Fundamentals of Legal Marketing
As the marketing agency for several law firms, we’ve dedicated countless hours to developing innovative legal marketing strategies. Over the years, our team has mastered the essential marketing and branding principles for lawyers. We now share this expertise with you, hoping you will gain valuable insights into effective legal marketing.
Do’s and Don’ts of Legal Marketing Ideas
In legal marketing, some strategies prove more effective than others. Here are some essential do’s and don’ts to consider when crafting your legal marketing plan:
Do Use Popular Practice Areas as Keywords to Rank on Google
As a lawyer, the primary driver of website traffic is your practice areas. When developing legal keywords for your site, focus your efforts here. While search engine optimization might be new to you, the more “relevance” search engine bots find across your web pages, the more credible you appear. This credibility translates to increased traffic from search engines.
Don’t Waste Time Trying to Build a Social Following
Gaining Facebook followers as a lawyer isn’t impossible, but the hurdles of legal marketing on social media might outweigh the benefits.
Challenges of Social Media Marketing for Lawyers:
Clients may be reluctant to follow you publicly.
You’ll need to manage comments, delete spam, and respond regularly.
Your content must be broad enough to attract attention.
While having a Facebook profile for your legal practice is essential, how often you post is separate. Let’s explore the reasons behind these challenges.
“Being a busy attorney doesn’t leave you a lot of time to keep up with all the current trends of website design, content marketing, social media, ways of search and all other things that our customers find important when looking for an attorney. Keeping us up-to-date and relevant in the social world has been a major improvement for us as a firm.”
– Matthew K. Fenton, Employment & Labor Law Attorney at Wenzel Fenton Cabassa, P.A.
Your own clients may hesitate to follow you – don’t want to publicize.
Legal matters often carry a profoundly personal nature. Depending on your practice area, you might encounter this challenge immediately. Whether dealing with divorce, litigation against employers, criminal cases, or other practice areas, these situations often evoke strong negative emotions in clients. Even when the outcome is positive, clients rarely wish to discuss their legal issues with others. For instance, a client involved in a lawsuit might avoid sharing details if it concerns a dispute with their employer to prevent potential repercussions like losing their job.
You open up the need to monitor comments, delete spam, reply, etc.
Frequent posting requires careful monitoring of your social media page. Keep it simple when crafting a content strategy to minimize the influx of comments that need oversight. While social media isn’t the best platform for aggressive legal marketing, it still plays a role. Share your blogs regularly and develop a “light” social media marketing plan to keep your feed current. You can also share recent events in a press release style to keep your audience informed and engaged.
Your content topics will need to be more generalized to gain traction.
Crafting blog topics for lawyers, especially for social media, is truly an art. Articles that resonate well often focus on recent news or significant issues within relevant legal practice areas. These types of posts perform well on platforms like Facebook.
For example, I experimented with this by sharing an article titled “Minimum Wage vs. Living Wage: the Age of the Wage Gap and Wage Theft” on my account. This piece, which linked back to an employment law firm in Tampa, unexpectedly garnered 30 shares and continues to attract traffic.
These are commendable “organic” results for a first attempt on my page. The key here is that the topic resonates with clients and a broader audience. The “double-edged sword” of Facebook is that while effective content might not directly drive search engine queries or lead potential clients to your pages, it significantly enhances your personal brand and audience awareness, which can be instrumental in generating referrals. Additionally, it provides another avenue for people searching for lawyers in your practice area to find and connect with you.
Do Focus on Your Local Audience with Content
If you are still deciding whether to travel by plane for clients or conduct meetings on Skype, focus on serving your local area. Incorporate your city, county, region, or state as keywords throughout your website. Combine these with other relevant keywords, such as your practice areas and type of law.
Don’t Build Anything but a Responsive Website
Building anything other than a responsive web design today is both a waste of time and money. Non-responsive designs require creating and maintaining separate sites for different devices, complicating the process. Screen sizes vary across phones and tablets, demanding a unique site. However, a responsive web design effortlessly adapts to any screen size, allowing all sites to use the same backend code. This approach saves costs and simplifies maintenance while ensuring a seamless device experience.
Do Hire a Ghostwriter to Improve Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
When most people hear “SEO,” they immediately think of “keywords.” However, you can only boost your organic rankings with fresh content. Hiring a ghostwriter to create articles on your behalf while retaining the ability to review, edit, and approve the content is the most effective way to attract clients to your site consistently. Your ghostwriter will help you produce relevant, specialized, and original quality content that you can approve and publish under your attorney or firm name.
Don’t Spend All Your Time Thinking Inside the Box
We are often genuinely impressed by the ingenuity of individual attorneys in marketing to their audiences. Knowing your clients better than anyone gives you a significant advantage. For instance, our employment lawyers recently discussed strategic local advertising with a restaurant situated just across from the EEOC office. They suggested placing a prominent sign in the restaurant’s window to attract more clients. Strategic placement and local advertising can be remarkably effective.
Do Blog About News, Events, & Educational Topics
Some lawyers prioritize the “quality” of their website visitors over sheer volume. By focusing on relevance, you can attract the right audience, increasing the likelihood of engaging potential clients who are a good fit for your services. However, if you need more leads, blogging can help refine your content to attract more targeted prospects.
How to Blog for Potential Clients:
Frequently Asked Questions, Answered
News in Your Specific Area of Legal Practice
Information About Upcoming Changes to Laws
Press Releases About Your Practice
Trending Topics/Current Events
Using phrases like “See if your case qualifies” might discourage potential clients with valid cases. This highlights a challenge in your content marketing strategy, focusing primarily on keyword ranking, targeting, and attracting visitors from search engines.
Don’t Forget to Complete a Brand Image
Branding aims to connect with potential clients on an emotional level. It’s not just about words; it involves using text, imagery, symbols, and familiar ideas to evoke specific feelings. Above all, you want to earn your client’s trust. One of the quickest ways to build trust is by regularly updating your case outcomes page, showcasing your legitimacy and success.
To complete your brand image, consider developing a style guide that includes your colors, fonts, and logo. Trust seals like Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and Avvo are incorporated to establish credibility. Use original photography testimonials and reviews from past clients to enhance authenticity. Provide detailed guides on each lawyer’s background, education, and experience. Videos are an excellent tool for expanding your presence on YouTube, the second largest search engine and building a personal connection with clients before meeting in person.
Do Sponsor Ads on Avvo
No matter where else you focus your efforts, prioritize your Avvo profile. This lawyer review site has been our law firm’s leading source of website traffic for the past two years. A well-crafted professional profile is crucial. When people search for a lawyer, they often need help finding what they need on Google’s first page and turn to sites like Avvo or other legal databases to locate a reputable lawyer. Additionally, Lawyers.com also generates significant traffic and is our second-largest referral source.
Don’t Be Afraid to Tell Your Story
Psychology reveals that the human brain is naturally wired to respond to storytelling. People connect more readily with emotions than pure logic and easily empathize when a narrative is presented as a story. Sharing your story helps potential clients understand you better and can influence their decision to choose you over another lawyer.
Our employment law firm consists of attorneys passionate advocates for employee rights and exclusively represent employees. Understanding their stories and commitment to justice can reassure those in difficult situations with employers. Sharing your story allows potential clients to assess your skills and personality, giving them confidence to work with you.
Integrating Marketing Strategies for Maximum Effect
Relying only on SEO or social media marketing for lawyers won’t yield the best results. To maximize impact, it’s crucial to integrate diverse marketing strategies.
Start by understanding your target audience’s communication preferences and online habits. This insight allows you to tailor your approach effectively.
Combining SEO for your law firm with social media enhances visibility and brand awareness. Optimizing your website for search engines increases the likelihood of appearing in search results, while social media enables engagement with potential clients and information sharing.
Consider traditional methods like networking events, conferences, and local outreach. These provide opportunities for personal connections and help establish your authority in the field.
Achieving balance is vital when integrating strategies. Avoid over-reliance on a single tactic. For example, while SEO can boost traffic, neglecting social media or local outreach may limit your reach and client potential.
The Role of Agencies in Marketing Lawyers
Marketing for law firms is often complex and time-consuming. With the rapid evolution of digital marketing and growing competition in the legal field, managing marketing efforts effectively while maintaining a law practice can be challenging. This is where specialized marketing agencies make a difference. These agencies possess the expertise and knowledge to market your law firm efficiently, allowing you to focus on what you do best—practicing law. One key benefit of partnering with a marketing agency is their specialized knowledge of marketing for lawyers. They understand the unique challenges and regulations of advertising legal services and know how to navigate them to ensure compliance.
Start Enhancing Your Marketing Today
Our digital marketing agency specializes in crafting comprehensive content marketing strategies, designing user-friendly and responsive websites, and developing impactful branding materials tailored for attorneys and law firms across Florida. Our Tampa content marketing for law firms aids the unique demands of the legal industry and aims to boost your online presence and client engagement. If you’re an attorney or a law firm seeking expert guidance to enhance your digital footprint, contact Oyova for a free consultation. Located in the heart of St. Petersburg, we excel in web design, content marketing, social media management, and e-commerce web development, ensuring your practice reaches its full potential. Our team is dedicated to providing personalized solutions that meet your specific needs. Contact us today to discover how we can support your journey to success!
FAQs:
What Does Legal Marketing Do?
Legal marketing helps law firms attract, retain, and manage client relationships. It is crucial for promoting legal services and growing a firm’s reputation in the highly competitive legal industry. By creating visibility through various marketing tactics such as SEO, social media, and local outreach, legal marketing can help potential clients find you when they need legal representation.
What Is Legal CRM?
Legal CRM stands for legal customer relationship management. It is software that helps law firms manage client interactions, track leads, and improve client relationships. Legal CRM centralizes all client information in one platform, making it easier to access and utilize for effective follow-up and communication.
With the help of legal CRM, law firms can streamline their workflows and optimize their processes, ultimately leading to better client satisfaction and retention. Many options are available if you want to implement a legal CRM for your firm. We recommend exploring different solutions or consulting with a marketing expert for personalized recommendations based on your needs.
What Is Legal Approach in Marketing?
The legal approach in marketing refers to the specific strategies and tactics that law firms must use to promote their services ethically and professionally while adhering to strict advertising rules. Unlike other industries, lawyers are bound by a code of ethics that governs how they can advertise their services.
Legal marketing must thoroughly understand these regulations and guidelines to ensure compliance. It also involves respecting the client-attorney relationship and maintaining professionalism in all forms of communication.
To effectively market your law firm, it’s crucial to work with professionals with experience in navigating the nuances of the legal industry. They can help you develop a marketing plan that respects the legal approach while engaging potential clients and promoting your services.
Do Law Firms Need Marketing?
Marketing is crucial for any business, including law firms. With the growing competition in the legal industry, more than just word-of-mouth referrals or traditional networking methods are required.
Legal marketing allows law firms to build visibility and attract potential clients online and offline. It also helps with client retention by keeping your firm top-of-mind and providing valuable information and resources that showcase your expertise.
How Many Law Firms Use CRM?
According to a 2023 survey, about 80% of law firms use some form of CRM software for client management and marketing purposes. This number has steadily increased over the years, indicating a growing trend among law firms toward utilizing technology for better efficiency and client retention.
