It’s been quite a while since Google offered a significant update to Google+. In fact, this is the first time the search engine giant has enhanced the user interface (UI) for its newest social media product. Many agree these changes are most welcome and needed.

Design Changes

Less than one month ago, Facebook initiated a mandatory update to the Timeline format for all Facebook pages. One of the most instantly noticeable changes to Facebook users was the cover photo located at the top of any Facebook Timeline page. Following suit, Google+ now offers the same feature.

One of the most appealing aspects of the Google+ update is the changes to the “Profile” page. It simply looks better than it did before the update. Numerous articles note that Google simply gave Google+ the “Timeline treatment.” In my opinion, while the two updates have some similarities, it’s really aimed at allowing companies to apply uniform branding across both social networks.

While the dimensions for Facebook’s cover photo and Google+’s cover photo are different, you can easily alter it to brand your page with recognizable images. Also, users may choose to leave their cover photo as is, with the tiled banner consisting of up to five pictures.

Improved Navigation

The new Google+ layout also features a handy navigation sidebar to help you manage your law firm’s page. Navigation now contains bigger, cleaner icons, including “Home,” “Profile,” “Pages,” “Explore,” “Photos” and “More.” The best part: Google didn’t really take anything away but instead made its interface more accessible and organized – and much more aesthetically pleasing, in my humble opinion.

You can also customize the sidebar by dragging and dropping features, or hide them completely, making them available under the “More” option. This allows you to place frequently used features in prime places and hide those that are rarely used.

Google+’s new UI features a new page called “Explore.” Under the “Explore” page you can easily see what topics are trending across the network.

How Will Google’s Plan Affect Your Online Marketing Plan?

In a recent blog post, Google stated: “We’re aiming for an experience that fuses utility with beauty – one that inspires you to connect with others, and cherish the conversations that unfold.”

Is Google on the right track to achieving its goal? This update seems to have been well received for the most part, and that will likely draw more users to Google+, significantly strengthening your Web marketing campaign by broadening your networking opportunities.

Contact Consultwebs.com’s Social Media Team Today

To learn more about the newest features of Google+, contact our Internet marketing experts at (800) 872-6590 or e-mail us at marketing@consultwebs.com.

Google+ Features a New User Interface, Offers Consistent Branding | Law Firm Web Marketing

Noteworthy Changes

First, let’s talk about the changes themselves. In our opinion, they offer better branding, better content visibility, and a more eye-catching, functional page.

Let’s start with the introduction of a Facebook page. What is the first thing you see? Currently, tech savvy page administrators use eye-catching landing pages to welcome users. The landing page can be as simple as an image of your law firm or as intricate as a fully interactive iframe, which make the Facebook page feel more like an actual website rather than a networking third party.

After the upgrade however, the feature that allows law firms to set alternative landing pages will be removed. How will you catch a user’s eye now? Facebook has a solution. The new layout makes your actual business page look and feel more like a functional website — and better yet, a website with networking capabilities. The first thing a visitor will see is the “Cover Photo,” a horizontal image located at the top of your page. This picture is fully customizable, which can help reinforce your brand across the Web.

Facebook has always allowed page administrators to add custom tabs of content, but in the past they weren’t all that eye-catching. Now there’s good news! You can now make the most of that content.

All additional content — photos, info, custom content, etc. –  that were previously located beneath the profile photo have been moved to a row closer to the top of the page and just beneath the “Cover Photo.” Also, rather than small, barely noticeable links, the links to the pages are now large thumbnails which can be branded with customizable photos. This will help draw attention to your content.

The Central Change – The Wall Is Now the Timeline

Perhaps the biggest change: Facebook’s “Wall” is gone! It has been replaced with the “Timeline,” which is very similar. People who “Like” your page can write posts, share pictures and videos, and read and comment on your status updates and shares. However, there are differences: important posts can be highlighted for emphasis. The “Timeline” keeps track of milestones and arranges them by date. That means users and administrators can jump to a year or month at the click of a button to view past posts, events and milestones.

Optimization by Consultwebs

Upon hearing that the upgrade would be mandatory for all pages on March 30, Consultwebs’ Social Media and Marketing specialists developed a solution for the optimal law firm Facebook page, from design, to content, to page maintenance.

In our opinion, a fully optimized law firm Facebook page should contain:

• Personalized Profile picture
• Customizable “Cover Photo”
• “Our Attorneys” page of content with customizable thumbnail
• Practice area page of content with customizable thumbnail
• “Contact Us” page with customizable thumbnail.

Contact Consultwebs.com today to learn more about the new Facebook change and how our team can prepare you for it. Call us at (800) 872-6590 or email us at marketing@consultwebs.com.

Facebook Gets a Facelift | Law Firm Web Marketing

It makes sense if you think about it. Google has been a lead search provider for many years, and always looking for new and innovative ways to change the way we search the Web and the way the Web responds to our searches, as well as determining if a website has value. Google+ is the search giant’s newest attempt to revolutionize the way search results are served.

In a recent special edition of SEOMoz’s Whiteboard+, Rand Fishkin discussed the importance of a Google+ Web marketing strategy. Mr. Fishkin is the CEO of SEOMoz, a trusted source for information and tools for search marketing experts. One key takeaway from this video is that a lack of Google+ presence could significantly undermine a Web campaign.

Plain and simple, search marketers need to develop a Google+ strategy.

Google+ is playing a prominent role in search results, even showing up and sometimes outranking other sources in search results. Thanks to Google’s “Search Plus Your World,” search results may vary wildly depending on whether or not you’re logged in to Google+, as well as who is in your network and what they have shared or +1ed. For example, while logged into Google+, if people in your network have +1ed or shared a particular page, that page will appear higher in your search results than it would if you were logged out or if fewer people in your network had +1ed it. Even search results received while you are logged out of Google could be heavily influenced by Google+, just not to the same degree.

Furthermore, Google now includes a box on the right of search results entitled “People and Pages on Google+.” This box will include people and entities on Google+ that are relevant to the searched keyword. For example, if someone searches “Marketing,” Google+ profiles and pages that pertain to “marketing” will appear in this box. Essentially, it’s like extra page one results and highlighted authoritative sources related to certain keywords. However, all keywords do not currently receive these extra results. But Google+ is still in its infancy, and in time, this feature will be likely be ubiquitous.

Perhaps one of the most important reasons to develop a Google+ strategy is to authenticate the quality of your website. Authoritative content and site quality have affected Google search results for years. Google+ gathers this information from a very reliable source: the everyday Web user. Shares and +1s supply Google with strong Web spam and search quality signals. This could mean that a lack of Google+ activity could significantly impact your search ranking.

Dale Tincher, CEO of Consultwebs.com, Inc., said, “I strongly agree with Rand Fiskin’s six reasons why every marketer now needs to employ a Google+ strategy for SEO.  I especially agree with reason number five, ‘Web Spam and Search Quality Signals.’  Google constantly looks for ways to measure the quality of websites.  An important measurement will likely be their analysis of activity a website or page has through +1s or shares via Google+ or other social services to which Google can connect. If a site or page has no activity, Google may consider its links as spam links and discount their value.  As a result, the website or page is likely to drop in search rankings.”

This could mean that law firms with active Google+ Pages could outrank lawyers in Google search who have not joined the social network. Fishkin mentioned that search results are currently being heavily influenced by Google+, in some cases returning results that are lacking keywords, thus lending more evidence to the weight of Google+ social signals.

SEO and Social Media efforts are now working together more than ever, and perhaps in the near future they may become intrinsically connected. In fact, if Google continues to push Google+, SEO campaigns will likely be severely handicapped in the absence of Google+ Social Media efforts.

At Consultwebs, we realize the importance of this change and have already set up Google+ Pages for our Social Media clients.  In addition, we provide weekly updates and push engagement.  Soon, we will begin campaigns to garner +1s and shares to establish attorneys and brands a strong presence within Google.

Contact Our Law Firm Marketing Experts Today

Consultwebs.com, Inc. has been providing cutting edge Web marketing services for law firms across the nation since 1999. We pride ourselves in staying a step ahead of the competition and actively seeking new ways to improve our clients’ campaigns, as well as consistently monitoring and troubleshooting existing campaigns. Our SEO and Social Media strategists will work with you to determine the optimal path to prominent Web presence. To learn more, please call us at (800) 872-6590 or email us at marketing@consultwebs.com.

Google+, an SEO Necessity for Marketers | Law Firm Web Marketing

The answer is Google+ Pages. Similar to Facebook Pages, Google+ allows users to create a page for a cause, public figure, band or business, including a law firm. The site allows people to interact with businesses, and businesses to interact with current and potential customers. Users can +1 their favorite businesses or add them to Circles to stay tuned in to the latest news and updates.

In the coming weeks, Google will also allow users to have multiple administrators for their Pages, which means a law firm can hire a professional social media marketing company to maintain its page and manage content while still having complete access.

You’re probably thinking, this sounds a lot like Facebook pages. And you’re right. It does. So, what makes Google+ Pages different?

People use Google to search the Web billions of times each day. Thus, there are benefits to having a social tool integrated into one of the world’s most popular search engines. First, Google+ Pages will be included in search results (with many speculating that Google will weight Google+ Pages heavier than other social networks). Secondly, people can search directly for your page using Google+’s Direct Connect feature. By typing [+] in front of the brand’s name (such as +Google or +Pepsi), one will be taken directly to the brand’s Google+ Page and will instantly be given the opportunity to follow or +1 the brand.

One goal of Google+ Profiles and Pages is to link users to authoritative brands and pages. This aggregates your perceived importance across all of your Web properties by tying a +1 back to your main Google+ Profile / Page, and acts as a mechanism for Google to make sure the content it crawls is truly yours and not scraped content.

Google has also included the +1 button in AdWord ads.  Therefore, not only will the money you spend for Adwords get your message in front of site visitors, it will also drive your perceived importance by allowing users to +1 your brand as they search the Web.

Pages gives your firm another source of Web visibility and puts your social outlet in front of current, past and potential clients so that they may connect for long-term relationships. Also, Google+ is an inexpensive way to create pages for each of your primary practice areas / keywods.

Several brands have already created Pages, such as Pepsi, Macy’s, Angry Birds and The Muppets. Once the doors of commerce are opened, we will have another dynamic social media marketing tool to explore.

Interesting questions to be answered in the near future:

• How will law firms make use of features like Hangouts?
• Will Google add new features that are tailored to suit businesses?
• Will Google+ overtake Facebook as the leading social media network?  Which will best suit law firms?
• Will Google+ Pages integrate with Google Places? If so, having a Page for each of your satellite locations will be a sound investment.

Pages will likely cause continued growth for Google+. The latest numbers put the service at over 40 million users. Some speculate that the introduction of Pages could cause that number to increase by 50 percent or more. Creative marketers will likely find a number of ways to utilize the service for law firms and other businesses.

It is extremely important that companies create a Google+ Page with their main business name. Because of the Direct Connect feature, if you wait too long, another individual in another part of the country may register the name you want (or something similar). This could lead to brand mis-identification.

Contact ConsultWebs.com, Inc. to Learn More about Law Firm Social Media Marketing!

Consultwebs.com, Inc. has been helping law firms create and manage resourceful social media campaigns for over a year. We have helped firms with networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Hubpages and more. Currently, we are creating optimal Google+ Pages strategies and will soon offer Google+ Pages as part of our Social Media option for law firm marketing. Stay in touch with our blog for future updates. This is an exciting time for Social Media marketing and we look forward to sharing it with your law firm.

For more information, call us at (800) 872-6590, contact us at marketing@consultwebs.com or fill out our convenient online contact form.

Google Unveils Google+ Pages: How Will It Affect the World of Law Firm Social Media? | Law Firm Web Marketing

Social Media gives clients the opportunity to offer attorney reviews by posting on the law firm’s Facebook wall or sending an @ message via Twitter. Pleased clients can praise the attorney who has helped them in a time of need, and these positive comments can do wonders for attracting new clients. Even the simple act of “Liking” or “Retweeting” a post offers a law firm valuable marketing exposure.

However, as in all businesses, not all reviews can be pleasant.

What Should I Do When My Social Media Site Receives Negative Comments

At Consultwebs.com, we are now offering a broad approach to addressing this problem through a customized Law Firm Reputation Management Package. The package includes content development, online law firm profiles and search engine optimization (SEO) services in addition to Social Media efforts.

To discuss a Web-based reputation management strategy for your law firm, contact us today by calling our legal marketing consultants at (800) 872-6590 or using our online form.

As far as dealing with negative online reviews specifically in the Social Media context, the first thing to remember is all businesses receive negative comments eventually. You cannot please everyone. And while negative reviews on Social Media sites can leave an immediate mark on your firm’s reputation, damage control is possible, thanks to several settings and tools on social networking platforms.

It is highly unlikely that a negative comment will go unnoticed by the account’s administrator. Not only will notifications show up inside your account (for Facebook in the upper left-hand corner, etc.), you can also arrange for notifications to come directly to your email via account settings.

So, when that negative comment inevitably happens, take a deep breath, relax, and keep the following steps / suggestions in mind:

• Utilize Social Media tools to manage your reputation. For example, derogatory messages and comments can be deleted, and if they persist from the same user (if they are spamming your page), that user can be blocked.
• Does the message call for a private discussion?  Social networking allows attorneys to reply to derogatory comments through public or private messages.  Perhaps an understanding can be reached.  Either way, the message can be removed.  However, be aware that any private posting may show up in a subsequent public post.

What Can Consultwebs.com Do to Help?

At Consultwebs.com, our Social Media Consultants monitor accounts closely, via the notifications described above. Our clients’ reputations are important to us! Aside from receiving various notifications, we actively engage with your account each day, sharing links and blurbs relevant to your geographical or practice areas, seeking followers on Twitter, and monitoring analytics across multiple social networking platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Our main focus is to provide an attorney’s profile with high-quality, relevant content and posts, such as trending news, links to the firm’s website to help drive traffic, and links to the firm’s other social media outlets / blogs.

However, the ever-watchful eyes of our team also look for negative feedback / comments. In the event that we see a derogatory comment, we notify the project manager of the concerned client immediately. If the client feels that the comment merits a discussion, we let the client handle the interaction with the disgruntled user. In certain cases, commenting from other users can be disabled. However, this is generally discouraged because it limits the interactivity of your page and can present a negative or unapproachable image.

Contact Consultwebs.com Today

For more information on Social Media reputation management and for additional information about the variety of Social Media marketing packages offered by our Social Media Department, please visit Consultwebs.com’s Social Media page. In addition, visit our site to see our Law Firm Reputation Management programs.  To learn more about Social Media opportunities and how they can help your law firm’s marketing efforts, contact us at marketing@Consultwebs.com or (800) 872-6590.

Law Firm Reputation Management via Social Media | Law Firm Web Marketing

Law Firm Content:  Keep it Professional

The typical person updates his or her social networking sites with whatever may pop into his or her head.  “Saw a movie tonight with friends,” or “Planning a vacation in three weeks,” are examples of common information included on the Wall of personal profile pages.  This information is relevant to those who know the individual personally, but may seem mundane or irrelevant if posted on a business page.  Business readers are not likely to come back if the content does not have professional value.

Law firm professional business pages need to be produced with contemporary news, ideas, and developments relevant to your firm, practice areas and geographic location.  Information should intrigue potential clients and give them examples of why your firm is a cut above the rest.

The following are examples of commonly used information on professional Social Media pages:

• Practice area or location legal news that is applicable to your firm.  A Google News Alert will keep you up to date on the latest legal developments and can provide fodder for Social Media posts.
• The latest news that pertains to the firm’s practice or geographical areas.  Subscribe to a RSS feed or newsletter from a newspaper local to the firm’s geographical areas.  People want to know that you are well-informed and that you care about current events.
• News from well-known charities or non-profit organizations with which the firm may be affiliated, or that share a common thread with one or more of the firm’s practice areas.
• The firm’s recent accomplishments or successes, which may be meaningful to existing or prospective clients.

In short, you should post topics that will validate your legal ability and credibility while also emphasizing your compassion.  These three factors could lead potential clients from your Facebook or other Social Media page to the front door of your office.

Layout, Tabs, and Static FBML

Your professional Facebook page can be designed in a manner that reassembles a highly functioning website.  Various usable features and an appealing design will assist in achieving this.

• An Attractive Landing Page: Typically, when users visit a Facebook page they see lines upon lines of text courtesy of “the Wall.”  And though the wall is a highly valuable Facebook tool, it is not appealing to the eye.  Using a handy application known as “Static FBML, (Facebook Markup Language)” you can create an attractive and informative landing page to serve as your page’s first impression.  This allows you to develop an intricate design that features a call to action, some informative text regarding the firm, and a color scheme and branding that is consistent with your company’s main site.  This tab is aptly dubbed the “Welcome” tab. Making users feel welcome may convince them to look around at other tabs on your Facebook page.
• Additional Content (Beyond the Wall!): There are several ways to add various tabs to your company’s page that contain extensive content and ultimately transform your Facebook page into a miniature version of your company’s website.  Static FBML allows you to create and customize additional content tabs, which may range from informative articles to a series of news and videos.  I have also found it helpful to create a tab that catalogues blog posts.  Each tab can contain multiple links to your main site, giving your Facebook business page a level of usability that rivals your main site.  These links also increase your visibility, and ideally, your volume of clients.

Static FBML will no longer be available beginning in March 2011.  Facebook users are looking to iFrames as a suitable replacement, and some believe upgrade.

To see an example of a professional Facebook page, check out this law firm personal injury Social Media page from Pennsylvania personal injury attorneys Munley, Munley & Cartwright.  Please see the law firm Social Media section of our Consultwebs.com website for additional examples.

The Approaching Rise of Social Media

The Internet is booming with predictions for the 2011 year in Internet marketing. One of the most consistent predictions addresses the rise of Social Media as a marketing tool, namely relying on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, with the occasional mention of StumbleUpon.  LinkedIn has emerged as a superb method of networking and showing your law firm’s expertise.  As these predictions come to fruition, professional Social Media law firm marketing will be a necessity rather than a supplemental luxury.

Some firms are already achieving incredible success through the use of Social Media.  However, the success of a professional Facebook profile, like that of a website, is tied to visibility and professionalism.  Professionalism can be achieved by following the suggestions listed above and the creation of an attractive landing page and comprehensive, meaningful content.  Visibility can be achieved by using simple techniques, such as adding videos or attaching links to your Social Media platforms in your e-mail signature and website, or referencing Social Media links on your business card.

Keep in mind that the central idea behind Social Media is interconnectedness, and that can be a solid foundation for any law firm marketing campaign!

We invite you to view and subscribe to our Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn sites or join our law firm LinkedIn listserv.  To learn more about what Social Media can do for your law firm, please contact us at marketing@consultwebs.com or call us (800) 872-6590.

Differences between Personal Social Networking and Law Firm Professional Social Media Marketing | Law Firm Web Marketing