Law Firm Marketing: Using Data to Help Your Law Firm Thrive

What’s the low-hanging fruit in law firm marketing? What steps can your firm take right now to reach more potential clients?

While marketing strategy is a near infinite conversation, law firm marketing strategies don’t have to be complicated. There are a few simple steps you can take to increase your firm’s exposure fast.

Only last month, 114,000 Americans typed “lawyers near me” into the Google search bar. Why not have a few of these searchers find you?

Here’s a quick list of easily implementable strategies that will help your firm grow its piece of market share.

Use What Google Gives You, It’s Free

Before you take any of the other recommended steps, take a look at your Google listing.

• Keep it up to date: ranking near the top in Google search results is a no-brainer for more traffic and more calls. Keep your listing up to date with contact info, physical location, hours of operation, and photos. Doing so will let Google understand your legitimacy and bump up your listing. 
• Reviews matter: reviews let Google know you’re still alive and thriving. Google will boost you up or down the search rankings based on your reviews and your activity responding to them. Always thank positive reviewers and pursue reasonable private dialogue with negative reviewers.

Clarity is King

Make sure your Google listing and landing page explain exactly who you are and what you do. No one wants an unorganized lawyer. If your website doesn’t inspire confidence, people won’t stick around long. In fact, as a visual designer, you have about 50 milliseconds to make your case

Have a clean website. Lawyers are problem solvers. You get paid to solve difficult problems and simplify lives. A good website should reflect your abilities. If a potential client’s first reaction to your website is confusion, it’ll likely be a short visit, with no follow-up.

Tip: use Google Analytics. It will help you understand how people are interacting with your site. It’s also free!

You Are Unique, Make Sure That Comes Through

We all know that lawyer-client relations are special. Lawyers deal with highly confidential and highly personal information. Lawyers learn things about their clients that family members may not even know. Trust and confidence in the relationship are essential. Law firm marketing needs to reflect this.

Given the importance of trust, it’s not surprising that Google search analysis shows a high search volume for lawyers with a specific gender, ethnic, and cultural background. People want to know that their lawyer understands their particular problems and their particular background. They want a lawyer they can communicate with. One who understands their experiences.

Including a bio page with each attorney’s photo and personal background can be an effective way of showing clients that you’ll be able to work with them.

This point is especially relevant for small and medium firms looking for a competitive edge with some of the bigger players.

BBB Rating

Better Business Bureau ratings matter. While keeping up with ratings on Google and Facebook is important, it’s also worth thinking about getting your firm registered with the BBB. The BBB is a consumer mechanism for keeping up with a company’s reputation. 

Since choosing a lawyer is a big decision, firms should consider registering with the Better Business Bureau. It’s an additional consumer resource beyond Google and Facebook that can give potential clients the necessary confidence to reach out.

Consider a Marketing Advisor

A marketing advisor can help you set out clear marketing goals with measurable performance indicators. This allows you to know if your marketing strategy is working and if change is necessary. 

Outsourcing your marketing is a simple way to maximize exposure. Just make sure you hire someone with a proven track record and knowledge in the field.

Take Advantage of Emerging Media

Lawyers can sometimes be slow to adopt new and emerging technologies to market their services. This is a huge advantage for you, as a forward-facing legal professional. Using platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to create value-added and entertaining content can do wonders for your firm’s public exposure.

Take, for instance, Erika Kullberg, whose viral TikTok content, in which she explains the terms and conditions of various products and services, has earned her a massive following. At the time of writing, Erika has 3.4 million Instagram followers and 48 million ‘Likes’ on TikTok. 

Bottom Line

Law firm marketing, like all marketing, depends on a clear strategy with goals and measurable indicators. Online marketing for lawyers means good exposure, clarity, and specialization.

So, keep up to date online, prioritize simplification and clarity, and make sure potential clients know who you are.

One concrete way to nicely express your firm’s character is a sharp logo. Check out our post on legal logos for some ideas on that front.