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Legal marketing is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. The tactics employed by corporate law firms with marketing departments at their disposal are not going to be as effective (or realistic) for smaller law firms. We asked marketing professionals from some of the best legal marketing agencies to share their top ideas to drive client leads to small law firms.
Below, we’ve narrowed down the responses to the most effective marketing strategies for small law firms. Think we missed something? Leave us a comment.
“Niche down,” says Lindsey Busfield, VP at Optimize My Firm. “While you might not be able to go toe-to-toe with the Goliaths in your area, you might find success if you niche down. This is especially true if you are involved in a segment of the community that is vulnerable – like bicyclists or runners (pedestrians). If you can niche down and become the go-to-lawyer for those markets, you can naturally get leads from your involvement in those groups.”
This isn’t new information. Lawyers have been told to “specialize” since the “general practitioner” model went the wayside. However, the degree of “niche” has been elevated. Ten years ago, a lawyer could niche down into just practicing criminal defense or personal injury. Today, to truly be “niched down” a lawyer needs to find their ideal client and build a practice for them.
For example, we recently interviewed a plaintiff’s personal injury attorney who only handles cases related to train injuries. If your firm practices family law, consider whether you want to specialize in high-net-worth individuals or only representing men or women. You get the idea. Review your practice and determine which type of cases you’re best prepared to handle and who your ideal client is and niche down.
“A broader marketing approach means competing in a crowded marketplace, whereas a narrower, targeted approach allows you to spend your marketing budget on attracting and converting highly qualified leads, resulting in a better return on your investment than scattershot marketing tactics,” says Sasha Berson, chief growth officer of Grow Law Firm. “Keep in mind that prospective clients are more likely to work with specialists who understand their unique challenges, and you should market yourself as such.”
Plus, Berson went on to share that using specific keywords to match user intent is the key to ranking on Google. “That’s why you need to double down on defining your niche since it will inform much of your marketing strategy – what the best channels are, which keywords yield the highest ROI, and so on.”
Your niche will also help to inform your content strategy. By having a narrow niche, you’ll be able to focus your content to better reach your audience. “The key is to answer the questions your potential clients are already asking,” says Darin Swayne, CEO of Advantage Attorney. “This not only helps you get found online but also builds trust by showing you’re an expert in the field.”
Swayne recommends sharing blog posts, videos and downloadable guides that address those questions your clients are asking.
When looking at your budget, a small law firm may mistakenly short-change the website development. In the long run, this may end up costing the firm more.
“A well-designed site will need less technical support over time, keeping your funds down in the long run,” says Andrew Olesko, vice president and web director of PaperStreet Website Design and Marketing. “Low-cost sites can cause a host of problems (beyond just cheap or overused aesthetics). The site may simply crash or the theme is discontinued and you’re forced to redesign anyway.”
In today’s world, your website is often your new storefront. Be sure to invest the money necessary to present the best first impression to your clients. Check out our article with some of the best law firm website designs (and the tactics that make them successful).
“Remember, a large number of people find legal counsel through online searches, so investing in a quality website that highlights your niche practice will benefit your firm,” Berson says.
Beyond the aesthetics of your website, this means investing in the content you’re presenting on your website to ensure these consumers are finding your user-friendly and visually-appealing website.
“I strongly believe that search engine optimization (SEO) is the highest ROI marketing strategy for many smaller firms,” says Nancy Rapp, the client relations manager for PaperStreet Web Design and Marketing. “A well-crafted SEO campaign is multi-faceted – working on your site’s content, the technical components of your site and working on and off-site to build your website’s domain authority.”
With this big-picture approach to your website creation and maintenance your firm is more likely to attract and convert more clients. Clients need to be able to find you on Google and then find the information they’re looking for to make a decision to retain your services.
One of the great benefits of investing in your website through SEO is how measurable the results are, according to Rapp. “You can get an in-depth view of how your campaign is performing versus other less tangible strategies like social media. With tools like Google Analytics (and others), attorneys can measure their return on investment and analyze if it’s truly bringing in more traffic, if the traffic is going to intended pages, and whether those pages are converting the site visitors.”
“Measuring an SEO campaign’s success leaves little room for ambiguity,” Rapps adds.
As mentioned above, building the website and the content is only part of the SEO puzzle. One of the most overlooked aspects of SEO is the off-site work to build the strength of your website (and potentially draw in more clients).
“Simply having an optimized Google My Business profile can bring you more clients from your city or state,” Berson says.
The Google My Business profile (with all the right info – address, phone number, hours, services, etc.) will help make sure that your law firm shows up when people in your area search for legal help. “This update to your profile along with a sprinkling of location-specific keywords in your site will help to boost your ranking in local search results,” says Swayne.
Beyond Google My Business, law firm’s should strive to register on all relevant lawyer directories. “When it comes to Google search results, directories tend to dominate,” Berson says. “This is mainly because they already have a strong SEO presence. Besides Google My Business, I’d recommend creating listings on Findlaw, Avvo, Justia, Yelp, HG.org, and the Yellow Pages.”
When signing up for these directories, be sure to keep your information consistent. This will tell the search engines that each listing is the same firm. “At the end of the day, having relevant, accurate information about your firm online can only benefit you.”
Consumers over the years have expressed that one of the fallbacks they rely on when choosing a provider is client reviews and testimonials. “People want to know they’re in good hands, so make sure to highlight client testimonials and case studies on your website, social media and in your Google My Business profile,” says Swayne. “Real-life success stories where you’ve made a difference can be a game-changer in convincing someone to reach out. It’s all about showing that you’ve got a track record of winning cases similar to what they’re dealing with.”
“Positive client reviews will also improve your local search rankings,” says Berson.
Your goal with most marketing is to get your name out there so if a client needs your services, you are the top-of-mind lawyer.
Over and over, studies have shown that a strong and creative logo can evoke an emotional response with a potential client, laying the foundation for trust. “Creative logos – especially ones that incorporate your firm’s history or personality – can be worthwhile marketing investments for a smaller firm,” says Elyssa Helfman, the creative director of Paperstreet Website Design and Marketing.
This is another area of your marketing where you can really drill down into your niche practice to reach your ideal client and evoke that emotional connection with your law firm. Utilizing a creative logo that speaks to their needs will be more impactful.
Once you have that memorable logo, be sure to use it consistently in your business cards, office memorabilia, your social media channels and most importantly, your website. “The presence of that logo will become your brand identity and set you apart from your competitors,” Helfman added.
Building a brand for your firm goes well beyond the creation of a firm logo. That is just the start. Your firm’s brand is the identity of your practice. The logo will be a great starting point that will hopefully speak to the brand of your firm.
“Brand building is ongoing,” says Sasha Berson, chief growth officer of Grow Law Firm.
For a small law firm this means you’ll have to do a lot of legwork to get your name to carry weight in the competitive legal marketplace. “To achieve increased customer acquisition through brand recognition, you need to have a consistent tone and marketing campaign that builds trust. Then if you can cultivate an image of stability and your services substantiate your marketing claims, you’ll slowly build name recognition.”
One of the best ways to build name recognition (particularly within your niche of prospective clients) is to get out of the office and into the community.
If you can host an event or fundraiser that relates in some way to your ideal client base or your industry, do it. This will of course be easier for certain practices.
For those who aren’t able to host fundraisers that directly correlate with their ideal client, you can still get out in the community (where your clients live) with a cause that’s important to you and your firm.
“These types of events will allow you to get organic press and backlinks (generally more powerful backlinks than you could ever purchase) and it will contribute to your brand awareness and goodwill within the community,” says Busfield.
We hope this article has given you some new ideas or at least new perspectives so you can take the steps needed to bring your law firm’s marketing strategy to the next level. No matter what stage your firm is at, you can always take a step back and assess whether your practice is working for you. If not, it may be time to shake things up and refocus to bring in the clients you need.
Happy marketing!
Attorney at Law Magazine is a national legal publication, publishing content for and about private practice attorneys as well as resources for legal consumers. The staff at Attorney at Law Magazine interview attorneys as well as other industry professionals to provide educational content as well as to highlight the individuals and firms driving success in the legal industry.
