Importance of Digital Marketing

A recent study has found that many clients look online when searching for an attorney, which is why law firm internet marketing is such a popular topic. By failing to invest in a good digital marketing strategy, firms are missing out on 31% of their potential customer base.

So, how can you establish a digital marketing strategy to help your law firm excel and attract clients? Additionally, how will you get to know whether or not your investment is producing desired results?

The difference between lawyers and law firms when it comes to online marketing

Your marketing strategy will be different whether you promote yourself or your law firm.
If you want to be successful in marketing yourself as a lawyer, you’ll need to focus on creating a personal brand. You can do this by showing that you’re credible and trustworthy to potential clients or firms that will want your service. By having a strong personal brand, you’ll increase your chances of being hired by another firm or gaining new clients. Your LinkedIn profile, lawyer biography, and other personal online profiles should all display professional photos with your achievements and approach. If possible, client or firm reviews from the past should be included as they will act positively.
Even when marketing a law firm, personal branding is key. According to expert Katy Goshtasbi, a company’s brand identity rests heavily on the personal brands of all its lawyers. A law firm’s digital marketing strategy won’t be complete unless the employees know how to market themselves.
ethics is another important component of any online marketing strategy. Depending on what you’re marketing and where you are, there may be specific ethical responsibilities you need to uphold. It’s important to note that you shouldn’t consider yourself an “expert” unless you have the proper credentials from your jurisdiction, and be sure not to reveal any confidential information about past or current clients.
An effective digital marketing strategy is one of the best ways to build trust and credibility with potential clients and grow your law firm.

What you need to know about internet privacy and data retention when it comes to online marketing

Lawyers have always been held to a high standard when it comes to digital marketing. You, as a lawyer, have an invariable duty to keep client information confidential and if there is ever a breach, you are legally obligated to notify them immediately. In addition, anti-spam legislation defends citizens from unwanted emails and establishes consequences for noncomplying businesses.

Be sure that the service providers you use, like website designers or online marketers, follow internet privacy and data retention laws in your area. That way, you can avoid any potential penalties. Most reliable companies satisfy these requirements already, but it’s best to ask just to be sure. Also, make sure that:

  • Save client’s data such as name, address, and contact numbers, securely
  • Anyone can view their data or delete there if requested.
  • Digital marketing communications are easy to opt out of for any individual.

Do not hesitate to ask any question you may have about Cloud computing or Digital marketing before signing up with a tool or service provider.

Improve your law firm's digital marketing strategy

It can be complicated for lawyers to know how to start with an effective strategy. There are many things to consider including SEO and paid ads(on the internet). The most successful law firms focus their investments on the few areas that will be the most impactful for their practice and clients.

Knowing your target audience is key

Before you choose a digital marketing platform, consider the most active time frames and familiar content.
First, do your research and read industry reports for your field of law. furthermore, ask your past clients how they found you and inspect any data available to get a clearer idea of who your target market is. If you're an employment lawyer, for example, it's probable that a majority of your clientele are LinkedIn users. Therefore, one digital marketing move should be to augment your presence on LinkedIn.

Set and define your digital marketing goals.

In order to gauge if your law firm's online marketing strategy is panning out, you first need to establish clear objectives. For instance:

  • Do you want more people to visit your law firm's website?
  • Would you like to receive more positive feedback from customers?
  • Are you interested in having more people schedule consultations with you online?
  • Would you like to increase the number of people who contact you through social media?

While various digital marketing goals exist, the primary objectives should always be to gain new clients and increase your law firm's online visibility. By remembering this, you can efficiently spend your allocated marketing budget. Also, ensure that when setting targets, you pick attainable ones.

If you're inexperienced with social media, posting every day might be difficult. Figure out how much time you can realistically spend on digital marketing, and then set some goals based on that. The right online marketing strategy is essential to get discovered by potential clients and drive traffic to your business.

What marketing channels work best for lawyers?

Unfortunately, as is the case with many legal questions, the answer here is "it depends." Earlier, we mentioned that you'll need to study your target audience and figure out where they engage with content online. By the end of this, you will know which digital marketing channels are best to invest your time and money in. Here is a list of the most common online marketing channels to help get you started:

  • Paid online lawyer directories such as Justia , FindLaw.
  • PPC advertising
  • Social media marketing
  • Email marketing

There are numerous platforms that can support you with marketing your law firm, Podium being one example that encourages positive reviews. lawyer online marketing is quite competitive, which means associated expenses can rack up rapidly. To ensure success, be both strategic and selective when starting off small before branching out into multiple channels.

Create a website

Many law firms rely on their website as the foundation of their digital marketing strategy. Your company website is an asset you own, which provides credibility to prospective clients who might otherwise keep searching for another firm if all they find is a directory listing or social media profile.

Your website is crucial to your firm's branding. This is where potential clients can read about your employees' credentials and accomplishments, as well as the services you provide.

We all want our law firm to appear as the top result on a search engine, and SEO is how you make that happen. By increasing your firm's organic traffic, you ensure potential clients can easily find you. Follow these easy steps, and you'll be halfway to your goal:

  • It is important to ensure that your website is straightforward, easy to get around, and legible.
  • For example, if you want to be found for the keyword “personal injury lawyer,” make sure to include that throughout your website.
  • Show your clients that you're an expert by writing informative blog posts.

If you want to help your law firm appear in key search results, then hiring an expert may be the best move. But it's not enough to bring visitors to your website--you also need to convert them into paying clients. Show clients that you're the best candidate for the job by displaying reviews, high-quality images, and spell out exactly what services they will receive from you. Include your contact information on every page of your website along with easy to spot calls to action (like “contact us” or “schedule a consultation”) so potential clients can easily contact you.

Ensure the success of your strategy

Write down information about your success metrics, target clients, goals, and channels to invest in for your website. Make sure to check in regularly to ensure everything is working properly.

Whether you use Clio Grow or other tools, understanding where new clients come from helps save time and money by knowing which marketing channels to invest more into and which ones to eliminate.

Your law firm’s digital marketing strategy should be malleable, changing as your needs do. Modify your strategy to guarantee you're getting a good ROI for your digital marketing budget

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