How to Effectively Market Your Law Firm

Part 1: Digital Marketing

Businesses in any industry must market their services and expertise. That has always been true but in the modern world of the internet, it’s more important than ever. A digital marketing strategy helps any business keep up with the current environment. No law degree in the world prepares lawyers for how to market effectively. This is how to market your law firm – remain relevant and effectively reach out to potential clients, regardless of the specialty of law in which a business operates.

 

Have a Website and Keep it Relevant

It should go without saying that all businesses require a website. The internet is the first place that new clients look, both corporate and individual, to find a law firm. Having a website is good for local SEO and search engines list locations based on public data. However, it’s just as relevant to keep a website up to date. A new theme or design may be required every few years based on modern trends. In the last ten years, website design concept has evolved to include mobile connectivity – the ability to adapt to the device on which the user is presently browsing the web. Other more recent trends include UI (User Interface) which concerns the ease of navigation and UX (User eXperience) which looks at the overall experience of using a website. Poor or outdated website design reflects negatively on businesses that fail to keep up to date with trends.

 

Use Authoritative Content

The term “content is king” has always been true of social media marketing. In 2019, major changes to the algorithms of the major search engines means law and other businesses can no longer afford to see content creation and curation as a frivolous expense or an optional extra. Content may be videos, business blog articles, newsletters, opinions written by professionals on regulatory change and anything else that viewers may wish to consume.

There are multiple benefits to having a content strategy:

• It’s good for SEO (search engine optimization) visibility on search engines
• The business can position itself as a “thought leader” (an expert in the field and a valuable resource)
• When content is shareable, it becomes part of a marketing campaign where social media users will share articles of interest to friends and colleagues

It’s no longer optional, or a frivolous and unnecessary expenditure for many businesses, but a vital part of a marketing strategy, to produce regular authoritative content. Clients will expect to see your thoughts and analyses.

 

Become a Social Media Master

For maximum exposure, a law firm needs to reach out to potential clients on as many platforms as possible. The term “social media” is perhaps a little outdated as the major sites: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and even Instagram are ways in which a law firm may connect with clients and potential clients. Content strategy becomes easier to share when they are posted to various social media platforms. Plus, mobile devices such as smartphones are rapidly overtaking the laptop and the desktop computer as web research implements. It’s easier to carry a smartphone and therefore facilitates communication and web research than carrying a larger device. The more shares that a piece of content has, and the greater the social media presence, the easier it will be for potential clients to find your law firm.

 

Digital Ad Campaigns

Having a good website and keeping track of social media is useful for inbound marketing (providing content for people to find and approach you). But your law firm will need to be far more active in reaching out to new clients. That’s why you will need local SEO driven ad campaigns to reach out to new clients. Passive advertising will only get you so far. Target ads to specific keywords and to your local area – either the city or the nearest counties within the state. There are many ways you can do this: through listed advertisements on search engines, buying advertising space on social media such as Facebook and LinkedIn, through ad clicks on affiliate websites, and advertorial type content on paid blogs.

 

Come back to the blog for How to Market Your Law Firm Part 2!