Upon its inception, digital marketing used to be reserved for companies that were involved in the tech industry. But it didn’t take long for digital marketing to evolve into a behemoth of its own, becoming an indispensable tool for the majority of companies. The legal profession is still highly dependent on reputation and word-of-mouth, but digital marketing is allowing the reach of law firms to expand beyond their limited local circle. People are using the internet to learn more about their options, whether for legal advice or cooking recipes.
Law firms that still depend on traditional marketing alone are losing ground, as the new wave of digital marketing transforms the legal industry. Most law firms are now quite aware of how important online marketing is, which is why we’ll be providing a few online marketing tips for legal professionals.
A Mediocre Website Isn’t Enough
Most professionals have their own website, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to be enough. A website has to be built properly and up to date with the latest tech standards to avoid losing a lot of potential clients. People are now actively aware of how a properly functional website looks, and they won’t be expecting any less if they’re browsing for legal services. Since your potential clients will want to find the best legal representation and consultation, they will leave no stone unturned when it comes to the website.
Your website should be quick to load and compatible with the majority of electronic devices. According to numerous SEO reports, websites that don’t load within 3-4 seconds are losing around half of their visitors. Your visitors will be looking for a stellar website that can do more than look good. Since the competition in the legal field is quite fierce, you can’t leave room for error, especially when it comes to basic functionality. The website should be a clear indicator of the services you offer, and it has to provide easy access to any information the visitor might be interested in knowing about your firm.
Create Content
This is a relatively new concept in an industry like law. Lawyers didn’t need to write educational legal content for their potential clients. But digital marketing is opening up a new channel for lawyers to utilize their websites and social media platforms to offer help to others in exchange for gaining more reach. When you post content that people are actually looking for online, such as legal tips, they’ll be more inclined to trust your firm because you’re not only helping them but also showing that you have extensive knowledge about the subject.
Focus on Proper Market Positioning
It doesn’t matter how many competitors you have in your local area; you still need to use the right approach and mindset to thrive. The online market is quite different from the peer-referral dynamic that lawyers traditionally depended on as a major marketing tool. The vastness of the internet means that you have a lot of potential clients, but it also means that you’ll have to work extra hard to convert them to active clients. You’ll need to highlight your niche properly and expect some resistance and mistrust from new online contacts.
Don’t Ignore Reviews
Reviews are becoming the new currency when it comes to setting standards. It’s very easy for people to communicate with each other and discuss their experiences with almost any business in the world. This means that getting bad reviews can mean driving down a slippery slope that’s hard to get back on. Make sure that you focus on customer satisfaction and prompting your clients to post their reviews on a platform you endorse. You don’t need to solicit reviews, so as long as you’re focusing on doing your job right while having an online presence, you should expect good reviews naturally.
Social Media Campaigns
People don’t really rush to find a solution to a legal issue on social media; they often turn to search engines for quicker and more accurate results. But this doesn’t mean that social media campaigns won’t increase your number of clients. Focusing on social media will create extra brand awareness and recognition, which will subsequently increase the organic traffic to your website. Expect your ranking on search engines to increase as people become more aware of your online presence.
Legal professionals who are new to online marketing may start feeling overwhelmed by the many tools available today. It’s only natural to face some difficulties navigating the learning curve of online marketing, but it’s very important that you don’t give up. The more you learn about how online marketing affects your business, the easier it will be to use it to your advantage.
