The reason is that unlike traditional marketing, the purpose of value-driven marketing is to create meaningful value to your clients.  By providing quality value on a consistent basis utilizing social media marketing, you will become the “go-to” lawyer for your community when they are ready for estate planning.  An added bonus is that you will cultivate lifetime client loyalty and your clients, in essence, become your sales team by directing prospects to you.

There are a few key points in value-driven marketing that you should embrace:

• Value-driven marketing requires a deep desire to serve.  Since you have chosen to practice in estate planning I’m guessing this point describes you exactly!  But, it needs to move beyond ‘desire’ to a system that demonstrates this to your prospects.  It requires a daily commitment to seek ways to add value to your clients’ lives.  Social media provides the means, but you must commit to the process and provide great content on a consistent basis.

• To create value, you must know your prospects and clients.  It is important for you to understand exactly who you are speaking to – what motivates them, their decision criteria, etc.  This is easily accomplished by thoroughly researching your prospects and then setting objectives and developing a comprehensive strategy.

• Value-driven marketing does not produce results overnight. Value-driven marketing is about building relationships – and relationships take time to develop.  You can’t expect to throw a lot of money at a big marketing campaign and expect people to instantly trust you or see you as an expert.  Your prospects are very savvy and somewhat distrustful of those old-fashioned, in-your-face, tactics.  Instead, commit to small acts to build solid relationships with them.

While on its face, value-driven marketing may seem daunting, it is important to note that it will result in driving new clients to your law practice.  The speed at which your relationships develop depend upon how much time and resources you plan to devote.  If you set an aggressive schedule for blog posting and participation in social networks then you will see results rather quickly.  While it is important for you to be very involved in your social media strategy, it is not necessary for you to do everything yourself.  You can outsource many social media marketing strategies to free your time.