How To Promote Your Law Firm Locally

by Kristin Savage

Small law firms are everywhere, and there’s fierce competition for the best and the boldest to manage to stand out. The goal of promotion and marketing strategy of law firms is to ultimately create a consistent flow of clients.

It usually takes years of marketing efforts to realize what works and what doesn’t work for the benefit of your company. In order to save you some time and nerves, we have collected several strategies which have proven to be successful for local promotion of law firms.

Focus on Client Experience

There is not an ad in the world that has greater worth than word of mouth.

Client testimonials and reviews are what most people rely on when choosing their attorney. Especially if it comes to local promotion.

Make sure that you provide your customers with the best experience so that they feel strongly about sharing thoughts about your services with others.

Of course, not everyone is familiar with someone who can recommend the type of lawyer they are in need of and that is why you should encourage leaving reviews on your website, or review-based sites like Facebook, Amazon, and Yelp.

Clients likely would rather go for a law firm which offers testimonials and a five-star rating than for one that has no reviews at all.  Invest in your client experience by ensuring that happy clients follow up and let their friends and neighbors know; provide a good way for them to do so, and it will benefit your firm immensely.

Invest in Content Creation and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Every online marketing expert will emphasize the importance of optimizing a law firm website for a better ranking in search engines.  This SEO work can be done in a variety of ways.

First of all, you need to create a high-quality content. You won’t be able to optimize anything if you don’t invest some time and energy in the content in the first place.

You should also do some research and plan the right keywords to be used in your online content. Some of the tools you can use for keyword research are the following:

• Google AdWords: Keyword Planner
• IMforSMB Bulk Keyword Generator
• Keyword In
• Soovle
• Wordtracker Scout

By creating a valuable content and optimizing it with keywords, you can find yourself listed on the first page of Google and eventually get to the number one position.

A high search ranking will drive a consistent stream of quality traffic to your website and spur steady growth for your firm.  Ensure you are providing content to be optimized for better search positioning.

Take Advantage of Google My Business

Optimizing your website is not enough if you don’t optimize it for local searches, and Google My Business can help you out with that.

It is a free service dedicated to easing the process for local businesses to manage their listings in Google search results. Besides displaying the results on a map, it also lists important details about businesses such as information, website, and even reviews.

When someone searches through Google for local legal services in your area, your website can come up and get their attention.

After you create a profile, ensure Google that your law firm is a valuable service provider in the local community by using the features that Google offers for local businesses, such as updating your geographic information and creating Google Posts with recent updates about your firm.

Get Active on Social Media

Being an active user of social networks can benefit your law firm’s reputation in many ways.

Connect with people locally by searching for potential clients based on your area.

Don’t send any promotional messages, just let them know of your presence and your expertise via smart social media use. If you want to use social media in a more promotional way, it is best to resort to paid ads.

You can use social media platforms to share links related to your areas of practice, discuss general topics and tips related to life goals, time management, organization, etc. This will enable you to present yourself and your law firm in a more approachable way.

Potential clients will get the feeling that they already know you before they even walk through the firm’s front door. Considering that, they will be more comfortable with contacting and discussing their issues with someone they feel familiar with than with a complete stranger.  Social media truly allows for a softening of the rigid and intimidating process of meeting with and hiring a lawyer. Use social media to project approachability, especially within your local community.

Use social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Karen Klukiewicz, COO at Patrick Neale & Associates explains, “A website is essential for credibility and general info, but networking and relationships are key.” Sharing the same opinion, Barry Walker, a managing partner at Walker Law adds, “Social media marketing is the future for lawyers. Most people perform research on their smartphones. I get one to two significant cases per year from paid marketing efforts on Facebook for a minimal investment.”

Be Seen at Local Events

When it comes to the local community, it is very important that you are involved. That is why being social and attending as many events as your time permits can be an effective way of getting acquainted with numerous people and ultimately raising your chances of getting new clients.

If you recently opened a law firm, then you should certainly embrace this advice; being involved in your local community will spread the word about your personality and services in the shortest period of time.  It also bolsters community trust in you and your business.

Just attending networking events is not enough. You also need to interact with local businesspeople and community leaders, which will help keep you top-of-mind with potential clients and referral sources.

In case you are a bold type, you can even get some speaking engagements such as free public seminars. If you get hosted by a group, the seminars won’t take much of your marketing budget.

A public speaker and CEO of PickWriters, a site that reviews legal translation services explains, “Public relations can get you to meet many people, and at the same time you can present your company and your services in a non-promotional way. By getting an idea of what they can expect from you, people will feel comfortable with hiring you and confiding their legal issues.”

You can also offer an initial consultation at no charge or a reduction in legal fees to interest your potential clients even more.

Conclusion

There is a true power in understanding how to approach potential clients and gain their attention and trust.  This is especially true when it comes to important life issues such as finding the right legal services. Making sure you start your firm’s upward growth from your home area is paramount.

The above legal marketing strategies focus on building meaningful relationships and promoting your law firm locally, which is the core of success. By following these marketing steps you will be able to expand your client base and improve your clients’ experiences at the same time.

Kristin Savage nourishes, sparks and empowers using the magic of a word. Along with pursuing her degree in Creative Writing, Kristin has experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in marketing strategy for publishers and authors. You can find her on Facebook and Medium.