Let’s get visual: Why law firms should pay attention to Pinterest

Authored by: Kevin Aschenbrenner | February 21, 2012 RSS Feed for this author.
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So, Pinterest. Talk about a case study in a social platform blowing up overnight! Two weeks ago, the response to hearing about Pinterest might have been “Meh, another social media site; who needs it?” This week, that’s morphed into “Pinterest! How can I get an invite?!”

The reason? Two words: major traffic. Turns out people love to share images and, when those images link back to your website, you can see amazing spikes in traffic. Anectodally, people are reporting Pinterest-based spikes in traffic that outstrip Twitter, Facebook and Google +.

But I hear you thinking: “We’re a law firm. We don’t do anything that’s visually gripping.”

Well, maybe. If you consider “visually gripping” to be a shot of your empty front desk and your firm’s logo, then, yes, you’re right. But the Internet is rapidly becoming a visual playground, and you’d best get with the program.

What do I think will be a good way for law firms to leverage Pinterest? Combine it with another hot trend: infographics. These are informative flowcharts and graphs that convey a lot of information in a visual way. And they make their way around the Internet like pinkeye in a ball pit.

Infographics offer a perfect entrée into Pinterest for law firms, and the visual Web in general. What is it that law firms have in abundance? Information. Just translate that into a flowchart, make it a bit funny if you can and you’re good to go. Get that up on your website and Pin it!

Our Creative Services Director, Terry Isner, likely has some great ways to get your law firm’s information out there as an infographic. Why not drop him a line to start the discussion?

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Authored by: Jay S. Fleischman | February 23, 2012
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When Pinterest shows signs of being a place where potential clients and referral sources congregate then it's a valid platform for law firm marketing. Until then, it's yet another social media shiny object that everyone suddenly, inexplicably, NEEDS to get involved in.

It seems that everyone's afraid of missing out on the next Facebook or Twitter land grab. Lawyers missed the boat there, and are now struggling to catch up and (ack) learn how to NOT use these platforms are merely another bullhorn for self-promotion. Doesn't make Pinterest any more compelling in the real world.

Authored by: Kevin Aschenbrenner | February 23, 2012
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Thanks for your comment and insights, Jay. I agree, there is often a rush to get on board with anything new out of fear of being left behind if it is, in fact, the new Twitter or Facebook.

What I do think, though, is that law firms should at least take a look at new platforms and think about how they might be used for the industry. In this case, I thought it was interesting that Pinterest has arisen at the same time as infographics have taken off, and the two correlate nicely.

I do think the Web is becoming a much more visual space and law firms will need to take that into consideration in marketing. Pinterest and infographics are just the current evocation of that.

I also say this as someone who is not terribly visual myself, with an awareness that I need to develop that perspective. We get so tied into our text-based ways of communicating that we lose sight of what images can do and how powerful they are. I can thank our Creative Director Terry Isner (http://www.jaffepr.com/about-us/our-people/terry-isner) for keeping that in front of me.

Authored by: Kevin Aschenbrenner | February 23, 2012
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Oh, and there is no denying the Web-traffic generation aspect of Pinterest. Whether that will plateau as people move onto the next bit of social media tinfoil is unknown. What is apparent, though, is that good images are powerful ways of driving people to a law firm's website.

What they do once they're there is up to the law firm, but it's an opportunity to take seriously.

Authored by: kip | April 3, 2012
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So i get the concept that pintrest is a traffic machine, but I don't see how this is targeted traffic for a law firm. I think it's definitely something a law firm can use to supplement other marketing strategies, but can't rely on it solely. appreciate the insight. kip from http://www.aggressivebankruptcy.com/chapter-13-bankruptcy/discharging-debts

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