One of the best tools for advertising on legal websites is streaming video.  If you're not already doing some streaming video on your website, you are missing out on a tool that can give you a 50 percent reduction in bounce rates.  Ignoring streaming video isn't something most law firms can afford to do in today's competitive legal market.  In this guide, you'll learn how to stream video on your website and why it's cheaper than ever to include this type of video content in your marketing strategy.

What is Streaming Video?

Streaming video is one of the parts of the internet that has only become possible for most users to use because of widespread broadband internet technology.  Streaming video means that you don't have to download a whole video, then watch it afterward.  Instead, you can simply press “play,” and the parts of the video that are supposed to play first will download first, allowing the viewer to have a (hopefully) uninterrupted playthrough.

Streaming video is much easier for web users to use, because it won't take forever to download and require a special media player.  Instead, people can simply watch videos in their own browsers, which makes it easy to pause, rewind, stop, and fast forward any videos you want.  Streaming video takes up a fairly large amount of internet bandwidth, so typically it's very difficult for dial-up users to use videos of this type.  Attorneys who live in areas without good broadband internet access may want to think twice before using video as part of their marketing strategy.

Do I Need to Host My Own Streaming Video?

One of the best things about using video as part of your marketing strategy today is that you no longer have to pay for one of the largest associated expenses.  In the earlier days of the internet, if you had wanted to stream a video on your site, you would have had to host it yourself.  This would mean that you'd need to use a large amount of upload bandwidth every time someone viewed a video.  If your hosting plan had usage caps, you could run into them very quickly hosting your own videos.

However, sometimes on the internet it just takes one website to change everything.  Youtube, which supports itself through ad revenue, allows people to stream videos for free.  You can host your video content on Youtube and create your own streaming video, which can then be embedded on your website to allow site visitors to see simple, easy to use video about any legal topic you want to approach.

Is it Expensive To Get Started With Streaming Video?

Even though it no longer costs law firms a great deal of money to pay bandwidth costs for their streaming videos, it is still not a cheap endeavor.  Generally speaking, you can still expect to pay several thousand dollars to get your video campaign off the ground.  Why so expensive?  Because while it's possible to rent or buy a cheap camera system and just start talking into the camera, you're a lot better off having professionals handle your video production.

Professionals can make sure that your video and audio are synced up and that you don't run into any problems with having the audio volume incorrect.  Professional videographers with law firm experience can help you understand what sells and what doesn't sell when it comes to talking to the camera.  Try not to do the same thing you've seen on hundreds of other websites—you want to differentiate yourself with high quality production and writing in your marketing materials.

Should We Make Streaming Video In-House?

It's definitely possible to stream videos that you've made in house.  The question is, do you have the kind of marketing budget that can give you streaming videos you're really proud of posting on Youtube—or videos that become a joke for other attorneys to pass around?  Be honest about your firm's capabilities, and don't bite off more than you can chew.

One solution that may work for many law firms is to have a consultant create your initial video work.  For additional streaming video, you may decide that you can do additional videos in a similar style on your own.

Should Our Videos Play Automatically?

The internet has come a long way in a few short years, and today many websites will start playing a video as soon as a site visitor arrives.  While this is a tactic that some legal marketing professionals espouse, it can also cause trouble.

When your video plays automatically, it's probably also playing sound.  Because many people would prefer to keep their attorney search relatively private, even if they're searching in a public place, having a loud voice come over the speakers talking about the law may be disconcerting.  Don't be surprised if having automatically playing video dramatically increases your bounce rate, especially if it's mixed too loudly.  Most people's reaction to a too-loud video is simply to hit the back button, costing you a potential client.

What is a Viral Video?

Viral videos are a type of streaming video that are spread from person to person almost like a virus.  They usually start very small, being seen only by a relatively small number of people.  However, because of social media channels and the increasing interconnectedness of the entire internet, it doesn't take long for a video to go from having a few hundred views to having several million.  One of the most famous recent viral videos was “Gangnam Style,” a music video from South Korea.

However, as “Gangnam Style” shows, it's a bit tricky to understand exactly what makes a video go viral.  Generally, you're not going to be able to have your video spread virally if it looks like a generic attorney advertisement.  You need something that stands out, something that is so funny or so informative that the people who see your streaming video can't help but pass it along to everybody they know.

You've created a marketing plan and have been following through with the points of the plan perfectly.  Just the same, you're not sure whether it's actually successful or not.  The results that you're seeing are questionable, open to interpretation.  What signs actually mean that a marketing plan is doomed?  In this guide, we'll look at several signs that can tell you that your marketing plan is in need of serious revision. 

#1: The Phone Isn't Ringing

One of the most obvious signs that the marketing plan you're using is failing to achieve results is when the phone is dead.  If there isn't new business coming in, eventually your firm is going to have trouble keeping the lights on—and that means that no matter how innovative or groundbreaking your marketing campaign seemed when you started it, whatever led to the silence in your office is something that needs to be changed.

If you're not getting new business, keep in mind that this isn't necessarily because of any one cause.  While this is definitely an indication that you need to change something about how your firm is handling its marketing, it's not much of an indication about what needs changed.  It's important to check every step in the process: are people clicking on your website?  Are people able to find your site, and is it usable?  Do they click away quickly, or stay and look at a few pages, then simply don't call?  Later in this guide, we'll cover some of the specific issues you may be having, with more specific solutions.

#2: You Can't Get People to Leave Good Reviews

Today, reviews mean a lot to people looking for an attorney.  In fact, the majority of internet users seeking legal services now check attorney review and rating websites before making a phone call to schedule their first consultation.  If you can't get people to leave good reviews for your law firm, it may be because your conception of marketing ends when the client walks in your door for the first time.

While marketing to get new clients is one of the things you should be doing, it's not the be-all, end-all of marketing.  Once clients come in, you need to stay focused on not only the law, but also your branding and keeping the client's image of you positive.

To make it more likely for people to leave you good reviews, you should also follow up with former clients, especially the ones who have had the best experiences with your law firm.  Follow-up is an important part of marketing, and if you use it correctly, your old clients will be your best advertisements to help you get new ones.

#3: People Aren't Clicking On Your Site

Sometimes, the reason that your phone isn't ringing is that people just aren't finding your website in the vast wilderness of the web.  If you suspect that people aren't able to find your website, you should be checking the traffic numbers.  First, check them over the long term: is it that your website has never really been generating much traffic, or has there been a precipitous drop?

If your web traffic seems to have dropped all of a sudden, check where the traffic was coming from and where it's no longer coming from now.  It may be that you have been de-listed on one or more search engines.  Typically, this happens when a search engine believes that your website is low quality or spam.  If you believe that you have been de-listed in error, search engines give you the opportunity to appeal, or to show that you have revised your website so that it is now in accordance with the webmaster guidelines set forth by the search engine.

If you have a relatively new website or one that has simply never had many visitors, you should consider search engine optimization.  This doesn't mean turning your website into spam—see the paragraph above for what happens to websites that try that technique.  Instead, search engine optimization today mostly works by making sure you have some, but not too many, keywords in your text and that you're getting backlinks from people with a good reputation.  Look for backlinks articles on lawfirms.laws.com for more information about how you can generate quality backlinks.

#4: People Are Clicking—Then Not Converting

If people are coming to your website but aren't filling out an online form or calling your office for a consultation, you have a problem: a low conversion rate.  Low conversion rates usually mean that some part of your website's content simply isn't working well.  In some cases, this is very literal: it could be a problem as simple as one browser having a difficult time rendering your website. 

If you've made sure that your website is viewable in all browsers—including browsers used on major smartphones—then the problem may be that you're not answering the questions that your visitors want answered as quickly as they hoped.  Your website design may also be unattractive to viewers.  You can check how people move through your website using a tool like Google Analytics, which will help you see the way people click through your site and where they leave.  By using this information with a bit of common sense, you'll be able to pinpoint where you're losing clients and fix the problems.

#5: You're Finding The Wrong Kind of Clients

Maybe clients are calling your office, but they aren't the right kind of clients.  They're not bringing you the kinds of cases you normally take, or they are almost always seeking pro bono representation when you really need paying clients—these situations can be frustrating for any attorney.

When these situations happen, you should consider that your marketing may be incorrectly targeted.  Consider making targeting the focus of your next marketing initiative, and if you're using pay per click ad words, make sure you're also using so-called “negative keywords” as well—in other words, search terms that, if a user uses them, make it so your ad will not appear to them.  For instance, you may want people to find your website when they search for “criminal defense attorney Denver,” but not “criminal defense attorney Denver pro bono.”

Every time you turn on your mobile phone, you're plugging into a massive GPS system that tracks where you are and even knows where you're likely to be headed.  This means that local mobile advertising has more ways to track and target possible clients than ever.  Whether your firm is still asking “what is mobile advertising?” or you've already started using some local targeting in your mobile ads, this guide will help you understand current best practices and get a great mobile campaign started.

What is Mobile Advertising Like Today?

While lawyers were largely ahead of the phone technology curve and adopted Blackberry technology long before the average consumer had even heard of smart phones, they still used clunky advertising methods.  Instead of making the most of the web's capacity to deliver images and videos, mobile ads were almost always exclusively text, often in the form of a direct SMS advertisement.

Today, that old image of what is mobile advertising has changed for good.  Local mobile advertising no longer means sending out a direct ad to everyone in your phone list.  Instead, you can use your mobile ads to target customers in your city, in your neighborhood, or even on your block.

Local mobile advertising can now take several different forms.  Increasingly, an answer to “what is mobile advertising” is the in-app banner ad.  If your law firm works with an advertising network, you can put local mobile advertising into the apps local customers are using most frequently.

If you're still waiting to see what mobile advertising is capable of, you may want to try using Facebook's targeted mobile ads.  This form of local mobile advertising lets you put “sponsored stories” into the news feeds of your target audience, giving you incredible visibility and great click through rates.

What is Mobile Advertising Useful For?

It may surprise you to learn that soon, people will be spending more time on average browsing the web from their phones than from their computers.  Local mobile advertising lets you get in on the ground floor of this new market.

One of the best answers to the question “what is mobile advertising good for?” is also one of the most obvious.  When someone sees your traditional web advertising, they're usually on a desktop computer.  Desktops make it easy to do a lot of research at once.  After the research is done, your potential client may or may not get up from their office chair, pick up the phone, and give your office a call.

When someone sees your local mobile advertising, though, everything is different.  Comparison shopping isn't as easy on a smart phone as it is on a desktop, so your clients aren't likely to see your ad, but then go elsewhere for the same services.  What is mobile advertising useful for?  Making it incredibly easy to contact your firm, specifically, after someone sees your ad.

Designing Great Local Mobile Advertising

If you're new to mobile markets, you may still be asking “what is mobile advertising supposed to look like?”  The answer is: less like your standard website than you may think.  Mobile consumers want something different from web browsing clients.  Instead of peddling a huge amount of information, you're better off using your local mobile advertising to target very niche market segments and direct them to your landing pages.

Some of the best local mobile advertising today is actually video based.  The vast majority of clients will want to hire a lawyer who is local, and you can show people using a mobile ad that you're part of the community they work and live in.  Having great mobile tie-in videos that expand on videos you've already been successful marketing on the web can be a great way to get conversions fast from mobile customers.

Defining “Local” and Changes to What is Mobile Advertising

A few years ago, local targeting meant search engine optimization based around local keywords.  That's no longer the way great law firms are keeping their ad viewers local.  Depending on what mobile ad platform you're using, you can target people in whatever local area works best for you. 

Some mobile ad networks give you the ability to target based on a cell phone's GPS data.  If you wanted to, you could limit what was considered “local” to such a tight circle that any of your ad targets could hear you shout out your office window.  Now, most law firms don't need that kind of incredibly tight local targeting, but it's good to know that you have options.

Be a little bit careful when using that demographic data, though.  If you are broadcasting the signal “I know all about you already” with your ads, viewers can be turned off or even think that you would use their data unethically.  When you're targeting just one very tiny demographic with a local mobile advertising campaign, you want to sound like a lawyer, not a stalker.

What is Mobile Advertising Going to Look Like in the Future?

Five years ago, if you had asked a marketing professional the question “what is mobile advertising?” you'd have probably gotten an answer about text messages being used a lot like direct mail flyers.  Five years from now, there will probably be new ways to target local mobile advertising that make today's methods look primitive by contrast.

Already, some mobile marketing companies are using data mining technology to target consumers who appear to be going through specific life events.  Imagine the possibilities if you're a divorce attorney or work with probate cases!  Instead of just talking to random consumers in a particular demographic, soon you'll be able to show your ads to the exact people who need them most.

As local mobile advertising keeps changing, you'll want to keep an eye on changes to your ethical responsibilities.  Bar associations have been trying to figure out how to balance lawyers' need for efficient marketing with the ethical and professional responsibilities that come with being an attorney, and your state bar may end up prohibiting some new forms of marketing.

When you're creating blogs for your law firm, you have a huge number of choices to make.  Since some of those choices are so huge, like deciding what topic to use for your law blog, it can be hard to remember some of the other decisions you'll have to make.  One of the biggest in the long term can be whether to brand your law blog with your law firm, or whether to have attorneys maintain their own blogs that are only indirectly tied to your website.  Both of these approaches have significant advantages and disadvantages, and which one your law firm should use depends largely on what kind of marketing campaigns you're planning to run.

What Does it Mean to Brand Your Blog?

A blog that is branded with a law firm's name may be hosted on the website for the law firm, or may simply include the firm's name on its title page.  If you're branding your law blog, it means that the opinions being expressed in that blog will be considered by readers to be the opinions of your firm as a whole.

It's also possible for your attorneys to have their own blogs, which would usually have a link back to your blog in the sidebar, but only just as a reference for where the attorney works.  Depending on their blog's content, the attorney might also occasionally link back to your firm.  This kind of blog can be promoted in social media by your firm in many of the same ways that a branded blog can be, but the opinions expressed on it will be those of a particular attorney, and may not always represent the opinions of the firm as a whole.

Why Would Branded Blogs Be Problematic?

In some cases, social media experts actually recommend against having branded blogs if you want to have high quality blog writing.  Why?  The sad truth is that many branded law firm blogs have historically contained too much garbled SEO content and too little actual quality writing.  If you are planning to have a well written blog, it can sometimes be an uphill battle to be taken seriously when your blog is also being used expressly as a marketing tool.

Attorney blogs, because they can be more personal and don't have the “corporate” vibe that some branded law blogs can give off, can sometimes be a better choice for authenticity.  If individual voices and authenticity are major components of your marketing strategy, you may want to consider this kind of blog instead of having a firm-wide branded blog.

Can You Still Create a Good Branded Blog?

Just because branded blogs can carry some stigma doesn't mean that you should automatically cross them off your list of possibilities.  As long as you're committed to providing quality content and you link your blog from social media sources, you can still get great play from your branded blog.

There are several things that branded blogs actually do substantially better than non-branded ones.  The biggest one is probably search engine optimization.  SEO for your law firm will be easier with a branded blog because your firm's name will appear more times in the page and will be more likely to draw the attention of major search engines like Google and Bing.  The key is quality content that has goals and direction.  Don't make your blog entries seem like glorified advertisements.  Keep your advertising separate from your blogging and make sure that every blog entry you create is informative to the kinds of clients that your firm hopes to attract.

Non-Branded Attorney Blogs: Still a Great Tool

You may think that because a non-branded attorney blog wouldn't help as much with search engine optimization, that it might not be very useful for your firm.  However, SEO strategies are only the beginning of online legal marketing techniques today.  A non-branded attorney blog, especially if it's about a specific practice area, can actually still be a fantastic way to market your firm.

How?  Simply put, no matter what, when an attorney works for your firm, they're connected to you.  If they're writing an excellent blog entry that goes viral, getting traffic from major legal blogs or even mainstream blogs, the linking blogs will often include a link to your firm as well.  This kind of reputation enhancement can serve your firm very well and set you apart from the competition, especially if your attorneys get a reputation online for being helpful and informative.

Make sure that you're keeping an eye on attorney blogs.  Your attorneys need to be showing the best side of your firm, and you don't want for an entry made hastily to reflect poorly on your firm's other lawyers.

Your attorneys should also pay attention to their comments sections and make sure they are well moderated.  Spam comments will reflect poorly on their writing and the blog's overall placement in search engine results.

Getting the Most For Your Firm From Blogs

If you want to make sure that your law firm blog is getting the most traffic that it possibly can, you'll want to interact with other parts of the blogosphere as well.  For example, you should consider commenting on other law blogs, as well as the social media profiles of other attorneys and law firms.  You should also ask about the possibility of writing a guest post on a blog written by someone you professionally admire.

The more ways that you cross-promote your blog entries, the more successful you'll be.  However, this means that you shouldn't overload your audience.  Don't have a new blog post up every day—you're actually much more likely to have your posts read if you post only two or three times per week.  This is a much more manageable amount of writing for your readers to look at, and won't cause anyone to unsubscribe from you because of the amount you're posting.

When you give your phone number out to someone today, do you give your home landline number, or a mobile number?  For an increasing number of Americans, cell phones are an important part of life—in fact, over a third of Americans report that they no longer even have a landline phone.  As mobile phones get smarter and more common, law firms should start thinking about mobile marketing.  Having a mobile-friendly version of your website was once just a novelty.  In today's mobile-based world, it's a necessity.  Here are eight reasons that the legal marketing landscape is changing in a way that is favorable to lawyers who get on the mobile bandwagon.

#1: Smartphones Are Getting Cheaper And More Widespread

When smartphones came out, in the form of the Blackberry and other similar devices, they were regarded as gadgets best suited for high-powered businesspeople and tech geeks.  Today, the situation on the ground has changed dramatically: Over half of Americans now own a smartphone.

Smartphones, in addition to allowing basic telephony features, also let people connect to the internet, watch videos, use maps and global positioning satellite systems, and even play games or use apps.  The huge market share of smartphones has come as the result of steep price drops, including many which are now free with plan purchases.  The ubiquity of smartphone technology means that attorneys can no longer simply assume that their target market doesn't use smartphones—while younger demographics are certainly more likely to have a new iPhone or Android device than older people, all demographics are buying smartphones at an unprecedented rate.

#2: Better 3G and 4G Coverage

The first smartphones had data connections that were extremely slow compared to the speeds available for desktop web browsing at the time.  Typically, the first generation of data connections for smartphones only allowed a connection speed that was about the same as a dial-up modem.

Today, that's all changed.  Third and fourth generation data systems (abbreviated to 3G and 4G) allow for faster transmission and exchange of data than ever before through smartphones.  Today, 4G coverage, which is as fast or faster than many home broadband connections, is rolling out or already exists in hundreds of cities in the United States, while 3G connections can be found even in smaller towns and along major United States highways.  This better data coverage means that people are able to use their smartphones to get online more often and with less frustration—a great thing for marketers.

#3: Less Expensive Data

While some carriers have discontinued unlimited data plans, other cell phone service providers have stepped up to the plate to provide unlimited, flat rate data services.  When the data rate (the amount of internet downloading/uploading you're doing) is lower, people are more willing to do web searches on their cell phones.

#4: Conversion Ready Customers

It's hard to think of a type of client that's better to get than someone who's looking at their cell phone when they see your website.  After all, if they like what they see, it couldn't be easier: all they need to do is simply press the phone number on your website and the smartphone will dial it automatically.  Smartphones and mobile internet make it easier than ever for potential clients to get in touch with you right away, without the kinds of hesitations and second guessing that can make it significantly more difficult to convert new clients.

#5: More Tablet PCs

Smartphones aren't the only game in town when it comes to mobile computing.  With its introduction of the iPad, Apple began the rise of the tablet PC.  While tablet computing had been tried before, the iPad was the first device to become truly commercially successful using a touchscreen tablet interface.

Much like smartphones, tablet PCs often use mobile internet, including 3G and 4G.  These devices are considered mobile platforms for the purposes of marketing, because tablet viewers will see your mobile website, not your main site, first.  Mobile marketing to tablet users looks identical to mobile marketing to smartphone users, because the two types of devices actually use many of the same apps and graphics features.

#6: Social/Mobile Marketing Combinations

Sometimes, two great marketing tastes go great together.  If social media is peanut butter, then mobile marketing is definitely chocolate.  When you get your social media into your mobile marketing, you'll start seeing definite signs of success.  Why?  Because people like to use their social media accounts when on their smartphones.

Smartphone users are more likely to be users of various social websites, like Facebook and Twitter.  This means that whenever you do social media marketing, you should make sure that all your links are viewable by anyone who is using a mobile device.  Try checking on several devices with different operating systems (iOS, Android) before confirming that a web page is necessarily mobile friendly.

#7: The Rise of the Planet of the Apps

One of the other ways people interact with their mobile phones is through the use of “apps.”  Apps are a great way for attorneys to interact with potential clients.  Keep in mind that not everyone uses an internet browser and search functions any more.  Consider having an app that relates to your practice area.  For example, criminal defense attorneys may want to create apps that will help people understand how to interact during a routine traffic stop or a request to search a vehicle.

#8: Decrease in Desktop PC Market Share

It's been about 35 years since desktop PCs for the home market began to see initial sales.  However, the sales of desktop PCs have slowed.  Many specifications for desktop PCs haven't changed appreciably in several years, while significantly more innovation has occurred in the mobile realm.

It's unlikely that we'll see the desktop PC going away any time soon.  However, the ease with which clients can contact you after seeing your firm's mobile website means that you can't just rely on your desktop site forever.

For people involved in marketing law firms using any pay per click advertising, one of the biggest changes this year has involved two Google products.  Google Analytics and AdWords can now be linked so that they work together to tell you more about whether your pay per click advertising is effective and what makes your best ads work.  These Frequently Asked Questions will help you understand whether linking Google Analytics and AdWords is a strategy your web marketing team should be considering.

What is Google AdWords?

Most attorneys who use internet advertising start with one of the most basic forms: the pay per click advertisement.  Since only people who are interested in the headline will usually click, the rates of return on these ads can sometimes be quite high (especially for longer keywords).  Google AdWords is the largest pay per click advertising program on the internet.  It allows legal marketing professionals to put their advertisements into people's Google search results.

What is Google Analytics?

Google Analytics is a tool that isn't used by consumers, but instead by businesses to track how people use their websites.  After you embed a small piece of computer code into your website, Google can track how visitors behave when using your pages and when they leave.  This information can be extremely useful, because it allows you to understand which parts of your website are underperforming and how to correct performance issues with any web page on your site.

Linking Google Analytics and AdWords is a new feature that began in November 2012.  If you're not linking Google Analytics and AdWords yet, don't worry—you're not behind the curve at all yet.  Now is the perfect time to start checking out how your AdWords campaigns are performing.  Most attorneys and legal marketing professionals' current approach to the problem of AdWords analytics can be summed up as “guesswork.”  Get rid of guesswork and go for data-driven results by linking Google Analytics and AdWords.

How Do I Link Google Analytics and AdWords?

To link the two programs, just go to AdWords Help.  From there, click “Google Analytics.”  You'll see three options, and the middle one is “Link Google Analytics and AdWords.”  You'll find a solution guide that shows you with a tutorial and video how to link both of these accounts.  You'll also learn how you can start using both applications if you're not already.

What Can I Do With The Information I Get?

If you go back one level, you'll also see a third option that says “See Google Analytics data within your AdWords account.”  This helps you figure out what your AdWords campaigns are doing directly from your AdWords account, without needing to switch over to using Google Analytics.

You can take a look at your bounce rate, which indicates how many people glanced at your website only briefly, then immediately exited from the website.  You can also look at the average visit duration.  This is the amount of time, on average, that someone visiting your site stayed before moving on to another website.  You can also see how many pages an average visitor to your website looked at before leaving, and what percentage of the visitors you're receiving are new.

How Will It Help To Link Google Analytics and Adwords?

In some cases, linking Google Analytics and Adwords can help you better understand how your website is working.  For example, the fact that one of your ads sees a very poor click through rate may discourage you and make you think that it's an ineffective ad.  However, do you really know what the traffic you're getting is doing after they get to your website through Google AdWords? 

Once you link Google Analytics and AdWords, you'll be able to see whether those low click through rates are because your ad was truly uninspiring—or whether instead, it just attracted people who wanted to contact your firm, and kept people who didn't need your services out. 

How Do I Experiment With Campaigns Efficiently?

If you want to have the best results from linking Google Analytics and Adwords, you'll need to do a bit of experimentation.  You can keep basic experimental principles in mind: only change one variable at once, because if you change too many things at once it's hard to tell which change made your ad more effective.

You should set up some side by side comparisons to see whether particular techniques or phrases seem to be particularly effective in drawing people to your website, especially people who eventually schedule a consultation visit.  You can develop hypotheses about targeting your ad to particular demographic groups, or you could start experimenting with the times of day or days of the week you run the majority of your advertisements.

What If The Data Doesn't Match Predictions/Perceptions?

One of the biggest challenges for people who base some advertising dollars on a conclusion, then find out that the data doesn't bear that conclusion out, is this: do I believe the data?  I thought I was right.  Once you link Google Analytics and AdWords, you may find out that you weren't always correct about your perceptions.

Keep in mind that the data doesn't lie—data-driven websites are what get the best results today.  Remember that when one of your experiments proves a hypothesis wrong, that's actually great!  A negative answer can sometimes be just as good for your efficiency as a positive one.  By saving you from going down the wrong road with your advertising spending, following the data and taking results of your analytics at face value will help you use your marketing budget wisely.

The worst kinds of results that you can get from an efficiency perspective are ambiguous results.  This is when you see a slight increase but you're not sure if you're really just noticing statistical “noise.”  When this happens, you may need to run additional tests to determine if you're really noticing a significant factor in your advertising targeting or copy.

Let's face it, most law firms don't have the kind of budget they'd need to hire someone to do social media full time.  That means that when law firm social media marketing happens, it's usually done by someone who's wearing a lot of hats.  If you're trying to do social media marketing as part of other job duties, you need to know the biggest mistakes to avoid.  By avoiding these seven mistakes, you'll be putting your social media strategy on the right track and making sure that your law firm is ready for where social goes in the future.

#1: Not Enough Planning

Okay, so you have a Facebook profile.  And a LinkedIn.  Heck, you even still remember with a bit of fondness your college flirtation with MySpace.  You're as qualified as anyone at your firm to run social media, so why not just dive in?

The answer is, because just diving in isn't what's called for when you're trying to plan social media for a law firm.  You need to plan your social media strategy before beginning to implement it.  Too often, when social media profiles are started by someone who hasn't planned enough, they won't give any consistent brand image.  Instead, the social media profile tends to look something like the personal profile of the person who posted it, perhaps with a twist that makes it slightly more oriented toward your firm's practice area.  Planning can make it easier to differentiate your business and personal voices so that you don't sound the same.

#2: Too Much Planning

At the same time, other firms find that they're unable to get their social media strategies off the ground because they're stuck perpetually in the planning and strategy phase.  Social media moves fast—trying to plan for six months to a year and then implement a plan you started formulating a year ago is a bad move.  Odds are, everyone else has already moved on.

Keep your planning oriented toward what's going on in social media now.  By a year from now, the landscape may have changed significantly.  Have a plan for the long term that involves the image you want to project, but don't make your plan so detailed that changing it becomes a stressful necessity every time the social media world adopts new ideas.

#3: Being the Same as Everyone Else

It's important to make sure that your firm's voice isn't just the generic law firm voice.  There's too much competition both online and off today to sound identical to every law office in your town.  Think about what it is that makes you different, not what makes you a typical lawyer or a typical law office.

Too many lawyers try hard to look professional, but they come off looking generic and dull.  Being professional doesn't mean you're not allowed to have a personality.  Personality is incredibly important for differentiating yourself, so let the charm and charisma of your staff show through!  This may seem like a risk, but it's not: the bigger risk by far is being so much like everybody else that you can't get ahead, no matter how hard you try to promote your social media profiles.

#4: Ignoring Your Friends and Fans

When you post on Facebook or other social media sites, you may think that your responsibilities are done once your posts are made.  This couldn't be further from the truth.  Social media isn't just about talking, it's also about listening.  One of the fastest ways to lose your fans and friends is to just ignore them, to show that you're only interested in posting marketing material and not in interacting with potential and past clients.

Instead, make sure that you're actually responding to comments thoughtfully.  Make sure that the people who befriend you or become your fans get a short personal note from you.  These small things can make a big difference in keeping friends and fans even through difficult times.

#5: Overposting and Underposting

Deciding how often to post is difficult for almost everyone working in social media.  Overposting is a huge mistake in today's social media world, because it's very easy for people to stop following you at a moment's notice.  When someone talks about themselves incessantly, do you want to keep listening?  Probably not—and neither will your social network connections.

Underposting is just as bad.  When people see too few posts, they often start to assume that a business has fallen onto hard times or may no longer even exist.  It's critical that you don't abandon your social media profiles, because this can give the wrong impression to people trying to do research on your firm before making a call.

#6: Failing to Examine Your Results

Once you've done social media marketing for a year or two, you may think you have a good handle on it—to the point where you're not even sure if you really need to do anything differently.  However, analyzing your results is incredibly critical if you want to be able to continue improving.  Without continuous improvement, you're likely to find your competition rapidly catching up to you—then going on straight past you.

Consider downloading some basic analytics tools to help you look at how people get to your website from social media channels and what they do when they get there.  This can help you understand what parts of your social media strategy have been most and least effective, and what you should do more in the future.

#7: Wishful Thinking

When you decide that your social media strategy should work, it can be really hard to let go if you're not seeing results.  Wishful thinking—wanting a strategy to work so badly that your confirmation bias starts telling you that it works just fine—is one of the biggest enemies of data-driven marketing.

Take yourself and your ego out of the equation.  If one strategy isn't successful, it's not a mark against you.  It's an opportunity to try something different.