We have several types of attorneys and law firms as current and past clients.
The marketing of the services of lawyers is a fairly new innovation. In the old days, a person graduated law school, joined a firm or hung out their shingle and that was the nature of their marketing.
In the past 30 years, certain types of legal work lent themselves to some directed marketing, because these specializations depended on getting the message out to potential clients and because of need for volume.
Now, the legal world is undergoing significant changes, because:
- Law school graduates aren’t necessarily getting work that requires passage of the bar.
- There is still an oversupply of lawyers in certain urban and suburban areas.
- The growth of corporate law firms has stalled in many sectors.
So now is the time for all attorneys to consider how they market themselves. Some marketing and public relations activities that are well-suited for lawyers:
- Consistent social media postings on a whole host of issues. Having an authentic voice on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter, and even Instagram and Snapchat allows clients, potential clients and colleagues to feel like they know you and understand your point of view and your strengths.
- Revisit your website and honestly assess how accurate a portrayal of your legal services the website provides. Is the website easy to navigate? Is it up to date? Do the images seem dated?
- Create regular blogs on your website on a wide range of topics from legal issues to the intricacies of the type of clients you have to local legal issues. Some examples of these would be articles about the Detroit bankruptcy, articles about legal issues facing automobile dealerships or articles about changes in tax law, employment law and discussions of how same sex marriage laws will have an impact on Social Security. Your blog offers you a way to show what you know without overtly advertising.
- Colleague referrals and networking are invaluable. Make yourself reach out to colleagues within your own firm to brainstorm who you can both serve clients so that all of their legal needs are met under one roof. Reach out to possible mentors and those who can provide ideas for leads and networking, too.
- Speaking at local, regional and national legal seminars and conferences, and offering podcasts or articles or materials afterwards is a worthy activity.
- Publish in bar journals and trade publications, always under your byline. These articles can then be listed on your bio page or attorney page on your website and be hotlinked to them.
- Maintain a strong presence in relevant publications like business magazines and journals, trade publications, community magazines and papers and daily and weekly publications.
- Consider producing traditional advertising including billboards, radio and TV, as well as internet advertising, including select Youtube programming.
- Create client newsletters celebrating your successes that demonstrate the breadth and depth of your practice.
- Revisit any of the old fashioned collateral that is part of your practice from binders and brochures to stationery and bills.
We can and have helped our legal clients choose which of these marketing techniques is a good fit for them and helped develop effective marketing materials for all of their legal needs.