Internet Marketing for Lawyers

Author: Kaitlyn Partington Category: B2B, Marketing Date: December 12, 2018

Partners in law firms tend to wear many hats for their firms: helping their clients, managing their teams and serving as the main lead generation sources for their businesses. On top of being a lawyer, you’ve got to be somewhat of a marketer for your firm as well. Digital media platforms are perfect for this purpose, but when you post on social media or send an email blast, it is easy to get lost in the weeds and lose sight of how your marketing affects your firm’s brand awareness and lead generation. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to help your firm stand out in the industry while taking some of the lead generation responsibilities off of the lawyers, including the development of a 12-month communication plan that integrates internet marketing strategies with your brand identity and firm-wide goals. Here is our strategy for developing strong and successful internet marketing for lawyers:

Developing Key Messaging

Internet marketing for lawyers can prove to be quite fruitful if done right. But before jumping in head first, it is important to develop a strategic messaging strategy that communicates the right message to the right audience. First, we think about what your audience looks like: What are their demographics and pain points? Once we understand who the audience is and what their needs are, we will think about the information that is most relevant to them: What questions are they asking that you can answer? What information are they looking for that you can provide? Are there new laws being put in place that your clients and prospects may have questions about? We also consider the services that you are offering: Do you have new services that your firm now provides? Have any of your services changed? By developing key messaging from the start, this serves as a basis for your communication strategy throughout the year.

Creating Thought Leadership

Strong thought leadership should serve as the basis for any law firm’s digital marketing strategy. Clients and prospects look to lawyers that they can trust, and to build that trust, you need to show your expertise in the field. There are a number of formats we suggest using to illustrate thought leadership as part of your law firm’s internet marketing strategy.

Blogs and articles are an important aspect of internet marketing for lawyers. Consistently posting to a blog and/or a publication page on your website shows your commitment to answering questions, sharing information, and discussing important topics that are relevant to your audience. In addition to showing your expertise and developing trust with your audience, having an updated blog also shows that your brand is dedicated to keeping up with the times.

Case studies are another great way to show the real impact you have made on the lives of your existing clients, and they give prospects a good idea of what to expect when working with you. Although you may not be able to share all of the details of your case, we think it is essential to include some case studies within your attorney internet marketing plan and simply substitute key details with generic terms to get the point across without sharing personal details.

We also encourage webinars and podcasts as a thought leadership format. Webinars and podcasts put a voice to a name, which can make an attorney feel more approachable to their prospects – exactly what we want to accomplish in our approach to internet marketing for lawyers.

These are just some of the many ways you can show your expertise and, in turn, build trust among your audience.

Executing Internet Marketing for Lawyers

When executing internet marketing for lawyers, we have found that using a number of media outlets to share your message and thought leadership is most effective.

First and foremost, your thought leadership and messaging should be integrated into your website. A website is the home base of any strategic internet marketing for lawyers, as all other media outlets will usually link back to the website as the main source of information, and it also serves as the location for conversions.

Social media is another excellent platform. It has become an essential part of digital marketing for lawyers as it allows you to showcase your brand on a platform that people spend hours per day scrolling and searching on. Lawyers should be posting their thought leadership pieces to each of their company social media pages and engaging with strategic partners’ social accounts. Also, to ensure your thought leadership reaches a broader audience, lawyers should advertise their thought leadership on social media or consider boosting posts that lead directly to thought leadership pages on the website.

We also suggest including email marketing within your law firm marketing strategies. There are many ways to do this, but we recommend sharing your thought leadership in the form of monthly newsletters in which you feature company news, law changes, upcoming events, and resources.

And finally, the best online marketing strategies for lawyers incorporate Google into their plans. Google provides you with the ability to advertise within their search and display networks – a service we highly recommend for lawyers. We also consider how your firm’s website ranks within Google searches to help you create and maintain a proper search engine optimization strategy.

Internet marketing for lawyers can be overwhelming, especially when you have many other responsibilities to handle for your firm. Pass off your marketing hat to our experts, and we’ll ensure greater lead generation and stronger brand awareness for your firm. Contact our team today for a consultation.