Legal Online Marketing | Legal Internet Marketing Blog - Part 6

The Legal Implications of Dumb Starbucks – How Parody Law Affects Marketing

By SLS Consulting on February 25, 2014

Did you hear about Dumb Starbucks? A coffee shop, bearing a very striking resemblance to your run-of-the-mill neighborhood Starbucks, popped up in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles in early February, and the owners of the shop weren’t worried about the real Starbucks shutting them down (Note: the L.A. County Department of Public Health did manage to shut the business down though for “operating without a valid public health permit”).

It would stand to reason that the use of copyrighted materials is wrong, and that any use of those materials for profit or gain of any kind would not be permitted. To assume anything otherwise would question the validity of copyrights altogether, and any deviation from the guidelines set forth by copyright laws would seem to nullify any penalties associated with breaking them. In other words, if you use someone else’s copyrighted material, you’re going to get in trouble for it, plain and simple.

However, according to fair use, an entity may use copyrighted materials for parody purposes as long as the use of those materials is clearly considered parody. While it seems contradictory, clearly identifying materials as parody items means that images and likenesses are required to mimic the original copyrighted material to such an extent that the similarities between the copyrighted material and parody work are clearly evident. Read the rest »

What Online Marketing Trends Will Dominate 2014?

By SLS Consulting on February 17, 2014

The landscape of the Internet is constantly changing, so it is up to a conscientious SEO company, like SLS Consulting, to track online marketing trends as they develop to more thoroughly serve companies. Forbes recently published an article online that we found interesting.

The article posited what the top online marketing trends will be in 2014 and why you should not ignore them. We thought we’d share some of those insights with you.

1. Content Will Continue to be King

Content has always been important when it comes to establishing your company’s authority and trust with your online audience. That is not going to change. Content shared via social media, articles on your website, videos, and e-newsletters not only establish insight for your customers, but it builds a loyal audience. Building an effective content strategy has always been important and there is no reason to believe that will not continue into 2014 and beyond. Read the rest »

Establishing Yourself as an Authority in the Legal World Online

By SLS Consulting on July 30, 2013

At SLS Consulting, we have helped countless law firms not only improve their online presence, but also prove themselves to be an authority in the area of law they practice and the state that they work in. As such, we understand that even the most highly skilled and experienced law firm can have their reputation and history of success poorly represented online.

If you are an up and coming law firm or a well established law firm that has a weak presence online, you may be wondering where to start. Think about the following areas and consider whether your firm’s presence is weak and could use improvement. Read the rest »