siegel, MBA, is the President of DocuBank (docubank.com), the largest advance directive registry in the U.S., which ensures that the healthcare directives of its 190,000 enrollees are immediately available 24/7/365. Working with estate planning professionals since 1997, Randi frequently speaks at national estate planning conferences and has appeared on radio and television as an authority on registries. She is active in health policy pertaining to advance directives and serves as a Senior Fellow at the Jefferson School of Population Health in Philadelphia. Randi is an ongoing contributor to the Academy blog.

Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com

According to a recent study by the Mind Perception and Morality Lab at the University of Maryland, people view patients in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) as worse off than patients who have died. Published online in Cognition (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010027711001752), the study consisted of three experiments. Here is the Abstract:

“Patients in persistent vegetative state (PVS) may be biologically alive, but these experiments indicate that people see PVS as a state curiously more dead than dead. Experiment 1 found that PVS patients were perceived to have less mental capacity than the dead. Experiment 2 explained this effect as an outgrowth of afterlife beliefs, and the tendency to focus on the bodies of PVS patients at the expense of their minds. Experiment 3 found that PVS is also perceived as “worse” than death: people deem early death better than being in PVS. These studies suggest that people perceive the minds of PVS patients as less valuable than those of the dead – ironically, this effect is especially robust for those high in religiosity.”

The complex views of PVS illuminated in this study further illustrate the importance for clients to be clear in advance about their medical wishes and to not assume that others will be able to infer what they would want. It also speaks to the possibility that people may hold simultaneously conflicting views about PVS when making decisions on behalf of a loved one in a persistent vegetative state.

Randi J. Siegel, MBA, is the President of DocuBank, the largest advance directives registry in the U.S., which ensures that the healthcare directives of its 190,000 enrollees are immediately available 24/7/365. Working with estate planning professionals since 1997, Randi frequently speaks at national estate planning conferences and has appeared on radio and television as an authority on registries. She is active in health policy pertaining to advance directives and serves as a Senior Fellow at the Jefferson School of Population Health in Philadelphia. Randi is an ongoing contributor to the Academy blog.

Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, CA 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com

We’ve all seen the pictures and watched the video coverage of the devastation wrought by the tornadoes that tore through the Southeast on April 27. As of May 2, the death toll stood at approximately 349, with hundreds missing. Thousands more are injured, homeless, or without power or adequate water.

At times like this, we all want to help in any way we can. Here are four reputable organizations that are accepting donations and providing relief to the tornado victims:

• Salvation Army: The Alabama-Louisiana-Mississippi (ALM) division of the Salvation Army is providing food, beverage, and spiritual support to storm victims. If you want to help, the organization asks that you visit www.salvationarmyusa.org or call 1-800-SAL-ARMY and designate “April 2011 Tornado Outbreak.” You can also text the word “GIVE” to 80888.

• Red Cross: The Red Cross is operating 61 shelters in affected areas, as well as distributing hot meals, comfort kits, and clean up supplies to tornado victims. You can visit www.redcross.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS to donate money, or you can text the word “REDCROSS” to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

• Save the Children: Save the Children is delivering diapers, shoes, portable cribs, toys and other items to children in Tuscaloosa Alabama and Smithville, Mississippi. The organization is also working with the Gilmore Foundation to establish a Child-Friendly Spaces emergency child care program in Smithville Mississippi, a town that was destroyed by an EF-5 tornado. You can make a donation directly to Save the Children’s Southern US Tornado Children in Emergency Fund or donate $10 by texting “4TORNADO” to 20222.

• Catholic Charities: Catholic Charities affiliates are working with emergency responders and shelter providers to offer support and relief services to those affected by the storms. You can donate by visiting www.catholiccharitiesusa.org, calling 1-800-919-9938, or by sending a check designated “Spring 2011 Wildfires/Tornadoes” to Catholic Charities, Inc. 532 N. Broadway, Wichita, KS 67214.

After you’ve made your donation, there’s one more thing you can do: harness the power of social media and use Twitter or Facebook to let your friends and associates know how they can help, too.

Jennifer Price
Director of Member Services
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
6050 Santo Rd Ste 240
San Diego, CA 92124
858-453-2128
www.aaepa.com

A July 2010 survey by Thomson Reuters found that 57 percent of Americans have made their end-of-life care choices known.  This is significantly more than in previous surveys.  As you might expect, more people over the age of 65 have taken this step.  In fact, nearly three-quarters of people over 65 have done so, as opposed to about a third of individuals under the age of 35. Among those who conveyed their end-of-life preferences, 87 percent chose informal communication with family, friends, or loved ones; 60 percent created a living will; and 50 percent employed a healthcare power of attorney. Typically, those who took formal steps received legal assistance in preparing their documents.

What conclusions can we draw from these numbers?  On the one hand, it is reassuring to know that more than half of the Americans surveyed understand the importance of thinking about their preferences for care at the end of their lives and have chosen to express them.  The efforts of estate planning attorneys, the National Healthcare Decisions Day initiative, and other educational programs to generate awareness about this important issue seem to be paying off.

Of course, another view is that there is still plenty of work to be done.  Roughly 40 percent of Americans surveyed still have not expressed their end-of-life care choices.  It is also important to note that while 87 percent of the respondents who made their wishes known did so informally, significantly fewer Americans utilized a living will, healthcare power of attorney, or other written directive.  Clearly, opportunities exist for estate planning and elder law attorneys to provide individuals who are already aware of the importance of expressing end-of-life care choices with the formal legal documents they need to help ensure that their wishes are indeed carried out.

Finally, clients need to remember that making one’s wishes known, even through formal means, is no guarantee that they will be available to hospitals and loved ones when they are needed — especially in an emergency.  Enrollment in a healthcare directive registry can be a good way to provide that assurance for clients.

Randi J. Siegel, MBA, is the President of DocuBank, the largest advance directive registry in the U.S., which ensures that the healthcare directives of its 175,000 enrollees are immediately available 24/7/365. Working with estate planning professionals since 1997, Randi frequently speaks at national estate planning conferences and has appeared on radio and television as an authority on registries. She is active in health policy pertaining to advance directives and serves as a Senior Fellow at the Jefferson School of Population Health in Philadelphia. Randi is an ongoing contributor to the Academy blog.

Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
6050 Santo Road, Suite 240
San Diego, CA 92124
(858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com

It’s easier to start with the basics in the beginning than it is to remember what those basics were and get back to them years later. Part of the reason that tracking is so important all along the way, when it comes to recording or documenting a process or saving the results with a particular ad or letter used, is so you can go back and repeat the results.

The normal course of implementing a new marketing letter or process usually has us start with the basics and then eventually we all end up tweaking those basics until they no longer resemble the original process or letter. While it is great to edit a letter and make it fit a situation better–it’s even more important to know the results each letter got in each form it took. So when the results slip, you know right away and you can go back to the basics and at least get the results you had in the beginning.

If certain marketing activities are drying up–then get back to the basics and pull out all the stops. Look at every source available to the firm and spell out the action steps next to each activity. Efforts you take today to start generating consultations can be quick! For example, asking clients to come back in for review meetings can impact your calendar in 5 days or less. Other efforts may be to meet with professionals and arrange a private speaking engagement, those consultations may show up in 90 days.

The same is true for processes in the office as it is in marketing efforts. If you have a document production process, a system, that is documented and spells out the 29 steps it takes from the time a client is retained until the signing is complete–then every staff person could step in and not leave anything out. When changes slip in and the system is no longer followed to the letter–at least have the documentation to pull out and lead the team back to the basics.

It’s all related to the steps you take right now. All too often, when the going gets tough–some get paralyzed instead of busy. Which way do you go?

Jennifer Price
Director, Member Services
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
(858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com

One of the most interesting things I get to do is spend this part of the year reviewing law firm financials. One thing that made it especially interesting this year was that it was good to see that by and large… revenue in 2009 was NOT down compared to 2008 in almost every case! Often when it had declined there was a change in staff or a change in focus that could explain the change in revenue, in a very few number of cases the attorney I consulted with on their financials felt that the economy had caused the slight waver in revenue.

 One of the many “benchmarks” we talk about is the revenue per person on the payroll. After years of looking at the financials from law firms focusing on estate planning and elder law—it’s clear that the magic number of staff can be identified by looking at how close your revenue is to $130,000 per person on the payroll (including owners and all attorneys).

 When that number is less than $130,000 per person on the payroll, it points to a couple of possible issues to look at a little closer:

 1)      Are there systems for everything you do in your practice? Does everything run productively and efficiently? If you’re lacking systems for greeting clients, meeting with clients, producing the work for clients and delivering the work, staff may actually be swamped but in an unproductive way.

 2)      Is everyone as busy as they look? Is the work being done the work that makes sense to do? Is it busy work waiting for more pressing work to show up?

 3)      Have you hired staff for a revenue area that is not yet producing revenue? If you have an estate planning focus and you introduce elder law, it may take a while after you’ve hired a staff person or two to generate the revenue from that area.

 4)      Are you charging the fees you are worth for your services? If your fees are too low, you may be handling the right number of cases per person on the payroll and everyone feels and is busy being productive, however, you are not charging enough to justify the time and resources that are being spent on those cases.

 If you would like the report the Academy produces about interpreting your financials, email jennifer@aaepa.com and I’ll be happy to provide it to you.

Jennifer Price
Director of Member Services
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
(858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com

The thought of sitting on a one-legged chair doesn’t sound very appealing. A one-legged or even two-legged chair, is precarious at best, hard to depend on and you’re never quite sure which way you are going to fall. So who would bother parking their tukkis on one? Well, many business owners do sit on and rely on one-legged chairs more often than you may think. Let me explain. You can view the marketing and public relations efforts of your business much like the legs of a chair. That chair may be solid and dependable or it may be wobbling on two legs with one broken leg. The more marketing and promotion components (legs) you have to support your practice, the more stable and predictable your incoming business will be. Unfortunately some owners perch their businesses on one-legged efforts, oftentimes without even realizing it. If you are an attorney and you are not reaching your desired outcome, you may want to take a closer look at your marketing approach to make sure you are placing your practice on a solid foundation for growing it, or simply maintaining it, depending on your goals.

 To start, look at the framework you have in place for your current marketing and promotion efforts. What type of infrastructure do you have in place now that supports your law firm’s financial goals and generates predictable revenue? If your plans and execution are on the hit and miss side rather than an actual system, now could be the perfect time to roll up your sleeves and create a blueprint for a sturdier “chair.”

 Creating your blueprint… First, you’ll want to identify the number of chairs that you’ll want to create. Each target audience (your ideal client groups) will need to have their own marketing chair to support it. For example, you may have three primary types of prospective clients that you can provide guidance to and best serve (effective workflow systems). You may even want to tap into a new target audience that you have not previously served but want to add to your practice repertoire.

 Once you’ve acknowledged each target audience, you’ll need to identify their needs and then customize your marketing message to meet each of their needs. Your marketing messages will be the seats for each of your chairs.

 Now that you’ve identified the services you want to provide, who you want to provide those services to and create their respective messages, you’re ready for the next step. You’ll create a stable base by creating the legs that will carry your marketing message out into your community and bring those prospective clients into your office. Some practices rely solely on word of mouth to bring the business in, which by the way, is a key “leg” to have in place, but having it as the only leg to stand on won’t sustain the practice day in and day out. Adding more legs to your approach will make a world of difference. Along with word of mouth referrals, look at what other ways you can get the word out about the work that you do. You can share your customized marketing messages through networking with clients and other professionals, advertising, direct mail, local media, social media online and community involvement. All of these steps can add much needed reinforcement that may be missing in your efforts.

 Finally you’ll want to execute these well-thought out plans and ideas. Calendar a daily, weekly or monthly reminder for completing these marketing “leg” activities to continuously spread the word about your law firm and services. The more exposure you have targeted at the right audience, the more likely you’ll hit your goals.   

 With a good blueprint, the right tools, and consistent and deliberate execution, you can create the business you desire and deserve.

Susan Russel, Practice Building Consultant
Associate Director of Education
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
(858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com

When you think of a brand, two things may come to mind: the symbol used to mark livestock and the symbolic embodiment of a product or service. While the first can put a mark on your cattle and other livestock, the second can mark your business, distinguishing it from all others. You cannot drive down the street, listen to the radio or turn on the television without being bombarded by brands. But what does that mean to most small business owners? If you can’t launch a multi-million dollar branding campaign and become nationally recognized, how can you even play that game?

Like any business, small or large, your firm already has a brand. It may not have been intentional and your brand may not even be what you want… but your law firm is already recognized by its “look” and its “reputation.”

So, what is “branding” anyway? A lot of times it is confused with marketing or even public relations, but it is bigger than that. Branding is the entire process used to define the image (or brand) of your business, which includes both marketing and public relations, and is integrated through your business at every point of contact. The purpose is to create a unique market presence that both attracts new clients but also encourages loyalty.

Branding for a small business can take many shapes but three key points to remember are to have a clear message, differentiate and be consistent.

1.      Creating a clear message is the first step to utilizing your brand. This can also be thought of as your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) or Competitive Advantage. Create a message that is objective, unique and long-term. The best messages compel prospects to pick you over your competition, so choose your message wisely. A great example of a clear message is Dominos: “You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less – or it’s free.” If you are having trouble creating your message, try asking your current clients why they hired you. Why YOU think they hired you and why THEY actually hired you can be two completely different reasons, so asking can help you understand your place in the market.

2.      Differentiation is a vital part of establishing a successful brand. If a prospect has to choose between you and one of your competitors, what do they draw upon to help them decide? Your brand! It is important to stand out, be different, and claim your competitive advantage. Creating your clear message is a step on the way to differentiating yourself. It is also helpful to know your competition, who are your top competitors? Do you know their competitive advantages or USP’s? If your competition does not have a USP then you are one step ahead. If they do have one, it is important to acknowledge it. Differentiate yourself by making a proposition your competition either cannot or does not offer. 

3.      Consistency may be the most important element of branding. Every part of your business must reflect your intended message or brand. This includes all employees, advertisements, social media, your website, relations with the media, and many others, but most importantly, interactions with your current and prospective clients. Your differentiated message must be integrated at every point of contact with the public. That means including it on your letterhead, email signature, business cards, your office signage, etc. By doing this you are creating an expectation, and giving your clients something they can rely on. If your actions are not consistently supporting your message clients will become dissatisfied, which will undermine any branding you have done so far.

Small businesses may not have the budget for branding that large corporations have, but that does not mean it should be disregarded. Establish a unique message that differentiates you from your competition then make sure you include it on everything. Do not slack, it is your identity in the market place. Without an identity how will anyone know you exist or where to find you? So remember, branding – it’s not just for livestock – every business should be doing it!

Chelsea Wilson,  Member Services and Marketing Administrator
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
(858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com