This presentation covers all the essentials for marketing your mediation practice online. It was presented by Founder and President of LaFleur Marketing, Chip LaFleur at the Voluntary Facilitative Mediation (VFM) Training Seminar in Grand Rapids in March 2018. You can read more about this specific topic on our blog here: https://lafleur.marketing/blog/mediation/

2. YOU C ON TR OL
MOST OF W H AT
PEOPLE FIN D OU T
ABOU T YOU
ON LIN E.

3. ASK YOURSELF: WHAT DO PEOPLE FIND
WHEN THEY LOOK YOU UP?
• Does that tell your audience that you offer mediation services?
• Does it indicate you’re a good and fair mediator?
• Is the way you talk about mediation accessible to your audience?

4. D O YOU BELIEVE
YOU ’R E TH E BEST
OPTION ?

5. BE PU R POSEFU L IN YOU R
C OMMU N IC ATIONS.

6. YOUR MARKETING IS AN
EXTEN SION OF YOU R
MED IATION .

7. FOC U S ON TH E C LIEN T’S N EED S,
N OT YOU R AC C OMPLISH MEN TS AN D
C R ED EN TIALS.

8. FIRST
STEPS

9. BR AN D IN G IS
MU C H MOR E TH AN
A LOGO.

10. D O YOU H AVE PR OFESSION ALLY
D ESIGN ED ASSETS?

11. WHAT’S YOUR MISSION? (Hint: keep it simple)
“I’m dedicated to helping individuals and businesses resolve conflict and move
forward in their lives by providing caring, accurate, thorough, and creative legal
services.”
“I’m a navigator who empowers people to move through the sea of conflict from
where they are to where they want to be.”

12. ASK YOURSELF: WHO IS MY AUDIENCE?

13. FOCUS YOUR PRACTICE AND
SELL YOUR EXPERIENCE.

14. WHAT DO I HAVE RIGHT NOW?
 Your firm’s website or your own website
 Profiles on available social sites

15. UNDERSTANDING THE CLIENT’S JOURNEY

16. TOOLS AN D
TAC TIC S

17. DO YOU KNOW THE TOP SITES THAT PEOPLE USE TO FIND
MEDIATORS?

18. LOOK FOR OTHER DIRECTORIES SPECIFIC TO YOUR PRACTICE
AREAS.

19. SHOWING UP AT THE TOP OF A LOCAL SEARCH CAN BE AS
GOOD AS ACHIEVING A PAGE ONE RANKING IN GOOGLE.

20. HOW DO I START SHOWING UP IN LOCAL SEARCH?
• Verify your info with Google My Business
• Add photos
• Use a local number
• Focus your listing on mediation
• Create and populate social profiles

21. MOST PEOPLE TRUST
ONLINE REVIEWS AS MUCH AS
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM
FRIENDS AND FAMILY.

22. DO YOU HAVE POSITIVE REVIEWS
ON THE MOST IMPORTANT SITES?

23. DO MEDIATORS REALLY NEED
SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS?

26. DON’T DISMISS OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS.

28. PAY-PER-CLICK (PPC) PROGRAMMATIC
TWO MAIN TYPES OF PAID ADVERTISING:

29. PPC LETS YOU BID ON THE MOST
PROMINENT SPOTS IN SEARCH —
BUT THAT MEANS LOTS OF
COMPETITION.

30. IS PPC WORTH IT?
We can use data to answer this question.
• Create a campaign
• Drive traffic to a landing page
• Look for conversions (clients)
• Calculate total fees from those clients
• Do the math

31. WHEN DONE WRONG, PPC CAN
DRAIN YOUR BUDGET WITH
LITTLE RETURN.

32. WHY BOTHER WITH PPC ADVERTISING?
• Yields results quickly
• Can deliver consistent traffic
• Allows for precise targeting
• Fast way to test messaging and visuals

33. THE SECRETS TO EFFECTIVE PPC CAMPAIGNS:

34. WE INVESTIGATED SPENDING ON PPC ADS
IN GRAND RAPIDS.
Search terms:
• “mediators in Grand Rapids”
• “mediation in Grand Rapids”
• “civil mediators in Grand Rapids”
• “divorce mediation in Grand Rapids”
• “custody mediation in Grand Rapids”

35. Results:
• Mediate.com - $699/month
• Christianmediation.com (based in
Phoenix, AZ) - $315/month
• Redwoodresolutions.com (based in CA) -
$90/month
WE INVESTIGATED SPENDING ON PPC ADS
IN GRAND RAPIDS.

36. PPC ADVERTISING IS REACTIVE;
PROGRAMMATIC IS PROACTIVE.

37. PROGRAMMATIC ADVERTISING
ALLOWS FOR
A HIGH DEGREE OF AUDIENCE
TARGETING.

38. PINPOINT GEOTARGETING IS AN
OPTION WITH PROGRAMMATIC
ADS.

39. WE ASKED SOME OF OUR CLIENTS
WHAT THEY WANT IN A MEDIATOR.
• Smart
• Strong communicator
• Gets to the point
• Experience as an attorney trying
similar cases
• Track record of success mediating
similar cases
• Respected by attorneys from both
sides
• Committed to settling the case
• Knows the value of a case

40. CONTENT
MARKETING

41. WHAT IS “CONTENT” ANYWAY?
“Information and experiences that are directed toward the end-
user or audience”
• Blog articles
• Website pages
• Images and videos
• Social posts

42. WHAT IS CONTENT MARKETING?
Creating, publishing, and sharing content to build your brand’s
reputation and visibility

43. CONSUMERS ARE
SUFFERING FROM AD
OVERLOAD.

44. CONTENT MARKETING AIMS TO ENGAGE
CONSUMERS WITHOUT INTERRUPTING
THEM.

45. CONTENT MARKETING IS EFFECTIVE
(AND COST-EFFECTIVE).
• Content marketing yields 3x the leads for 62% less cost compared to
traditional advertising methods.
Reference: McCoy, J. (2017, October 22). 9 stats that will make you
want to invest in content marketing. Content Marketing Institute.

46. WHERE DO I PUBLISH MY CONTENT?
Your firm’s website
Your own website
Your own mini-site
LinkedIn

47. WHAT SHOULD I WRITE ABOUT?
Draw from your expertise and experiences
• Questions from clients
• Common misconceptions about mediation
• Your philosophy and approach
• New techniques and technologies
• Common objections and concerns
• Interesting issues that come up during your cases

49. DON’T FORGET THE VISUALS!

50. VISUAL CONTENT
BUILDS TRUST AND
FAMILIARITY.

51. TAKE VIDEO
CONTENT
SERIOUSLY.

52. IDEAS FOR VIDEO CONTENT
• An introduction to you and your practice
• FAQs about mediation
• Client testimonials

54. TESTIMONIALS ARE A POWERFUL WAY TO BUILD TRUST.

55. EMAIL MARKETING LETS YOU STAY
ENGAGED WITH
POTENTIAL CLIENTS AS THEY
EVALUATE THEIR OPTIONS.

56. IDEAS FOR ENGAGING EMAIL CONTENT:
• More about yourself and your practice
• Why mediation?
• What to expect
• FAQs from clients

57. EVERY MEDIATION IS A
MARKETING
OPPORTUNITY.

58. GREAT DIGITAL MARKETING
STRATEGIES
INFORM AND SUPPORT EACH
OTHER.

59. YOUR CONTENT IS YOUR
FOUNDATION — NOW YOU
NEED TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE
SEE IT.

60. IF YOUR AUDIENCE KEEPS
ENCOUNTERING YOUR
MESSAGING, THEY’RE LIKELY
TO GIVE YOU A CHANCE.

61. MOST MEDIATORS STILL
BELIEVE THAT MARKETING A
MEDIATION PRACTICE IS ONLY
ABOUT WHO YOU KNOW.

62. THE OPPORTUNITY IS THERE FOR
MEDIATORS WHO CAN USE
DIGITAL MARKETING TOOLS AND
TACTICS TO
PROMOTE THEIR BRAND AND
MESSAGE.