When you start your law firm, you're not just responsible for knowing and practicing law. Instead, it would help if you also created marketing and business development plans that consistently put you in front of new clients. While this can feel like a whole other job in and of itself, you need a plan to get your law firm name out there effectively.
There is some good news: while you have some important decisions to make about how you’ll market and reach your target audience, you don’t need to create and implement everything required to execute that plan.
It’s far better to hand that off to someone like an expert marketing agency. Even if you intend to delegate implementation to a trusted marketing team for lawyers like Casewisepartner.com, you need to know some basics, so your input can be used to develop these strategies. Utilize the best marketing for lawyers tips to grow quickly and effectively.
Successful law firms don’t just sell services—they project an image that resonates with potential clients. That image, or your law firm’s “brand,” influences how potential clients perceive and interact with you.
Each attorney has something unique to offer—some qualities or experiences that set them apart from the competition. Identifying the forte that makes you stand apart from the crowd is crucial. This uniqueness can span any number of variables—the type of services you offer, your approach to handling cases, your style, your success rates, the experiences you provide to clients, the clients you serve, etc.
Understanding your unique selling proposition (USP) helps you focus on key differentiators in your marketing strategy, making your brand solid and memorable.
Your brand is the promise you make to your clients. It’s the standard you hold yourself to and how clients know they can trust you. When you consistently deliver on that promise, you develop a reputation of trust and reliability. On the other hand, inconsistent messaging and broken promises can harm your reputation and cost you clients.
One of the biggest challenges in law firm marketing is attempting to run a campaign without a plan.
Without a clear marketing plan, you will not have a direction for marketing yourself. Your marketing plan explains your goals, budget, key performance indicators, and other essential details about how you’ll execute your strategy. An attorney marketing plan helps you track your bigger law firm revenue goals to continue to scale.
A few pieces of information belong in your law firm marketing plan:
Your plan should not change regarding the big-picture law firm marketing strategy. But as you master marketing channels and add others, as well as receive data about the performance of your initiatives, you can update your marketing tactics or channels.
This is one of the most crucial elements of getting traction in your marketing without raising any red flags. With marketing, you want to be as compelling as possible in what you say to prospective clients without crossing the line on any ethics rules or best practices in your state.
Review your local, regional, and state bar association’s rules to confirm what you can and cannot say regarding your marketing messages.
With so much content created these days for email newsletters, social media platforms, and your website, developing a transparent system for reviewing content to verify that nothing that could cause problems is published is essential.
Your clients want to hire someone with the proper education, experience, and track record. But your clients care primarily about themselves and the legal issues they’re facing, so your marketing needs to meet them where they are.
No matter how you choose to market yourself, obsess over how to create an outstanding client experience. This will pay off in spades when your potential client feels trust and credibility with you early in the process. Investing in your reputation and creating a personal brand as an attorney can help build up word-of-mouth credibility.
Word of mouth is one of the most potent marketing engines for a law firm of any size. 37% of clients said that word of mouth and recommendations were the most critical factors in selecting an attorney. When you get a new client, provide them an outstanding experience and solicit their feedback in reviews and testimonials. This social proof continues to help convert other potential clients.
How to Improve Client Experience
Here are some of the best ways to improve client experience:
When thinking through the best ways to reach your clients, don’t neglect one of the most robust methods of drawing in new business: content marketing and SEO. One report found that search engine optimization was the most effective channel for 79% of industry marketers. Many other marketing methods rely on what’s known as digital sharecropping, where you’re building your business on some other platform, such as social media or digital ads offered by Google. These methods can work and drive law firm growth, but you rely on changes in their algorithms and rules.
SEO is a Long-Term Strategy
With your law firm’s website, you own both the content and the domain. Building this as a resource hub that establishes you as an industry authority and brings traffic from search engine results pages is valuable for long-term success.
In the short term, using paid ads or social media marketing can get you some easy and early wins, but investing in content marketing for a long-term legal marketing strategy to grow your client base is far better.
Ensure that all content you create and publish on your law firm’s website is client-focused. Consider the following questions as you draft that content or hand it off to an expert SEO content team:
If you’re ready to learn SEO, check out our comprehensive checklist to learn everything involved.
Law firm online advertising is a robust digital marketing option for reaching your prospective audience when they’re most likely to need an attorney.
If you’re starting your law firm, putting more money into digital advertising can work to get your foot in the door with marketing. You may also need to check state BAR associations to ensure your ads follow all regulations. Over time, however, you’ll want to move some of that money and time investment into something like content marketing and SEO. All content you create and publish on your law firm’s website is client-focused.
Divide and Conquer
Becoming too reliant on digital ad platforms leaves you without much control over how those ads perform, and a significant change or more competition/less attention can tank your results. Without broadening your reach, you could spend much money on digital ads, so diversify as soon as possible.
When deciding on digital ads, think through these factors:
Initial Launch and Exposure
If you are in the early stages of establishing your law firm, investing more in digital advertising can boost your marketing efforts. Platforms like Google Ads or social media ads allow you to raise brand awareness swiftly, attract website traffic, and generate potential leads.
Remember that legal advertising must comply with specific regulations set out by state BAR associations. It’s crucial to ensure your advertisements are ethical, accurate, and meet all regulatory standards to maintain professionalism and avoid anything that could damage your firm’s reputation.
Targeted Reach
One significant advantage of digital advertising over traditional methods is its precise targeting capabilities. You can tailor your advertisements based on your potential client’s location, demographics, interests, and online behavior. This reduces wasted resources on irrelevant audiences and enables you to reach the individuals actively seeking your expertise.
Evolving Your Strategy
While digital advertising is a powerful marketing tool, particularly in the initial phases of your law firm, it’s not the only marketing strategy. Over time, consider diversifying your marketing mix and reallocating resources into long-term strategies like search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing.
TV, billboard, and radio ads have visibility and prestige that can’t be easily replicated in digital spaces. These mediums provide an ideal channel to target local prospects, especially those not as engaged on digital platforms. Moreover, crafting location-centric messages that resonate with the community can significantly improve brand recall and generate more inbound inquiries.
Humanizing Your Firm
One particular advantage of direct marketing is the ability to humanize your law firm. Photographs of your attorneys in your ads give your promotion a personal touch. This strategy showcases the faces behind the business, making it easier for potential clients to connect with you individually.
You want to appear professional, an advocate for your clients, and approachable at the same time.
In today’s digital era, social media is essential to an attorney’s marketing toolkit. It’s a platform that allows law firms of various sizes to connect with potential clients, advertise their legal services, and establish their professional identity.
Developing a Social Media Strategy
A successful social media strategy requires a clear understanding of your law firm’s marketing goals and a thoughtful plan for achieving them. Being present on all social media platforms isn’t necessary or practical. Instead, focus on the platforms most relevant to your target audience.
Once you’ve narrowed down the platforms—LinkedIn for a professional social media presence, Instagram for a more visual appeal, or Twitter for swift updates—consider the content that will resonate with your audience. Sharing valuable content like blog articles, legal updates, or case studies can position your firm as an expert.
Engagement Is Key
But remember, social media isn’t just a broadcasting tool; it’s a platform designed for two-way communication. Engage with your audience by responding to their comments and messages and participating in conversations relevant to your practice area.
Online reviews count for a lot in today’s digital-centric world. Prospects frequently cite reviews as a critical factor when seeking legal help or considering a law firm for their needs. Reviews provide potential clients with social proof—real-world experiences from others who have used your services and have been satisfied with the results. As a result, positive online reviews can significantly influence a prospect’s decision to choose your firm over others.
Client testimonials are also vital to establishing trust and credibility. When past clients share their positive experiences, they provide anecdotal evidence of your firm’s competence and reliability, which can be very persuasive to potential clients browsing your website or social media profiles.
A strong testimonial can highlight the benefits of using your services, giving prospects a clear idea of what they can expect if they hire your law firm.
Growing your law firm is exciting, but it requires clear strategy and execution to get the best results. To recap, here are the critical aspects of marketing yourself as a lawyer:
Choose one channel to master first, then expand to others once you’ve developed winning tactics and consistently achieved results.
Use a marketing plan to reflect on how your daily and weekly activities contribute to your bigger marketing goals.
Develop rules and plans around how you’ll comply with attorney ethics requirements.
Put your clients first on every channel and in every marketing message created.
Invest in content marketing, digital advertising, social media, and direct marketing.
Get visibility through PR opportunities in your local region or practice area.
Whether you’re a personal injury lawyer, a family law attorney, or in some other area of law, it’s hard to balance the daily responsibilities of most legal professionals with all the tasks of running and tweaking a marketing campaign.
If you’re ready to launch your SEO and content marketing strategy now to show up at the top of Google search results, Contact Casewise Partners to discuss in-depth research, implementation, and reporting handled by our team of experts.
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