Lawyers have impressive knowledge and skills under their belts, but in today’s digital world, they need one more thing to succeed — marketing. Businesses of all sizes and across industries rely on online marketing strategies to attract and retain legal clients and grow. However, many of them fail in their efforts because they forget to keep track of the trends.
Lawyer marketing is continually evolving. What was effective before may not work anymore. If you want to grow your business next year, you need to know what clients seek right now and meet their needs accordingly. We wrote this article to help you cut out the guesswork and go for strategies that work with current lawyer marketing trends.
Content is still a significant part of marketing strategies
Creating quality content has still proven to be a great way to generate new legal clients for law firms in 2023. Great content helps you show your expertise and experience in legal issues and establish your firm as an authority in your law practice areas.
Content creation remains a top priority for 80% of marketers, and law firms can use it for their lead generation strategies for several reasons. First and foremost, prospective clients will most likely research online to find answers to their legal issues. If you have an article or video that answers their questions, people are more likely to trust you and use your services.
Moreover, search engines like Google prioritize websites that produce quality and relevant content. When you consistently create good blogs, you are more likely to end up higher in online search results. A better position on search engines will drive organic traffic to your website and potentially convert more new clients.
However, as content marketing is not new and there are tons of legal content online, you may need to be more deliberate in your strategy and the content you create. You can achieve this by setting up a clear goal for your marketing efforts. For instance, is your primary aspiration to attract high-quality clients or increase your online presence generally?
Whatever your short-term and long-term goals are, emphasize creating helpful, thorough, and persuasive content. If your content shows your expertise, it will position you as a go-to expert in your niche.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is as important as ever for online growth
Have you heard of law firm SEO? The concept simply represents optimizing your website to rank high on the search engine result page (SERP). A study shows that website clickthrough rates vary sharply based on their position on the SERP. The first result can get as much as 36.4% of all clicks, the third 9.5%, and the tenth as low as 2.2%.
Investing in a law firm’s SEO strategy is ultimately about appearing on the first page of Google and other search engines when potential clients search for services you provide. The closer you get to the top result, the better.
SEO is still attractive in lawyer marketing for several reasons. Legal keywords are outrageously high, sometimes as high as $500-$1000. So, as a small law firm or solo practitioner, you may not be able to compete with giant law firms for top keywords in Google ads. However, with SEO, you can start from where you are and compound your effort as time goes on.
Search engine optimization centers on consistently creating quality content around keywords that your potential clients use when searching for the services you provide. However, consider using other on-page optimization tactics for better outcomes, such as off-page optimization and technical SEO.
Video is a new form of content people seek across industries
If you’ve never used videos for your law firm’s marketing strategy, it may be time to do so. Video marketing has been thriving recently, and many companies across industries use it to build awareness, drive engagement, and generate new leads.
It all started when people began producing and uploading short personal videos across social media platforms, from more traditional ones like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to modern ones like TikTok. Stories, Reels, Shorts, and other forms of video content became highly popular for ease of viewing and receiving information. Businesses decided to explore this potential for attracting and engaging customers.
Available facts support this growing trend. A report revealed that 87% of video marketers think video brings back a positive return on investment (ROI). For 86% of them, video has been an effective lead generation method.
The key to creating video content is to make it engaging. Viewers seek wit and humor first and foremost. Therefore, invest in getting a professionally shot video or quality tools to do it yourself. You want videos that present a good image of your law firm.
Here are some ideas on the type of content you can share with videos:
- Client testimonials or reviews
- Case studies
- Answers to questions people have on legal issues
- Explainer videos that simplify complex legal terms
- Legal opinions on trending topics
You can also add videos to your website. Posting a video on your homepage is a great way to engage website visitors and make your firm relatable by showing your humane side.
Reviews help build trust with prospective and first-time customers
People buy from those they trust. However, building interest and trust with customers is not an easy task. How do you get people who may have never heard of you to rely on you to resolve their often life-altering legal issues?
You can do so by providing unbiased opinions of past clients. Reviews are an excellent way to get potential clients to trust you even before getting to know you. Studies show that as high as 84% of people read and trust online reviews when deciding whether to make a purchase or not. Becoming proactive about getting reviews from your past clients will help you tap into an already established consumer habit.
Consumers, including legal consumers, want to know what your past clients think about your law firm before using your services. Popular listing sites like Google My Business, Bing Places, Avvo, Yelp, and Facebook are top places you can use to maintain a solid online presence and display reviews from past clients.
If you aren’t getting enough reviews from past clients, it may be because you’re not asking. Design a process that will allow you to ask satisfied clients to drop a review as soon as you close their case and make it easy for them to do so. You may see an increase in visits sooner than you think.
Social media is a powerful tool for lawyer marketing
In 2023, social media still played a significant role in people’s everyday lives. If your law firm is not using social media platforms to promote its services and reach prospective clients, it’s missing out a lot.
Your law firm should have a social media marketing strategy to engage with prospective clients, build brand awareness, and increase brand loyalty. However, each social media platform works differently, and you should pick the one that works best for your law firm. For instance, if most of your clients are businesses, LinkedIn is likely your best bet. On the other hand, a personal injury attorney may not have much success on LinkedIn.
One law firm social media platform you should also consider is TikTok. As one of the most downloaded apps with exponential growth, TikTok may be your opportunity to explore innovative, non-traditional ways of marketing your law firm.
TikTok may have a reputation as “Gen Z’s social media platform,” but 53% of its users in the U.S are 30 years and above. Things are changing, and getting on TikTok could become a significant lead generation pipeline, especially as many law firms are yet to embrace it.
Grow your law firm with marketing that works
Implementing effective legal marketing strategies requires time and effort you may not have. An expert in lawyer marketing can help you achieve the best results without investing your resources in vain.
Scorpion helps small legal businesses and solo practitioners generate leads consistently and grow their practice through effective marketing strategies.
We support you with expert advice and technology for consistent and visible growth. Contact us today to learn more about our lawyer marketing solutions.