Times have changed. Consumers are now turning to the internet to find local businesses. But one thing has stayed the same: The cutthroat level of competition felt in the industry.

Growth propels law firms. The foundation of a successful firm is a steady flow of leads and new patients. Now, more than ever, it’s essential to optimize your online presence to attract leads. In addition to a well-designed website, you must make the most of digital advertising efforts.

Local search marketing is your key to success in a competitive market. In fact, four out of five people use search engines to find local information. We’ve already discussed how paid search advertising can help drive results for law firms. And it does. But optimizing your organic search results—including your local listings and content marketing efforts—can be equally successful.

Here’s how SEO can keep your law firm competitive.

Optimized listings make your law firm discoverable.

If you haven’t already, it’s critical to verify your business listing online. Having a consistent name, address, and phone number (NAP) across all listings ensures that prospects find you in the first place. Additionally, including logos and photos of your staff helps not only humanizes your brand, it further legitimizes your listing.

As we’ve mentioned, Google relies on data submitted by businesses. It’s up to you to get the ball rolling. Google My Business (GMB) is a free, easy-to-use resource that enables law firms to manage their online presence. Claiming, optimizing, and managing a GMB page improves the visibility of your law firm across local search engine results.

For more information, check out Google’s guide on adding and claiming your business listing. And for tips on boosting your local rankings via GMB, be sure to check out our post on the topic.

Reviews build trust and authority. 

Many people’s first interaction with your brand is your GMB listing. In addition to your NAP, the first thing that catches many people’s eyes is the star rating found immediately below your brand name. How is this rating derived, you ask? Through user reviews.

Word-of-mouth marketing is nothing new for attorneys. While peer-to-peer recommendations undoubtedly still exist, many people now treat online reviews like personal referrals. According to research from BrightLocal, 86 percent of consumers read reviews for local businesses.

Reviews build trust. They portray your practice as a reliable, honest law firm. In this regard, they can serve as free word-of-mouth advertising. More importantly, however, reviews are also an SEO power play. They’re an essential ranking factor. As we discussed in a previous post, review signals are among the top three local pack ranking factors according to Moz.

It’s important to have a strategy for collecting and maintaining reviews. This includes responding to—and even embracing—negative reviews. It may sound counter-intuitive, but negative reviews can actually help your efforts. Only having five-star reviews may raise suspicion. By including less-than-positive reviews, you’re showing you have nothing to hide.

The more honest reviews you have, the better. Need help gathering reviews? It may help to ask, according to some research. For even more information, check out our post on citation management and reviews.

Content creation benefits your law firm marketing.

Think that blogging is a waste of time in 2019 (and beyond)? Think again. Despite the fact that we’ve probably reached peak content saturation, blogging can still be an effective technique—if when done correctly.

Focus on quality over quantity. As we’ve mentioned, Google places a strong emphasis on websites within the Your Money Your Life (YMYL) space—verticals that have an impact on the wellbeing of its users—including the legal industry. Basically, Google awards YMYL pages that display a high level of expertise.

Gone are the days where marketers could stuff a couple of keywords into an uninspired blog post and call it a day. Instead, law firms must find a strategy that caters to their audiences. So, what’s a law firm to do? Talk directly to your customers. Discuss the implications behind your law services and answer specific questions.

During a recent engagement, Workshop Digital found that local blogging worked well for one of our legal clients. Through comprehensive keyword research efforts, we found that writing about topics like personal injury and workers’ compensation benefited the firm. The reason? Our client’s local audience was looking for information on topics like these.

Ultimately, paying close attention to local SEO builds authority and improves rankings across the search engines. This helps ensure your firm is found by users who are interested in your services. When combined with an effective PPC strategy, this helps your law firm marketing efforts compete in a highly-contested legal space. 

The post How SEO Can Boost Your Law Firm Marketing Efforts appeared first on Workshop Digital.

According to Market Research Future, the global market is projected to grow steadily until 2022, registering a 6.5% compound annual growth rate over a five-year time period. 

Some research claims that a growing population and urbanization—and subsequent lifestyle, environmental, and workforce factors—will continue to compound vision problems. An increase in human usage of laptops, computers, and mobile phones will only contribute to the demand of refractive surgery.

Technological advancements and better treatment options also contribute to this growth. As more products are developed and launched, the industry will become more accessible. And according to experts at the Refractive Surgery Council, this can boost consumer confidence.

Staying on top of LASIK marketing trends is essential.

Last week, we discussed how digital marketing can keep firms competitive. However, to truly set yourself apart from the pack, it’s important to understand LASIK marketing trends—and what others are doing in a crowded, competitive ophthalmology industry. 

So, who’s doing it right? To make sense of this changing landscape, Workshop Digital analyzed five metropolitan areas—Richmond, Charlotte, Atlanta, Baltimore, and Dallas—to get a sense of local, regional, and national competition. Below are three things we learned.

1. PPC players are big payers.

In each geographic location, we found two to four ads at the top of Google search results. And generally, larger, national practices pay top dollar to claim these spots. This includes:

• LASIK Vision Institute
• LasikPlus
• TLC Laser Eye Centers

As can be assumed, heavy hitters generally have the resources and dedicated digital marketing teams to run national campaigns. Within the paid ad space, we saw a scattering of single players. For high-value keywords (e.g. “lasik surgery dallas tx”), supralocal providers—those that cover multiple locations or regions—were sometimes the only ones present.

This represents both a challenge and an opportunity for small- to medium-sized LASIK providers. While multi-location providers drive up ad costs, smaller firms could become the first truly local practice to leverage paid ads for immediate visibility.

2. Local SEO competition isn’t just local.

The same supralocal LASIK practices present in paid ads also dominated organic local pack listings. Generally, large players took up one or two critical local pack listings—which made the remaining spot (or spots) more competitive for local firms.

So, why do supralocal providers rank so well? Because of high domain authority. Search engines determine domain authority based on both the quantity and quality of links pointing from other websites. Basically, every authoritative link represents a vote in favor of the trustworthiness of a website.

As is the case of these supralocal LASIK providers, multi-location chains often have a competitive advantage—because individual location pages are located off the root domain. While this creates a challenge for smaller firms, investing in local SEO can boost rankings.

Interested in where you stand? An agency can analyze your backlink profile to build credibility and improve conversations.

3. Major hospital systems are making a major play.

In addition to the supralocal providers mentioned above, we also found that major hospitals are making waves in the industry. For example, Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and Emory Healthcare in Atlanta both enjoy a strong local presence in the LASIK surgery space.

The strength of these hospital’s domains benefit from links found across all healthcare offerings, which creates an inherent advantage across organic SEO queries. These major healthcare systems also leverage PPC campaigns to support core services, giving them access to expertise and messaging that help influence LAISK campaign success.

Whether you’re facing national or local competitors, the LASIK industry is experiencing high growth. Staying on top of LASIK marketing trends is only the first step in staying competitive.

LASIK digital marketing helps firms of all sizes.

What to learn more? Our free guide reviews LASIK marketing trends—and how digital can help you stay competitive. From taking on major players to competing locally, our research shows you how to make the most of your SEO and paid search efforts to drive LASIK results.

The post LASIK Marketing Trends: What We Learned About Local Competition appeared first on Workshop Digital.

• Technology advancements
• High healthcare spending
• Government support for research & development
• Increased partnerships with insurance providers
• A growing population of those with vision problems

Positive metrics are undoubtedly good news for LASIK practitioners. However, they also illustrate how competition has never been higher.

While the RSC says that consumer confidence in the procedure has improved, your consumers still demand access to accurate information. In a vision industry underscored by competition, building trust with consumers is paramount. Because new patient acquisition is a perpetual challenge for firms of all sizes, generating high-quality leads can be difficult in a landscape that’s so cutthroat.

So, how do you set yourself apart from the pack? Through smart digital marketing.

LASIK marketing strategies—and how digital drives results.

Content marketing builds trust.

You may know that LASIK has one of the highest patient satisfaction rates of any surgical procedure at more than 96 percent. But that doesn’t mean that the general public is aware of this number. Although technology has only improved over the years, there are still some hesitations from prospective patients.

Digital marketing can help correct any misconceptions by providing patients with accurate information. Investing in content marketing strategies—a foundation of any effective SEO strategy—helps ensure that relevant resources are delivered to patients. Focusing on your readers means tailoring your content around their needs. And maintaining a medical blog can help you improve your organic search rankings.

Targeted blogs that discuss LASIK surgeries can help engage prospective patients. Patient success stories portray medical procedure in relatable terms. For example, you can discuss quality of life improvements of happy patients. Or, you can address FAQs about laser correction surgery. (This blog from the American Refractive Surgery Council is a great example, as it takes a conversational approach to answering questions about LASIK eye surgery). 

Paid search advertising adds a personalized touch.

Your LASIK marketing strategies should focus on fostering trust with prospective patients. Paid search marketing—including pay-per-click advertising—helps ensure that your practice’s ads and landing pages are seen by the right eyes.

First impressions matter in marketing. And paid campaigns ensure your content and ads are being delivered to a targeted audience. At this point, prospects are at their most engaged. They’re displaying intent. Generally speaking, users are searching for more information on LASIK surgery. And paid search advertising can help target local patients based on real-life data.

For example, during research for one of our clients at Workshop Digital, we found that LASIK prospects were interested in learning more about insurance costs. To account for this, we ran relevant paid advertising campaigns on Google Ads and Facebook that targeted relevant keywords—and delivered them to local audiences. 

Citations influence public opinion—and boost your SEO.

The modern patient journey often begins with a Google search. To the uninitiated, ranking number one on Google seems like a mystery. While there are hundreds of factors that contribute to Google’s algorithms—many of which are unconfirmed by Google itself—there are ways that businesses can set themselves up for success.

Your Google My Business (GMB) listing is generally the first thing a prospect will see. As we’ve reviewed, GMB listings can improve your rankings and provide a better user experience for patients. In fact, a 2018 Local Search Ranking Factors Moz report considers GMB signals the number one signal for local SEO. This means that the quantity of citations, the accuracy of data, and quality of the platforms you’re listed all influence your rankings.

Remember the yellow pages? Think of GMB listings in the same regard. Optimizing your GMB listing—and other third-party business directory websites like Yelp and Angie’s List—means that patients find the right information about your practice. But it also means that Google is going to take note. Your local SEO presence largely depends on your GMB listing. And claiming and maintaining an accurate listing can help boost your rankings.

Want to learn more? We put together a quick guide on verifying and optimizing your listings.

Why you need a LASIK marketing agency.

Much like the LASIK industry, the digital marketing industry is experiencing massive growth. In fact, digital media is on track to outpace traditional by the end of 2019. In this regard, there is overlap between LASIK marketing and digital marketing as a whole. Digital marketing agencies understand what competition means—and know how to speak your language.

As we’ve already mentioned, competition is a sign of a healthy economy. But it also makes your marketing approach that much more important. Partnering with a digital agency—one that’s constantly in the digital weeds finding innovative ways to stay afloat—can help you refine your LASIK marketing strategies and ensure you’re making the most of your digital spend.

The post LASIK Marketing Strategies: How Digital Can Keep You Competitive appeared first on Workshop Digital.

Marketing case studies provide proof and validate an organization’s efforts. They show prospects that you’ve encountered—and conquered—industry-specific problems. They externalize your products or services and showcase your expertise.

But case studies are also an appropriate way to #humblebrag about your results. They’re an effective lead generation tool that can be used in sales pitches or RFPs. In this context, case studies are an easy way to convince prospects to partner with your organization.

When executed properly, marketing case studies showcase your approach and capabilities (without giving away too much of your agency’s secret sauce). By telling your company’s story the right way, you provide prospects an opportunity to live vicariously through other brands.

While some writers may consider case studies a necessary evil, I’ve come to enjoy the process. Case study creation requires effective research and storytelling tactics. The ex-journalist in me enjoys the process of uncovering a client’s challenges—and showcasing their success.

But case studies do require some finesse. Let’s review how I write a case study.

Involve the right stakeholders.

Marketing content writers often serve as liaisons for departments within a greater organization. We are the narrators who celebrate the successes of our agency. We’re responsible for relaying client success stories to the general public.

However, the truth is that writers aren’t always on client calls or in the weeds with specialists. To ensure you’re accurately telling a story, it’s important to interface with the right stakeholders.

I’ve found it helpful to schedule a kickoff call with analysts and other account managers to understand the history of an account. These quick, thirty-minute meetings are a great time to wrap your head around the backstory of an account. While I generally prefer to keep things open-ended, I do have some back pocket questions that help steer these meetings.

Here are a few that generally help spark some thoughts:

• What are some unique challenges posed by the client’s industry?
• What were some of the client’s challenges when the engagement began?
• What was their previous—or existing—advertising or marketing strategy?
• What were the results? Over what time period?
• What major turning points did they experience? What did we teach them?

Ultimately, it’s important to take the time to dive deep into the history of the account. Without an understanding of the client’s motivations and challenges, it’s difficult to get to the root of the problem. 

Plan and organize your content.

Once I do my research, it’s time to start thinking conceptually. While I generally stay away from outlines while writing blogs or other marketing content (a conversation for a different time…), I do find it advantageous to organize case studies into specific sections. Not only does this help standardize our agency’s efforts, it ensures that I have adequate information for each stage.

At Workshop Digital, we generally organize case studies into the following sections:

1. The background: This section sets the stage for the case study. I use it to make relatable connections—including relevant problems shared by most businesses—that often expand beyond the realm of digital marketing.
2. The challenge: At this point, it’s time to blatantly outline a client’s roadblocks. Once I uncover the backstory of a client, explaining their challenges becomes an easier task. 
3. The plan: This section centers on our team’s tactical plans. At this point, I’ve already outlined challenges; now is the time to discuss specific approaches to problem solving.
4. The results: Arguably the most vital part of a case study, this is the time to highlight real-life data that was uncovered during the business relationship. 

Utilize storytelling skills.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: storytelling is the foundation of quality marketing writing.  Case studies are no exception. Each one should be viewed as a standalone story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Think back to your high school English class. Remember the elements of plot conflict? They apply to case studies, as well.

• Exposition: The introduction of the case study—or, the business issue faced by your client.
• Rising action: The moment of conflict that sets events in motion—and the moment where you stepped in and started developing a strategy.
• Climax: The turning point where you did something specific that subsequently ends in positive results.
• Falling action: The time in the story that wraps up your narrative and resolves any loose ends.
• Resolution: The time to explain the lessons learned—and show the results.

As is the case for all marketing copywriting, it’s essential to understand your audience. It’s important to keep jargon to a minimum. However, by knowing your audience, you also know when you can get away with using specific terminology. For example, including a recognized, industry-specific tool or tactic is okay (if you take the time to define it, of course).

Include the right data.

A case study without data is like a ship without a rudder: It goes nowhere. In fact, a case study without data-driven results probably shouldn’t be written in the first place. While it’s critical to build your story throughout the body of the document, you must back your claims with cold, hard facts. Including key performance indicator (KPI) data and statistics helps quantify your results.

I generally work directly with analysts to ensure that we have the right data to tell a story. This sometimes involves some back-and-forth communication to nail down the right story. Each KPI is different. For example, an increase in leads may indicate a successful paid advertising campaign. Or, a growth in website traffic shows organic SEO success. 

Ultimately, you should strive to tell a compelling, cohesive story. And data helps back your story with real-life results.

The post How I Write Marketing Case Studies appeared first on Workshop Digital.

However, as a Stanford Law research project posits, most of this progress occurs outside traditional banking systems. Why? Unlike traditional institutions, venture-backed financial technology (fintech) startups and other non-traditional players take advantage of looser (or non-existent) regulations. These upstarts also have the budget to hire digital teams and develop proprietary technology.

As a byproduct, fintechs enjoy advanced data analysis that influences strategic decision-making and product innovation. This evolution has put pressure on banks to embrace new technology and incorporate advanced data collection tactics.

Many small- to mid-sized banks may wonder, “How do we keep up?”

Digital marketing can do a majority of the heavy lifting. It’s true that most companies are adjusting their marketing strategies. According to the 2018 Guide to Financial Marketing, 17 percent of organizations now commit more than half of their marketing budget to digital media. This is a bellwether for the industry, as it shows the lasting value of digital media. 

But it also makes it harder for banks to stand out. Everyone is online. So, how do you separate yourself from the pack? By making the most of your data—and your resources.

Financial marketing and big data

Earlier this year, I wrote about the importance of big data in the financial industry. Data has created a world of possibility for banks and other institutions by helping them better understand their customers and improve their decision-making processes. It also enables banks to access customers across an increasing number of touchpoints. 

Data is the foundation of all digital technology. Banks that incorporate data-driven marketing campaigns and optimize their data collection strategies can stay competitive—even in an ever-evolving industry.

Most of this qualitative insight is provided by data science and/or digital marketing teams. For example, demographic data can help teams cater products based on life events such as graduations, marriages, and retirements. In turn, this enables marketing teams to personalize campaigns around specific consumers. 

Let’s review two types of search marketing—organic and paid—how they differ, and which makes sense for your team.

Search engine marketing in the financial industry

Organic search helps hyper-specific consumers find your business and see your content. Organic SEO efforts such as content marketing help boost your rankings and sets the foundation for your search efforts. For example, optimizing content around relevant keywords “credit unions in Kansas City” or “best home mortgage lender in Denver” increases the likelihood that content is discovered in the search engine results pages (SERPs).

SEO is often a marathon, not a sprint. It takes concerted efforts across multiple departments to obtain and maintain the top position. Because so many banks are competing for the coveted first page is a job itself, it also requires attention to detail and current best practices. This means optimizing around trends like long-tail keywords and voice search.

Paid search marketing for your bank

While ranking high on the SERPs helps your brand reach a local audience searching for relevant topics, organic search does have its limitations. To a certain extent, organic results do not allow brands to control their messaging. What happens if customers in your market don’t recognize your brand in the first place? Or, what if you’re trying to expand into new markets?

Because potential customers are searching for your brand on Google, the first interaction they have with your brand is essential. Why is this? They’re at their most engaged. They’ve displayed intent. And unlike other forms of marketing—which can teeter on the brink of invasive—users are willingly searching for your goods or services online.

Non-branded searches—those that deal with queries based on products, services, or specific needs—do not deal with brands. Customers performing these searches may not know who you are. Nor will they know the details of your product offerings. Therefore, providing paid search users with relevant, targeted ads can help steer them in the right direction.

Targeting users with paid advertising ensures you’re there for them at the right time with the right offer. Customized landing pages designed around specific needs helps ensure that your branded content is delivered to prospects.

Paid search marketing is designed to make the most of your data. And digital marketing agencies can implement an effective data collection strategy so you get the most value from your current financial marketing efforts. By providing immediate, sustainable visibility, paid search can help banks and other financial institutions stay competitive.

The post How Paid Search Can Improve Your Financial Marketing Efforts appeared first on Workshop Digital.

In my current role, I’m a marketer who markets a marketing company (try explaining that to your mother…). It’s up to my team to promote our agency’s services in a way that attracts new leads and current clients.

This content is inherently different than the type I’ve created for clients in previous roles. From social posts and blogs, to industry-specific ebooks and guides, we create content around the greater marketing funnel. Increasing brand awareness means introducing our services to prospective clients—and catering and customizing our offerings to fit their unique needs.

The goal of our content is not always to sell products. Unlike other industries—in which sales-centric ad copy is the name of the game—our goals are varied. They may include driving awareness, nurturing leads, or providing insight to readers (as is case with this specific post!).

Naturally, the metrics we measure vary.

How to prove the value of content marketing.

Quantifying creativity can be challenging. Just because something reads well—or looks pretty—doesn’t mean it’s successful. There are numerous factors that contribute to the success of a display ad or blog. The digital age has opened up a world of possibility for us wide-eyed creatives. Now, we’re able to tack KPIs to individual pieces of content.

While by no means a comprehensive list of all metrics that marketers must track, below is a quick and dirty list of which ones you should care about.

Reach

Traffic is one of the most obvious starting points for most marketers. As one of the foundations of SEO, organic traffic finds your content by searching for keywords or phrases on search engines. Therefore, unique page visits are an indicator of authority. It shows exactly how much organic traffic individual posts are receiving—and how optimized your efforts are.

Within the total number of traffic, however, marketers can zero in how much of that traffic is from original or repeat users—which ultimately, provides insight into the reach of your content. Google classifies new sessions as a “visit from a new visitors” and return sessions as a “visit from a returning visitor.”

So, what’s the best for your efforts? It depends. Not all traffic is good traffic. It can be argued that attracting new visitors means your outreach efforts are effective, or that your content is optimized around your end users. On the other hand, return visitors may be revisiting a blog for specific reasons.

Google Analytics also allows users to track the geographic location of their readers. As marketers, this insight can be leveraged when executing hyper-local campaigns. Regardless of the source of your traffic, however, it’s important to track how they interact with your content marketing.

Which leads us to my next point…

Engagement

Traffic only tells you so much. While unique visits are an essential indicator of popularity, keeping your readers engaged is an equally important objective. What’s the average time spent on a specific landing page? Are users bouncing—or leaving your blog post—immediately?

Bounce rate and time on site are two metrics that help answer these questions. They also calculate the engagement of your traffic. Low bounce rates indicate that your users are invested in your content. And time on site metrics show how long users are spending on your webpages. When paired together, these two data points help illustrate what’s resonating best with your audience.

While these two measurements show how long users are sticking around, heatmap tools take things one step further and provide insight into which parts of each post or page are most popular. Heatmap tools like HotJar (which we use at the Workshop) visualize human behavior and show where users are scrolling, clicking, and stopping their interactions.

This user feedback is used to increase improve conversions. Which, again, leads me to my next point…

Conversion Rates

As an internal marketer, one of my biggest focuses is on lead generation. My team spends days—sometimes weeks—creating campaigns around specific verticals and industries. They span the entire sales and marketing funnel and guide users down the next respective stage.

The more high-quality leads we attract, the better conversations our sales team members have. That’s why it’s essential to optimize conversion rates.

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) turns existing traffic into qualified leads and potential clients. It uncovers the best ways to communicate business value propositions to your customers. It shows which components of marketing collateral are driving action. For example, A/B testing button copy and placement helps refine content marketing efforts. And knowing how and when users are converting helps optimize your efforts.

Ultimately, I pay the most attention to noticeable growth—whether that’s embodied by page views, email subscribers from blog pop-ups, or ebook downloads. Tangible increases illustrate user interest in specific content pieces and validates that your efforts are paying off.

The post Content Marketing Metrics You Should Care About appeared first on Workshop Digital.

At Workshop Digital, we have clients in highly-regulated fields—as well as team members with experience dealing with compliance efforts in large organizations. While we strongly encourage you to consult your legal or compliance teams when it comes to compliant marketing in your industry, we’ve learned a thing or two from our time across the financial services, insurance, and legal marketing fields. 

Ready to get started creating compliant digital marketing messages? Read on for our beginner-level tips.

Compliant digital marketing messages are clear about what the customer gets—or doesn’t

Misleading the customer is the easiest way to produce marketing copy or collateral that doesn’t fly with regulators (or legal counsel at your competitors). Worse yet, it’s an unfair experience for your customers to get information that doesn’t give them the full picture of your offer, promotion, or product. Building loyalty and return business relies on trust, first and foremost—so handle your customer’s attention with care when you have it.

The most compliant marketing messages tell your customer exactly what they’re getting when they spend money with you or provide you with their personal information. Tell them they’ll be getting a discount, but be clear about when the offer ends. If there’s an exclusion on a promotion for your most popular products, come right out and say it. If something’s really not “free” or “included”…well, you get the point. 

It’s common knowledge that promotions and offers, especially in the digital space, are extremely competitive. Don’t get your team into hot water by not being up front with your customers.

Your industry’s marketing regulations are your biggest asset

Once you’ve ensured your digital marketing messages have the clearest, simplest message possible, you’re ready to subject them to the scrutiny of your industry’s regulations. If you’re in a large organization, you may be fortunate enough to have a legal and/or compliance team you can lean on for support. If this group is not already embedded in your team’s marketing workflow process, this is a great opportunity to start bridging the gap. For  some of our clients, a seamless marketing and compliance workflow can substantially increase their speed-to-market—all while helping educate other teams on how to operationalize compliance. Your teams are allies, after all!

The regulatory world can seem scary or intimidating to the uninitiated. But truthfully, regulations in the marketing space are meant to be shared—and you should be able to find exactly what you need with a simple search. The following resources are great places to start:

• Data Marketing & Analytics (Association of National Advertisers): This is a true treasure trove of resources for compliance marketing execution across channels. No matter where your firm markets, they most likely have a list of guidelines for you.
• Digital Marketing Institute: Their list of steps to take in the wake of GDPR (is a great supplement to our GDPR piece) is a great checklist for ensuring that your internal processes are ready to pass muster and are positioned to support your tactical execution. They also drive home the point that a compliant marketing message always includes an up-to-date privacy policy and disclosures.
• The Federal Trade Commission: The original backstop for compliance and protecting U.S. consumers. We recommend looking through their basics list (beware of nostalgic old resources in there!) and their guide for small businesses which is useful for a firm of any size.

If you can’t talk to a regulator, try to think like one

The regulator’s ultimate goal is to protect consumers by upholding existing regulations and laws. But if you’re not a lawyer, or don’t have a photographic memory of the above resources, how can you think like a regulator? You have your own job to do, after all.

Creating compliant marketing messages is not just about doing what’s legal. It’s about doing right by your customer with the work you produce—regardless of the medium. Here’s just a sampling of questions you can ask yourself when working with your team to put together a compliant slate of messaging for your next campaign:

• Does the marketing collateral you produce make the customer’s life easier or more informed?
• Does it add to their confidence in a buying decision? 
• Is it clear and coherent at the first read? 
• Is it clear what they’re getting from you and what they’re not?

Scrutinize your work. Get a second or third set of eyes on your ads. Think about what the consumer could misinterpret, and prepare for that possibility. Simplify what you say. Be as customer-focused as you can be.

Think like a regulator and you’ll be well on your way to developing compliant marketing messaging for the long haul. 

Disclaimer: Workshop Digital is not a legal firm nor a consultant on legal or regulatory matters. We simply provide digital marketing with an eye toward compliant content and execution. If you believe your team requires the expertise of a legal or regulatory team, please retain those services. This article is not intended to provide legal or regulatory guidance whatsoever. Workshop Digital and its employees are not liable for any company’s legal or regulatory actions.

The post How to Create Compliant Digital Marketing Messages appeared first on Workshop Digital.

Are you looking for phone calls, chats, or lead forms? Or, are you looking to generate brand awareness and promote yourself on social media? Your goals will shape your strategy and provide a clear path on what needs to be done to have a successful law firm digital marketing campaign. After all, there’s nothing more stressful than running a campaign and having it fail to deliver the quality leads you’re looking for.

PPC for Lawyers

Perhaps you’ve tried paid search in the past and had no success, but that doesn’t mean you should give up entirely on the approach. When you think of pay-per-click (PPC), Google is probably the first thing that comes to mind. You may also think about high cost per click (CPC) costs and large amounts of competition. However, Google isn’t the end all be all of paid search.  And simply setting up a simple Google Ads account isn’t going to cut it anymore.

The keywords “lawyer” and “attorney” are two of the most expensive keywords on Google and Bing, sometimes costing more than $100 per click for searches like “personal injury lawyer” and “auto accident attorney”. With this being the case, law firms can easily spend $50,000 to $100,000 per month on PPC just to keep up with competitors. Keyword choices, geo targeting, and practice area focus are just a few of the many aspects of PPC advertising that can help keep a firm stay competitive. 

Attorneys must take a holistic approach to their paid search strategy—and not only promote services on Google, but Bing as well. This helps diversify their marketing initiatives with a cost-effective alternative that works in tandem with Google. Clicks are considerably cheaper with Bing. And because Bing isn’t as popular as Google, there’s less competition. This means a lower CPC, without an impact in your positioning on search pages.

Lawyers sometimes have to get creative to find solutions that work. When it comes to PPC for lawyers, creativity is key to drive new leads. Your ability to connect with relevant traffic, get more clicks, and outrank local competitors depends on how well your strategy works in tandem with other marketing initiatives.

Social Media For Lawyers

Facebook and Instagram have changed the way we communicate and connect with others—and these platforms are now increasingly relevant in the communications between lawyers and their clients. With an exceptionally large user base of up to 2.38 billion monthly active users, Facebook enables law firms to reach a larger amount of potential clients.

There are two key ways to attract clients on Facebook: organic and paid ads. Organic Facebook advertising allow you to provide valuable content, like blog post, contests/giveaways, and general interactions with the public and potential clients. Paid ads allow you to interact with new or returning visitors to your site, or with specific targeting criteria like locations and interest.

Facebook marketing is often underutilized by many law firms. This platform can give you a distinct edge over competitors. Use organic Facebook marketing to develop strong relationships and a trustworthy, credible online presence. And use Facebook Ads to help push people further through the funnel.

Customized PPC Strategies Drive Results

While experience matters, it doesn’t always make an agency good at paid search management. Having the knowledge of what works—and what doesn’t—is critical to running successful PPC campaigns. From helping personal injury lawyers attract local traffic and attract high quality leads, to helping criminal defense lawyers lower their CPCs in Google Ads, Workshop Digital offers customized digital marketing strategies that drive results for law firms.

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Creating a marketing strategy doesn’t need to be this way. You may be surprised to learn that SEO and compliance are two sides of the same coin. When paired together with a solid SEO strategy, compliance can even improve the customer experience.

Think about it. Both compliance and SEO can significantly affect the growth of financial services firms. Compliance standards are all about providing customers with transparent brand experiences. And at its core, SEO is about delivering quality web pages to users based on their search intent. When viewed in this context, compliance becomes less of a necessary evil. 

Implementing a compliant digital marketing strategy can improve your customer experience. 

How does compliance boost your bank marketing strategy?

Compliance is an essential component of any financial team’s underlying operations. Organizations must strike a balance between following regulatory laws and providing an excellent customer experience. These laws are largely designed to protect consumer privacy and information. 

The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which passed in 2010, overhauled financial regulation following the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008. It also led to the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which advocates for consumer protection in the financial sector. The primary goal of the CFPB is to change how financial companies interact with consumers, primarily by increasing the control of regulations.

It’s true that compliance is ultimately the realm of lawyers, compliance officers, and other lawmakers. However, regulation helps consumers find exactly what they’re looking for online. Compliance standards are designed to protect people and provide them with truthful, non-deceptive experiences. And in the banking industry, this often means changing the relationship between consumers and financial institutes.

Marketing compliance provides a better customer experience.

Much like regulatory measures improve the coexistence of banks and their customers, digital marketing follows a system that helps deliver ethical online experiences. SEO ensures that websites are rewarded by Google and other search engines—and that businesses are appealing to the questions and concerns of their consumers.

Search engines place a huge emphasis on high-quality pages. For example, Google uses Page Quality ratings to evaluate how well a web page achieves its purpose. Much like financial regulations, websites should be designed to benefit your users—not mislead them. 

As we’ve mentioned before, financial institutions fall under the Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) page category. Google defines financial information pages as “webpages that provide advice or information about investments, taxes, retirement planning, home purchasing, paying for college, buying insurance” and more. Because these websites affect users’ financial stability, Google has high standards for these pages.

Using this logic, it’s essential to know the purpose of each page. Google announced earlier this year that E-A-T (expertise, authority, and trustworthiness) is now an important Page Quality metric. While this announcement is not designed to improve the accuracy of content—nor does it significantly change the guidelines that human quality raters use to evaluate websites—it does illustrate some underlying similarities between SEO and compliance.

The goal of web pages is to provide useful, relevant information to your consumers. Delivering a trustworthy online experience means understanding the goals of your consumers. This means answering their questions with expertise, authority, and trustworthiness. In doing so, you’re providing your audience with an optimal online experience. 

From blogs to website copy to online ads, financial organizations must incorporate marketing compliance standards across all content creation efforts. While guidelines are constantly in flux, there are a number of regulatory guidelines that banks and credit unions must follow throughout all creative efforts.

Interested in learning more about marketing compliance? Download our guide to read more.

Disclaimer: Workshop Digital is not a legal firm nor a consultant on legal or regulatory matters. We simply provide digital marketing with an eye toward compliant content and execution. If you believe your team requires the expertise of a legal or regulatory team, please retain those services. This article is not intended to provide legal or regulatory guidance whatsoever. Workshop Digital and its employees are not liable for any company’s legal or regulatory actions.

The post What Does Marketing Compliance Mean to Your Financial Organization? appeared first on Workshop Digital.

Just think about it. Your medical blog improves your organic search rankings. It builds credibility in your industry and increases your authority with the search engines. Finally, effective content creation improves your visibility and makes you easier to find online—which, in turn, can build relationships with current and prospective patients.

However, blogging is more than simply jotting down a few thoughts and calling it a day. Effective content creation takes time. There’s no way around it. If you plan on running and maintaining a successful blog, it’s essential to dedicate enough resources to your efforts.

To make the most of your healthcare marketing strategy, let’s review how to write a healthcare blog.

How to write a medical blog post.

Get the right people to write your posts. 

Most physicians simply don’t have the time to write blog posts on a regular basis. Even if they do, they don’t have the same skill sets that marketers possess. While almost anyone can string together a sentence or two, it takes a level of expertise to organize and optimize blog posts so they’re found by search engines and enjoyed by readers.

As intrepid marketers, it’s your responsibility to find ways to highlight the expertise of your clinical team. From ghost writing and SME interviews, to video and audio blogs, there are numerous formats to explore. Figure out which makes the most sense for your efforts—and be sure to test which method works best. 

Organize your medical blog. 

It’s also important to standardize your blogging efforts by following an editorial calendar. Maintaining an editorial calendar allows your marketing team to organize your efforts by campaigns and topics. Keeping your titles and topics consolidated in a centralized location enables you to keep a birds-eye view of your efforts and eliminates the chances of repeat or duplicate content.

There are hundreds of tools out there, but I prefer a simple Google Sheet to keep my content efforts orderly. Organizing blogs by title, topic, industry, and campaign helps ensure that my team covers all its bases—and that we don’t inadvertently write about the same topic twice.

Focus on your readers.

Writing a healthcare blog requires you to reach the right people. According to Search Engine Journal, content in 2019 should focus on a specific audience. While there are many ways to focus on your readers, here are just a few things that SEJ suggests you consider:

• Keywords: While SEO copywriting has evolved, keyword research is still essential to blogging. Instead of using outdated keyword stuffing techniques, however, it’s important that your efforts cater to your readers. This means relating keywords to user intent.
• Readability: When content is understandable, it keeps audiences engaged. And when this happens, it is rewarded by the search engines. Skim reading is the new norm—so make sure your content is easy to digest.
• Depth: While word count is a constantly debated topic in the marketing world, in-depth, longer-form content is a big trend in 2019. By expanding your focus, you can explore multifaceted angles and provide even more relevant information to readers (and search engines!).
• Page speed: The speed of your website—including your blog pages—greatly impacts its ranking. And if you haven’t considered your site speed by 2019, it may be time to contact an SEO agency for a site audit.
• Expertise: As we’ve mentioned before, expertise is synonymous with industry knowledge. As healthcare marketers, your blogging efforts should display a level of expertise—or at least link out to cite sources that do.

Interesting medical topics to write about.

You don’t need me to remind you that there’s a surplus of content out there—especially in the crowded, competitive healthcare space. Resources like WebMD and Healthline exist solely to push out massive amounts of content to consumers. And while it’s certainly a popular resource, it’s important to know that WebMD generates most of its revenue through advertisements and corporate sponsorships for insurance, pharma, biotech, and medical manufacturing companies.

While it’s true that many health companies rely on industry dollars, it’s possible that the content found on sites like WebMD may suffer from a conflict of interest. Research has also found that these “symptom checkers”—online resources where users submit a list of symptoms and an algorithm returns possible diagnoses—fluctuate widely in accuracy.

So, what does this mean? That creating generic content about high-level conditions and symptoms probably isn’t worth your time. There’s only so much that can be said about these diseases and symptoms. Plus, industry giants like the Mayo Clinic and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have already cornered the market on many of these search terms. 

Instead, develop content that resonates with your consumers.

Patient experience stories can help portray a complex medical subject in a relatable context. For example, a medical device manufacturer can write a synopsis about a successful application of their technology in a patient’s life. Or, a LASIK practice can discuss the quality of life improvements of a happy patient.

Actionable, advice-based blogs are another way to engage with your audience. Rather than simply discuss the symptoms behind a herniated disc, a spine surgeon provider can compile a list of suggestions for pain relief. Or, a family practice can provide seasonal tips—such as summer health safety for children—to their patients.

As touched on above, it’s important to cater to your consumers. And this means understanding their needs. Mapping content around your healthcare buyer’s journey can help synch your blogging efforts around the needs of your audience.

The blogging stage of content marketing generally sits at the top of the marketing funnel—or, the awareness stage. That’s why it’s important for healthcare marketers to target prospective and current patients with engaging content.

Prospects are generally looking for help at this point. From researching healthcare providers to learning more about the lasting impacts of a treatment, users have a specific goal. And your content should cater around these challenges.

As touched upon above, it’s important to align your keyword research around the needs of your customers. To begin, ask yourself questions. What are your users searching for? What problems may they be trying to resolve? Creating blogs that answers specific questions helps your content get discovered by readers—and helps increase the rankings of your blog.

Still wondering how to write a healthcare blog? 

Contact Workshop Digital today to learn more about incorporating blogging into your healthcare marketing efforts. From researching keywords to uncovering insights about your audience, we can help align your blogging and SEO strategies.

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