March 21, 2010 by Dave Clough.

I created a video of a presentation that I did on Internet Marketing at Enterprise Bank in Acton, MA.  We had almost 30  people stuffed into a very small conference room.  I posted it on Vimeo because I could upload the whole thing, while  YouTube only allows 10 minute videos, so I’ll have to upload it in 4 or 5 pieces (I may still do that), and yes, the presentation is over 40 minutes with questions.

 I discussed how Social Media can help your page rank in Google.and how it can generate business is you have a landing page.  I also mentioned email marketing and other internet marketing strategies.  Take a look and let me know your thoughts by commenting.  I’d love the feedback.

I help small businesses get more clients using internet marketing strategies, because, as I say in the video, it allows you to compete with the big boys without needed to match their marketing budget.  This is because you can succeed with Social Media by only investing your time.  If you don’t understand how to do it, hire someone like me to show you how.  Once you know how to do it, stick with it and use social media regularly.

Dave Clough, mPowerAdvisors.com

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October 18, 2009 by Dave Clough.

I’ve gotten feedback from attorneys that they are not comfortable providing information to a broad base for marketing purposes.  The worry is that it will be viewed as advice, and then used in a different context than it was intended.  This could have negative repercussions.  But I believe this could be overcome with a little imagination, while still staying in the safe zone.

One piece that should not be questioned is a case study, which can demonstrate knowledge, expertise and experience of the attorney or attorneys involved.  It can also be a case that the attorney with which the attorney was not involved to show the attorneys attention to cases relevant to his specialty, or to inform her past, current and potential client base.

As I dig deeper into the safe marketing zone for lawyers, I will post more entries.  So check back soon or set up an RSS feed (by clicking the “Entries (RSS)” link in the bottom left “Meta” box.

Dave Clough – www.mpoweradvisors.com

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October 18, 2009 by Dave Clough.

People think of marketing as this big task with expensive branding and strategy, and graphic design, and brochures and folders with multiple pieces of literature with lots of graphics and ads in magazines and newspapers and yellow pages, etc, etc, etc.  I’d like to dispel that myth that this is all required.  I’ve seen many companies with almost non-existent marketing budgets produce some effective marketing.  It is effective because it accomplishes its goal; to fill the funnel with prospects and opportunities.

 I’m not saying that a company should start broadcasting its message without knowing who they are trying to attract.  That would be a waste of time, even if it costs almost no money.  Before anyone starts getting their message out, they should know at least two things: Who their target customer is, and What they are going to offer that customer.  Once the business entity knows these two things, it can start testing the message.  Now one just needs to know where to find the target customer.

Except for online ads, Electronic marketing costs almost nothing and is affordable on any budget.  If you have email addresses for customers, then I’d start with an eNewsletter.  If you do not have email addresses, then I’d get a website with a blog and start putting newsletter type content in that.  Someone can got to 1and1.com and pay around $5/mo and get a basic website (domain name for about $8/yr) with a blog.  It is easy and now you are in business.  From there, I’d get the social media engine going (some call all this Web 2.0). 

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April 11, 2009 by Dave Clough.

Recently I’ve been working with many law firms.  One thing I’ve noticed is that their marketing efforts are subpar compared to other product and service companies.  One of my friends, Walter Foster, is a SuperLawer (that is a real term) that specializes in   employment and labor law, and comes from a long line of attorneys, so I thought I’d ask him.

Walter tells me that, historically, marketing was frowned upon by attorneys.  If a firm advertised it was usually the Personal Injury guys that advertise on TV, and gave the profession a black eye.  In the past, an attorney just hung out his shingle at his main street office and waited for people to come in with a need.

Well times have changed, and there are many attorneys from which to choose.  From a layman’s perspective, they all look alike, and it is not until your matter is closed that you know whether your attorney is “good” or not.  So how does an attorney get the word out, and how does that potential client know that an attorney is right for him?

Most firms still get the bulk of their business via referral, but it is becoming more acceptable to do some marketing to help grow a firm.  But many attorneys are still perplexed about how to “sell the invisible”.  Their experience and knowledge is intangible, so how does one get the word out without appearing boastful?

What do you think?  I’ll give my thoughts in the posts to come…

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