Are you thinking about improving your law firm's marketing strategy this year? If so, you are not alone. In an American Bar Association poll, 39% of law firms said they want to increase their marketing efforts this year.
Yet, many attorneys do not even know where to begin when it comes to law firm marketing. More traditional forms of advertising may still work for now. But if you want to stay ahead of the competition, you need digital marketing.
Digital marketing for a law firm encompasses all the online activities that help you reach more prospective clients. To do it right, you need a little market research and a whole lot of strategizing.
Today, we want to help you get started with your legal marketing checklist. Below, we are guiding you through the top 12 items that must be on your marketing checklist in 2023.
1. Conduct Audience Research
Want to know who your clients are currently and what type of clients your firm has the potential to reach? Then the first step in your marketing journey is to conduct audience research.
To get started, you need to identify your goals. What do you intend to get out of your research? For example, you may want to find out what type of people engage with your firm to inform a pay-per-click (PPC) ad campaign.
You can then find existing research into your client segments. You can also conduct your own research using surveys and polls of your current or former clients. This can help you create a buyer persona.
The main questions audience research should answer depend on your unique goal or goals. But any good audience research project should help you understand who your audience is and how they search for legal services online.
2. Perform Competitor Research
Why should your customers choose your law firm over the competition? Your firm's unique selling point is essential to differentiating yourself in the eyes of prospective clients. That is where competitor research comes in.
Competitor research allows you to identify the top competitors in your market. These competitors should serve the same jurisdiction(s). They should also practice the same area of law and offer similar services.
Once you identify your main competitors, figure out what they are all missing. Use this missing piece as your main differentiator when you start your paid and organic marketing campaigns, which we will talk about next.
3. Invest in Organic Strategies
Do you want to save money on marketing by getting clients to come to you? Then you need to know about organic marketing. Organic marketing uses search engine optimization (SEO) to reach more prospective clients.
SEO focuses on improving your ranking in Google's search engine. It does so by including specific keywords on your website. These keywords correspond to the questions people are searching that pertain to your field.
For example, say your firm serves personal injury clients who get injured in accidents. Personal injury encompasses a whole host of services. So, make sure you include the keywords "personal injury" and "car accident attorney" to improve your website's SEO.
But keywords are not the only thing that matters for SEO. You also need a website with good user experience and accessibility.
You also need high-quality content that gets backlinks from other authoritative and trustworthy sites. We will talk more about how to produce high-quality content later in this article.
4. Try Paid Digital Marketing (PPC)
While SEO helps clients find you, paid marketing campaigns allow you to go out and find clients. Pay-per-click (PPC) marketing is one of the more popular paid ad strategies, but it is not the only one.
Facebook and Google Ads are gold standards for running PPC campaigns. These platforms are unique because they allow for ad targeting. With ad targeting, you can define the specific type of person you want to serve ads to.
You can target the location(s) where you provide your services. You can also define demographic specifications, including age, income level, gender, and interest. This is where your audience research is helpful.
5. Start Using a CRM
Once you start bringing in new clients with your paid and organic marketing strategies, where do you plan to store their information? If you do not have one already, you need a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) product.
CRMs connect your marketing, sales, and customer service departments all in one place. There, you and your staff can easily manage and support your existing and future clients.
Smaller law firms, in particular, can benefit from the automation CRMs have to offer. You will save time on marketing and sales tasks, all while cutting costs on manual marketing work.
Plus, a CRM can help you tackle one of the biggest challenges for law firms: follow-up. The majority of legal service providers admit that they do not follow up with prospects via phone or email, resulting in lost potential revenue.
Yet, using new technology can feel intimidating. With the help of a legal digital marketing consultant like Venn Digital Marketing, you can get started with a user-friendly CRM like HubSpot with ease.
6. Don't Neglect Your Socials
Does your law firm have a social media presence? Only around 19% of US law firms say they do not use a single social media platform. And you do not want to be among them.
Social media is one of the best ways to find new clients online. LinkedIn is one of the most popular platforms for attorneys and law firms. Martindale and Avvo are legal-specific social media platforms to try, too.
Oh, and make sure you do not neglect video marketing on your social accounts. Only 24% of law firms use video marketing today. Using videos in your marketing efforts can set you apart from your competitors.
7. Nurture Your Sales Funnel
Do you know how to turn legal prospects into leads and leads into clients? If not, it is time to improve your sales funnel. You can start by adopting a CRM for your firm, which we discussed earlier.
A CRM system like HubSpot can automate your lead nurture process. You will never have to stress about forgetting to collect a callback number from leads again. The CRM system will do it for you.
All your firm has to do is get back to your prospective clients and wow them with all you have to offer. These clients will eventually pay you back for your efforts by advocating on behalf of your firm and giving out referrals.
8. Get More Reviews
Speaking of referrals, online reviews should be part of your firm's marketing strategy. After all, reviews on Google, Yelp, and even your own website can go a long way in improving your firm's credibility and authority online.
If you do not get a lot of Google reviews and want more, make sure you claim your business. Check out this guide to learn how to add or claim your business on Google. Once you claim your business, clients can leave reviews.
Publish reviews on your website, too. When referrals or prospects browse your services, they can see what former clients have to say about your work. But make sure to focus on positive reviews, as 90% of prospects will decide to pick up the phone and call you based on what former clients have to say about you.
These days, most people do not hire an attorney on the basis of one referral alone. Online reviews can help them make an informed decision about whether you are the right legal professional for their unique case.
9. Try Local SEO
Did you know that the #1 way clients find their lawyers is via Google search? Referrals have long reigned supreme in the legal industry. However, with life moving online, this has changed.
But your clients are not just searching for any lawyer on Google. They are searching for legal services in their area or "near me." It is critical to include location tags in your SEO to ensure searchers can find your firm.
Once you include location tags, you can then improve your local ranking. Google recommends publishing website pages that are relevant and prominent (e.g., have positive reviews) to improve your local ranking.
10. Consider a Newsletter
Have you ever wondered how big law firms manage to hang onto clients in the long term, sometimes even for life? Part of creating repeat clientele is engaging with your audience.
And the best way to do that is through an email newsletter. That's right, email marketing is not dead. In fact, creating an email newsletter is still one of the best lead magnets in 2023.
A business newsletter can serve multiple purposes. You can promote special offers and new services to former and prospective clients. Plus, you can provide positive reviews and case outcomes to turn leads into repeat clients.
11. Create Helpful Content
The more website pages you have in Google's top search results, the higher the traffic to your website. And the more traffic your site gets, the more clients you can bring on and the more money you can make.
But how do you make sure you are ranking high for multiple keywords in your sector? An excellent strategy is to start a blog and publish high-quality content. You can also publish content on other trustworthy platforms and sites.
Now, this begs the question of what, exactly, high-quality means when it comes to content. This definition is always changing in the eyes of the Google Algorithm. Best practices include but are not limited to the following:
- Create short, snappy titles (and never write clickbait)
- Incorporate structured data throughout your content and site
- Include a keyword-rich meta description for each page on your site
- Use keywords your prospective clients are searching for
- Link to other high-quality pages on your site
- Link to other authoritative and trustworthy sites within your content
Also, make sure to include a call to action (CTA). Using CTAs in your writing is another way to set yourself apart from the competition. After all, only 30% of law firms have a CTA on their business website.
12. Partner With a Law Firm Marketing Company
Did you know that only 3% of big law firms do not have internal marketing departments? At the same time, 67% of firms employing 10–49 lawyers do not have a dedicated marketing person. In that case, it is critical to seek out legal marketing services.
Digital marketing firms like Venn help businesses like yours put together a foolproof marketing strategy. We offer the following services to help you improve your marketing return on investment (ROI):
- HubSpot CRM consulting, including onboarding and applications management
- Digital marketing consulting, including email, SEO, PPC, lead generation, and sales funnel services
- General consulting to help you hone your online marketing strategy and technology setup
We are a HubSpot Certified Partner and a Google Partner. We have all the skills and relationships needed to get your marketing strategy back on track. Or we can help you build a legal marketing strategy from the ground up.
Looking for Law Firm Marketing Services?
Digital marketing for law firms is no longer an option in 2023. You must maintain an online presence to compete in today's overcrowded legal market. That means you need a website and at least one social media account.
That is not all, though. Smart law firms are catching up with the times, and having a web presence alone is not enough to stand out. You also need a solid digital marketing plan that includes SEO, PPC, and more.
Are you searching for law firm marketing services to help you grow your client base? Venn Digital Marketing offers HubSpot and online marketing consulting services to businesses like yours.
Connect with us today to learn how we can help your law firm scale up in 2023.