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Recent Blog Posts
Former Chicago Personal Injury Attorney Indicted for Theft
While many may believe that there is no such thing as bad publicity, a scandal can certainly be damaging to a professional reputation, as a tongue-in-cheek character has recently discovered. Once the playful alter-ego of a high-profile personal injury lawyer, “Excuseman” is now facing three dozen charges related to theft, forgery, and misappropriation of property.
Superhero in Distress
Excuseman is a superhero parody who has made his way into YouTube videos, comics, and even a self-published book, offering outlandish excuses for poor behavior and, essentially, mocking personal injury defendants. The costumed character was created by a Chicago attorney whose practice focused on pursuing financial recovery for injured accident victims. The 61-year-old lawyer even dressed as Excuseman, donning the blue and orange body suit and cape with the letters “XQ” emblazoned across his chest, riding a Segway and taking to task those who “mess up and don’t fess up.”
Staying at the Front of the Pack: Maintaining Your Website’s SEO and Search Rankings, Part 1
As the world’s most popular search engine, Google reports that it handles an average of nearly 3.5 billion search queries every single day. You read that correctly—billion, with a B. Extrapolating that number, it’s hard to say which direction produces a more staggering result: 1.2 trillion searches per year or 40,000 every second? Either way, the implication is very clear. If you want to attract traffic to your website, you need to be sure that it is optimized in regard to what search engines are looking for in a quality site. Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the driveway that allows users on the high-speed search engine thoroughfare to access your beautiful, functional, custom-built website home.
When your website was developed, especially if it was built fairly recently and by a reputable web developer, it was probably designed with state-of-the-art features and functionality. Chances are, it was also created with the existing SEO standards in mind. While rising with search rankings does take time, there is a good possibility that your site took off quickly, increasing your visibility and sending more visitors to your site. Now that you have reached this point, however, how do you stay there? In the world of SEO and online marketing, doing nothing but relying on past success is just about the worst possible option. Search engine requirements continue to evolve all the time, and your site’s SEO must be addressed regularly in order to keep up with the changes.
New Fixed-Fee Legal Service Program Raises Ethical Questions
Earlier this year, the popular legal directory and lawyer rating website Avvo introduced a program that offers limited-scope legal services for an upfront, fixed price. Avvo Legal Services is intended to connect clients needing relatively simple legal guidance with a network of selected attorneys in 18 states, including Illinois, Texas, California, and Wisconsin. Avvo’s CEO, Mark Britton claims that the new program could make the site “the Match.com of legal.”
Reaching an Underserved Market
In theory, the concept seems sound. Many individuals, families, and businesses often find themselves in need of an attorney to help handle a straightforward, albeit important legal matter. However, they may not be able to afford the fees charged by a “typical” attorney, that could equate to hundreds of dollars per hour; and this does not just include lower-income brackets. An average, working middle-class family may struggle to pay for the legal help they need. “They can’t afford a $250-an-hour lawyer,” said Gregory W. Coleman, a partner in a Florida law firm and past president of the Florida Bar. “But they can afford a flat fee for a task they need accomplished.” Coleman also noted, “[Avvo is] reaching a market that we as a profession have been unable to serve.”
OVC, INC. Honored with Award of Distinction from 22nd Communicator Awards
The winners of the 22nd Annual Communicator Awards have been announced by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts. With over 6,000 entries received from across the U.S. and around the world, the Communicator Awards is the largest and most competitive awards program honoring creative excellence for communications professionals.
OVC, INC. has been honored with the Award of Distinction. OVC's attorney website and subdomain platform was recognized for innovation in the legal marketing and communications industries.
The Communicator Awards are judged and overseen by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts (AIVA), a 600+ member organization of leading professionals from various disciplines of the visual arts dedicated to embracing progress and the evolving nature of traditional and interactive media. Current AIVA membership represents a "Who's Who" of acclaimed media, advertising, and marketing firms including: AirType Studio, Condè Nast, Disney, Keller Crescent, Lockheed Martin, Monster.com, MTV, rabble+rouser, Time Inc., Tribal DDB, Yahoo!, and many others.
Your Awards and Organizations Can Boost Your Online Image
If you have been in practice for any length of time, you are probably aware of many of the awards and distinctions available to attorneys from various groups and organizations. In fact, you may be able to name a few of them right off the top of your head: SuperLawyers, Top 100 Trial Lawyers, The Best Lawyers in America, American Board of Trial Advocates, and the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. In addition to awards, organizations like Avvo also provide a rating system, helping potential clients to identify which attorneys may be best suited to help them with their particular case.
Quality Standards
Each of the groups that offer attorney recognition awards maintains certain quality standards that a lawyer or firm must meet. In most cases, there is a full nomination and selection process that ensures that only the top percentage of practicing attorneys can qualify for the distinction. Earning a SuperLawyers recognition or an Avvo rating of “Superb” shows prospective clients that you are among the best in your particular area of practice.
Apple’s Twitter Prodigy Offers Tips on Social Media Marketing
If you have spent any time at all on the internet in recent years, you are probably familiar with at least some of the major social media outlets. Facebook, of course, has the largest user base and is constantly making headlines for its financial success as well as innovations available to users on the platform itself. Beyond that, you have likely heard of other social networks and apps, including Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat, and Google+, but may not understand how the pieces of the marketing puzzle fit together. In order to make the most of the opportunities offered by social media, it is important to recognize how each network can be used to help you reach your company’s specific objectives.
Among the Best in the Business
Business Insider recently shared the story of a young marketing director who has been a driving force behind Apple’s new customer service social media account. Apple launched @AppleSupport on Twitter earlier this year and brought 22-year old Tai Tran on board to run it. In just a few short months, the account has already attracted more than a quarter of a million followers. For his part, Tran has been recognized by Forbes on its 2016 30 Under 30 list. He also teaches undergraduate marketing courses at UC Berkeley, sharing much of his course material via his LinkedIn account.
Let OVC, INC. Handle Your Firm’s Photography Needs
It is impossible to understate the value of a strong visual presentation. You and your firm probably realize how important it is to project an image of authority and reliability to your potential clients. At OVC, INC., we understand the power of professional images and are proud to offer world-class photography services to attorneys and law offices around Northern Illinois.
More Than a Photo
If you were to check your pockets, your desk, and your briefcase right now, you would most likely find at least one, if not two or more devices with picture-taking capabilities. Chances are, your cell phone, tablet, and laptop all have a built-in camera, giving you the ability to take a snapshot whenever you want. But taking a picture—no matter how visually appealing the result may be—is not comparable to the applied knowledge and skill of a professional photographer who knows how to bring out the personality of you and your team, and to capture the spirit of your firm.
Facebook Announces Increased Live Video Streaming Options
The world’s largest social media outlet has set its sights on a new type of online connectivity that may eventually blur the line between social networking and television-type entertainment. This week, Facebook announced that it would be rearranging its mobile interface to bring increased attention to its live streaming video feature that allows users to share real-time video updates with their friends and followers. Live video, thus far, has only been available on Facebook for media publishers and high-profile celebrities, but bring the feature to all users has been a priority for CEO Mark Zuckerberg. While the effort is still in its infancy stages, the increased traffic and unique connections offered by live video promise to provide interesting opportunities for marketing products and services.
Why Social Media Marketing Works
If you are like many business owners, you have probably tried various ways of building name recognition and engaging prospective customers. You may have paid for billboards or television ads, or spent time and energy designing printed marketing materials. Many of these “tried and true” advertising efforts often do not deliver the results you expect, especially as more and more consumers have not picked up a physical magazine or newspaper in months and are using digital technology to skip TV commercials. This is precisely why business owners and entrepreneurs are increasingly looking online—and particularly to social media outlets—for new ways to spread the message about their companies. There are many reasons that social media marketing can work for you, but the simplest are often the most important.
You Go to Your Audience
Video Marketing Builds Trust with Prospective Clients
We have talked before about the growing popularity of social media sites overall, and, in particular, the connective power of Facebook and its one billion-plus users. Facebook is one of the three most-visited sites in the world and, depending upon the reporting outlet, typically holds the number three spot in website popularity rankings. Number one is hardly surprising, as Google and its search capabilities generate more traffic than any other site. The second most popular site also makes sense, but may not come immediately to mind if you were asked. The video-sharing site YouTube also boasts more than a billion unique monthly visitors, a clear reflection of a cultural shift toward online video as a communication tool.
A Social Phenomenon
Not all that long ago, individuals, companies, and marketers relied almost exclusively on text and pictures—think roadside billboards and email campaigns. Unless you were willing to invest in television advertising, video played a very small, if any, role in your company's outreach strategies. Today, that is clearly no longer the case.
