The legal sector is saturated, competitive, and complex. With the disruptive emergence of alternative legal service providers, an increase of international entrants into the UK market, and ever-increasing DIY services, the legal sector can feel overcrowded. For many law firms, particularly smaller firms, it can be difficult to stand out.
That’s why it’s essential that law firms engage in effective marketing. Marketing helps firms showcase skills, demonstrate knowledge, build business relationships, attract clients, and so much more. But marketing is a broad practice, with so many avenues to explore, that knowing where to start can feel daunting. But worry not. Below we offer some advice to law firms, showing them exactly where to start and where they can attempt to grow.
Client expectations have changed in recent years. The days when reputation alone led clients to law firms rests firmly in the past. The battle to attract business now largely exists on the Internet. show, for example, that 96% of people looking for legal advice start that search online. So that’s the arena where law firms will have to compete.
The first step to effective marketing is to ensure you have a functional, structurally sound, and aesthetically pleasing website. That means perhaps updating your old one, or starting from scratch. And there are plenty of that can help that journey.
Law firms might want to use an old favourite, such as , which allows you to easily build a website with customisable designs. Or they can think about snazzier and more contemporary options, such as and , which help users build attractive sites with functionality that suits their needs.
It’s important to create your site with mobile in mind. More than 50% of website traffic now comes from mobile phones, . That means that up to half of your clients will find you with their phones. So always pick a platform that promotes mobile optimisation.
Once you’ve picked a design and colour scheme, hopefully one that , you’ll need to populate that website with information. Successful websites are clean and intuitive to use, so do not flood your site with pointless information. Remove superfluous information, regardless of how much you might like how it sounds.
You should include key information such as About, People, and Contact pages. You will also want a page that simply and effectively explains the legal services you provide. It would also be beneficial to include a blog highlighting news and insights, knowledge and expertise, and perhaps .
provides myriad benefits to small law firms. It shows that you are a voice of authority in your field, demonstrates the ability to engage with the latest developments, improves your SEO ranking, increases social media reach, and attracts new and old clients to your site.
But legal blogging can be time-consuming and the rewards are not guaranteed. Law firms can follow some simple advice to improve their blogging.
Picking the right content
Blogs need to cover relevant content, whether that’s news, insights, or opinion. You should not write about outdated or irrelevant case law, or legal developments that stretch beyond your field. Keep prospective clients in mind. Think about what they would like to read.
Firms should also publish content regularly. Perhaps develop a , planning in advance, so that you produce new pieces every week. To build the calendar, keep an eye on the latest legal developments, , and look at through the year. Regular posting will lead to return visitors – and help you build an online presence.
Using the right tone of voice
Pick a and stick to it. A strong and consistent tone of voice helps to build trust, leads to return visitors, demonstrates authority, and shows your expertise. Your tone of voice is essential to building a successful blog – and growing your law firm more broadly.
Consistent tone of voice also allows you to reflect your brand identity. If you are a more traditional firm, perhaps adopt formal language. If your firm is challenging traditionalism, perhaps use more playful language, but always consider the subject matter. Do not trivialise.
Finding the right imagery
Blogs can be . That means simply choosing a strong main image and thumbnail image for each piece of content – and perhaps another image for mobile. Ensure the image will attract attention and broadly reflects the content.
There are lots of and paid options that may be worth the expense. Remember to always consider copyright when using image libraries, whether free or not.
Some of the best free options include , , and . For paid options, firms cannot go wrong with , which has 1000s of high-quality images that you can access for a small monthly payment. You can use to resize, improve, and jazz up your images, making the imagery even more attractive for your audience.
As mentioned, more than 50% of clients find law firms through online searches. Now that you have a functioning and attractive website, and you’ve developed a blog, you need to ensure that people can find you with online searches. You need to be visible.
That’s where (SEO) can help. Simply put, SEO is the art of ranking high on search engines, mainly Google, so that you can improve your visibility. Your firm can rank higher by following a set of practices that complement the search engine algorithm.
The algorithm is constantly changing, but certain principles remain constant. By following a few simple rules, firms should improve their SEO ranking. These rules include:
Employing the above rules will improve your . As mentioned, though, search engines are constantly evolving their algorithms, so the rules change. True masters of SEO constantly keep abreast of the evolution of search engine algorithms – and adapt accordingly.
SEO improves your visibility on organic posts. For people willing to pay, advertisements can also drastically increase your visibility. You basically pay the search engine per click or per impression, so that clients who directly search relevant keywords will find your site.
Paid ads are increasingly popular in a crowded online space, as they guarantee visibility. But you still need to ensure the . Law firms should not simply throw money at the problem. You need to ensure the ad is attractive, reaches the right audience, and showcases the best that your law firm offers. That will maximise return on investment.
The American Bar Association’s that 35% of people who use social media channels for professional purposes gained clients. The result is even better for small firms, according to the survey, with 42% gaining new clients through social media.
Social media is therefore an essential, perhaps even unavoidable, tool for law firms. Strong social media can increase your SEO rankings, improve reach of your content, , enhance networking, increase brand awareness, and much more.
There are some simple rules for social media use that all firms should follow. Do not, for example, join every platform and spread resources evenly. You will end up spending all of your time and money doing a mediocre (or bad) job on every single platform.
Instead, prioritise the platforms that best let you achieve your goals. If you are broadly interested in trying to improve engagement, for example, perhaps is best. might prove helpful in securing new and particularly local clients. would likely help to improve your networking and encourage new business relationships.
Each platform has written and to ensure success. Law firms should do their research and develop a strategy for each. Consider, for example, the best times to post, the number of posts per day, whether imagery or video would improve engagement, and so on.
Law firms should use an online tone of voice and ensure that it remains consistent with other content, reflecting your brand identity. And, importantly, make sure you in the legal sector on social media, regardless of the platform. Play a role in the legal community, join conversations, and show that you are active online – and worth following.
An essential piece of advice when it comes to marketing is to look at other people across the legal sector. Consider each of the above elements of marketing and think about how you compare to other firms. Take a look at each individually and make changes accordingly.
Think about why a certain firm appears higher on search engines, for example. Are they including more keywords? Does their site offer better functionality? Is the site more intuitive? Or perhaps think about a firm with successful social media. How often are they posting? What sort of content do they post? How are they engaging with others?
Employ the same thought process to all elements of marketing. Understanding the merits of competitors allows you to better compete. Do not copy, but learn. Research others in the sector to surmise what others and getting right and, importantly, what you are getting wrong.
Once you’ve created a website, perfected SEO, produced engaging content, posted and shared on socials, and learnt from competitors, you need to take stock. Successful marketing is an ongoing process, ever-evolving, and your firm will need to revise, improve, and adapt.
You should adapt your marketing based on your successes and failures. That means exploring the metrics and looking at the . The metrics that matter most to your firm will be the ones that highlight the success rate of your chosen goals and objective.
include pageviews, bounce rate, social following, click-through-rate, impressions, and many others. Each of these will tell you a story, painting a picture of your development. Use these metrics to tailor your marketing, shifting the narrative in your favour.
If pageviews are low, for example, perhaps you need to focus on SEO or consider paying for ads. If your social posts have plenty of impressions but low engagement, perhaps consider images or video, or improving your tone of voice.
If bounce rate is high and share rate is low, perhaps you need to think about how to broadly improve your blogs. Do some exploration, draw some conclusions, then revise accordingly. And, importantly, continue to repeat that process as often as necessary.
Applying the above marketing tactics will help you stand out from the crowd. It will ensure people searching for legal services will find your firm. It will increase visibility, but also imbue your firm with a professional feel. It will, in short, help you to attract new clients.
That fresh approach may also attract old clients, too. Old clients may stumble upon your site – through SEO, socials, or perhaps by clicking an interesting blog – and note the new look and feel. Or you can re-engage old clients, perhaps leading them to your improved website. It’s a soft sell, simply putting your (new and improved) hat in the ring and asking for their trust.
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