Is your law firm having trouble attracting new clients? Maybe you’re facing stiff competition in your area. Are potential clients even aware your law firm exists? If any or all of these questions are on your mind, it’s probably time to start thinking of some legal firm marketing ideas.
Marketing your law firm doesn’t need to be expensive or even complicated. You can employ a few simple tactics to boost your law firm’s profile that’ll help you attract new clients. To help better guide and inform you, here’s a look at a few simple marketing ideas anyone can implement.
Create a Budget
Marketing your law firm doesn’t have to be expensive but it’s also not free. Your firm should expect to put some money into its marketing strategies. As you’re creating a budget, a good tip is to divide the funds into three parts.
Set aside the majority of the budget, around 70%, to fund marketing tactics you know are effective. This can include advertising on television, putting up billboards, etc. Plan on using around 20% of the budget for new marketing ideas. Maybe you’re ignoring your law firm’s online profile. You can use some or all of the money set aside to boost your website in search engine rankings.
With the remaining funds, around 10%, go ahead and experiment. You may be surprised at the results. If the marketing experiment falls flat, you still have the majority of your marketing budget.
Design a Marketing Plan
Your marketing plan is your guide. This is what you follow as you go about marketing your law firm. So, what should you include in your marketing plan? This can vary depending on your law firm’s needs and goals. However, a basic template can look something like the following:
- Your marketing budget
- The goals you’re hoping to accomplish
- Information on your target audience
- A list of marketing tools and methods you’re planning on using. This can include everything from website content, SEO, and social media advertising to email marketing campaigns.
- The expected timeline to meet each goal, along with the personnel responsible for each step of the project
Your plan should also include information on how the law firm will measure performance. This can save a lot of time and questions when everyone involved has a good idea of the hoped-for results.
Take Advantage of Free Online Listings
Did you know you can advertise your law firm for free in some online directories? This means you’re not touching your marketing budget. Some directories you don’t want to overlook include platforms like Lawyers.com. The platform lets users search for legal representation by location and field of practice.
Don’t forget about creating a Google business profile. Yes, it’s also free. Once your law firm’s profile is uploaded to Google Maps, your brand will pop up whenever someone searches for an attorney in your area.
Be Active on Social Media
This may take a bit of a chunk out of your advertising budget but it’s also an effective way to boost brand recognition. Keeping up with even one or two social media sites takes some time, and this is usually where the cost comes in.
Your firm will probably need to pay someone to keep up with the various platforms. If you can keep it in-house, you may save a little money. Just make sure you’re not overloading one of your firm’s employees.
If you’re not sure what to include in your social media posts, here are a few examples. Don’t worry if everything on the following list doesn’t fit your law firm, these are only examples:
- Featured lawyers
- Case studies
- Behind-the-scenes
- Q&A sessions
- Podcasts
- Interviews
- Testimonials
- Webinars
Don’t forget to include any updates about your law firm. Your potential clients are curious and the more they know the easier it is to build trust in your brand. List all of the achievements your firm receives, including any fun or silly ones. This can help make your law firm seem a little more personable.
Get Online Reviews from Clients
While you don’t want to be too pushy, encouraging your clients to leave reviews is an effective way of boosting your law firm’s profile. You’re also working to establish trust with potential clients. Consumers tend to pay more attention to what others are saying about a brand, so work on getting plenty of reviews.
But what happens if your law firm receives a bad review? Don’t panic! Instead, engage with the reviewer and find out what went wrong with their experience. Hopefully, these simple marketing tips can help your law firm start bringing in new clients.
