Firstly I am not just a lawyer I also have a Bachelor of Commerce including marketing qualifications.
Secondly I am not just a lawyer I am also a local businesswoman. I understand the pressures of small business, I understand that both time and money are limited, I understand that client retention is important, and I get what it takes to survive in small business.
Thirdly as a lawyer I am well used to accounting for my time (in six minute increments) and explaining how I have used that time to the client. I won’t just give you large figures with broad ranges and expect you to trust me.
Lastly I have been doing this for a few years now and am frustrated by the unnecessary jargon that is used, and what many people are charging in this sphere for less effect than what I am doing.
I am not just a lawyer
Before I got my Masters of Law and Legal Practice from the University of Technology, Sydney, I obtained a Bachelor of Commerce with Merit from the University of Wollongong. I worked for six months teaching at the University, and then I worked for a few years in the industry but it just didn’t interest me.
A lot of things have changed since then and I have kept up to date with the way that we market ourselves because I have been doing it in a paid capacity for some five years now.
I am a local business woman
I am Penrith, born and bread. I understand the local area, and I understand that outside of the Sydney CBD you probably don’t want to spend $2,000 to $4,000 a month on a social media campaign.
I understand that small business is very much about the people who work in that business, and that in Western Sydney people are not after a brand name they are after the right people.
I account for my time
I am quite frustrated by what I see in this area, by the large sums of money sought with very little accountability for how that has been spent. Too often it seems to be that they know what you are doing so you should just trust them.
I am used to accounting for my time in six minute increments, you won’t get any of this from me. I will tell you what I think you need, what I think you need me to do, how long I think it will take and how much I think it will cost you. I will then break down what I have done, and how much it costs.
If there are aspects that you think you can do yourself then I will happily show you how to do what I am doing, as much as that is possible.
Lawyers are collaborative
Lawyers do not claim to be a jack of all trades and we don’t try to do everything ourselves. I have never encountered a lawyer who says that they do all areas of law, law firms with a large number of solicitors might but not an individual lawyer. Even within our chosen field we also refer to barristers, other solicitors, and expert advice from outside of our profession.
I will tell you what I can do and how I can help you, and I will tell you if what you need is outside my area and refer you to someone who can help you.
Lastly, a lawyer must be able to communicate and advocate, it is the bare basic skill required for our profession. If I am a half decent lawyer then I will be able to communicate effectively why your business is valuable and trustworthy, and convince existing clients or potential new clients to use you.
The marketing and social media work that I have done for other organisations includes:
- content creation for their website, Facebook or Instagram accounts
- creating and maintaining a client newsletter
- tracking analytics for the websites so that I can identify valuable content and optimise it
- refreshing an existing website or creating a new website using a platform like Wordpress or Square Space
- production of basic graphics to complement existing brand and assist with continuity of your visuals across the different platforms so that your blog headers, Facebook posts and Linked In all gel
- production of paper based promotional material for existing clients
- planning and facilitating community engagement including events or public speaking
- discussions with business owners regarding areas of their business that they want or need to emphasise and advice regarding how to approach that
- assistance deciding which platforms and business areas to invest in with their marketing to avoid an ineffective 'bit of everything' approach
If you need to go back to square one with your brand, what is it, how are you different, what is your tag line, brand colours or logo, then I will happily refer you to someone else to help with that. Equally if you need to create a complex website from scratch then I will refer you to someone else for that. Once you have those things established, I can help with the week in week out work of communicating with and retaining your existing clients, and finding new ones.