Getting Started With an Effective Legal Marketing Plan

Hanging a sign in front of your legal practice is a good start. Now, prospective clients at least know which door leads to your law firm. While signage can be an effective way to market a law firm, there’s a good chance you’re not reaching everyone. Even highway billboards have limitations. 

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If you’re tasked with developing your firm’s marketing plan, you may be feeling a little overwhelmed. You installed signage, but what are the other steps you need to follow? Here’s what you should know about creating a marketing strategy for your legal practice.

Tips on Creating a Legal Marketing Plan

Creating an effective legal marketing strategy is a process. In other words, it requires some time and effort. Whether this is your first time marketing your law firm or you’re trying to improve on an existing strategy, here are a few simple steps you may want to follow.

Get to Know Your Target Audience

If you’re not sure who makes up your target audience, take a look at your law firm. What area of law does your firm specialize in? 

If your firm handles personal injury cases, accident victims are your target audience. A criminal defense law firm will tailor their marketing strategy to reach individuals facing felony charges. A divorce attorney will want to connect with couples considering ending their marriages. You get the overall idea.

Getting to know your target audience goes beyond identifying who they are. Your advertising message must resonate with your audience.  You want to recognize their needs and discuss how you can address and resolve their problems.

Create a Story Around Your Brand

Finding a law firm isn’t difficult. Prospective clients can perform an online search and find plenty of law firms ready to take their case. To help ensure potential clients are at least considering using your legal expertise, your brand needs to resonate with consumers. This means defining a characteristic about your law firm that helps it stand out from the competition.

Another reason you want to create a brand story is to help build trust with consumers. The legal profession isn’t always viewed favorably and this can make some people think twice before retaining legal counsel. According to the National Law Review, an estimated 77% of people surveyed stated a distrust of lawyers in general is preventing them from hiring an attorney.

Your brand story can focus on the attorneys in the firm. Maybe someone overcame obstacles to earn their law degree. Does your firm specialize in a specific type of case? For example, does your firm take a dim view of DUI accidents? The goal is to create an authentic brand story that has an emotional impact on your target audience.

Take Advantage of Social Media

Social media platforms like Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) can do more than connect you with friends. Yes, you can follow your favorite celebrities on social media, but these platforms should also be part of your legal marketing plan.

Not only can you advertise on social media, but you can also connect and engage with potential clients. Did you know around 80% of law firms are active on social media, according to the American Bar Association (ABA)? 

In case you’re wondering, LinkedIn is the most popular social media site, followed by Facebook. If you want to expand your social media presence to video marketing, TikTok can be an effective platform.

With a social media presence, you’re not only advertising your law firm, but you’re also connecting with consumers. You can engage potential clients, answer their questions, and demonstrate your firm’s authority in the legal field. 

Social media can also help build trust and credibility. These are both vital when you’re trying to grow your legal practice.

Build an Effective Email Campaign

Pretty much everyone receives emails they never open. These emails are sent straight to the trash or spam folder. If this is where your firm’s marketing emails are ending up, it’s a waste of your time and money.

An effective email campaign is a key part of most legal marketing strategies, and this means crafting messages your recipients will want to read. If you’re searching for a marketing strategy with a high ROI (return on investment), it’s tough to go wrong with an email campaign. Effective emails can generate around $36 for every dollar you spend.

So, how do you create an effective email strategy? Take a look at your email list and separate recipients into different categories. Your messaging should be different for car accident victims compared to those who may be considering filing a product liability claim. In other words, your message needs to resonate with the reader. 

When your marketing emails are a little more personal it can also help build credibility and establish brand trust.

Take Advantage of Google Ads

When it comes to search engine popularity, Google is at the top of the list. The search engine giant also offers a fun feature, Google Ads. 

While the ads aren’t free, they can be extremely effective at reaching your target audience. Even if someone doesn’t need legal assistance, the ads can help ensure they remember your law firm’s name—this way, if they do need an attorney, your firm is the one they remember.

Getting started with Google Ads is also a breeze. You can also use the platform’s tools to create an effective ad. The platform will help you define the search term. This is what online users commonly type into the search bar. Using the search words, Google can help you create ads and place them on the appropriate landing pages.

However, for Google Ads to be effective, you also need an optimized website, which is a website that ranks high on the search engine results.

Creating an Effective Marketing Strategy for Your Law Firm

You can create an effective legal marketing strategy, but it takes time and effort to do so the right way. As a practicing attorney, you may not have the time to build a marketing plan without neglecting your clients. This is when it often makes sense to partner with legal marketing services. 

The marketing agency can create an advertising strategy that can help grow your legal practice, allowing you to focus on resolving your clients’ legal needs. 

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