There have been enormous changes in the legal world in recent years and one of the most significant has been the shift in the way firms attract clients and generate instructions. Word of mouth recommendations, established networks and reputation are being gradually eclipsed in many parts of the profession by digital work winning methods, and as the market broadens and competition for clients increases this is only likely to become more common. As a result, using digital means for attracting clients and measuring success has become key, but how do you do it?
Be cohesive in your approach. Anyone can set up a Twitter account these days and anyone can start blogging but all this is useless if it is not being channelled towards specific goals. ‘Digital strategy’ is the buzzword being bandied around without restraint to the annoyance of many, but it really is the key to ensuring that digital methods are not simply a waste of time and effort. A clear inbound marketing strategy might include specific goals such as optimising web presence, using content to generate profile, blogging and commenting to be recognised as thought leaders or better understanding your target market via digital interaction, all of which can be used to attract web traffic and generate new instructions.
Learn how to produce and publish content. In the digital marketplace content is one of the most valuable commodities and can be highly effective when it comes to knowledge-based products and services, such as the law. Whether you opt for video content via media such as YouTube, blogs, written journal contributions, a digital newsletter, eBooks or webinars, the amount of valuable content you can produce will have a direct effect on the amount of attention your firm can attract online. Key to remember with your content is to keep it relevant, concise and focused so as to offer real value to whoever comes across it – this will not only make it popular with clients but with Google too.
Don’t waste your content. Once you are producing valuable digital content don’t keep it to yourself! Optimising your content and sharing it are crucial for making the most of everything that you’re creating so don’t sell yourself short by missing out this part of the process. Optimise the relevant URL, page title, description and headers and don’t underestimate the value of social media likes, retweets and recommendations from using sites like Facebook and LinkedIn to publicise your content when it comes to creating on-line visibility and inbound traffic.
Combine marketing and BD. Monitoring the success rate of converting prospective clients into actual work is key and this requires collaboration between business development and marketing. The idea is to keep an eye on and measure marketing campaigns and inbound activities so as to compare results and decide where modifications need to be made.
The new digital marketing environment presents a much more open playing field for law firms and consequently some very exciting opportunities. As the differences between the legal services offered by various providers become less defined, the strength of a digital marketing platform could have a real and significant impact on real world growth and decline.
To discuss your digital marketing needs please contact Camila Reed.
