Law firms are not charities, they are businesses. This is something that’s often overlooked by their clients. In order for a law firm to stay afloat, it needs to stay ahead of its competition and bring money in. In today’s highly digitized world, law firms, like all businesses, have to market themselves on the internet [and sometimes offline, through billboards and flyers].
There are lots of different law firms, all in competition with each other. This means that a law firm’s marketing needs to be effective and direct so that it can outshine its competition.
This article will explain a few marketing strategies that help lawyers to keep ahead of their competition:
Working for Their Clients
A lawyer that works hard, works for their clients and wins case after case will build a reputation for him or herself as someone who can be relied upon. According to one personal injury lawyer in Colorado, they work hard to protect the rights of their clients. They make this message clear on their website, which is how they stay ahead of their competition. Not all attorneys care about their clients enough to publish content like this. If you want your law firm to get customers, then make it clear that you care about your customers and want to see their cases succeed. This will incentivize doing business with you and will build trust.
SEO Marketing
SEO – short for search engine optimization – is one of the internet’s most effective ways of marketing. SEO increases a website’s organic traffic, by manipulating Google’s algorithm in order to rank it [the website] on Google’s front page. SEO marketing is a very effective way of staying ahead of one’s competition. There are many ways to optimize your website for SEO, from posting content-driven articles to correctly sizing images. While it is theoretically possible to manage your own SEO, it’s usually best to let an SEO agency do it for you.
Guest Posting
Guest posting is usually part of SEO marketing campaigns, although you can guest post without implementing other SEO strategies. Guest posting is when you post content on another person’s website and include a link in your article that links back to your website. When you are guest posting, it gives you the opportunity to advertise your expertise and show people how much you know. Guest posting is very effective when done right. Try to post on as many high-ranking websites as possible, like Forbes and Entrepreneur.
Media Advertising
Media advertising can be very effective on a small scale. While it is impractical to advertise yourself in the mainstream media [Fox News, CNN, etc], you can still market yourself very effectively by advertising yourself through smaller media outlets, like local radio stations. Advertising yourself in the media can bring a lot of attention to your firm. You might also benefit from collaborating with other businesses in your area, and marketing yourselves together. Another good way to market yourself locally is to sponsor athletes and local celebrities. You can also advertise yourself on local access television, although bear in mind that very few people actually watch television these days.
Social Media
Social media is a very effective way of marketing your firm, especially if you are a criminal lawyer. In recent years there has been a trend of criminal lawyers becoming ‘influencers’ and advertising themselves online. These ‘influencer lawyers’ post about cases that they have won and explain how they have won said cases. They also give tips and tricks to people involved in crime, explaining how they can avoid prosecution for offenses and not get caught. While this may be immoral, it is a very good way to advertise oneself.
Referrals
Referrals are a great way to market yourself by word of mouth. When dealing with clients, explain to them that you will give them money off or will even pay them to refer you to friends. Some lawyers give discounts of up to 10% to clients who refer them. Referrals are a great way to bring in new clients. You can also send out emails to old clients, asking them if they have anybody who might need your services. In addition, you should keep in touch and network with other lawyers specializing in different fields, who can refer people to you if they come across anybody in need of your services.
Video Marketing
If you have access to streaming services like YouTube, then you can market yourself there. Many lawyers find that they can bring in business by posting videos, showcasing their legal expertise. This works much in the same way as social media and guest posting. You become, in a sense, an influencer. People will look to you for advice, and people in your local area will come to you for legal representation. You can also advertise yourself on YouTube, through its advert feature. You do have to pay for this, but it can be very effective. Lots of businesses use it for targeted marketing.
Answering Questions
Another way that you can showcase your expertise and market your firm is to answer questions on websites like Reddit and Quora. On these websites, people ask questions related to the law on a daily basis. This gives you the opportunity to answer questions, then, at the end of your post, leave your contact information and a call to action. Answering questions can be very effective if you carefully think through your answers. If you post silly responses to questions, people will not take you seriously and won’t contact you.
Diversifying
If you want to bring in more customers, then you could diversify your expertise. Take some additional courses and learn about other areas of the law. Lawyers who specialize in multiple fields are in high demand. Diversifying your expertise can take some time but it is definitely worth it. You will need additional accreditations which you can achieve through the aforementioned courses. These accreditations bolster your portfolio and make you look like a powerhouse to clients.
If you want to stay on top of your competition, then you need to start marketing yourself more effectively. Follow this article’s guidance and you should have no problem doing that. Marketing doesn’t have to be difficult.
About the Author
Lewis Craig is a content writer who specializes in conceptual articles on the topic of business. He is currently employed at a digital marketing agency that provides lawyer SEO services to help lawyers grow their law practices.
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