A little while back, I wrote a two-part tome on social media marketing. (Part I is accessible here. Part II is available here.) Maybe you’re still reading it. You can stop now. The short series was theoretical, but inspired by some of the very impressive uses of social media marketing that I see being made by a number of attorneys. Determining that my impressions are too white-tower, I decided that my posts were in need of a follow-up series, drawn up by practicing attorneys: men and women on the street, delivering field reports. I reached out to several attorneys, and got a positive response from each gracious one.
Gabriel Cheong was the first to respond, and the first to submit a drafted post. (Check plus, Gabriel.) So, he’s the first one to be published in this sequel series. Gabriel is the principal of Infinity Law Group, which focuses in the areas of family law, divorce and estate planning. Gabriel is as an avid blogger (for example . . . and), and I particularly like his YouTube video channel, InfinityLawTV. Google Gabriel . . . whoops, Google Gabriel Cheong . . . and you’ll find tons of stuff. I think Gabriel’s trying to set some kind of land speed record respecting internet presence . . . which is why he writes on diversity of investment in social media, below:
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I was asked to write about how I have effectively used “social media” to grow my firm, and to double my revenue every year since I opened my practice three years ago. The question reminded me of something I read online a while back, which asserted that all media, marketing, advertising, is social. The point of marketing is to get the word out about your firm, so that prospective clients will engage you, and the firm. Thus, marketing is, by definition, a social endeavor.
Lawyers (or, more simply, anyone who does not immerse himself in day-to-day marketing) seem to hang onto the term “social media”, treating it as a magic marketing pill that, if taken as prescribed, will bring in vast fortunes, beyond wildest dreams. That is simply not the case. There is no magic. Like everything else, there is just hard work, and good sense.
In my firm, Infinity Law Group, my practice is concentrated in divorce, drafting prenuptial agreements and estate planning. I have one associate who helps me with all my work; and, I have a second associate, who is solely responsible for bankruptcy matters. I have one main website, www.infinitylawgroup.com, that goes on all my letterhead and business cards, and that serves as the main portal to my firm. In addition, I have set up a separate blog for each of the practice areas in which my firm concentrates–four blogs total. Everyone in the firm contributes to blogging, and all the blogs are updated regularly with content. I also write on law practice management issues through the Starting Out Solo blog, where I post tips and inspiration for solo attorneys starting their practices straight out of law school. I engage in video marketing through my YouTube channel, InfinityLawTV. There, I reach out to my audience (of potential clients) in a more intimate and personal manner, by speaking to them directly through video. This is all in addition to my in-person speaking engagements at various CLE programs, and myriad other internet and real-life marketing campaigns that I spearhead.
So, What’s the takeaway from listing what I do to market my firm? Simple. As with financial investments, diversification is key. Do not put all of your marketing eggs into one basket. There are marketing gurus out there who will say that a blog is the best thing since sliced bread, or that video marketing is the only thing you’ll ever need to generate business. That is simply not true; and, it’s a very dangerous way to think, and to market. The immediate response from your blog or video channel may be very positive, and lucrative; but, the danger is that, once that income stream runs dry, you are left with nothing. For example, What if YouTube went down, or out of business, or, over the course of one year, these video sharing sites, as we know them, were no longer relevant? Then, if video was all you did, you would have to start from square one again, because you’d have invested all of your energy, and money, and time, into one, or very few, marketing ventures. Diversify.
