5 Legal Marketing Tips to Generate New Business

Building a thriving law firm requires a couple of things. You need passion and the right education to get started. You also need clients. Put those three elements together and something magical can happen. 

Of course, you’ll eventually run up against the same wall as most other law firms. You’ll spend so much time involved in legal marketing that you struggle to help your clients. You can hire someone to take up the load or outsource your marketing to a legal marketing firm, but that may increase your costs dramatically.

The good news is that spreading the word about your firm doesn’t have to cost a fortune. With these effective legal marketing tips, you can generate new business, create a steady influx of new leads, and still focus on what you do best. 

Legal marketing tips to build a thriving practice

1. Start with a professional website

While traditional advertising methods like newspaper ads and radio spots can work well in your local community, you’ll find that digital legal marketing is more affordable and effective. You’ll want to start with a professional website. Even if you’re running a solo practice, your website should be professional and polished, but approachable. 

Do yourself a favor and skip the DIY stuff here. An amateurishly designed website can tarnish your practice’s appearance. You don’t want leads to think that you’re anything less than a successful attorney, and a poorly designed website will certainly make them think that. 

2. Claim free online listings

Getting the word out about your practice doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. One of the most effective legal marketing tips we have to offer is to claim your free online listings. And we recommend that you start with Google. Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is a powerful tool that helps you tap into local search trends, provide information for leads, and even generate social proof in the form of testimonials from current and previous clients. Best of all, it costs you $0 and only a little bit of time to claim your listing and get everything set up. 

Your Google Business Profile is just one option out there. Depending on where your practice is located, you may have a wide range of other free online directories where you can create a listing. Make sure that all of your profiles match in terms of name, address, and phone number (NAP), though, or you may create conflicting listings that confuse your leads (and the search engines!).

3. Tap into social media

Yes, this probably sounds trite, but if you’re not on social media, your practice is probably invisible. Facebook has become one of the first places people search when they need to find attorneys and other experts, so it can pay dividends to have a page with your contact information and website address listed. 

You can also use your social media accounts to promote blog posts, articles, and other content, and it doesn’t have to cost you anything. You can share case studies, provide a look behind the scenes, highlight Q&A sessions, share interviews, promote webinars, and more. Beyond Facebook, consider short videos on YouTube and Instagram to educate your community, and potential leads, on legal-specific topics. 

4. Build your authority and show your expertise

Google rewards businesses that showcase authority and expertise. And legal leads do the same. One very effective way of doing that is through content marketing. Blog posts, articles, guest posts, infographics, podcast episodes — these are all proven ways to share your knowledge and expertise with the world. Most of them cost you nothing but a little bit of time and then they provide value for years to come. 

You can easily cross-promote these through your website, social media channels, email marketing efforts, and in other ways, helping to maximize the return on your initial investment. Of course, you need to ensure that your content is professional, accurate, and original. Low-quality content can erode your authority and degrade your ranking in the SERPs, so focus on putting your best foot forward.

5. Encourage clients to leave online reviews

Leads want to see a couple of things when choosing an attorney to represent them. First, they want to see that you have expertise in their area of need. Second, they want to know that you will represent them to the best of your ability. Content marketing is the best way to achieve the first goal, but you still need a way to generate social proof. 

There’s a reason that people will buy a product on Amazon with an average rating of 4.3 stars but won’t take a chance on one with 1.7 stars. You can get around this problem by encouraging your clients to leave you online reviews. Often, they’ll do this if you just ask them to, and you can easily add this to your case wrap-up process. This will strengthen both your online profiles as well as your brand reputation. 

Planning for success with a virtual receptionist service

With the legal marketing tips we’ve discussed, you should be able to generate a steady stream of interested leads. You’ll need to ensure that those phone calls are answered promptly, but you must also focus on your caseload. A virtual receptionist service like Smith.ai can ensure that phone calls are answered 24/7. We can even screen leads and handle legal client intake for you. From booking appointments to email and SMS follow-ups after a consultation or call, we help you run a thriving legal practice. 

To learn more, schedule a consultation or reach out to hello@smith.ai.