Attorney marketing is a specialized industry that supports a law firm’s unique needs. Although digital marketing is generally seen as a broad service – and it can be for many industries – lawyers have special requirements.
If you’re searching for the right marketing partnership for your law firm, here’s why you need an experienced legal marketing pro.
Niche experience generates better results
Regardless of the industry or client, experience tends to generate superior results. When a marketing firm knows a niche, they have already spent time fine-tuning methods to capture leads and convert them into paying clients.
Digital marketing is more than a list of mechanical tasks to check off. It’s a dance between technical knowledge and knowing how to reach a particular market. Each market has different wants, needs, and pain points that are used to generate conversions. While there is a basic marketing formula, the specifics vary.
Marketing for attorneys requires knowing what potential clients are going through, and appealing to their desperation to get help right away. Because of this, not all marketing techniques are appropriate for the legal industry.
For instance, some lawyers maintain an email list, but most of an attorney’s clients come from internet searches right after they’ve been arrested or charged with a crime. People facing criminal charges aren’t interested in signing up for an email newsletter – they want a phone number to call for immediate help.
Digital marketing firms that specialize in attorney marketing won’t waste their time with marketing techniques that won’t get results. They’ll focus on the areas that matter most.
- Getting the law firm’s business listing optimized and visible on Google
- Optimizing the law firm’s website to display contact information
- Running paid ads where appropriate
- Advertising in relevant printed publications
- Focusing on local marketing and local SEO
Attorneys must follow strict advertising guidelines
This might be the most important reason to choose an experienced digital marketing firm with experience in the legal industry. The rules for marketing legal services are pretty strict. For example, attorneys can’t claim to be “experts” or “specialists” in any particular area without having specific certification stating as such. They can say they focus on key areas of law, but that’s all.
A huge part of advertising involves promoting the client as the best in their industry, and many marketing firms regularly use the word “expert” to describe a business they’re working with. This is perfectly legal in other industries, but not for lawyers.
Another marketing rule specific to lawyers is that using superlatives, such as “the lowest,” “the best,” and “the most” can be interpreted as a deceptive statement. These kinds of statements can’t be quantified, which makes them potentially misleading.
Again, this isn’t usually a problem in other industries. Claiming a product or brand is the best is a common marketing tactic, but it won’t fly for attorneys. If you work with a generic marketing firm, they might make this mistake and not realize it’s a problem, and then you’ll be on the hook.
Advertising rules for attorneys aren’t simple and often contradict what’s allowed in general niches. The American Bar Association publishes updates to advertising rules when something changes, and attorney-centered marketing firms will stay on top of these changes.
The cost of acquiring clients is high for lawyers
Law firms can’t afford to be careless with their marketing budget because the cost of client acquisition is high. Many attorneys use PPC marketing to get clients, and that’s a big expense. Relevant keywords and phrases for paid ads are expensive, and they can cost more than $100 per click. Some law firms spend $50,000 to $100,000 per month just on paid ads! This means leads need to be extremely targeted to avoid wasting money. You can’t control who clicks on your ads, but you can choose a marketing firm that knows how to reach your ideal audience.
Experienced marketing firms know the best keywords to bid on for paid ads and will work hard to keep your cost per lead low, and your click through and conversion rates high. General marketing firms will need to experiment with your marketing dollars in order to figure this out.
Choose a marketing firm with legal experience
When considering your options for marketing, choose a company with experience advertising for law firms. A marketing team that knows how to acquire clients for attorneys will help you get the best results possible without wasting your budget.
