Congrats to Academy Associate Director of Education, Stephen Hartnett! Forbes just printed an article entitled, “More Estate Tax Changes Could Follow Fiscal Cliff Deal” and our very own Steve was quoted a couple of times in the article.
(http://www.forbes.com/sites/hanisarji/2013/01/06/more-estate-tax-changes-could-follow-fiscal-cliff-deal/)

When Members asked why we didn’t alert them to the publicity (which helps with their credibility), the answer was simple. We had no way of knowing the Forbes research team would use Google to gather opinions about this recent tax law change—and when they did, they found Steve’s timely blog on the very subject which interested them. (http://www.aaepa.com/blog/2013/01/fiscal-cliff-averted/)

1. We hope attorneys are able to read about law firm marketing, practice management, estate planning or elder law techniques and find the blogs valuable… and develop an interest in knowing more about what we offer attorneys excelling in estate planning.
2. But also, we want to be ranked by Google. So we try to regularly (3 times per week) write blogs that contain keywords that our future readers and future members may be searching for online so we are constantly introduced to more attorneys we would like to get to know.
3. And… what the heck, if journalists and writers around the country find us and quote us – there’s more publicity for Academy Members nationwide!

Just a reminder that if you’re blogging –

• BE VERY DISCIPLINED about the number of times per week you blog. Otherwise readers won’t get to know you; they certainly won’t be waiting for the next blog you have coming out.

• RELEVANT TOPICS. You won’t please everyone each time with interesting topics, but do try to provide information for which you want to become known.

• USE KEYWORDS. Make sure if your audience tends to search “Madison Estate Planning Attorney” you include those words in your blog, if your desired audience is likely to search, “Pennsylvania Probate,” make sure you have articles on that topic and you also find ways to mention the very words you expect prospective clients to use in search engines.

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

How seriously does your law firm take social media?

ALM Legal Intelligence recently conducted an online survey with 179 lawyers and law firm administrators, querying them about their social media habits. The survey results seem to indicate that the legal industry is starting to catch on to the power of social media.

But there were two responses I found particularly interesting.

• Over half of the law firms questioned reported that blogging and other social media brought them leads on new matters. Forty-one percent said social media generated between $5,000 and $200,000 in new business.

• Almost half of the law firms surveyed said that the biggest obstacle to expanding their use of social media was “lack of time.”

What?! There seems to be some sort of disconnect here.

Social media is coming into its own as a reliable source of new business for law firms…yet almost half of firms just can’t seem to find the time to have their attorneys blog a little more, keep their Facebook pages up-to-date, or otherwise gain the online visibility they need to attract the new business that’s waiting out there?

It seems to me the firms that “don’t have the time” for social media, haven’t fully grasped its power – or the ways in which their clients are living their lives.

Consider this excerpt from a recent GigaOm article:

Today the Internet is how we do (almost) everything. Our phone calls are made using Skype. We video chat over Google Hangouts, and we communicate via Facebook, Twitter and iMessage.  

Twitter is the new Associated Press. Vimeo is our PBS, and YouTube and Hulu are the new broadcast networks. Amazon is the mall and iTunes is our Virgin Megastore. Pandora is our radio and Spotify is our jukebox.

Before long, attorneys who fail to use social media as just another way to communicate with clients and prospects are going to find themselves with limited reach and limited influence.

What do you think? Is social media a high enough priority that you make time for it? Or is it one of those things that waits until you get around to it?

Remember the old saying about three types of people: those who make it happen, those who watch it happen and those that say, “What happened?”

Sanford M. Fisch
CEO & Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com