How do Law Firms Market Themselves?

How do Law Firms Market Themselves nowadays?

Like any other business, law firms rely on marketing to promote their legal services and attract new clients.

Whether consciously or not, every law firm owner does a bit of marketing for their firm – when talking about it to their friends or family (referral marketing), or when publishing a social media post about their day at work.

With the rise of the internet and digital technologies, you now have more options than ever before when it comes to marketing your legal services.

From online advertising and social media to search engine optimisation (SEO) and content marketing, there are a variety of tactics your law firm can use to reach potential clients.

However, traditional offline marketing methods such as print, and event marketing still have their place.

In this blog, we will explore the different ways UK law firms market themselves online and offline, discuss the pros and cons of each approach to give you ideas how you can promote your services.

We begin with an overview of the most common strategies law firms use that we have seen over the years helping law firms generate new clients.

Referral marketing

One of the most effective ways for law firms to generate new cases and clients is through referrals from existing clients, other firms, and industry professionals.

Incentives, such as free consultationsm, are also recommended as part of a referral marketing strategy as, not only they allow your prospect to find out if you are the right fit for them, but also for you, to find out if you can help.

Pros of referral marketing for law firms:

• High-quality enquiries: Referrals from satisfied clients or professional connections can be high-quality because they are pre-qualified and come with an increased level of trust.
• Cost-effective: Referral marketing can be a cost-effective marketing strategy since it often does not require any out-of-pocket expenses.
• Increased loyalty: Encouraging clients to refer their friends and family can increase loyalty and trust in your law firm.
• Builds reputation: A strong referral network can help build your law firm’s reputation in your local community.

• Limited reach: Referral marketing has a limited reach. You may not be able to reach potential clients outside of your existing network.
• Unpredictable: The number of referrals received may be unpredictable, making it difficult to rely on this as a sole marketing strategy.
• Dependence on others: Referral marketing is dependent on other people referring business to your firm, which may not always happen.
• Quality control: While referrals can be high-quality enquiries, they may not always be a good fit for your law firm, and it can be challenging to turn down referrals from friends or family members.

Online Marketing

Numerous UK law firms leverage a range of online marketing channels to increase their visibility and attract new clients.

This often includes developing a professional website, search engine optimisation (law firm SEO), utilising social media profiles, and pay-per-click advertising (PPC/ Adwords for law firms, including Facebook ads).

• Cost-effective: Online marketing is often much more cost effective than traditional forms of marketing such as print or radio ads. This makes it an attractive option for smaller law firms with limited marketing budgets.
• Flexible: Online marketing is flexible. It can allow your law firm to reach a large audience (larger than traditional forms of marketing) or a small one (individuals based at a specific post code) – depending on your needs.
• Measurable results: Online marketing provides measurable results, so you can easily see what is working and what is not. This makes it easier to optimise your marketing campaigns for better results.
• Targeted marketing: Online marketing allows law firms to target specific audiences based on demographics, interests, and behaviours. This means that you can tailor your marketing messages to very specific groups of people.
• Easy to adjust: Online marketing campaigns can be easily adjusted and updated as needed. This means that you can quickly respond to changes in your business or the market.

• Competition: Certain areas of law (e.g. divorce) can be competitive and may require a bigger budget (for PPC) or a long-term strategy (for SEO and content marketing) to achieve noticeable results.
• Technical expertise: Online marketing requires technical knowledge and expertise. Law firms may need to hire legal marketing professionals to help them create effective online marketing campaigns. Marketers who don’t have extensive experience in the legal sector may not be able to achieve good results without spending a lot of money.
• Changing algorithms: Online marketing relies on search engines and social media platforms to drive traffic. However, these platforms can change their algorithms at any time, which can impact your marketing efforts.
• Lack of trust: Some people are sceptical of online marketing and may be more likely to trust traditional forms of advertising.
• Online reputation management: Online marketing can also open law firms up to negative reviews or comments. Managing your online reputation is, therefore, crucial to maintaining a positive image fo your law firm.

Print Advertising

Print advertising can be effective in reaching local audiences, particularly in areas with a high concentration of potential clients.

Law firms may advertise in local newspapers, magazines, or other publications.

• Tangibility: Print ads offer a physical presence that can be seen, touched, and kept for future reference.
• Targeted Audience: You can choose publications that cater to your target audience and increase the chances of reaching the right people.
• Credibility: Print ads can provide a sense of legitimacy and authority to your law firm, especially if placed in reputable publications.

• Limited Reach: Print ads have a limited reach compared to other forms of advertising, such as digital marketing.
• Expensive: Advertising in print can be costly, especially in popular publications. It may not be the best option for small law firms with limited marketing budgets.
• Low ROI: Measuring the return on investment (ROI) of print ads can be very challenging. It is difficult to track the number of people who see your ad and how many convert into enquiries or paying clients.
• Limited Flexibility: Unlike digital marketing, print ads are not easily modified or updated once they have been printed. If you want to make changes, you will need to start the process over again.

Event Marketing

As a law firm, you can also host or sponsor events, such as seminars or webinars, local sports events and/or charity events. Getting involved in community events can lead to an increase in brand awareness and trust, and as a result, generate legal enquiries.

Such events may be focused on a specific practice area, legal issue, or completely unrelated to your profession.

• Increased brand awareness: By sponsoring a local event or charity, your law firm can increase its visibility and exposure to potential clients.
• Community involvement: Sponsoring a local event or charity shows that you are invested in the community and care about supporting local causes.
• Positive association: By associating your law firm with a popular or well-regarded event or charity, you can benefit from the positive association with that organisation.

• Cost: Depending on the size and scope of the event, sponsorship can be expensive and may not provide a clear return on investment.
• Limited audience: Event marketing is limited to the attendees of the specific event, so it may not reach as many people as other marketing methods, such as digital marketing.
• Limited control: You may not have full control over the messaging or presentation of the event or charity you are sponsoring, which could lead to mixed or unclear branding messages.

Public Relations (PR)

Some law firms (mostly large firms) also engage in public relations efforts, such as press releases, media interviews, or thought leadership pieces.

The focus of PR is building and maintaining a positive public image for your law firm to help you establish yourself as an expert and increase visibility.

• Builds brand awareness: PR efforts can help to establish a law firm as a trusted and reputable source of legal services, leading to increased brand awareness and recognition.
• Cost-effective: PR can be a cost-effective way to promote a law firm, especially when using online methods such as press releases or social media. You can reach out to local media outlets yourself and ask them if they could do an article about your firm.
• Positive media coverage: Positive media coverage resulting from PR efforts can help to build credibility and establish a law firm as an industry leader.
• Good for your website: having news websites link to your law firm’s website is good for building your website’s authority. A good websit authority score will help you rank higher in search engine results.

• Limited control: Unlike other forms of marketing, such as paid advertising (PPC), you have limited control over the messaging and coverage that may result from PR efforts.
• Time-consuming: PR efforts can be time-consuming, especially if a law firm is seeking to build relationships with journalists or participate in media interviews.
• Results may be difficult to measure: Unlike paid advertising, which can be tracked and measured, the results of PR efforts may be more difficult to quantify in terms of ROI.

Legal Content Marketing

By creating high-quality, informative content such as blog posts, videos, or infographics, law firms attract potential clients and establish themselves as thought leaders in their field.

To be effective, you need to ensure that your website is in good technical condition.

• Builds authority: Publishing legal content establishes your law firm as an authority in your practice area.
• Builds trust: Helps build trust and credibility with potential clients who don’t know you. Offering guides and articles on specific topics will present your law firm as an expert and you as knowledgeable.
• Attracts new enquiries: Legal content publication can attract enquiries who are already interested in your services. This means that when they reach out, you don’t have to do as much ‘selling’ to convert them.
• Improves SEO: Having legal content on your website can improve its search engine rankings through search engine optimisation (SEO).
• Long-term benefits: Legal content marketing provides long-term benefits as content can continue to generate leads and traffic over time. A good quality blog can result in enquiries for years to come.
• Supplementary to other strategies: Content marketing can supplement your other strategies, for example, email marketing campaigns.

• Time-consuming: Legal content marketing can be time-consuming and resource-intensive to create high-quality content, especially if you plan on doing it on your own.
• Results may not be instant: Depending on your website (its technical condition, amount of SEO done, and domain age), your content may not start ranking instantly. It may take some time before you start seeing significant results as it can take time for your content to gain traction. Some law firms find this frustrating and is the reason why they choose not to undertake this marketing activity.
• Requires strategy: You need to build and follow a strategy to ensure that your content is targeted to your ideal audience. Furthermore, consistent effort and regular content creation are essential to maintain the effectiveness of content marketing.

Direct Mail

Have you ever received a letter or a brochure advising that you may have a PPI claim?

Some law firms still use direct mail campaigns to reach potential clients in a specific geographic area.

The campaigns may include posting letters, postcards, or brochures that promote the law firm’s services.

• Highly targeted: Direct mail can be highly targeted, allowing your law firm to send materials to specific demographics or geographic areas.
• Tailored: It can be personalized, allowing for a more tailored message to potential clients.
• Tracked: Direct mail can be tracked for effectiveness, as you can track response rates and adjust your approach accordingly.
• Long-lifespan: Direct mail marketing has a longer lifespan than digital marketing materials, as physical materials may be kept for future reference.

• Costly: Direct mail can be expensive, particularly when factoring in printing, mailing, and postage costs.
• There are no guarantees: There is no guarantee that the materials you produce and mail will be read or acted upon by potential clients.
• Can be considered intrusive: Direct mail can be seen as intrusive or annoying, potentially harming your law firm’s reputation.
• Difficult to measure: It can be difficult to measure the exact return on investment for direct mail campaigns.

Which Marketing Strategy is Best for my Law Firm?

Which marketing strategy is suitable for your law firm depends on the size of your firm, your capacity, individual needs, budget, and goals. One marketing strategy may be effective for one law firm but fail for another.

If you are considering investing in digital marketing, contact our law firm marketing experts to discuss the best strategy for your firm.

We will review your current situation and using our legal marketing knowledge and experience, we will help you decide which strategy would be most cost-effective.

Over the years, we have worked with various law firms of different sizes and have experience running various digital campaigns for them.

Call us now on 0161 877 4888 or submit your details using one of our contact forms and we will get back to you.