Law firms have a unique set of pain points with their digital marketing efforts, involving everything from social media and content creation to SEO, brand messaging and metrics for measuring their success.
PMP has extensive knowledge of the many challenges with marketing plaintiff law firms online, as we have been handling digital marketing for law firms across North America for more than 15 years.
Below, we explain 10 pain points with digital marketing for law firms and provide practical strategies to help overcome them. While these issues are certainly challenging, they are opportunities for firms to improve and position themselves for growth.
If you are looking to get better results with your digital marketing efforts, contact PMP today to discuss a custom solution to help your firm grow.
1. Standing Out From Your Competition
Pain Point: Much like traditional marketing, law firm digital marketing is incredibly competitive. The Internet and social media are saturated with firms that are trying to reach the same audience. This intensely competitive marketplace makes it increasingly difficult to stand out from the other firms vying for your potential clients.
Strategy: The key to standing out from the competition is to determine what sets you apart from your competitors:
- Your track record
- Specialized services
- Focus on your clients
Once you determine what makes your firm unique, convey these differences in your marketing messages. For example, you can develop a content strategy to showcase your expertise and success stories using:
- Blogs
- Videos
- Client testimonials
- And more
Your digital marketing efforts should be aligned with your traditional marketing, as this helps drive the message home to your potential clients. People need to see something multiple times before they remember it.
2. Converting People Who Visit Your Website or Click on Your Ads
Pain Point: Getting potential clients to visit your website is one thing but getting them to click on an ad or call your firm is another. The challenge is to optimize your websites and landing pages for conversions.
Strategy: Law firms need to make sure their websites and landing pages are:
- User friendly
- Mobile friendly
- Load quickly
Your sites should include clear calls-to-action (CTAs) on every page, inviting visitors to contact your firm. Plaintiff firms that work on contingency need to state that the initial consultation is free. Despite all the advertising about free consultations, many potential clients still do not know how these lawyers are paid.
Firms should optimize their landing pages to align with the specific needs and questions of their target audience. It is critical to ensure your messaging is consistent across landing pages, websites and traditional advertising.
You should test different versions of your landing pages to find the most effective layout, copy and calls to action. PMP has helped many of our clients do A/B testing on landing pages to increase conversions. If you have questions about optimizing your websites to increase conversions, contact us to learn more about our services.
3. Getting From a Conversion to Signing a Case
Pain Point: People are not going to hire your firm simply because they called you or completed a contact form. You need to respond quickly, because if potential clients cannot reach you, they will likely give up and call another firm. You need to make sure you have an efficient intake process that keeps potential clients engaged.
Strategy: One of the biggest problems with client intake is making them wait too long. For example, if someone calls your firm after hours and it goes to an answering service, it should not take minutes for someone to answer the call. The people who answer these calls need to get the important information from the potential client as soon as possible. If there is a strong possibility there may be a case, the call needs to be transferred to a lawyer as soon as possible.
If someone completes a contact form, and it looks like they may have a case, law firms need to follow up with them as soon as possible.
You should regularly review and optimize your follow-up strategy to prevent potential clients from slipping through the cracks.
4. Managing SEO and Algorithm Changes
Pain Point: Optimizing your content and websites for search engines is critical. However, frequent Google updates can make it harder to stay high in the rankings.
Strategy: While Google is constantly making updates, some things stay the same. For example, you cannot go wrong with creating high-quality, relevant content that addresses your audience’s needs and questions. Google likes content that provides the best answers to users’ questions.
You can strengthen your website’s authority and local SEO ranking by getting your firm into legal directories, getting reviews on other websites and getting others to share your content on social media. This can help signal to Google that your site is a credible source of information.
Staying informed about all the latest Google updates and best practices is a challenge, when you have cases to win. That is why many law firms outsource their SEO efforts to experienced marketing companies. PMP knows what works with SEO because we use these strategies with firms across North America with great success.
5. Measuring Your Return on Investment (ROI)
Pain Point: Law firms often struggle to track their return on investment, making it difficult to justify their strategies, as well as their budget. There is a lot of data you can collect, but sifting through it and finding the important information can be a challenge.
Strategy: There are key performance metrics law firms should focus on, like conversion rate, cost per lead and client acquisition cost. PMP has seen firsthand the benefits of keeping a close eye on these data points and adjusting campaigns accordingly.
6. Adapting to Evolving Technology
Pain Point: The digital marketing landscape is never static. Things are always changing, and new technology is always emerging. Keeping up can be overwhelming.
Strategy: While it can be helpful to attend industry conferences and webinars, it is tough to keep up. More importantly, it is difficult to know how new technology fits with your firm and its digital marketing strategies. That is why many law firms work with a digital marketing agency that specializes in law firm marketing, like PMP. We are already working with new technology and understand its uses and benefits.
7. Staying Consistent with Your Brand Message
Pain Point: Staying consistent can be a challenge, especially for firms with multiple partners or locations.
Strategy: Firms should develop a brand guide that outlines their mission, vision, tone of voice, and visual elements. This should guide your digital marketing strategies to make sure you are sending consistent messages to potential clients.
8. Expanding Your Social Media Following
Pain Point: Many law firms struggle to increase their social media following and engagement. This hurts your ability to engage with your community and reach potential clients. A strong social media presence can position your firm as a thought leader in the legal industry.
Solution: Regularly posting content that people like to engage with is critical. For example, posting pictures of lawyers and staff members from your firm, such as pictures of office events or work anniversaries tends to result in strong social media engagement.
Other types of visual content, like infographics and short videos also tend to do well on social media. This type of content is more shareable, which is more likely to garner more followers. Many firms have had success creating short explainer videos on common legal issues or behind-the-scenes looks at your firm to humanize your brand and encourage engagement.
Law firms should not just post content. They need to actively engage with their followers and communities by responding to comments and sharing content from other users and organizations.
9. Managing Your Online Reputation
Pain Point: Positive client reviews are critical, as a handful of negative reviews can damage your law firm’s reputation and your ability to attract new clients.
Strategy: Law firms need to actively monitor their reviews and respond to positive and negative reviews. This shows that your firm is paying attention and is committed to creating a positive experience for the people who contact you.
It is important to have a process to make it easier for people to leave reviews, and to remind you to ask people to leave reviews. This can help ensure a steady stream of positive reviews.
Studies show that many people look at customer reviews before deciding to pay money for a product or service.
10. Complying with Ethics Regulations
Pain Point: There are strict ethics regulations on digital marketing for law firms. Law firms need to be careful to make sure they are in compliance. Breaking these rules can have devastating consequences.
Strategy: Ensure all marketing materials, from website content to social media posts, comply with regulations set by your state bar. When in doubt, consult with a legal marketing ethics expert or attorney to review your campaigns for compliance.
