While winning a tough case, getting your firm’s name plastered on the biggest billboard downtown and sending flyers might seem like the only ways to spread the word about yourself, it’s seriously behind the times, and that too is an understatement.
While we aren’t saying traditional marketing is dead or that word of mouth doesn’t spread like it used to, it does. We want you to ask yourself whether that is the most efficient form of marketing for lawyers.
Let alone, what’s the guarantee that word about you will ever even spread as you hope? You might spend thousands of dollars on traditional advertising, but even that would be like shooting arrows at the sky.
Thankfully, all that’s changed since the internet. And yes, lawyers, your largest clientele is here.
Now, unless you’re practicing elder law, you should know that your largest prospective client base is the millennials (people born in the ’80s till mid ’90s). They form the biggest percentage of the workforce in the U.S. They also make up the biggest chunk of social media & internet users and are most likely to make purchases online.
Not only that, Millenials are tech-savvy and more aware compared to previous generations. They always do their homework online before approaching any company, including law firms. This means checking out your firm’s website, Google ranking, social media presence, the content you create, and reputation.
Hard to believe? Well, let this be your moment of epiphany. 97% of consumers go online to find a local business or service!
So If your law firm isn’t taking the internet for marketing seriously, you’re on thin ice. Add in thousands of law firms across each state, and suddenly it’s a crowded marketplace! So how do law firms do justice to their marketing and stand out?
Well, the thing to straighten out before we go any further is to understand that your forte is Law. So stick to it. You went to Law school, not advertising, so if you want to do justice to your marketing, avoid taking it upon yourself.
Instead, hire a digital agency with all the resources to bring your company’s vision to life. But you might wonder exactly how much of an impact, say, an agency like ours can bring to your law firm?
At TechNerds, we provide our clients with 360* marketing solutions ranging from website design and development, Mobile App development, Pay-Per-Click marketing (PPC), search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing (SMM), content creation, online lead generation, brand development, etc. in highly flexible monthly payment plans to help you reach your business’ potential.
But that’s a whole bunch of options too, so It all depends on your goals and what you want to accomplish. For instance:
If your target is to generate more leads, an agency can drive 43% better results compared to doing it yourself. This is down to multiple special resources agencies like us deploy to help you drive more conversions!
If you’re a relatively new law firm or an existing one pitching a new service, Pay-Per-Click (PPC) marketing often works best in generating quick business and growth!
It’s a paid form of advertising which places your ads at the top on google pages based on specific keywords or phrases. We target only those particular keywords/phrases most likely to be searched upon by your prospective clients.
This increases the likelihood of your prospective leads converting into actual clients, It’s very cost-efficient because you only “pay-per-click,” and the payoff is much greater in the form of high conversions. On average, 41% of all clicks go to the top 3 paid ads on the search results page, so you surely get your money’s worth when done right!
Likewise, if you’re a law firm hoping to stir client interest but failing, it’s probably because of a poorly designed and optimized website.
When your website is poorly designed and optimized, it’s domain ranking (DR) falls. This means it won’t appear on top of a Google results page. If your website isn’t on the 1st page of a Google search result, then good luck converting those millennials because Google says if you want to bury a dead body, you might as well do it on the 2nd page! (0.78% chance of your clients finding you)
That’s when a good website design and SEO can do the trick and drastically improve your Google ranking, website visibility, and brand perception, which goes a long way to winning those valuable clients and beating the competition!
Likewise, having your law firm’s social media pages optimized can be a great way to reach your prospective clients. More than 80% of Americans have a social media profile (think Facebook), making it ideal for law firms to promote their brand here.
In fact, Facebook promotions are getting so accurate when targeting your audience that it’s actually tough to go wrong with them. Targeting people based on specific areas, age, income, interests, etc., are just a few of the metrics that law firms can use to target prospective leads thus ensuring higher conversions.
Take the example of Sam Bernstein Law Firm, which now has a strong network of 35,000 followers due to great Social Media Optimization!
However, this is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to digital marketing. Just a few ways Law firms can utilize to maximize their fortunes and become the most sought after in their respective states and vicinities.
Our final verdict
Justice won’t be served unless most law firms recognize the fact that digital marketing “is the future,” not traditional marketing. While old-school ways do still work, their effectiveness is decreasing by the day and much harder to gauge, plus it’s way more expensive!
Law firms need to understand that millennials are much more dependent on the internet and social media for decision-making, hence need to take their Website’s Domain Ranking (DR), Website Design, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Marketing (SMM), Brand Identity and Efficient Lead Generation, etc. seriously. If they are failing on these fronts, then they’re just bleeding business. A lot of it.
Your reputation as a law firm depends on how visible you are in a search result. If you aren’t on the first page of Google, you’re more likely to be out of the running and irrelevant.
When you start looking for an agency, here are some things to keep in mind:
- Define your marketing requirements before you start looking
- Be extra careful about getting caught up with the “marketing gurus”
- Check out how the agency runs their business, and understand what metrics they value most
- Make sure that they don’t overpromise, or guarantee results
- You tend to get what you pay for — low fee often means poor service
The right agency could generate revenue for your business, give you peace of mind by handling everything for you, and allow you to avoid the cost of setting up a team in-house. That way, you can focus your time on your strengths, and perfect what you’re already good at instead of worrying about your weaknesses.