How to Market Yourself as a Lawyer

Traditional Marketing

Traditional marketing methods continue to play a valuable role, especially at the local level, in legal marketing. You will likely find that many prospective clients still pay attention to print advertisements, radio spots, and direct mail campaigns. Other traditional marketing strategies, such as sponsoring local events, advertising in community publications, or sending newsletters by mail can help you build name recognition within your community. Old-fashioned networking at bar association activities and community events will also continue to provide valuable opportunities to build relationships that lead to referrals for a lawyer.

The Importance of a Strong Online Presence

In the 21st century, most people searching for legal representation will begin their search online, making your online presence effectively a digital storefront. As such, your law firm’s website must be professional, informative, and above all else, user-friendly. Your website should provide basic information, such as your practice areas, credentials, and contact information, as well as reflect your unique brand and message to potential clients looking for legal representation. Ideally, your site should be optimized for mobile users to make it easy not just to find your website, but to navigate the site and make contact from the site as well. When creating or updating your website, focus on:

• Google Business Profile: For many legal consumers, your Google business profile will be their introduction to your firm. Make sure that you have claimed your profile and that it has been fully optimized with current contact information and positive client reviews.
• Content Marketing: Your firm should have an active legal blog that provides current, relevant, and helpful information to potential clients. Blogs and videos that answer common legal questions are a great way to get started and can help establish you as a knowledgeable legal authority. When creating content, use relevant keywords with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in mind. Keywords should focus on your areas of practice and the locations you serve.
• Online Reviews and Testimonials: Positive client reviews on platforms like Google, Avvo, and Yelp can significantly influence a prospective client’s decision. Including testimonials from past clients on your website (if permissible) can also be a valuable addition to your marketing plan.

Using Social Media and Digital Advertising Strategically

Social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram offer excellent opportunities to showcase your firm’s legal accomplishments as well as your individual personality. Although each platform appeals to a different user base, each platform allows you to engage the audience by providing relevant and helpful legal content. A working knowledge of user demographics can help you target your content, including firm updates, educational information, legal developments, and highlights from community events.

You may wish to purchase direct advertisements on social media platforms or on Google Ads to ensure that your firm’s message reaches your ideal demographic and geographic audience. With Google Ads, you can even bid on practice area keywords to appear at the top of related search results. Your ads should direct prospective clients to a dedicated landing page that has been strategically created with a clear message and a strong call to action to increase the number of leads converted to clients.

Converting Leads with Law Ruler

Whether leads are generated organically or via direct advertising, the key to increasing your firm’s profitability is found in converting those leads into lifetime clients. This is where Law Ruler becomes essential to your marketing and management plans.

Law Ruler is a legal-specific Client Relationship Management (CRM), client intake, and marketing automation platform that helps law firms of all sizes manage and convert leads more effectively. More than a simple lead management tool, Law Ruler offers you a comprehensive system that helps you generate and track leads from initial contact through to case resolution. Consider a few of the ways that Law Ruler can help you market yourself as a lawyer:

• Advanced Legal CRM: Law Ruler’s unified dashboard helps you organize and track all contacts, including leads, clients, and referral sources, in one centralized system. Attorneys and staff can easily and quickly access case information and client contact information.
• Marketing Automation: Knowing which platforms are performing best is crucial to a successful advertising campaign. Law Ruler provides you with real-time performance and intake metrics, including lead source, channel, and campaign, along with the ability to personalize communications and automate follow-up emails, text messages, and voice calls. Knowing which ads are working and which are not lets you quickly shift your focus to what works and just as quickly eliminate what does not, optimizing your marketing budget for maximum return.
• Custom Intake Forms: Easily create customized intake forms that adapt to prospective client responses, improving the client onboarding process. Using intake forms that can identify and target a consumer’s legal needs results in a more efficient intake process which increases the number of qualified leads.
• Built-In Softphone and AI Tools: Turning an initial contact into a viable lead often depends on immediate and effective communication. Law Ruler lets you seamlessly communicate with prospects and existing clients using Law Ruler’s ChatGPT integration and AI Email Assistant to draft responses and manage communications.
• Document Assembly & eSignatures: Increase firm efficiency by creating and collecting documents using built-in templates and one-click eSignature capabilities.

Follow Up and Stay in Touch

While the majority of your marketing focus may be on initial contact, do not make the common mistake of overlooking the importance of following up and staying in touch. When people are looking for legal representation, they often embark on a fact-finding mission before actually hiring an attorney. Consequently, many of the leads you encounter may not be converted to clients on first contact. Timely and personalized follow-up is critical to converting these leads. Law Ruler’s automated follow-up system can send an email reminding a prospective client of a consultation or a text message “touching base” after an initial inquiry, ensuring that no lead is overlooked or forgotten. Staying in contact with former clients through newsletters or updates is equally important as it can generate referrals and repeat business. You may find that a happy and satisfied former client can become one of your strongest, and cost-efficient, marketing assets.

Marketing yourself as a lawyer requires you to meet potential clients where they are, whether that is through traditional newsletters, search engines and social media, community events, or referrals. A successful marketing plan should combine traditional outreach strategies with modern digital techniques to help you maximize your audience and eventually your client base.

A successful marketing campaign on its own, however, is not sufficient to increase profitability and grow your firm. Achieving those goals requires you to effectively and efficiently manage and convert the leads generated by your marketing campaign. Law Ruler helps you do just that by taking control of your marketing plan and organizing cases and contacts, automating communications, and providing actionable real-time insights on a user-friendly dashboard.

By combining smart marketing strategies with the tools Law Ruler offers, you can elevate your law practice, attract more clients, and achieve long-term growth in a competitive legal market. To learn how Law Ruler can help improve your client intake and case management systems, schedule a personalized demonstration today.