In today’s digital age, everything revolves around the internet. This is why promoting your business online is how you can compete in today’s digital economy. And law firms are not left out of this.
Online marketing presents a great platform for lawyers to create awareness for their firms and sustain their existing clients’ relationships. Starting a website and building a robust online presence for your Law Firm is critical to marketing and bringing in new leads for the firm.
And some strategies to implement that bring serious ROI for law firms include SEO and paid search. Studies have shown that 96% of people seeking legal advice use a search engine. So, optimizing your law firm website for SEO is a proven way to get attention to your business.
Here are some more reasons why law firms need to market online.
Accuracy In Targeting The Right Audience
Conventional advertising is good for law firms, but there is a higher chance that you are not precisely targeting the right clients, i.e., those who need your services.
Marketing online offers you great accuracy in finding and targeting audiences who would find your ad filled with relevant information. What this means is that high-quality traffic would be directed to your law firm’s website. This can be achieved using SEO.
Search Engine Optimization develops your online presence by using specific keywords, which will make your website appear when people use particular search terms. Doing SEO for law firms has so much value because it puts your website in the eyes of prospects who seek your legal service faster.
One way you can also target the right audience with search engines is through Paid Searches. Paid search is a form of online marketing where search engines like Google allow advertisers to show their ads on the Search Engine Results Page(SERP). This works on a pay-per-click model, which means you don’t pay until someone clicks your ad.
Though it reaches millions of people on the web, it also costs more, unlike SEO, which focuses on the quality to rank.
24/7 Availability
Another reason why law firms need to take advantage of digital marketing strategies in their marketing sphere is that having an online presence puts your business online virtually 24 hours, seven days a week. So, no closing hours.
As an attorney, you need to make your law firm available everywhere and at any time. What’s more is, if people cannot find your firm on the internet, it automatically makes them trust you less. Because before anyone does business today, they do their research about the company beforehand. So, without your firm’s digital appearance, you will lose a lot of potential clients.
Online marketing is crucial because even if people are not exactly looking for your business on the internet, with proper SEO, search engines will bring up your firm’s website on the SERP when people input a search term related to your business. So, it’s like these search engines passively bring in leads to you, even while you sleep.
Increased Engagement
Online marketing in law firm advertising offers a whole different kind of consumer engagement. Using the conventional marketing method, i.e., TV ads, billboards, newspaper ads, and fliers, law firms cannot communicate directly with their target audience. This method only offers one-way communication.
However, with websites, social media accounts, and newsletters, a law firm can easily communicate with potential or existing clients. You can chat and discuss matters directly with your old and potential clients. Seamless and fast-paced service is what modern-day consumers expect from any business, and the law firm is not left out.
And this engagement often leads to conversion. Because according to Juris Digital, 74% of consumers visit a law firm’s website to take action
Promote Awareness
A strategy you can leverage to create awareness for your law firm is through content marketing. This involves using written, graphic, or video content to educate your audience. And according to Oberlo, 86% of marketers have reached their brand awareness goals through content marketing.
And this is another way you can rank on Google, for example. Because people go on Google to find solutions for their problems, you’d naturally get more visits when you show you can provide helpful solutions for their problems. Some people even go as far as sharing this content with their friends, thus putting more eyes on your website, giving you more conversion chances.
Plus, the more shares you get, the more it signals to Google that your content is valuable, which will increase your search ranking. So, the ripple effects are plenty.
Builds Trust
No business can hold without trust. From a study among consumers, 67% agree that “a good reputation may get me to try a product, but unless I come to trust the company behind the product, I will soon stop buying it.”
And putting your business online goes a long way to build trust among your new and existing customers. For a law firm website, you’d likely include your portfolio and testimonials. This will signal to these customers that you’ve been in the game for a while and are competent enough.
The majority of potential clients do a background check first before finalizing their decision to get your service.
Your website will even sell you before they even reach out to you. So, your website puts you at an advantage.
Conclusion
We live in an advanced world where conventional (traditional) marketing strategies do not necessarily bring the best results. Fundamentally, you would want to ensure that your law firm’s online presence represents your company’s goals and driving objectives. If you’re still hesitant to invest in online marketing campaigns, consider the benefits you might miss out on, as highlighted above, and make your decision wisely.
SEO is a great place to start to get new clients online because it keeps converting over the long run. Paid search is also great if you want to get quicker results in a shorter time. Either way, it depends on what you want.