For all businesses, whether it’s product or services, proper marketing is very important for their survival. This applies to legal businesses as well. These days online or digital marketing has become integral to it. Digital marketing includes all marketing efforts that make use of an electronic device or the internet. A marketing agency for lawyers leverages digital channels such as search engines, social media, e-mails and other websites to connect with existing and prospective clients. Some important digital marketing tips are discussed here.
- Invest in a Good Website
A good website leaves a lasting impression. The first impression is 94% design related and only 6% is about the actual content. Today people tend to make a quick judgment based on what they see online. Carefully taking into account the digital appearance can have a significant impact on the success of online marketing for law firms. Whether you are an individual lawyer or a law firm, your website is critical for your success. Research shows that a good website can be the most effective tool in reinforcing trust among your potential clients through online marketing for lawyers.
From the users’ point of view:
- Visual appeal and ease of navigation have the biggest influence on people’s first impression.
- Poor interface design is the primary reason for early rejection and mistrust of a website.
- Busy layouts, complex navigation, and poor search functionality have a negative impact on users.
- Fundamental design elements like use of color, intrusive or pleasing pop-ups and having a corporate look and feel have a profound impact on user reaction.
- Create Great Website Content
Even if you have very good content, it will not find favor with your visitors if it is not supported by good design. Similarly, if your website has a great design but the content is thin or unproductive, your message would fall through and users won’t be impressed enough to submit their information, that is, convert into a lead.
Once you have a good design and gain Visitors’ attention, make sure that they stick around to gather more information.
A good starting point would be to tell them about your identity. According to the consumer union study, a website should adopt these policies to promote credibility:
- Clearly indicate the physical location and address.
- At least have a phone number and e-mail address. Better still, it should have a contact form.
- Disclose the type of ownership, private or public. Also disclose the name of the parent company and other affiliations.
- Explicitly disclose their purpose and mission.
- Avoid slow introduction to the site.
- Avoid lack of white space and too much text and fine prints
- Monitor Reviews, Accumulate Testimonials, Exhibit Case Studies
A marketing agency for lawyers can help you find out the influencers in your niche area by monitoring reviews. Take note of what experiences garnered the most positive and highly rated reviews, and incorporate those insights into your business. Pay special attention to the active reviewers and always look out for any mention of your firm.
- Positive reviews: Whenever you come across any positive review, make sure to contact them to convey a humble thank you and express that you care. People who leave reviews are generally opinionated, vocal and expressive. Don’t make them feel that they are being solicited. You shouldn’t send gifts, event invites or email subscription, or else you might be misinterpreted.
- Negative reviews: Monitor and address all negative online reviews about your firm. According to a Socialnomics report, 25% of search results show review sites, blogs, and/or social media updates. Users consider these results decisively while making purchase decisions. If their first impression about your firm is negative they might get prejudiced against you.
Garner testimonials and feature client successes in your case studies. Collect positive feedbacks at a central location and get your former clients to issue statements about their experiences with your firm. Ensure that you communicate your motive clearly. Case studies interspersed with client quotes assure the users that the business behind the aesthetics of the website is credible and worth pursuing. Once a potential client shows interest in a website, the first thing he looks for is client testimonials. Use genuine, original, generous words that others have spoken about your practice, and back them up with unambiguous case study information.
- Market yourself online, not just your website
Blogging: Blogging for credibility and visibility is major trend in digital marketing these days. In the field of law, though, it is still a growing tactic, so blogging can be a useful and effective way to exploit the power of your online presence. Law blogs can be an effective tool for law firms and can serve multiple purposes like reporting current development to colleagues, clients and general public, attracting traffic to the site, or sharing valuable insights with prospective clients, the public and the media.
Blogging increases the exposure for the lawyers or law firms and enhances their reputation. It helps them stay on point and manage their reputation with existing clients by providing valuable information.
Social Media: According to a study more than 75% of lawyers use social media for career enhancement and networking and almost 50% use these platforms for education and awareness. Another important finding of this study was that 44% of the respondents used social media for client development and 23% of them said they got new clients through it. At the very least ensure your presence on Linked as it rules the social media market when it comes to its use by the legal industry with 75% of the respondents saying they use LinkedIn for professional purposes.
- Use Retargeting
Retargeting, also known as remarketing, is a kind of online advertising that helps your brand stay in front of bounced traffic after they leave your website. It is a very crucial form of website advertising as only 2% web traffic gets converted on the first visit. Law firm marketing agencies use retargeting to help you drive your initial traffic back to your website and they ultimately may choose your law firm. Retargeting can reinforce your law firm’s image by keeping your name and messaging in front of your target audience that has already shown interest in your law firm. Retargeting uses banner ads which only appears to people who had previously visited your website. So even when people aren’t on your site they still get to see your ads whenever they surf the net. The more people see your ad, the more likely they are to gain confidence in your company. Retargeting can help your firm gain advantage over your competitors as potential clients show less trust in companies they are unfamiliar with, further instilling trust in your law firm because of its high visibility.
Retargeting should be a must-have solution for all law firms and individual lawyers. It’s extremely cost effective and drives only the highest quality traffic from the targeted audience. It allows transparent reporting and is quite easy to set up.
