Tips for Better Law Firm Digital Marketing

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To some old-school lawyers, the term “digital marketing” is anathema. Members of the legal old guard don’t necessarily believe that digital marketing for legal firms should be a necessary thing. They might say it’s a sign that the marketplace has become too crowded and that now once reputable law firms are reduced to grubbing for views and “likes” online.

Those practitioners may hold that view, but the reality is that digital marketing is essential for any law firm that can’t rely on referrals alone, which is many in the modern age. When competition is tough, and a growing number of potential clients are researching firms online before engaging them, you need all the tips you can get for better digital marketing.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Update and Enhance the Website

A tired-looking website has been a common feature of many law firms in recent years. Simply having a URL and a page with writing on isn’t enough these days. First, the Internet space has largely shifted from the computer screen to that of the smart device, namely smartphones and tablets. That means your website needs to be device-friendly and readable on smaller screens. If your site hasn’t been updated or remodeled at any point in the past 5-6 years, there’s a good chance that it isn’t device-friendly.

Your firm’s website is essentially still an information page and way for people to initiate contact with you, but getting that foundation right has to be the start of your revamped digital marketing policy.

2. Take Advantage of SEO Services

Search engine optimisation services will help you find the right keywords to use in your marketing content, on your website, blog and other digital marketing platforms to ensure that when people are searching for your kinds of legal services, you will appear higher on the list. With so many people Googling as a matter of course before engaging legal and other services these days, your SEO performance is absolutely critical.

3. Engage in Social Media, but Be Selective

Some are sick of hearing about how important social media is for marketing and how they “have to” have an account on every popular platform under the online sun just to exist in any industry. Social media is certainly important and there’s no getting around that fact, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be selective. 

Facebook and Instagram are good choices, with more than two-thirds of adults visiting these platforms daily. On the other hand, a platform like Snapchat isn’t so useful for a law firm, and that’s okay.

4. Build and Maintain a Blog

Interestingly, blogging is one of the older forms of digital marketing and digital content creation, and yet it has endured and continues to be extremely useful and important in attracting eyeballs to your website and your services. Blogs that contain the right keywords that you garner from your SEO efforts will help boost your site’s online profile, and bring more traffic to your website.

In addition, if blog content is effective, engaging and relevant, it also helps to establish a law firm as an authority on a particular subject. That’s critical for people when choosing a law firm, who still favour those firms with prestige, authority and trustworthiness. A well-maintained blog will go far to driving that image.

5. Find Ways to Integrate Video

Accompanying your blog posts and social media content should be video-based content where possible. Video makes your content more engaging, and also more personable as it is an opportunity for potential clients to see and hear a law firm’s attorneys before they meet them. Video creation will help in the mission to build trust and authority, too.