In today’s ever-changing world, clients come in all shapes and sizes. Thanks to the internet, no matter what kind of legal services you provide, there’s a way for you to reach consumers who would have never considered using your services. The key is to find the right marketing mix that drives registrations and revenue while keeping your costs low and allowing you to grow your practice.
Set Up A Website
The first step in marketing your law firm is to set up a website. Having a presence on the internet means you’ll be accessible to anyone who’s searching for legal services, which in turn means you’ll be able to drive traffic and potential clients your way. There are a variety of free platforms like WordPress, which can be easily managed by anyone with basic knowledge of HTML.
A website is just the beginning. Once you have one, you can use online tools to find and analyze your website’s traffic to determine what’s working and what needs to be changed. Google Analytics is a free tool that provides a variety of stats about your site’s traffic, including traffic from social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
Create Social Media Accounts
If you have a Facebook account, you already have a social media platform available to you. If you decide to market your law firm on social media, you can use accounts like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to reach potential clients. As with any form of marketing, you can use social media to follow and connect with people who are similar to your target audience.
On Facebook, for example, you can connect with many different types of audiences using niche groups. For instance, you can join the “Small Business Owners in South Florida” group to connect with other businesses in the area who are also looking for legal help. You can also use your Facebook account to promote your practice by sharing relevant content like blogs and white papers about legal issues and proceedings as well as client stories from your practice area. Finally, you can use the platform to engage with clients via online chats and surveys to better understand their needs.
Create Email Marketing
Analogies are sometimes hard to come by in digital marketing, but email marketing is often referred to as “digital hand-delivery” due to its direct interaction with consumers. The key distinction is that email marketing allows you to target individuals based on their interests, while traditional advertising usually targets groups of people. For instance, if you are trying to sell a sofa, you might choose to advertise on Craigslist or Facebook groups for people who are looking for sofas.
While email marketing doesn’t replace traditional advertising, it can be a useful tool for connecting with consumers. You can use tools like MailChimp and Constant Contact to easily send emails to existing and potential clients. Additionally, you can use the platform to collect emails and contact information from interested parties and follow up with telemarketing or face-to-face meetings to make sales.
Guest Blogging
A legal blogger is someone who regularly writes about legal topics for the general public. A popular way to generate traffic is to write and edit a blog about legal issues and events. Each post will then become available for free on your website. Guest blogging is also a useful tool for establishing your expertise and connecting with potential clients.
When you write a guest blog post for another site, you are essentially giving that site free advertising in exchange for a link back to your website. You can choose the topics you want to write about and schedule posts on a regular basis. Once you have established a track record, you can become more selective about the offers you accept.
Use Online Tools To Identify Relevant Issues
With the increasing number of lawsuits and cases filed each year, it is essential that lawyers track and analyze case law and statutes to stay abreast of the latest developments. A number of helpful tools allow lawyers to sort through case law and statutes rapidly and efficiently. LexisNexis is one of the most widely used legal research tools, and LexiPrep is a desktop version that provides similar features.
Although these tools can be useful for keeping track of case law and statutes, you should never rely solely on them. Instead, read the opinions themselves to get a full sense of how the court ruled and the reasoning behind their decision.
Find Your Niche
When selecting topics for your blog, consider the interests and needs of your target audience. If your law firm focuses on divorce proceedings, for example, you might want to create a blog around that topic. By establishing a blog on this specific issue, you can then use the site to build out a resource center for your clients. Additionally, you can use the site to establish yourself as an expert in the field, driving potential clients your way.
Curate Tricky Contracts
One of the main responsibilities of any legal secretary or employee is maintaining contracts for lawyers and firms. Since contracts can be complex and require a lot of careful consideration, it’s best to outsource this task to a freelance curator. While this task might seem menial, contracts take up a lot of lawyer’s time and can be used to generate more work. If you decide to use a freelance curator to manage your contracts, make sure to hire someone who’s familiar with legal jargon and the ins-and-outs of legal work. Additionally, make sure to have contracts reviewed by an attorney before they are signed.
Use Online Marketplaces To Identify Clients
A lot of law firms specialize in certain areas of law and don’t bother with others. If you identify a gap in your service portfolio, you can use online marketplaces to find clients. These are platforms like UpCounsel, which connect attorneys with clients who are looking for legal help. Additionally, these platforms allow you to search for attorneys by keywords and location to find the exact person or firm you’re looking for.
In some cases, lawyers might be hesitant to become involved in a case if they don’t have enough experience in that area. If you run a quick search on UpCounsel and get a list of attorneys who specialize in DWI or DUI, you can see the types of cases they are taking on. If you want to connect with an attorney who has extensive experience in the area, you can begin a trial attorney intake form to find the best fit.
While the above suggestions should get you started, this is just the beginning. Once you begin using online tools to market your law practice, you’ll be able to find new ways to reach potential clients and grow your practice.