Every business and every service needs to be actively engaged in marketing that which they do; this is just as true for law firms as it is for any other business. Marketing is all about adding new clients, in the past this was predominately via “word of mouth,” today a law firm agency can bring the dynamics of the internet into your mainstream marketing efforts.
It is true that business development and marketing budget allocation does not translate into immediate results. This being the case, how can a law firm honestly track the return on their marketing investment? The answer is to work closely with a law firm agency to develop a doable plan before you actually make the investment.
The definition of goals:
Lawyers spend an inordinate amount of their time developing action plans that will result in the best, safest and most cost effective course of action for their clients. The same approach should be taken when developing a marketing plan, it is important that the plan can be reviewed to ensure that it is returning the desired results and ROI.
Digital strategies to employ:
When people look for a law firm they look for expertise in the specific area that is of interest to them and they look for a firm that they can trust. Many people find out about lawyers through word of mouth, even when they refer to the internet for background information, chances are they were referred by someone. This is not marketing, without insight as to why or how the potential client arrived at your site, it is next to impossible to develop a dialogue.
*Social media: Social media drives business; there is no doubt about this. Developing a presence on social media is relatively inexpensive, the ROI is very good.
*Search engine advertising: This is an excellent approach; your firms name will be front and center when a potential client enters a key word phrase. Getting the key words are the difficult part, this is where a law firm agency comes into play, developing key phrases that focus on the areas of law the firm specializes in.
*SEO strategy and content: Google is by far the most used search engine; the algorithm favors web sites with highly developed content and credibility. It takes time to see results but when SEO is integrated with search engine advertising the end result will prove to be very effective.
Next to word of mouth, search engine results are the most trusted and believable form of law firm promotion there is. A well thought out combination of social media exposure, search engine advertising and a well defined SEO strategy will go a long way to help in building the business.
