You’re small, but you’re a force to be reckoned with — and you want the world, especially potential clients, to know what you are capable of. Getting your name out is essential for this to happen. However, you may not have much information about successful marketing for small law firms.

Fortunately, inexpensive and effective marketing strategies can markedly increase your exposure to the people you are looking to serve. And the digital marketing consultants at Lawyers Marketing Associates can help.

Our legal marketing experts help you get leads and turn them into clients. Give us a call at (919) 637-9144.

Contract a Digital Marketing Firm Experienced in Marketing for Small Law Firms

Around 40% of clients find their attorneys using a Google search. However, not all law firms appear in these searches, and many that do find themselves toward the back of the search results. If you want a piece of this giant pie, you need to contract the services of a digital marketing agency, preferably one with a history in small law firm marketing.

Depending on your law firm’s situation, you may desire varying levels of service from a digital marketing agency. Some law firms want a full digital marketing campaign consisting of many levels of interaction, while others may need only basic web page ranking and marketing consulting services.

Speaking with a digital marketing firm with experience in small law firm marketing would be the optimal way to get the results you need. A digital marketing firm with a history of bringing in more clients for small law firms knows what works and knows how to devise effective strategies for client acquisition and retention.

In addition to optimizing your search engine rankings, a digital marketing agency will employ other small law firm marketing strategies, such as making sure you are listed in all of the major legal directories, including Avvo, Nolo, FindLaw, Justia, and Super Lawyers.

Appoint a Market Person

Since you are a smaller operation, you most likely do not have a dedicated team that focuses exclusively on marketing, and you don’t necessarily need one in-house. However, you should assign one person in your office to handle your firm’s marketing efforts.

Ideally, this person would be a member of your clerical staff, such as a legal secretary, a clerk, or even an intern. Their job would be to handle the flow of information between marketing professionals and the law firm, allowing attorneys to remain focused on their cases. Of course, the managing attorneys should be involved in any major decision-making processes.

In some law firms, it may be appropriate to appoint an attorney to handle marketing communications. If your micro-practice has no clerical staff, attorneys will have to handle your firm’s administrative and accounting duties, including marketing efforts.

Always remember that you are a law firm and not a marketing agency; your normal flow of work has little to do with advertising. You need to designate someone to keep your marketing efforts on track to meet the goals you set while you represent clients.

Create an Optimized Website

Having a website as a business tool is simply not enough. Your website needs to be fine-tuned in order to really work its magic for your law firm. Because creating exceptional websites requires specific skills, it’s more than worth your while to contract a business experienced in website design, such as a digital marketing agency.

If this agency’s employees have a history of designing sites for law firms, even better. They will know how to lay out your web pages in a way that optimizes traffic. And don’t forget about navigability and speed: Your site needs to load quickly and completely, or you risk losing new clients.

You’ll also want to include a number of calls to action (CTAs). A CTA helps move a browser to action and take the first step by contacting your firm. CTAs should be located throughout your site and contain clear contact information that invites potential clients to call.

Get Professional Photos Taken

Consumer cameras are marvels of technology and are great substitutes for professional equipment. However, nothing can truly replace the services of an experienced portrait photographer. Their work can play a crucial role in business marketing for small law firms.

As professionals in the legal industry, you and your colleagues face many situations where your photo is needed, such as on your website, in publications, and for advertising purposes. It is worth the money and effort to take the time to put together a set of professionally shot photographs of your firm’s members and have them ready when needed.

Create Focused Video Content

Video content is an effective way to connect to potential clients. However, poorly created video content can turn visitors away. If you are considering shooting video for your firm, make sure your content is appropriate and of adequate production quality.

With numerous video platforms at your fingertip, you have the power to create content that boosts your firm’s profile in an instant. Because of this, it is important to be cautious with any videos you post, as they will directly reflect on your law firm’s reputation. Use Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, but always make sure your videos don’t come off as unprofessional.

Before posting any video, review it for viewability. If you’re not a professional videographer or highly trained novice, you may be producing substandard content that immediately turns viewers away. No matter how good the content, poorly shot video that is shaky, blurry, or difficult to hear appears unprofessional.

You also have the option of shooting professional videos, such as commercials or informative and instruction videos. A small production company can handle the work for you, and shopping around can help you find a team with reasonable prices.

Keep Your Website Design and Content Fresh

Websites evolve over time or remain stuck in the past. Potential clients expect fresh and relevant content, including up-to-date website design. Visitors to your firm’s site will not be impressed if it looks like a page from 2012.

Equally unimpressive — and potentially damaging — is content that refers to events that happened years earlier. Constant new content and frequent updates are essential for successful marketing for small law firms.

Put Out Press Releases

A simple press release is a great strategy to inform potential clients of your services and engage the media. Although the information contained in your release need not be news of the century, it should be relevant and somewhat engaging, or it may appear as a fluff move.

Give Community Presentations

In spite of, or perhaps because of, the proliferation of advanced technology, face-to-face communication remains a powerful way to enhance your law firm’s profile in your community.

In most towns and cities around the country, lawyers have numerous opportunities to present or address a topic of interest to the community. Holding a Saturday workshop on the basics of bankruptcy if you’re a bankruptcy firm or giving a talk on employees’ rights at a rec center if you deal with labor law are two examples.

The key is getting the public (i.e., potential clients) to think of your firm when they need the services of an attorney. Print and e-advertising also work well for this — but nothing can truly take the place of in-person encounters.

Don’t Forget Traditional Print Media

Digital media is here to stay, as are the many forms of traditional print media. Sometimes, though, it seems as if traditional forms of advertising have gone the way of the telephone. But this is not the case. Although your law firm should not rely solely on print media, you may want to consider some traditional advertising options.

Magazines

There are over 7,000 print magazines in the U.S., with a staggering adult readership of over 100 million. Choosing the right publication to place an advert can lead to a stream of clients. Local and regional magazines are a good place to start.

Newspapers

Newspaper circulation has declined significantly over the years. However, around 1,200 daily newspapers are still in print, according to Statista. As a small firm, you would target local and regional papers for customers. The low cost of going this route is worth the potential return in customers.

Billboards and Posters

Traditional billboards continue to be a go-to for large and small companies. A well-timed and well-placed temporary advert could be great for your firm’s visibility. Although giant billboards along the highway may not provide the returns that some law firms are looking for, smaller or mobile billboards in cities and neighborhoods could be good marketing for small law firms.

Many marketing strategies are available for small law firms looking to get more clients. For the best results, working with a digital marketing agency with a proven track record of increasing small firms’ client bases is always advisable.

Yes, offline strategies exist and should be considered. However, with nearly half of people finding legal services through Google, much of your efforts should be in the digital realm.

Contact Lawyers Marketing Associates

Call on us today at (919) 637-9144 to work with an agency that understands the finer points of marketing for small law firms. Let us get you the clients you want to serve and grow your business into the future.