Law firms are among the most competitive markets out there. With the sheer amount of users getting information off the web, it can be an uphill battle to stand out from the crowd when marketing your law firm. Here are six easy marketing tips to help lawyers focus their attention on the areas that matter.
1. Know Your Target Market
Ask yourself: What kind of clients do I want? Law firms tend to drift toward particular niches based on the cases they want and their size. Some attorneys want high-settlement truck accidents, while others want everyday slip and falls, disability claims, etc. If a firm wants to focus on marriage and family law, they’ll need a different tone than a mesothelioma class action attorney.
A good rule of thumb is to publish engaging content that identifies with your target market that they’ll find useful. Are you a personal injury lawyer in Dallas? Write about or reference localized personal injury cases in Dallas. Mix in blogs, infographics, videos and other media that supports your position. Link to local news sources and offer your own opinions alongside a strong call to action if this sort of victim is in need of legal representation.
2. Answer Questions
There are two types of questions: questions asked by people who know what they’re looking for and questions people ask to find out how to ask the right question. You can accommodate both on your site with a clean FAQ area.
If you want to improve your site’s visibility, traffic and relevancy, answer questions that you’re asked on a daily basis from clients, such as: “How much can I win if I’m injured?” “How do I send a demand letter?” “How much does a lawyer cost?” Ask any lawyer or receptionist and they can give you a consistent list of FAQs that, more often than not, act as screening questions on client intake.
To increase user interaction, answer questions directly related to the practice areas you want to target. For example, “What do I do if I’m in a car accident and was partially at fault?” “Who do I sue if a truck ran me off the road?” “What damages can I get if I was in a hit-and-run?”
3. Commit To SEO
Speaking of questions, “What is SEO?” is a question people ask our team on a daily basis. Search engine optimization is the culmination of content affected by factors such as how your website functions, backlinks, schema data and others.
To increase your search presence, you need to commit to a multi-faceted SEO plan that feeds Google’s fire. Search engine spiders want to deliver high-quality information in response to search queries. Your NAP (name, address, phone) should be consistent across your firm’s online profiles, you need content that is relevant and accessible, you need fast load times and you need to stay away from harmful strategies to get that page one ranking.
SEO is a grind, but it’s something that pays off if you put in the time and effort. If you’re ready to take control of your site’s rankings, it boils down to three things: location, hyper-specific targeting and long-tail keywords.
4. Create A Social Media Presence
Social is a tossup. There are signals that Google appreciates a little input from Facebook, LinkedIn and other platforms. However, social media might not be right for you and your brand.
Every city has those two or three lawyers who have been doing late-night commercials and billboard ads for decades. They have solid branding and you probably know their catchy phone numbers off the top of your head. But will they succeed on social media? Maybe not.
You need to cater to your social audience. Just like a billboard, social media serves as direct brand recognition. Sure, people might scroll past your ad, but if they Google something later on, your name will jump out because they recognize it. Think hard about social media — a good in-between is to keep it alive with a post here or there to keep your profile active.
5. Challenge Your Marketers
You might know as much about marketing as your marketing agency knows about probate laws in Delaware. Where does this leave us?
Often, firms become complacent and pay for marketing without thinking, “Is this actually doing anything useful?” “Why aren’t I on page one for this very specific case-type in this specific city?” “Why did I spend $15,000 on AdWords and only got three phone calls?” “Why doesn’t my contact form work on Device X, Y or Z?”
We get it; it’s not easy to justify marketing spend when you’re not seeing results. (In this case, “results” being conversions and cases). Results, however, are better perceived through the lens of bounce rates, visibility and search positioning. It can be a gamble for law firms, but that one victim’s truck accident claim can pay for years of marketing and allow you to grow your firm.
6. Videos
If you’ve been paying attention to law firms in your area that rank on page one, you’ve probably noticed one thing they have in common: videos.
Videos are easy ways to reach your target market (see Tips #1 and #4). Videos might be intimidating and a little time-consuming early on, but when you step back, you’ll probably realize that you’ve created a lot of content just by talking into a camera about dog bite lawsuits and negotiating settlements for a few minutes.
Videos are easily transcribed (SEO), work well on social media and are altogether loved by Google (if you optimize the meta properly!).
Conclusion
As the founder of a web design and marketing agency that helps law firms, I understand the day-to-day challenges of staying relevant in a fast-paced, media-heavy world. Lawyers must aim to make the process easier for present and future clients by implementing the above marketing tips, strategies and tactics.