Introduction
Over 80% of consumers use search to find local businesses—including law firms. To make advertising work for your firm, you must understand your clients and choose advertising methods that resonate with them specifically.
Knowing the lawyer advertising rules that apply to you is also critical in today’s digital age. From social media to law firm websites, advertising online to connect with clients is increasingly common for lawyers. And, with more business being conducted remotely, the ability to attract clients using digital marketing strategies is more important than ever.
Moreover, there are a variety of rules and regulations concerning attorney advertising that vary by state. At its essence, successfully navigating the rules requires three things: be honest; be careful and understand the rules of the states in which you are licensed. Adhering to those three principles should form the basis of creating ads that are compliant.
Here are some of the most common law firm marketing mistakes examples to avoid:
Inconsistent branding
Your brand is more than your firm name. It’s your web address, your tagline and even your color scheme. Work to keep these consistent across business cards and email mastheads and do the same online as well. Your audience should always be clear about who they’re working with.
Not being transparent
One of the law firm marketing mistakes to avoid is not being transparent in your communication. Let your audience know what they can really expect from working with you. This can mean answering frequently asked questions or providing a clean bill of your services, in advance.
Not having a clearly defined target audience
One of the biggest digital marketing mistakes is not having your ideal client identified. Today’s digital marketing allows you to reach individuals who are in need of your services, at the right time. Take the time to define your buyer personas and align your digital strategies with their needs and desires.
Having an outdated website
When your website looks ignored and outdated, it becomes difficult to convert website visitors into prospective clients. Continually check your content, site navigation, responsiveness and update your website with the newest technologies and plugins. Most importantly, use your website as a marketing tool. Provide your visitors with new information and implement conversion rate optimization strategies to generate more leads.
Not capitalizing your customer reviews
In the modern era, consumers enjoy leaving reviews and more important- customers trust online reviews. Therefore, make sure to collect feedback, analyze it and then use it in the right way. Seek it out at the end of service provision with clients, and consistently ensure ongoing clients are happy with your work.
Afterward, build case studies and add favorable testimonials to your website. Getting positive reviews on your Facebook or Google pages also helps build credibility. Moreover, consider listing your business in Google My Business and popular legal directories.
Not utilizing search engine optimization (SEO)
SEO stands for Search Engine Marketing. It entails website optimization to make it easier for Search Engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing to find your website on specific keywords. The higher you appear on a search engine’s results page, the more visible your law firm becomes.
Develop a content strategy, keep your audience in mind and do thorough keyword research. That way you can incorporate the right terms and phrases that can help you rank on page 1 of Google. Furthermore, list the cities and your firm’s address on a few pages of your website. Finally, consider hiring an experienced SEO company to help you maximize your ranking opportunities.
Ignoring social media
Social media is a valuable marketing tool, therefore do not overlook it if trying to generate new clients. Facebook, Twitter, Linked In and Instagram can be powerful mediums for driving client engagement and lead generation.
For a start, choose 2-3 top social media platforms that you know your ideal audience engages with. Create strategic posts and schedule them in a social media scheduling calendar. Use automation tools such as Hootsuite, Buffer and others. Build relationships with your audience in order to turn them into potential clients and track your results.
Inconsistency
One of the law firm marketing mistakes to avoid is inconsistency. Consistency is vital in digital marketing. Therefore, irregular updating is one of the most common digital marketing mistakes to avoid. Develop and stick to a blog editorial calendar and prepare a plan for your social media posts, either manually or with planner apps. That way you will stand out from the crowd and achieve more visibility.
Avoiding Paid Placement/ PPC
Strategic paid campaigns such as Google AdWords will allow your website & ads to appear to potential clients searching for your service online. There are different kinds of display ads such as visual or textual ads.
With Pay-Per-Click you can run a retargeting campaign for all your website visitors. Once they leave and go to other websites online, your brandable ad can appear on the sidebar, top and footer. This reminds them to visit your website again and entice them to contact you.
Ignoring Blogging
Use your brand’s voice to showcase your brand, expertise and law experience. Everyday searchers are looking for information in regards to their law needs. As a result, your blog can be super resourceful while bringing you organic free traffic.
Start with making a blogging plan and aim at blogging once a week. Furthermore, make sure your blog post has at least 500 words. In addition, don’t forget to share it on your social media platforms.
Not evaluating your marketing data
Use the data available in order to improve your marketing efforts. Check your statistics from your Google Analytics account, any social tools, inbound marketing programs and paid campaigns. Track progress against any objectives you’ve set and look for trends. Test everything from email subject lines to PPC ad copy to find areas where you can improve. Afterward, use those test results to dictate your next steps.
Conclusion
Effective digital marketing strategies are constantly evolving. Thus, there is a constant need to re-evaluate and review your analytics while avoiding common mistakes. Legal marketing is something that every law firm needs in order to gain more clients and improve revenue. The most important thing you can do is create a marketing budget and develop a marketing plan.
Moreover, stay up-to-date with current trends and follow the lawyer advertising rules. By knowing the correct legal advertising rules, you can create effective, ethical advertising. In addition, attract new clients, new business and achieve greater success in the future.
Law firm marketing mistakes are easy to make. However, by knowing what the most common errors are, you are far less likely to make them. Make sure that you know what you shouldn’t be doing with the marketing tactics that you adopt for your legal firm. The more that you understand the power of marketing and how it can transform your potential for growth, the more incentive you will have to get it right.
Consider using professional consultants to help you develop and present a clear message in an effective and appropriate way. Furthermore, to assist in identifying and reaching an appropriate audience while conveying a successful marketing strategy for your law firm.