Law firms who plan their campaigns or work with marketers that do are 356% more likely to report success. Do you have a plan for your law firm marketing strategy this year? You might struggle to reach and acquire new clients/cases without one.
Here are the six law firm marketing strategies you need for success. By learning how to market a law firm, you can reach more clients and improve your ROI. You could even position your firm as a leader in the industry.
Popular directories are dead and with fewer people talking to each other and reaching to their phone for help and seeking options for their needs, the digital era is taking on a whole new meaning in helping the modern consumer find and fulfil their wants quickly and effectively. Online channels help the modern consumer satisfy with information easily accessible at their fingertips and providing instant gratification, while the era of snap decision making continues to spread becoming a common way of life.
Don’t fall behind competing law firms by using outdated marketing strategies! Instead, get started with these tips for marketing a law firm today.
1. Search Engine Optimization (Responsible for 70% of Top Law Firms Growth, Lowest CAC)
Search engine optimization (SEO) can help your website rank higher on search engines like Google. The higher you rank, the more often clients will see your law firm. Each time prospective clients search for a law firm or lawyer, your website could appear.
Fact: Multiple studies have shown SEO to have a very high search intent with conversion rates as high as 50% (Due to the modern consumer going to Google, Yahoo or Bing to find an answer and wanting to purchase a product or a service. This could be purchasing a sneaker or looking for a law firm for legal services)
SEO can help you:
- Increase brand awareness and recognition
- Increase traffic to your website (with an average conversion rate of 8-30% this is the largest growth channel for the top law firms, yielding the lowest CAC (Cost to Acquire a Customer) while delivering the largest volume)
- Gather fresh leads and conversions
- Develop brand trust and loyalty
- Position you as a thought leader in the industry
- Improve your ROI (Average 24 months ROI on SEO is 2000-10,000% Per Month. This is not a typo)
Your clients are already using search engines to find law firms like yours. In fact, over 90% of activity online begin on a search engine. Over 70% of searchers don’t look beyond the first page of a search, though. The money and top cases are on the first page. With Thousands of keywords up for grabs the modern law firm marketing is continually evolving and becoming sophisticated, with the requirement for high-quality talent going up, law firm marketing engineers are becoming more common in this area.
If you’re not appearing on the first page, prospective clients might not see your website as an option and this will severely hamper your law firm marketing capability to deliver new cases growth.
A couple of years ago Google saw huge companies like Amazon starting to put massive budgets towards SEO to start taking market share in local markets (From small items to large equipment). This was a start and Google extrapolated this to go and take over multiple industries with no end in sight. This put a threat to the Google ecosystem as their competitors were using googles search engines to grow larger in size and revenue. This posed a huge threat, also at the same time Google also saw the small to medium business shrink or going out of business. So Google gave birth to Local SEO, so the small to medium guy like Lawyers, Medical professionals and just small to medium local businesses could compete and thrive. It is sad to say that many modern law firm marketing strategies do not incorporate this high return marketing mechanism, giving rise to law firm monopolies that are acquiring up all new cases, inherently shrinking the high potential law firms case traffic that could have been distributed. We also call this the knowing-doing gap, this has been talked about in the famous book of Jeffery Pfeffer.
Global SEO will allow you to reach prospective clients throughout the US. While Local SEO helps you get traffic and customers in your city or even 5-10 miles from your physical location. (This means all firms can get a fair share and thrive. This is ideal, but the fact of the matter is 8/10 firms are not optimized and the successful ones don’t share their success secrets)
For acquiring more cases organically marketing a law firm can be developed by using two separate SEO campaigns: global and local SEO.
Global SEO (Targeting USA) (40% of Law Firm Marketing Cases Growth)
First, take the time to understand who your customers are. If you’re trying to attract global USA clients, segment your broad audience into smaller groups. You can develop buyer personas based on:
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Behavior
- Interests
- Household income
- Marital status
- Buying habits
- The law services they need
For example, you might want to segment your auto accident clients and your divorce clients. Once you know who your clients are, you can create a dedicated marketing strategy for each one.
Start gathering keyword research using Google Trends, Keyword Planner, AHREFS and SEMRush. Then, create content for each target keyword. Have a single focus keyword for each blog post.
The focus keyword should appear in the URL, title, text, headers, and image alt text.
Local SEO (30% of Law Firm Marketing Cases Growth)
Local SEO allows you to focus on nearby clients.
For successful local SEO law firm marketing, start by updating your Google My Business listing. Update your listing with relevant information regarding your business. Make sure this information matches the contact information on any other online directories, too.
Ask your clients to post their reviews on your Google My Business listing. Happy reviews can help you attract more clients.
Then, post these reviews on your website.
With Googles algorithm becoming more sophisticated, Local SEO has started to become its own branch or sub-specialization, with deep process maps and execution workflows.
Create content using location-based keywords as well. Make sure to keep up-to-date with the latest SEO algorithm changes to avoid falling behind.
2. PPC Advertising (30% of Law Firm Marketing Cases Growth)
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising allows you to post text and digital ads on Google, websites on Google’s search network, and social media. When someone clicks on an ad, you’ll pay for that click. You can have your ads appear based on behavior, demographics, or keywords.
Consider using Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and LinkedIn to get started.
Geo-Targeting Ads
Geo-targeting ads appear in front of clients based on their location. For example, you can have ads appear when someone steps into a radius around your business location.
Geo-targeting ads can help you remain locally relevant.
When using law firm marketing strategies like geo-targeting, keep your budget in mind. Remember, you pay for click (or impression). Precise targeting can help you avoid wasteful clicks.
Social Media Ads
You can design ads for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other social media websites.
Make sure you know what social media platforms your target audience uses. Otherwise, you could waste time and money.
Create eye-catching, branded ads to draw people in. Use a strong call-to-action (CTA) to encourage them to contact you. Then, direct them to a landing page.
3. Content Marketing (Part of Global & Local SEO. 50-70% Cases Growth)
If you plan on using SEO as part of your law firm marketing strategy, you’ll need to create high-quality content. What information are your clients looking for? Answer their questions by creating:
- Blog posts
- e-Books
- Infographics
- Polls
- Quizzes
- Lists
End each piece of content with a strong CTA. For example, you can encourage people to contact you for more information.
You can also combine your content marketing and email marketing strategy. Offer readers a downloadable piece of content, like an e-Book, in exchange for their email. Then, use email marketing to keep them up-to-date.
4. Social Media Marketing (5-10% of Law Firm Marketing Cases Growth)
Social media can help you remain top-of-mind with your clients. Let them know when:
- You’re adding a new lawyer to your law firm
- You’ve posted a new blog post on your website
- Laws are changing
- Your law firm receives an award or accolade
Share your website content on social media. Then, use a strong CTA to encourage people to your website.
Start creating live videos on social media, too. About 66% of people will engage with a brand after watching a social media video.
5. Email Marketing (5% of Law Firm Marketing Cases Growth)
As you use these law firm marketing tips, don’t neglect the power of email marketing. Email marketing is cost-effective and easy to use.
Create an email drip campaign to keep people informed regarding your services. Send a weekly newsletter with your latest blog posts, too.
The next time someone needs your services, they’ll remember the last email they received and contact your law firm.
6. Web Design and Development (Helps with case booking conversions when the traffic comes)
Many of these law firm marketing strategies will struggle to work if you don’t have an eye-catching website. Update your website with the latest user experience (UX) design trends. UX design ensures your website is easy to use and navigate.
Improving the UX on your website could yield conversion rates up to 400%.
Make sure your site is mobile-optimized and fast, too. Otherwise, your SEO ranking will suffer.
Add conversion opportunities to your website. For example, you can add a button to the top of the navigation bar that directs them to a form.
Consider adding behavior-based pop-ups as well. When someone leaves, a pop-up can appear, prompting them to contact you. A chatbot can keep people engaged on your site, too.
How to Market a Law Firm: 6 Strategies for Success
Don’t fall behind the competition! Instead, learn how to market a law firm using these six tips. With these law firm marketing strategies, you can attract more clients than ever before!
Not sure where to start with your law firm marketing strategy? We’re here to help.
Contact us to start developing your law firm marketing strategies today.
