Marketing frills sacrifice honesty for followings and conversions. Today’s marketers push limits- adopting overly ‘salesy’ language. Some businesses can lose credibility over this kind of content.
That’s why law firms keep off aggressive marketing campaigns. Words and impressions are serious business in the legal fraternity. Many law firms stick to referrals instead. They are more honest and trustworthy.
But the legal market is crowded. Referrals won’t suffice in the stiffly competitive arena. There are honest, tried tactics law firms unafraid to step out can employ. So which techniques should your law firm include in your marketing strategy? We’ll discuss 5 of the best here.
Does My Law Firm Need Marketing?
The quick answer is –Yes! Marketing allows you to cast your nets wider. You only have to know what to say. Most importantly, you have to coin the message around the specifics of what your firm stands for.
People detest quacks. Nobody wants to hire a lawyer who loses most of their cases. It’s worse when people can’t trust you to give sound advice. So your message has to profess reliability, security, and professionalism wherever it’s seen.
The 5 Essential Steps to Facilitating Growth through Marketing
The ‘how to grow’ question affects all law firms. For most of them, the challenges that stunt growth can be solved or reduced through marketing. Here’s how you can ride on marketing to grow your firm.
1. Understand and Own your Brand
It’s easy to get lost in the sea of businesses thronging a single marketplace. That’s why branding is important. The simple definition of branding is a name and logo that distinguishes your firm from others.
Branding in today’s global village goes beyond logos and names. It breaks down to the following aspects.
- A set of beliefs that prospects hold about your firm.
This could be the services you choose (like criminal law, personal injury, family law, etc.) or a certain track record that precedes you. - The promise you make to prospects
Many businesses often hang themselves with this one. It forms the basis of what clients expect from you. They will call you out the moment you don’t keep our promise. So only promise what you can deliver. - Aspects that are unique to you.
This could be a unique way of service delivery for some. For others, it’s delivering what you swore you would when you were in law school, for example, going out of your way to help specific people groups.
2. Engage in Continuous Lead Generation
Content is the gist of online marketing. But rarely do people watch or read entire content pages. Blame the 8 seconds long attention spans!
Sadly, lead generation hinges on content. Leads are potential clients or prospects. Lead generation is about acquiring new leads. Marketers consciously take new leads through sales funnels to turn them from potential clients to actual clients.
You can’t afford poorly done content. Your lead generation depends on it. Telling stories, sharing helpful written and info-graphics content is prevalent and works. Just study your audience needs to make it worthwhile. Follow these sales funnel steps to generate leads.
- Awareness: Make them know you exist and tell them what you’re offering.
- Interest: Get them interested. You must have a hook(subtle call to action) on your website’s landing page
- Decision: Get them to find out more about you or decide to enlist your services. You must make a believable case for why your services are beneficial to them.
- Action: Which ultimate action do you want them to make? Share their contact info, pay for a service, sign up for newsletters, etc.
3. Have a Website Designed for Great UX
94% of consumers say company websites must be easy to navigate for them to return or engage. It makes sense, then, that a hard-to-navigate website sends leads to the competition.
Things online are supposed to be easier, faster, and more fun. A hard-to-navigate website beats the essence of having one in the first place.
Present your services in an orderly and easy-to-understand format. Big words make you look good in court. Online, big words are a ticket for losing prospects. Ensure you give the following info plainly:
- Law firm specialization
- Locations where you serve
- Contact information
4. Use Smart SEO Practices
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) (SEO) helps businesses to appear in people’s searches on Google or other internet sites.
A Google My Business Page leverages SEO to put your business at the top of search results. It also includes your contact info and location. Sign up for one to improve your SEO ranking. Remember to do these things when filling it out.
- Include a detailed description of your firm and all the services you provide
- First impressions are important. Upload many quality photos
- Choose the categories that fit your firm’s specifications
- Add a local phone number
- Add a link to your website
- Include your address in the same format and order as your website
- Share accurate and up-to-date info
5. Develop Marketing Systems That Work for Your Firm.
Experts predict that the legal marketplace size will grow into a $767.1 billion size market this year. So it’s hardly the time to slack in marketing your firm.
This calls for a pursuit of higher marketing goals. However, it’s dangerous to drop what you know works for something new. If you’re riding high on referrals, don’t drop them for social media. If social media has been working out, don’t drop it for another method. The idea is to pursue complementary marketing.
It may be time to measure your marketing strategies too. Referrals are easier to calculate. People rarely ask for rewards to refer you to someone else. Social media and paid marketing are different. Here are 3 ways to measure your current paid marketing campaigns. The results will help you decide the way forward.
- ROI. Return on Investment measures how much every cent you spent brought in. For example, if you spent $500 on a campaign that brought in $1000, your ROI is $500.
- Cost Per Lead. Cost per Lead measures the effects of your lead generation. If you get 5 clients from 5 leads on a $500 budget, your leads cost $100 each.
- Conversion Rate. This is measured in percentage. It tells you the percentage of visitors to your social sites who became leads or clients. A campaign that brought in 1000 visitors from which you got 10 leads has a 1% conversion rate.
Who We Are
At Consultwebs, we have a 2-decade track record of providing measurable online marketing strategies for law firms. Contact us today to get any of our services, and we’ll be happy to help.
