Let's Talk Legal Marketing With Scott Selis

A Law Firm Marketing Blog Series: Edition #3

Welcome back to our blog series, in which we talk legal marketing with real law professionals. In this edition, we discuss best marketing practices with Scott Selis, a highly regarded elder care attorney in the state of Florida.

We hope hearing the thoughts and ideas shared by the people in these blog posts, will inspire you to make positive changes to your marketing strategies. We also know that marketing legal services these days is more complex and challenging now than ever before, and hope that some of our readers may identify with some of the marketing struggles presented here, and perhaps be able to offer solutions.

The biggest goal of this blog series is to get the conversation going, so let’s dive in.

A Marketing Conversation With Attorney Scott Selis Esq.

Scott A. Selis practices elder law and estate planning, carries 12 years of experience, and was named one of Florida’s Elder Law Attorneys of the Year in 2016. His firm focuses on making long-term care affordable for seniors, and helping people create disability and end-of-life plans. In our below conversation, we talk about a new addition to Selis’ staff, strategies for marketing elder law services, and the importance of maintaining sensitivity in advertising.

AL: Your firm recently brought on a new marketing coordinator to your practice. What was your reasoning behind the hire?

Scott: One of my greatest weaknesses is implementing plans, so I needed someone that has great follow up habits to get the job done. I also know I’m not fully educated about what market strategies generate significant ROI.

AL: How much does the age of your target audience influence your marketing strategies?

Scott: Most of our elder law clients are ill, so we usually meet with their adult loved ones, including extended relatives, family friends and mostly adult children. Since the children rarely live nearby, we rely heavily on SEO to reach them. We are considering online campaigns and webinars in the near future so we can reach our audience more efficiently.

AL: What are some of the things your clients value most, and look for when hiring an attorney?

Scott: Peace of mind, patience, education, experience, compassion, integrity, and responsiveness. Also not just getting it done, but getting it done right.

AL: End of life planning can be a sensitive topic. How do you go about advertising your elder law services, while still maintaining a high level of sensitivity and compassion?

Scott: We use mostly use social media to portray our message, along with the help of our third party vendor who helps implement regular postings about sensitive subjects. We just recently posted an article about talking with a dying loved one, to help those who are going through these types of sensitive topics.

AL: Have you found social media to be an effective marketing tool for your firm?

Scott: Yes, but only as a support for other marketing efforts. Social media opens our referral sources’ personal life to us. We are able to use that to build deeper relationships. Event planning on social media is the most effective and least expensive method to promote events.

AL: Tell us something unique about the way you market your firm?

Scott: I use humor and fun to market events for our firm. If the event isn't fun, then I’d rather not do it. Most people like to have fun. Those who do not like fun, are probably not a good fit. At every (promotional) event I attend, I offer a prize for correctly guessing the punch line to a lawyer joke. These fun activities I do is what people enjoy and will get your name remembered in the long-term.

AL: What marketing advice would you give to an attorney just starting out in 2018?

Scott: Decide on how quickly you want an ROI. There are only two factors to consider: time and money. Marketing with little expense (network marketing) takes time because referrals rely on relationships. Spending a lot of money will generate ROI faster. The bottom line is that when it comes to marketing, time and money, are inversely related.

Some key takeaways from our conversation with Scott Selis:

• With the creation of a new marketing coordinator position at his firm, Scott is now one of many attorneys today putting an increased emphasis on marketing their practice. According to a recent survey from The American Lawyer, 41 percent of attorneys reported that hiring marketing staff and increasing their numbers ranked “as one of the top investments in the past two years that have been most effective in developing new business”.
• While eager to grow his firm’s online presence, Scott seems to have a clear understanding of his marketing limitations, which is why he’s reached out for professional marketing help with tasks like social media promotion and blog writing. A willingness to delegate tasks seems to be a common theme among some of the successful law professionals we’ve talked to so far in this series.
• Marketing to elder law clients is a rather unique process, as firms must win the trust of not just the client themselves, but the relatives helping make decisions on on their behalf. Scott’s firm blog site helps along the process, by providing educational pieces on what his firm does to protect seniors from being taken advantage of, and what seniors and their loved ones need to know about end of life planning. By giving people more information, and building up his firm’s credibility by showcasing expertise, Scott increases the likelihood that readers will choose to trust their loved ones end of life matters with his firm. Check out his blog for yourself here!

That’s it for today’s blog post, but the legal marketing discussion doesn’t have to end here. Join the Let’s Talk Legal Marketing discussion groups on Facebook and LinkedIn, and start communicating with other top legal marketing minds today! Also be sure to follow the Let’s Talk Legal Marketing Twitter account (@letstalklm), for all of the latest legal marketing news and info.