When you hear that 86% of law firms are failing to collect client email addresses and 45% are falling flat when it comes to collecting phone numbers, is that surprising? It should be, considering that the work involved with legal representation should involve getting basic contact information.
Are you a law professional who's struggling to get leads, or wondering how to market a law firm?
One of the primary ways to do this is by having simple ways to reach customers. Whether this is through using their emails for email marketing or their phone number to deliver text-based marketing, multiple opportunities are being missed.
While the ball is clearly being dropped when it comes to getting and leveraging client information, there are numerous ways to increase your client base. Today, you need more than relying on contact information and word-of-mouth tactics.
When marketing a small law firm, there are opportunities that can be taken advantage of but only if you know about them. Keep reading to learn how to increase the popularity of your firm and how to reel in more clients.
Turning Your Firm Into a Brand
Turning your firm into a brand means instant credibility and recognizability. Branding is a form of marketing that supplements every other idea you might try. It's a way to build trust and 80% of consumers use 'trust' as a deciding factor when they are making decisions about purchases or working with a business.
When law professionals wonder how to market a law firm, transforming the firm into a brand is going to be the most popular option. This method will help you build connections with your clients and it's a smart way to boost your referral program as well.
Overall, when developing leads for small law firms, branded marketing is going to make your values stick out. It will help position your firm as an industry leader in your service area.
Stand Out as a Subject Matter Expert
After you brand your firm, this is your time to position your practice as a suite of subject matter experts in your service area. Even if you're an independently practicing professional, this can work in your favor. Consumers favor expertise in the areas that they need help in.
As an SME, this means that you have a deep understanding of certain areas of practice. It could also show that you have a high success rate and level of client satisfaction.
So, how can you position your firm as an actual expert in your service area?
There are a variety of ways that you can do this.
Mentions of credentials aren't enough anymore. Consumers want to see your knowledge in actual practice. Some ways that you can do this is by:
- Leveraging your brand on LinkedIn
- Turning case studies into campaigns (or mock case studies depending on legal restrictions with using real cases)
- Creating a blog/industry journal for your firm
- Including positive media exposure on your website and making use of press releases when necessary
- Becoming comfortable with hashtag usage and posting daily on Twitter
- Using a ghostwriter to create content
- Speaking at speaking engagements and attending relevant seminars
The primary thing that all of these tactics have in common is 'being active'. You need to be active on social media, in your community, and online in general.
Consider the Impact of Certain Platforms
Take LinkedIn for example. This platform is one of the top sites professionals flock to for industry-related information and to connect with other professionals. There are 875 million members on LinkedIn alone.
This number includes professionals who may want to use your services and those who are in the same line of work as you. This platform allows you to keep an eye on your competition but also allows you to outshine them. You should be posting daily and releasing engaging, head-turning, and thought-provoking articles on the platform weekly.
Twitter is another big option and on this platform, hashtags are how you're going to get noticed. Start trying to build a following there and you will be able to later guide those followers to events you're hosting, engagements where you are a speaker, and success that your firm has.
The main thing is having an online presence and leveraging that because, in today's age, consumers aren't looking in the Yellow Pages for a small law firm. They are going to go where Google and social media directs them.
Social Media Marketing Will Make You Competitive
Most consumers are on social media and a large percentage of people search social networks for advice or information. If your firm is one of the results that populate during their search, you are likely to retain their business.
Social media marketing is a way to retarget lost opportunities, reach new target audiences, and increase brand awareness. This is one tactic where SEO will help boost exposure even more. It is also another way to achieve better customer service.
If your website has a chat option, or you have a social media moderator, marketing on certain platforms will drive traffic to them. It's cost-effective, supplements your general ad campaigns, and improves customer engagement significantly.
Not to mention, right now, 71% of lawyers are getting their clients from social media alone. If you want a chance to surpass your direct and indirect competition, you can't overlook social media marketing.
Online Advertising Never Gets Old
Just like print advertising used to be all the rage, now it's mostly about online advertising. This is one of the top ways to optimize marketing services for lawyers. You get more of a global reach with this, higher engagement ratings, and much more flexibility.
This means that your cost just for trying is ultimately doable. You can test different legal marketing ideas without the fear of blowing your budget like you might with print campaigns.
What's even better is that with online marketing methods, your marketing efforts are measurable. This is because you get back-end analytics which will help to drive your decisions.
To generate leads for lawyers, you need to be where the lead generation opportunities are and that's on a variety of online channels. Having a digital marketing plan is a simple method to optimize your conversion rate and consistently generate more leads.
Working with an experienced law firm marketing agency would be the simplest way to achieve these advantages versus taking the DIY approach and putting your law firm marketing at risk of failing.
Referral Marketing Is Still a Thing
It's important to realize that referral marketing isn't necessarily the same thing as the traditional 'word of mouth' concept. This marketing method can drive word-of-mouth efforts indirectly. Considering that word-of-mouth is never enough anymore, this approach is a good option to use.
Referral-based marketing has a lot more impact because you are advertising more than your services alone. With this method, you are dangling an incentive in front of both current and potential clients. Referrals are also one of the top ways to get retainer clients.
The incentive you offer could be a free hour of service, a consultation, one free representation, or a discounted hourly rate on a first-case basis. The incentive should be creative and different from what every other law firm might be offering. This is a simple way to draw in additional business as you can include referral opportunities anywhere.
It can be mentioned in your personal thank-yous to clients, on your website, in your ads, or in other marketing materials. This tactic helps to draw in new clientele that might engage with the offer and potential clientele from those you might already be working with.
Some firms may be skeptical about the power of referrals and their ability to bring in additional leads for small law firms.
Considering that anywhere from 5% to 15% of new clients are brought in through referral marketing alone for different businesses, this method works. Your success with this tactic will depend on how creative you decide to be and the exposure you generate when marketing a small law firm.
SEO for Marketing Can Help You Leave a Mark
SEO or search engine optimization is a way to optimize your online presence. It's the literal way that search engines are able to find you and in turn, how your site and online ads will be put in front of consumers. Law SEO equals popularity, relevance of content, and findability.
If you are ranking well on social media channels, for example, you are likely to get 1,000% more traffic toward your social campaigns than if you completely disregarded SEO altogether. It might seem like a hassle to incorporate this form of optimization into your campaigns. The thing you have to ask yourself is, can you afford to ignore it when your competitors are likely making it work?
Close to 80% (79%) of law firms have said that SEO has been their most effective channel for marketing. The 21% of firms not making use of SEO tactics, unless they have a deeply rooted local presence are likely not in the competition bracket as the firms that are.
Professional marketing agencies can make this a hands-off method.
With professional services, you are more likely to see the 5:1 ROI ratio than if you try to take the DIY approach. Overall, when SEO is applied the right way, you will gain more visibility online.
Your firm will rank better on search engines, you will gain more credibility, and easily reach your target audience. This tactic will also enhance the success of your paid search engine advertising campaigns (PPC).
Learn How to Market a Law Firm With QR Code Usage
This might seem like a small approach but it's one that works. It's fun, and creative, and increases efficiency for those that might want to contact you. A QR code is like a matrix barcode for your business.
This two-dimensional bar code is easily scannable with a camera on a smartphone. It's a great way to supplement your marketing materials or to create short-from ads. These codes can auto-direct clients to your landing page, your website, or directly to a service or contact page.
The popularity behind these codes comes from their simplicity and efficiency. They don't take up a lot of space, they are easy to track, and depending on the platform you use, you can generate custom QR codes for next to nothing.
It's a great way to optimize your law firm marketing budget.
This method is also completely contactless. In a way, it's like a digital business card. This shows that you prioritize efficiency and that you're open to being more tech-savvy.
A QR code can be used on your digital and print ad campaigns and is a simple way to give your social media marketing campaigns an additional boost. Keep in mind that as of 2023, QR code usage has skyrocketed to 5.16 billion users which makes up about 64.4% of the global population so, don't be the firm that's left behind.
Learning How to Market a Law Firm Doesn't Have to Be Difficult
When you approach lead generation and how to market a law firm, think of where your target consumers are. More often than not, they're online and for those that aren't, they want an efficient way to reach you. This means that you need simple ways to get your name out there that also offer you consistent scalability.
It can be difficult when marketing a small law firm if you aren't sure what marketing makes the most sense for your business model. To limit the confusion and potential for failure, connect with Venn Digital Marketing today.