For a practice as old as time, using online marketing to get newer client files might seem a little sacrilegious. However, with the saturation of internet into every walk of our life, it’s hard to deny the need for internet marketing to find newer clientele. This is especially true in the context of a service-oriented business such as a law firm.
Even though the Law School Admissions Council indicates a steadfast need for lawyers in the upcoming decade, several disciplines of law have faced significant stagnation due to the advancement of technology. Areas of practice such as compliance, due diligence, and legal research have been affected radically and are predicted to become obsolete in the approaching years, replaced by an interactive, precise and brisk AI-based technology.
In this world of fast-changing work and shifting legal needs, it can become increasingly difficult for law firms to obtain secure client files without the use of internet marketing. But, the question is how? Most legal professionals wonder as to the utility of online marketing to get viable clients. Hence, frequently raise questions such as: ‘Do people really look for lawyers online?’, ‘Is it really possible to establish credibility for one’s law practice with the use of social media?’, ‘Do people recognize my area of practice?’
I’ll let Google answer this questions for me – Search frequency for terms such as ‘lawyer’ and ‘legal advice’ measures up to 10,000 clicks per month with hundreds of people also searching for queries such as ‘find a lawyer’ and ‘legal services’ every month in Canada. Statistics from Google Consumer Survey, Nov 2013 also reflect that over 96% of individuals use the internet to look for legal advice.
These figures are a clear reflection of the fact that online marketing is crucial for law firms to expand their practice. With a smart and resourceful internet marketing strategy lawyers can not only get viable leads for their practice but also build an advantageous reputation among their target audiences.
To get you started, let’s take a closer look at the process of online marketing and how it helps your law firm actually find better leads:
Can I even get client files using online marketing?
After evaluating the above-mentioned statistics, one thing is quite evident. People are increasingly relying on search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo while seeking consultation for their legal problems. This implies that a large section of potential customers who need legal help are relying on the internet to find it.
Google Legal Services Study Sept 2013 also ascertained that up to 74% individuals visit a law firm’s website prior to taking action. Hence, your practice’s official website has a direct impact on how potential clients perceive your services and the ease with which they can contact your firm. Hence, to find viable client files on the internet, your legal practice not only needs to have an online presence but this presence needs to be an influential and credible one. This is where internet marketing steps in.
Similar to traditional marketing, online marketing aims to promote your services but exclusively through the medium of internet. An effective internet marketing strategy does utilize the corresponding 4 Ps of traditional marketing, namely, Product, Price, Place and Promotion. However, since the Place of execution for this strategy is the internet, the communication is much more transient, opportune and conscientious. An online marketing strategy uses a combination of different tools such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), social media marketing (SMM) and content marketing to target potential customers and distinguishes your business’s identity on the internet which in turn helps you get viable client files.
Online marketing is essentially imperative for service-based businesses such as law firms and healthcare institutions. This is because businesses like retail have an inherent capacity to attract customers due to the tangible nature of their product. A customer may stumble upon a grocery store while passing it by on the street or might consider purchasing an item of clothing predisposed to it due to a massive billboard. However, people seldom request legal consultation unless they absolutely need it. Hence, instead of customers finding their services, law firms need to reach the customers where they are and at the opportune time in which they need them.
Internet marketing enables your business to exactly do that. With the execution of a targeted and effective SEO strategy, digital marketers can help your law firm attain a higher ranking on Google. Additionally, the use of superior content collaterals for your social media platforms, blogs and website can add credibility to your brand and ensure that the potential leads perceive your services as trustworthy and efficient.
So, what are these components of an online marketing strategy? How can law firms promote their services without harming their reputation? Read on to find more:
Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization or SEO is an enigma to most business owners. This is why despite having some idea as to its importance and relevance, they don’t prioritize it as a marketing objective. But, the right SEO strategy is where it all starts. Why? The answer lies in the name itself. As the name suggests, search engine optimization is the process of optimizing your business’s website for the search engines, most prominently – Google, to find it more easily. The presence of your business online is demarcated by your website, your blogs and your social media platforms. A good SEO strategy aims to optimize or apply solutions to these portals that upgrade their positions with the search engines.
Here’s how it works:
Search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo are similar to extensive departmental stores such as Walmart. They stock up on every piece of ready-to-use products known to mankind. Among this vast surfeit of products, every manufacturer including you wants to make sure their product, which in your case might be a box of premium quality chocolate, is known to every customer who would consider purchasing it. So, what do you do to stand out?
- You pay the supermarket an additional price to place your product in front of other premium chocolates to ensure that anyone interested in purchasing chocolates can access your product at a single glance. This process of purchasing advertising space to advance your ranking with the search engines is known as Search Engine Marketing or SEM and it is usually executed with the aid of Pay-Per-Click Ads, Google AdWords Ads and Cost per Click (CPC) Ads. SEM strategies deliver results more rapidly and help your website gain greater visibility.
The search engine results listed with a small disclaimer of Ad in the corner are paid advertisements that optimize your ranking with Google.
- However, these ads don’t essentially upgrade your ranking on search engines for the long term. This is because a single time purchase doesn’t inevitably ensure a loyal customer. Why? Let’s continue with our aisle placement example. Priority placement for your chocolate does maximize its probability of purchase, however, doesn’t necessarily guarantee a sale. The customer might still opt for a brand that he usually buys or he might have doubts as to the credibility of the new item and skip buying it. And, even after he buys the chocolates, the quality of the product is the only factor that will assure a repurchase.
Search engines similar to Wal-mart aim to ensure a quality experience for all their users. A crucial step towards ensuring this experience is the correct placement of each product in every aisle. They involuntarily prioritize products that all customers prefer and most frequently search for. Hence, if your product is popular among customers and delivers quality results every time, then it is routinely placed in an aisle which is easy to access. This is precisely what an effective SEO strategy does.
An SEO strategy utilizes tools and tactics that help your website differentiate itself from its competitors organically. With the use of SEO responsive content, backlinks from reliable sources, accurate keyword selection and optimization and SEO plugins, a digital marketing expert can help your website advance its search engine ranking and become effortlessly accessible to potential clients.
Superior search engine optimization is vital for law firms as service-oriented organizations have an inherent need to find customers. And, if your website is not visible on the first few pages of Google, your practice’s probability of finding new client files drops dramatically. This is why it is often said that the best place to hide a dead body lies on the fifth page of a Google search.
To get your law firm’s website on the first page of Google and ensure its extended presence on the search engine lists, it is essential for lawyers to opt for a superior SEO approach – especially in terms of their local SEO. Law is a highly specific endeavor and legislation applicable to a region in Canada might not be valid for another. Consulting an experienced digital marketing expert can help you ensure that your online marketing plan is specific to the region of your practice.
Content Marketing
The idea or thought behind any type of marketing strategy is fundamentally the same. However, the persona of the audience, the platform of execution and the language of communication completely differentiates one strategy from another and creates a distinct identity for your brand. Hence, a content marketing strategy is in fact a marketing plan but one which uses content as its medium of execution. Content marketing utilizes channels such as blogs, emails, social media, videos, podcasts, white papers, case studies etc. to convey your brand’s message to the audience.
Law firms can gain multiple client files with the use of content marketing. This is because credibility is an issue of major concern among audiences while choosing a law firm. Legal cases tend to extend for unmitigated periods of time and the cost incurred during this process is quite significant. Hence, it is crucial for law firms to create an organic credibility among their potential audiences through interaction and engagement. Content marketing can enable law firms to accomplish that.
Social media platforms such as LinkedIn allow lawyers to be a part of legal discussions and provide consultative engagement which is usually unwieldy to execute through other channels of communication. Superior content collaterals which provide genuine and practical information to your audiences help in establishing your practice’s credibility and legitimacy. Frequent communication regarding topical issues of concern such as taxation laws, intellectual property litigation helps your practice convert potential leads into viable client files.
Other content marketing collaterals such as thought leadership content executed in attractive formats such as a video or a podcast can also maximize your acclaim among your audiences. Posting case studies on your website is also a nifty way to enhance the validity of your services among potential leads as nothing fosters confidence better than a remarkable track record. Publishing white papers and opinion pieces on topical issues, sending out regular newsletters are different formats of a content marketing strategy that make audiences identify with your services and highlight your core competencies in a more virtuous light.
With a clever and reflective online marketing strategy, a digital marketing expert can ensure greater online visibility for your law firm and establish a stalwart reputation for your practice. This enables potential clients to reach out to your practice when they need it and helps your firm get newer client files directly. Still not convinced about the utility of online marketing for your law firm, leave your queries in the comment section below and I’ll answer them directly.
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