By Jake Hugo
It’s no secret that lawyers have a reputation for being bad marketers. But it’s not because they lack the skills to market their firm. Most lawyers are great writers, communicators, and master strategists. It’s just that many don’t take the time to put together an effective marketing strategy or hire someone who does. If you’re a lawyer looking to attract new clients and grow your practice, take a look this guide on how to create a winning law firm marketing strategy.
Step 1 – Know your Audience & Goals
To get to better know your audience, you’ll want to be able to answer the following questions:
- What is the problem you are solving for your audience?
- What value are you adding to their lives?
- Are there any pain points in their process that you can solve for them?
- If not, who do they go to when this issue arises and why should they choose you over them?
The answers to these questions will help you determine which market segments or industry verticals to target first with your marketing efforts.
Step 2 – Research & Research More
Now it’s time to research your target audience. You can do so by asking these questions:
- What are they like?
- How old are they?
- Where do they live, work and play?
- How much money do they have, what kind of education do they have, and what kind of job titles do they hold?
These questions are all important because if you know who your target audience is (or more importantly, who your ideal clients are), then you can tailor marketing efforts specifically toward that audience.
For example, let’s say that a lawyer specializing in family law has decided his practice area will be representing parents in child custody disputes. He could decide to use social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok because these sites tend to attract younger people who may be going through similar issues in their own lives. However, if he wanted older clients with higher incomes but less free time on their hands (i.e., stay-at-home moms), then he would look at Facebook or Pinterest instead. The point is that knowing exactly who you want as clients will help narrow down the best options for marketing your firm online so that when people search for services related to yours online – whether by looking at an ad on Google Search or by scrolling through Facebook feeds – there will always be something relevant waiting for them.
Step 3 – Create a Content Calendar
A content calendar is a schedule of all the content you plan to publish, along with the dates and times you’ll publish it. It’s a central place where all your marketing activities are captured and tracked. You can also use this calendar to create reports that can be used by your team members so they know what’s going on in their area of focus.
Go to your calendar and create a to-do to schedule out a content calendar. Your goal is to schedule all of your content creation and marketing efforts, so it’s important to have everything in one place. You can use a simple spreadsheet to do this, or you can use a content calendar template or even software that’s available online. This will help you keep track of all your content marketing efforts so that nothing falls through the cracks.
Once you have a solid plan for how often you want to publish content, set up your content calendar in advance so everything is ready once it’s time for publishing. In addition to writing posts for social media sites like LinkedIn or Facebook, make sure there’s room in the calendar for emails that need scheduling as well as blog posts that require editing before posting live on the site itself. If possible, try not leaving those last-minute tasks until just before midnight.
Step 4 – Create the Content
Now that you’ve got a solid plan in place, it’s time to start building your content library. There are a few things to keep in mind when creating your content For one, you need to make sure the content is relevant and fresh. You want to create something that people will want to read and share, so give them what they’re looking for (i.e., don’t just throw up random articles).
You also want to make sure your content is easy for people to find. It’s important that people can find your blog posts and social posts when they search for it so make sure that all of your pages are tagged properly with keywords and other pertinent information about the post itself. And then make sure these tags are updated every time there is an update or rewrite of any of these posts. This way everything stays current and fresh.
Once you’ve done your research and created the content, it’s time to share it with the world. There are many ways to do this. To best market your law firm, it is recommended to get started on social media, email marketing, and setting up a website where all of your content can be easily found by potential clients.
