If yours was the only law firm in your town, you would have little trouble attracting new clients to your corner of the legal world. Unfortunately, your business will probably be one of many, so you need to implement as many marketing strategies as possible to ensure your firm stays on top.
You can market your law firm offline, of course, with classified ads, flyers, business cards, and the like, but as the internet is the go-to place for many these days, it is important that you promote your business online as well. By doing so, you will meet people where they are, drum up a flow of new clients, and remain competitive in your locale.
The following guide details the critical elements of a digital marketing strategy, so have a read and implement the ideas suggested. Of course, we realize marketing your law firm is time-intensive, so please do call on our services if you would like to benefit from the expertise of our experienced marketing professionals.
Start With A Marketing Plan
As with every good mission, a plan is needed at the outset. For your law firm, this plan should be based on your goals and the messages you want to promote.
Your goals might include:
- Gain new clients
- Reach out to previous clients
- Enhance our brand image
These are relatively simple goals but they can form the lynchpin of your marketing plan. To achieve them, you can focus on the aspects of marketing that we discuss in this article. You can then tailor your marketing efforts according to the goals you have set, and use metrics to determine how well you are doing.
For more information, check out these measurable marketing goals and apply them to your law firm.
Work On Your Website
Your website is an essential facet of your marketing plan, as you can direct people here when promoting your business on social media and other areas of the internet.
It’s important that you work hard on your website as the user experience is paramount.
Your site needs to be:
- Good looking
- Easy to use
- Fast
- Mobile friendly
- Easily found
- Useful
Your site needs to be good looking because first impressions matter. If it is aesthetically ugly, cluttered, and hard to read, you are going to put your site visitors off your business. They might align the quality of your legal services with your website, so if the interface is poor, they might assume your services are too.
Your site needs to be easy to use too, as not everybody will have the patience to decipher where they should be going next to find information.
Our advice for these two areas would be to compare your site to other lawyer websites online. If your site compares poorly, you should make the relevant changes, or hire a web designer to give it the professional touch it needs. A web designer can also make sure your site is optimized for mobile users, and they can help you with the SEO aspect of your site to make sure it is easily found online.
When working on your site, focus on the content. You need to make sure that the right information is put across to your potential clients, so focus on the following:
- An ‘About Us’ page to let people know who you are and what you do
- A testimonial page to develop trust in your business
- Case studies that highlight your expertise
- A blog page to educate your readers and to show your authority in your industry
Your web content can encourage people to use your business, so do what you can to inform them about your business, and use words, pictures, and videos to attract them to your services.
For more information
- Check out these excellent examples of law firm websites. You will then get an idea of the designs and functionalities that will benefit your website.
- Test your web speed using Page Speed Insights and make the necessary changes (or seek help) if your site is slow.
- Check out these tips on optimizing your site for mobile.
- Use these SEO tips to ensure your website is easily found online.
The linked tips will cover the best practice for any website, and they will do much to ensure your site visitors have very few issues when using your site.
Sign Up For Social Media
At the very least, you need to have a Facebook account for your law firm. The majority of your client base will be using this platform so you will be easily contactable if you have a presence on the site. You can then post news that will interest people, educate people on legal matters, and respond to any queries or questions in a timely manner.
Twitter and LinkedIn are two other social media sites you should consider, as these are two sites where your prospective clients are likely to spend their time. Like Facebook, Twitter attracts people of all kinds, so if you are running a general law firm, you will be able to promote all of your services on there. LinkedIn is a must if your firm provides legal counsel to small businesses, as this is the networking site that many business owners use for networking purposes.
When using social media, you can:
- Improve brand perception
- Connect with the people who matter to your law firm
- Learn more about your prospective clients
- Increase industry authority
- Improve your local SE0
- Direct people back to your website
For More Information
- Learn from the social media examples of other law firms.
- Learn how social media marketing can improve brand awareness.
- Consider the benefits of hashtags on social media.
For more advice, speak to our social media experts, as we have the talent and experience to push this aspect of your marketing strategy to the next level.
Use Email Marketing
Email marketing is a great way to generate new business and to stay in touch with previous clients.
You can gather email addresses from people who have already used your business, or who have shown interest in your services when getting in touch with you.
So, what kind of emails could you send? Well, you might:
- Send out newsletters with information about your firm
- Let people know of changes within the law
- Send ebooks that educate people on legal matters
- Attract people to your corner with discount coupons
Be sure to personalize your emails too, and separate them according to the people you are trying to reach. You can do this using these email segmentation strategies, so have a read, and apply them to your law firm.
Find Ways To Increase Your Online Presence
Your website and social media channels are just the start. The internet is a big place, so if you can find ways to increase your online presence, more people are going to notice your law firm.
One way lawyers can raise their profile is to encourage their clients to share positive word about them. You can ask your clients to write reviews about your business on lawyer review sites, or you could ask them to link back to your site through their social media pages and websites.
You could contribute to legal blogs and forums. By showcasing your expertise, you will build trust and credibility, and people might be encouraged to learn more about the legal services you provide.
Search engine marketing is also effective. Using pay-per-click advertising, you can quickly increase your presence on search engine pages. Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising are the two main platforms, so consider both for your law firm. You can learn more about PPC here.
Use Google My Business to list your law firm online too, and if there are any other online classified sites in your area, be sure to advertise on them. These are the sites that your prospective clients will be using, so it makes sense to position yourself on them.
These are just a few of the ways to increase your online presence, but you might be able to find other avenues with your own online search.
Measure Your Marketing Effectiveness
How well is your marketing doing? If your business is growing, then its probably going very well, and if it isn’t, it might be that changes need to be made.
Whatever the case, it is still worth using the tools that are available to you to find out more, as you will be able to steady your focus with your marketing plan.
Check out these marketing measurement tools for some notable examples, and use them to measure your social media, website, and other facets of your marketing.
Contact Us
For more information on the digital marketing methods available to you, and for support with your marketing strategy, get in touch with us. We can help you with all aspects of your digital marketing journey, so use the contact details on our site and book an appointment with one of our experienced professionals today.
