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Use Big Data to Help Potential Clients Find Your Content

If you're writing about "premises liability" injuries when potential clients search for "slip and fall" accidents, you're setting yourself up to fail, writes Julie Howell in Five Ways Lawyers Can Use Google Trends. They won't even find your post if you're not framing the issues using the words they type into the search box. But big data can help:

Rather than build your marketing strategy around the way you think your target client is searching, focus on the keywords and topics you know they’re searching, based on research.

Howell's post is a practical guide to connecting your written work with your intended audience. Read it, and start writing to be read.

Is Your Social Media Authentic?

To be effective on social media, writes Alan Singles in Does Your Law Firm Social Media Strategy Put Humans First?, law firms need to be authentic. They need to be human:

To be real, social has to be run by people who will read and react to comments and concerns being posted on your social channels. ... Your social strategy has to be more than an afterthought in the marketing plan. It has to tell stories (good or bad), and it has to react and allow for that personal side.

Read the post. Take Singles' advice and add some authenticity to your digital strategy to connect with the people you're trying to reach. You'll be glad you did.

Gain Trust With A Positive First Impression

There's no avoiding it: people make snap judgments about your trustworthiness as soon as they meet you, writes Sue Shellenbarger in The Mistakes You Make in a Meeting’s First Milliseconds. And that could cost you. But it doesn't have to be that way.  With a little work and self-awareness, you can ensure a positive first impression.

People teamed in an investment game with online partners whose facial images appeared friendly and reliable entrusted their partners with 42% more money than those whose partners looked downbeat and threatening

Read the piece. Focus on the nuances of your expression and body language. Start gaining trust, without saying a word.