As a law firm, your primary goal is to provide top-notch legal services to your clients. However, in order to continue providing those services, you need a steady stream of clients. This is where law firm marketing growth strategies come into play. In the marketing world today one cannot buy yellow page ads and billboards and hope to compete. Consumers today are all carrying their own handheld computers built into their cell phones. These savvy internet users expect a company they are considering doing business with to have an up-to-date mobile-friendly website that ranks high in search engines.
In today’s competitive legal landscape, it’s not enough to simply rely on word-of-mouth referrals. You need to actively work on growing your law firm and attracting new clients. In this blog post, we’ll discuss 5 proven law firm marketing strategies to help you do just that.
Before we dive into the strategies, let’s first understand why law firm growth is important.
The legal industry is highly competitive, with new law firms popping up across the country every day. In order to stay ahead of the competition, you need to continuously grow and evolve your firm.
Growth means more clients, which ultimately leads to increased revenue. This allows you to invest in your firm, hire more staff, and provide better services to your clients. Growth and revenue go hand in hand and that is why a stagnant firm is usually struggling financially as well.
A growing law firm is an attractive place for top legal talent. By showcasing your firm’s growth, you can attract the best lawyers and support staff to join your team. The most successful people we know strive to hire people smarter than themselves. There is a saying that goes like this, “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re likely in the wrong room.” Surround yourself with the best and brightest in the industry and you can’t help but be successful.
Branding is crucial for any business, and law firms are no exception. Your brand is what sets you apart from your competitors and helps potential clients easily remember you.
Investing in law firm branding means creating a strong visual identity, including a logo, color scheme, and website design. It also means defining your firm’s values, mission, and unique selling points. An in-depth About Us Page is crucial for selling the benefits of retaining your legal services to those who may need your knowledge and expertise.
A strong brand will not only attract clients but also help you stand out in a crowded legal market. It also builds trust and credibility with potential clients, making them more likely to choose your firm over others. Again, this is why your online presence must be up to date and the content must be accurate.
In today’s digital age, having a strong online presence is crucial for any business, including law firms. Here are some digital marketing strategies you can use to grow your law firm and increase revenue:
SEO is the process of optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). By ranking higher, you increase your visibility and attract more potential clients to your law firm’s website. This isn’t an easy task, if it were everyone could easily rank their websites for whatever keyword phrase they desired. As someone who has been in the SEO industry for over two decades, I can tell you that it is extremely difficult to rank for competitive keyword phrases.
To improve your law firm’s SEO, focus on creating high-quality, informative content that is relevant to your target audience. Use keywords related to your practice areas and location, and make sure your website is user-friendly and mobile-responsive. If you have a website you must accept the fact that you are in the content publishing business. Search engine spiders are constantly searching for fresh content just like a real-world spider searches for food. The most successful law firms are publishing fresh content on a regular basis.
PPC advertising allows you to bid on keywords and place ads at the top of search engine results pages. This can be a quick and effective way to attract potential clients to your website. In general, we advise our clients to do a combination of the various marketing methods available for optimum results.
However, PPC can be expensive, so it’s important to carefully choose your keywords and target your ads to the right audience. It’s also important to continuously monitor and optimize your campaigns to ensure a good return on investment (ROI). I will offer a word of warning though, PPC is not something to be done by novices. Someone who isn’t experienced in pay-per-click advertising can burn through their monthly ad budget in hours.
Social media is a powerful tool for law firms to connect with potential clients and showcase their expertise. Use platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to share informative content, engage with your audience, and build relationships. Potential legal clients expect you to be on social media and will search for reviews on your law firm on Google and Facebook. Just as publishing content on your website is important, it is also important to syndicate your content across social media platforms.
Collaborating with other professionals in your local area, such as accountants, financial advisors, and real estate agents, can be a great way to grow your law firm. These professionals often have clients who may need legal services, and by building relationships with them, you can tap into their networks.
You can also collaborate with other law firms, especially those specializing in different practice areas. This allows you to offer a wider range of services to your clients and attract new ones through referrals. We have numerous law firm clients that do this and it works extremely well for them.
Satisfied clients are the best marketing tool your law firm can have. By providing excellent services and going above and beyond for your clients, you increase the chances of them referring you to their friends, family, and colleagues.
To ensure client satisfaction, make sure you communicate clearly and regularly with your clients, provide timely and efficient services, and always keep their best interests in mind. You can also ask for feedback and reviews, which can be used to attract new clients. It is also important to respond to reviews from clients, Google keeps an eye on this and it can impact rankings.
Technology has revolutionized the legal industry, and it’s important for law firms to embrace it in order to grow. Here are some ways you can use technology to attract more clients:
A CRM system allows you to manage your client relationships and track interactions with potential clients. This can help you identify leads and nurture them into clients. Without a solid CRM system, potential leads can slip through the cracks. We always advise our law firm clients to make sure they have their CRM set up before spending money on marketing and advertising. It can be extremely costly to not convert leads that can cost as much as $300 each!
With the rise of remote work and after COVID, virtual consultations have become increasingly popular. By offering this option, you can attract clients who may not be able to visit your office physically. You can set yourself apart from your competition by offering virtual meetings and offering electronic signing of documents.
Legal practice management software can help you streamline your firm’s operations, making it more efficient and attractive to potential clients. It can also help you track your firm’s performance and identify areas for improvement.
Growing your law firm and attracting more clients is crucial for its success. By investing in branding, leveraging digital marketing, collaborating with other professionals, focusing on client satisfaction and referrals, and embracing technology, you can take your law firm to new heights. Remember to continuously monitor and adapt your strategies to ensure long-term growth and success.
At FORWARD Lawyer Marketing we believe in taking a “leave no stone unturned” approach when it comes to our legal clients. With that in mind, we employ extremely experienced people in the industry. Our SEO Director has been marketing online for well over two decades and oversees all SEO tasks including editing content and performing on-page optimization as well as internal and external linking.
Our specialty is law firm marketing and SEO for lawyers at FORWARD Lawyer Marketing, contact us for a free site review and consultation at (888) 590-5989 to discuss how we can increase the revenue of your law firm.