Online Marketing for Law Firms: Strategies for Success

Introduction

Legal online marketing is not a new concept. However, in a dynamic digital age, what makes it effective can vary from one firm to another. Different law firms specialize in different practice areas, which also means that there are unique difficulties and challenges in attracting potential clients online. This guide will lay down the foundations in order to help you achieve success. 

Why Does My Law Firm Need Online Marketing? 

Most consumers today use the internet to research and find the best agency or firm that can meet their needs. This is what makes an online presence not only an advantage, but a necessity. Legal internet marketing creates opportunities for law firms because it increases exposure to their clientele. It is also drastically more efficient than traditional marketing, and is far more cost-effective.  

Think about all the money that you can save if you don’t have to spend so much on print or radio advertisements that have little to no return of investment. Consider the time you can save if you no longer have to conduct as many networking events in an attempt to find clients.  

Growing your practice requires not only mastery of the craft, but also taking steps to reach the right people. Law firms have to evolve and adapt to the behavior of consumers, and online marketing is the way to go. 

Knowing Your Target Market 

Your target market is one of the many things that distinguish your law firm from all others, which means that your legal digital marketing strategy might also look different since there is no cookie-cutter solution. It is important that you are aware of how your target market behaves, where they spend their time online, and how they might look for your services.  

For example, if you specialize in family law, it might be beneficial to have a strong presence in Q&A or forum sites where many people ask and seek answers on what to do in specific family situations. These kinds of interactions can also inform your messaging when creating ads to attract your target market. 

Setting Your Online Marketing Goals 

The end goal is certainly to get more clients, but you also have to be specific about your online marketing goals. Do you want increased traffic to your website or increased followers on social media? Do you want to grow the number of positive reviews about your services or to improve your online conversion rate? 

Setting goals will inform your online visibility efforts, and which platforms you should be investing more time and effort in. While most digital marketing efforts are mixed, having specific goals will help you decide whether it’s worth investing more in legal website marketing versus email or social media marketing. Strategy is all about picking your battles. 

Increase Your Online Visibility

Now that you have better knowledge of your target market and have determined your online marketing goals, the next step is to increase your online visibility. It’s crucial that you have an optimized website that contains valuable information about the services your law firm is offering. Maintaining an onsite blog can also help establish your credibility. The right search engine optimization strategy will also boost your website to the top of search rankings. 

This kind of legal web marketing is best complemented by email marketing through newsletters. First, you encourage site visitors to sign up to a newsletter, which then enables you to send important information to valuable prospects. Increased online visibility is necessary for you to gather more leads. 

Use An Effective Lead Generation System 

Finding clients can be especially challenging if you are targeting a legal niche. It’s not enough to have an optimized website or to have high search engine rankings. It is likewise not enough to have a large quantity of leads. It is more important for those leads to be qualified, meaning they are interested in hiring an attorney. To get high conversion rates, you need to utilize an effective lead generation system that gives you a high prospect-to-clients ratio. Attorney-client matching is one such system and is not often maximized in legal digital marketing. 

In attorney-client matching, clients register into a system that allows them to be matched with lawyers who specialize in providing the legal services sought. With this kind of system, lawyers are also able to assess a prospect’s circumstances to decide whether it falls within their area of practice or if it’s something they want to pursue.  

Tap A Trusted Marketing Partner 

Launching and sustaining a digital legal marketing strategy takes a lot of work which makes it worth it to look for a marketing service that fits your needs. If you think that the above-mentioned strategies are too strenuous to be done in-house, and you want to focus on legal practice, working with a marketing partner can provide you with a system that you need to get a constant influx of quality leads. 

If you’re not sure about what to look for, here are signs of a trusted marketing partner: 

1. They are recommended by other lawyers and law firms in the industry. 
2. They explain their process clearly, as well as the expected results. 
3. They have been praised for their customer service. 
4. They do not require a big commitment in using their service, and only charge you in proportion to the benefit you derived from using their service. 

How LegalMatch Can Help 

LegalMatch is a proven marketing partner and is and trusted by numerous esteemed lawyers and established law firms. Its lead generation system is unique because it primarily uses attorney-client matching in its legal online marketing. LegalMatch member lawyers who use this service do away with other forms of advertising because it has proved to be more than sufficient in getting high-quality leads. Beyond that, LegalMatch makes it easy for member lawyers to respond and be directed to potential clients in order to set up consultations. 

Whether you are a new attorney or law firm looking to grow your practice, or simply an established law firm that wants to expand your clientele, LegalMatch can provide you with a faster and easier way connect with potential clients whose legal concerns fit your specialized area.