As the owner or partner of a small- to mid-sized business, you want to know that the effort you put into establishing a digital marketing strategy will yield the results you’re looking for. Small businesses often lack the larger marketing budgets of larger, more established companies—some of which may have their own marketing departments to handle the branding and promotion of the business. Law firms are no different; as an attorney running a smaller law practice, your time and budget are real concerns. When you set aside time to focus on developing an effective digital marketing for lawyers strategy, you want to see results and steady progress toward your targeted outcomes. Unfortunately, content marketing strategies do not follow a one-size-fits-all model. Instead, the most impactful and effective law firm content marketing strategies are customized to suit the specific needs and goals of each business. As you focus on your desired outcomes (i.e., attracting a more steady stream of potential clients, promoting a specific practice area, etc.), you can explore your options for putting together a digital marketing strategy that addresses each component in a focused and targeted way. Enlisting the guidance of an experienced content marketing strategist who understands the unique needs and concerns of smaller law firms is a great way to ensure that your firm makes steady progress toward your desired outcomes. Let’s take a closer look at some of the most common content marketing mistakes and how your law firm can avoid making them, setting your business up for a stable and successful future.
Neglecting to Set Clear, Measurable Goals
When you decide to implement a content marketing for attorneys strategy, your reason for doing so is likely something along the lines of wanting to bring in more clients. While this is a great place to start, the goal is too vague to guide the creation of an effective digital marketing plan. Before you start putting together the components of your marketing plan, you need to articulate clear objectives that you can measure and assess in order to track the effectiveness of each strategy you implement. For instance, you can amend a vague statement like “I want more clients” to a more measurable goal, such as, “I want to see more website traffic and improve the conversion rate.” From these more specific goals, you and your digital marketing strategist can set realistic goals to track the number of website views and incoming client calls to determine whether your efforts are delivering clearly defined outcomes. If not, you can revisit your approach and adjust it accordingly.
Not Understanding Your Target Audience
The most impactful digital marketing campaigns are those in which the business understands who its targeted audience is and how to appeal to their concerns and values. In today’s increasingly personalized and curated social media landscape, a vague marketing campaign will likely fail to connect with potential customers in a meaningful (and actionable) way. When you take the time to define your target audience and understand their needs and concerns, you can design your law firm content marketing strategy to appeal to these values and engage with potential clients in a more authentic way. For example, if you are an estate planning law firm looking to attract younger couples, you can create a digital marketing strategy that helps them recognize the value of setting up an estate plan to ensure their financial security and protect their growing family in the event of an unexpected tragedy. Once your law firm understands what motivates your potential clients, you can customize your legal marketing plan to address these common client questions and concerns.
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Forgetting About the “Why” Behind Your Law Practice
Those in need of legal services can select from a variety of law firms. As they explore their options, they will be looking for a law practice that stands out from the rest. So, how can your law firm tailor your digital marketing strategy to set your services apart from other firms offering similar services in your community? Setting aside some time to reflect on why you entered this profession is a great place to start. What motivates you to help your clients resolve their legal problems? What do you want your clients to say about their experiences working with you? When you spend some time defining the “why” of what you do, the content marketing strategy you design will be more focused, meaningful, and cohesive. When a potential client is deciding between two or more law firms to work with, their choice often comes down to the law practice that seems the most genuine, client-centered, and trustworthy. As you put together your content marketing for attorneys plan, it’s best to let your firm’s values and mission guide your efforts to ensure that your messaging will resonate with those who come across your website, social media posts, and other marketing materials.
Remaining Stagnant in Your Law Firm’s Digital Marketing Approach
Many smaller law firms assume that having an active and functional website is enough to remain visible to potential customers. However, the online world is constantly changing, so it’s essential that your law firm continues to modify and adapt its content marketing strategy to ensure that it remains SEO (search engine optimization) friendly to the ever-evolving search engine algorithms. These algorithms favor websites that contain organic keywords, anticipate and address common search queries, present clear and accurate content, and use clean and well-organized layouts. Some significant SEO for attorneys best practices include refreshing your law firm’s website regularly to signal to the search engines that you are committed to providing the most current and relevant information available. You can also encourage your clients to submit online reviews of their experiences with your law firm, as each new review signals to the search engine algorithm that your business is active, legitimate, and relevant. No matter what your law firm’s specific goals may be, consider discussing your options for achieving your desired results with a dedicated and highly qualified content marketing for law firms strategist today.
When you spend your valuable time and resources creating a digital marketing strategy to grow your law firm, you want to know that these efforts will deliver you the results you’re after. Give LegalRev a call today at (800) 893-2590 to get started with a knowledgeable content marketing for law firms strategist who can help you articulate and achieve your digital marketing goals.
