How to Get Started With Google+ for Your Firm

Goal: Create a Google+ Page, a place where businesses can add their own content so clients, colleagues and the media can connect with a law firm.

If you want another way to attract potential clients, then Google+ might be just the ticket. The more technology there is at your disposal to market a law firm, the better.

Within just a few short minutes, anyone can create a Google+ account and get started. We set up a page in under eight minutes, even with reading all the instructions and watching a couple of videos.

Busy lawyers will find the site to be user friendly. Once your account is up and running, keep your Google+ page updated with content, pictures, videos and entries. Just remember your target audience is potential clients, and not necessarily other lawyers.

Getting Started

Ideally, you have a Gmail account. If not, it is easy to create one. For the purposes of this article, we assume that you have a Gmail account. Here is what you need to do to set up a Google+ page:

• Go to http://www.google.com/+/business/
• Click on create a page
• Pick a category and enter a page name
• Enter your law firm website
• Choose what category the content on the page is appropriate for
• Click to agree to Google’s page terms or you cannot proceed
• Click “create” box
• Customize your page with a tagline and upload a picture
• Click on continue
• On the Get the Word Out page, tell everyone about your new page. “Everyone” is in your “Circles.” Click on the blue box.
• Click on Finish
• Start a coversation with photos, videos, links or other interesting and relevant content
• To promote your new Google+ page, you might want a Google+ badge or some html coding on your website to inform people that you have a Google+ page.
• The system provides you with a url link to your page, so you can use it on every piece of material your law firm sends out such as invoices, business cards, letterhead, etc. Encourage people to add your new page to their circles, which means you will then appear in their stream.
• If you have a good collection of circles, you can link back to them.

Google+ is similar to Facebook in how you use it since it has Circles of contacts and allows you to link to pages you like and ask others to promote your page. If you are wondering why you would do Facebook and Google+ at the same time, the answer is your demographics are different. Ideally, your law firm wants to reach as many people as it can. Thus, you have a presence on Facebook, Google+ and other social media niches to maximize how many potential customers you reach.

The added bonus with Google+ pages is that you get to help people recommend your page (and law firm) on Google Search and ads by having the +1 button on your website. The more promotion, the better.

About Circles
After you have created your Google+ page, look at the top of the screen and click on the icon that shows interlinked circles. This is the page where you add people to your Circles. In other words, these will be the people you communicate with and talk to about your law firm, your area of practice, and discuss the hottest legal topics.

Circles are for you to choose the right people that you want to connect with, and to ensure that the right message is sent to the right people. This is an easy page to deal with as you just drag and drop your friends into various categories.

Google also has ways to analyze your Google+ activity. Their measurements will show you how many +1’s you have received, what people are commenting about your law firm, and what areas are getting higher traffic. Google+ should be added to your law firm marketing tools to connect directly with potential clients and the referrals of tomorrow.