Keys to the Kingdom: The Brilliant Marketing Plan Your Law Firm Has Been Missing

Is your law firm struggling to find its marketing edge, or worse, watching money go down the drain with no results to show for your marketing investment?

Law firms are top targets for marketing providers seeking to make easy money with little work required. Whether you’re stuck on step one or soured from a bad experience, focusing first on the tried and true basics can help you find your stride. Once you’ve established the core of your marketing, your firm can then grow into larger endeavors.

The Absolute Essentials Every Law Firm Needs

Professional services revolve around trust. As a primarily referral-driven business, you need to show simply that you know what you’re doing. Here are three straightforward ways to build trust with your referral base:

A Presentable Website

The quality of your website should match the quality of the services you provide. When we tell clients this, they often have an “aha” moment, realizing that they are not as proud of their website as they are of their professional reputation. Remember, for people who are learning of your firm for the first time, your website is their primary tool in deciding whether to choose your firm.

You don’t need to have a flashy or robust website to make a great impression. A quality website for a law firm can be as simple as:

  • Professional photography
  • Responsive design (meaning the website functions properly on different mobile devices)
  • User-friendly navigation
  • Sharp branding
  • Clear, concise content
  • A well-produced video about your firm

Email Marketing

The deep trust that drives referrals doesn’t happen with a single visit to your website or even an in-person introduction. You want to be “top of mind” at all times, and a monthly newsletter accomplishes just that. We’ve worked with quite a few law firms here at Raindrop Marketing, so we understand how to nurture your client and partner referral groups with content that educates them on your areas of practice.

A thoughtful, well-intended newsletter is much different from spam. Your contacts want to hear from you when you have something worthwhile to share!

Content

Content is fuel for your marketing engine. Blogging might sound like a pastime, but it’s a powerful tactic that allows you to showcase your expertise time and time again. And content goes much further than blogging. We can help you create any combination of white papers, press releases, thought leadership articles, landing pages, infographics, video testimonials, and more–in addition to creating a “content calendar” of blog articles so that you know the well will never run dry. 

Moving Up the Funnel

Take a look at the sales funnel that we use to guide marketing strategies for our law clients:

You’ll notice that the essentials are actually at the bottom of the funnel. From there, you work your way up as you gain momentum. Once you have your website, email marketing, and content in rhythm, you can then go after another layer of “low hanging fruit” in people who are actively searching for your services via:

Wild Card: Yelp

Don’t underestimate the value of Yelp to your law firm. Yelp is one of the highest-ranking websites on Google. Take the time to fill out your profile, add pictures, and—most importantly—encourage every happy client to write a review. There’s no “secret sauce” to Yelp success. It’s purely a matter of persistence in driving reviews.

Expanding Your Audience

If you’ve done everything right to this point, your firm is likely growing, which means your marketing efforts will evolve into some of the things you might have been leading with before, such as:

  • Pay-per click (PPC)
  • TV
  • Radio
  • Print
  • Direct mail
  • Public relations

The difference in working your way up to these investments is that they become much more effective because your brand is stronger, and your practice is thriving on more cost-effective and measurable marketing strategies. 

Get More out of Your Marketing

If you’re a small to mid-sized law firm, Raindrop Marketing can help you develop a customized marketing strategy that will help you to grow steadily and sustainably. We also partner with larger law firms to minimize stress on their internal teams and maximize their efforts. To learn more, visit www.raindropag1stg.wpengine.com.

By: Adam Wagner