In today’s fast-paced digital environment, digital marketing for law firms has become a rising trend and necessary activity to undertake. A strong website, active social media accounts, and efficient advertising are just a few of the components needed to promote a legal business online effectively. As you draw interested search engine users to your business, high-quality content will be the essential factor that generates leads.
Why do Law Firms Need to Employ Digital Marketing?
Clients are increasingly using Google or other search engines to find trustworthy law firms. Gone are the days when customers look to roadside banners or phone books for the contacts of lawyers. You must create a successful Internet marketing strategy to see favorable results and ensure that you can compete with other law firms.
Devising a comprehensive digital marketing strategy for your law firm will also help you more effectively target a certain audience group, which is another motivation. Perhaps your firm caters to high-profile, wealthy clients. Or perhaps championing the underdogs and giving a voice to the voiceless is more in line with your firm’s values. Whatever the case, crafting out your niche and conveying it on digital media channels through tailored messaging is the key to reaching your target customer base.
With traditional marketing, a potential client must be at the appropriate time and place for them to notice and respond to your message. With social media marketing, you have a lot more control over these factors. You can identify a particular audience segment that is relevant to your field of expertise and target them using tailored messaging.
Lastly, with engaging digital marketing content and a consistent posting frequency, you can gradually improve your search engine rankings over time. As you rank higher on the search engine results page, you’re likely to generate more business leads as well.
Here are 8 key, tried-and-tested strategies for you to employ in your law firm.
Build a Great Website
As a large portion of your business is derived from local clients, law firms must build formidable websites to compete in the legal industry. The cornerstone of your Internet marketing strategy is your website. It’s where you’ll post high-quality material for your present and new customers there as well as basic information about your business.
Your website should accurately reflect your law firm, its practices, and its values. Your website can also serve other purposes, such as providing free online information (but not legal advice) to address frequently asked legal problems in your industry or region. Your credibility as a knowledgeable authority on legal matters will grow as a result, potentially bringing in more clients.
Devise a Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Strategy
The technique of employing the appropriate language and internet tactics to appear higher on search engine results pages is known as search engine optimization (SEO). Law firms can benefit greatly from SEO if they adhere to procedures like:
- Targeting regional keywords. Using local keywords will increase your visibility and the likelihood that you’ll draw customers as prospective clients search for pertinent local topics and content.
- Sort your website by category. Making your website categorizable makes it simpler for users to find the pages they’re looking for. This is crucial for law firms that provide a variety of services so that clients can quickly find the legal topic that concerns them.
Publicize Awards and Client Testimonials
Highlighting any awards your firm has received can help you garner instant credibility in your field. Including text alone is alright (and great for SEO), but as many are visual learners, it may be more compelling to include logos of pictures of the awards and trophies themselves on your website and LinkedIn pages.
Showing off stellar reviews and testimonials provided by past clients is absolutely essential. Whether you decide to dedicate a separate page for client testimonials, or showcase this upfront on the landing page of your website, ensure that they are easy to read and displayed in an eye-catching manner.
If you want to go even further, we recommend creating several video testimonials to publish on your website and social media accounts. As they inject a human feel into them, they are likely to be perceived as more authentic and less manufactured, making the content more compelling and convincing. You can hire a digital marketing company for their video production services if you want your videos to have a professional feel.
Maintain a Relevant Blog
You can share about any charity or community events that you sponsored or participated in on your blog, using it as a PR platform. Customers appreciate it when businesses are visible in their community. Blogging regularly also promotes brand recognition.
In addition to discussing legal matters or your own practice, you can demonstrate to prospective clients that you are up to speed by sharing and commenting on industry-related news. A blog is a great place to post images, videos, and other multimedia that will keep people returning to your website and maintaining their interest.
Practice Social Listening
When people are discussing your business or your area of expertise on social media, that is the best time to make your presence known. When discussions on social media that affect your firm are taking place, social listening tools are your eyes and ears on the ground.
Brand listening is one of the more important uses of social media for law firms. To find information and conversations related to your company, you can search for branded keywords on your social media platforms. Doing so can enable you to learn more about how people perceive your company and what sentiments they may have toward the quality of your services.
Practicing social listening doesn’t just stop at learning more about your firm’s reputation. It’s also a great practice to keep up-to-date with the latest legal trends and perspectives, which can enable your firm to update its content to stay relevant in the ever-changing societal landscape.
Interact with Your Followers
Communication is a two-way street, and digital marketing platforms enable you to connect with your audience on either a casual or professional level. Moreover, in this digital age, customers depend heavily on social media as a tool for interacting with brands
Past research has shown that over half of customers utilize social media to ask questions about specific products or services the firm offers
It is hence critical to put frequently asked questions (FAQs) on your company’s website, and actively respond to questions you may receive on your social media channels. Providing excellent customer service begins with answering questions from prospective clients. Showing initiative at being proactive to answer queries reflects well on your brand as well.
Humanize Your Brand
It’s not easy to stand out in a sea of competitors in today’s internet age. One way to make your mark amongst your competitors is to humanize your brand by telling your brand story. People relate to real-life stories and what your firm stands for, beyond the services it provides.
By using social media to convey the human aspect of your brand, you’ll be able to better connect with your audience by forging emotional bonds. This is the way to garner their respect and loyalty over time.
This can be done by featuring your staff members and providing more information about their backgrounds and personalities on platforms like LinkedIn. You can also celebrate firm-level or individual-level achievements by posting about celebratory activities or awards on social media. Such initiatives can give your brand a human face.
Consider Engaging a Professional Digital Marketing Agency
While social media is an open space for anyone to participate in, the reality is that making your mark as a brand requires hard work, effort, and a lot of strategic planning. It may be worthwhile engaging a digital marketing agency that can truly understand your firm’s needs and deliver results through high-quality content that will attract your core target group.
If you’re having trouble getting started with digital media marketing, or if you want to invest in a professional team to work out the details, our specialists at FMO Media are here to help. We’ve served hundreds of firms and individuals who have benefited from our expertise in content, branding, photography, videography, website design, SEO, and much more. Contact us today if you’re interested in kickstarting the digital marketing process for your law firm!
