Marketing your law firm is an essential part of growing your business. But if you’re a small law firm or solo practitioner, you may not have the budget for expensive marketing campaigns. Luckily, there are plenty of free or low-cost ways to promote yourself and your services online—and they won’t take up much time either! In this guide we’ll review some of our favorite tactics for marketing a small law firm on a budget:
Get a website
A website is a must for any law firm. A quality website not only gives you credibility, it helps clients find you online and provides another way to receive feedback from clients.
So what should be included on your website? First and foremost, make sure the design of your site is clean, professional and easy to navigate. Consider having an “About Us” page that includes information about the firm as well as individual bios on each attorney who works at the firm. Keep in mind that Google favors websites with longer pages (more content) than shorter ones so try adding more than just text – maybe include videos or testimonials from past clients so people can see what working with you will be like in person!
Write a blog
You should write a blog.
Writing a blog is one of the most effective ways to build credibility and trust, establish yourself as an authority in your industry and attract new clients. The best part about writing a blog? You don’t have to be an extrovert to do it!
There are several reasons why you might want to start blogging:
- To help people get better at whatever they do by sharing knowledge with them (this could be useful if you are a lawyer).
- To establish yourself as an expert in your field, which would help you attract new clients and build relationships with existing ones (this could also be very useful if you are a lawyer).
Post regularly on social media
Posting regularly on social media is a great way to get your firm’s name in front of clients and potential clients. Every week, make sure you post at least twice on each platform. If you’re not sure what to post, try sharing educational content or something that is relevant to your industry. You can also share stories/jokes/insights from lawyers in the field, as well as news stories (with permission) that relate to your area of law.
You can use Twitter for breaking news updates related to your practice area or firm. Use Facebook for more personal posts about upcoming events or information about new attorneys joining your team. Instagram is great for posting pictures and videos directly related to legal issues, such as photos of court cases or client testimonials with permission from them first (make sure they’re ok with having their likeness used). LinkedIn is another good platform because it allows people who may be unfamiliar with your firm’s work outside their own industry – like IT professionals looking for help setting up office software – access into these conversations easily without having much knowledge about how small businesses operate at all!
Get listed in Google My Business
Google My Business is a service that helps people find local businesses. You can list your business on Google Maps and Google Search, making it easy for potential clients to find you.
There are two types of listings: free and paid. A free listing means that you can list your business on both the Maps and Search pages, but it doesn’t guarantee placement in search results (ranked based on quality, relevance, and popularity). Paid listings allow you to get premium placement in search results as well as other benefits such as social media integration.
The benefit of getting verified is that it allows your company to appear higher up in search results when someone searches for certain keywords related to law firms or attorneys (e.g., “criminal defense attorney”). Verification also gives the option of adding rich snippets—which are special pieces of information added directly into the search results—that show up when someone searches with those keywords (e.g., phone number, address, hours of operation).
Join legal directories
A directory is a collection of information and content, organized in a way that makes it easy to find what you need. For example: the phone book is a directory for people’s addresses, while Yelp is a directory for businesses and restaurants.
Even if your practice specializes in something unusual (for instance, immigration law), there are legal directories available to help connect you with potential customers.
Legal directories can provide many benefits to small law firms, including:
Build an email list and stay in touch with prospects
Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to market your law firm. It’s also free, and it can be used to build a strong relationship with your target audience.
To start building an email list, you should create a landing page on your website where people can sign up with their name and email address. If you have time, try creating a custom form so that those who sign up are more likely to fill out all the fields if they’re not required by default. You’ll want to include some sort of incentive for signing up in order for it not feel like spamming or being sold something unwanted later (like an annual subscription).
Once you’ve got some people on your list, send them periodic updates about important news related to small law firms such as new laws coming into effect or changes made by provincial governments that might affect how small law firms operate in that province/territory/state/etcetera (keep these emails brief). You could also ask questions about what kinds of articles would be useful for readers who want more information about how they can start their own practice or manage theirs better once it’s running smoothly enough–you never know which ideas will resonate best!
Record a video for your website
A video is one of the most effective ways to communicate with your audience. It can serve as a great introduction for your firm, show how you can help clients, or explain complex legal concepts.
Ask for referrals from existing clients
- Ask your existing clients for referrals.
- At the right time. When you have a good relationship with a client and they trust you, it’s probably best to ask them for referrals at the end of an engagement when things are going well.
- In a way that is not pushy or too vague. A good way to do this is by asking them if they know anyone else who might need help with a legal issue they could provide advice on (and then follow up). If they say yes, follow-up again with more questions like: “How long have you known X?” “What’s his/her background?” “What does he/she do for work?” The more specific information you get about the person who needs help, the better off you’ll be when reaching out in order to establish trust between yourself and potential new client or referral source.
- In a way that shows seriousness about your business and the services offered therein; don’t sell yourself short by saying something along lines of “I’d love any feedback from anyone who might be interested” because no one wants advice from someone who doesn’t seem confident enough in themselves/their own abilities.”
Use pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a type of online advertisement that allows you to pay only when someone clicks on your ad. It’s an effective way to reach prospective clients who are actively looking for legal help, but it can be expensive if you don’t know how to use it.
- Choose keywords that align with your brand and services. For example, if you specialize in immigration law, then search terms like “immigration lawyer” and “immigration lawyer near me” are better than those like “criminal defense lawyer” or “family law attorney.”
- Set a budget and stick to it when bidding on keywords or ads—don’t get carried away by unrealistic expectations about what might happen!
Attend networking events
Attend networking events.
Networking is one of the most effective ways to grow your business, and it’s particularly useful for small law firms with limited marketing budgets. Networking events create an opportunity for you to meet new people in your industry and build relationships that will help you connect with potential clients or referral sources.
However, many lawyers avoid networking because they’re uncomfortable meeting new people or feel awkward taking part in “small talk.” If this sounds like you, don’t worry—the tips below can help!
Perform public speaking engagements and seminars
Public speaking is an excellent way to get your law firm’s name out there, and it can have a huge impact on the bottom line. When you’re making public appearances, you’re building a reputation that reflects well on your legal practice. Here are some important things to keep in mind as you prepare for public speaking engagements:
- Making sure that your speech or presentation is well-researched and written. It’s essential that you know what you’re talking about before heading into any kind of public appearance; if someone asks a question about something related to your area of practice, having answers prepared will make all the difference between being seen as an expert or appearing unprepared and ill-informed.
- Don’t overspend when planning these events! The last thing anyone wants is for their attorneys’ fees to skyrocket because they got too fancy with the decorations for their office parties; instead, try asking friends who work at other firms about where they go for lunch during breaks from court hearings (or whatever else lawyers do).
Cross-promote with non-competitive business owners
Cross-promotion is a great way to build your business. You can cross-promote with other businesses or professionals who are not in direct competition with you, but serve a similar audience. For example, if you’re an attorney who specializes in immigration law and you know that another professional has clients who may need immigration services, then it might make sense for the two of you to cross-promote each other (for instance, by listing their contact information on your website).
The benefits of cross-promotion include increased visibility for each business and better customer retention as customers can more easily find both businesses from one location.
You can find potential partners by searching LinkedIn or Facebook groups related to your industry as well as local networking groups for professionals in the same field. Once you identify someone who might make a good partner, ask that person if they would be interested in cross-promoting their business alongside yours in exchange for a small fee (like $25 per month).
Write legal guides for potential clients.
Writing guides and resources for potential clients is a great way to get your law firm in front of the people who need it. When you know what your ideal client needs, you can create content that meets those needs and helps them solve legal issues. This type of content also benefits your law firm because it will help drive traffic back to your website and spread the word about your practice.
As with any other type of marketing, it’s important that you target keywords that potential clients are searching for when they do their research online. For example, if you specialize in immigration law, then keywords like “immigration lawyer” or “immigration attorney” may be helpful in attracting new clients.
If you do these things, you will market your law firm effectively
The following are just some of the many effective marketing ideas for small law firms. If you do these things, you will market your law firm effectively:
- Write a blog. Blogging is an excellent way to create content that can be used to build your website and attract attention on social media.
- Get listed in Google My Business (GMB). This will help prospective clients find you when they search Google Maps or Google Search. It also helps prospective clients find your firm when they search for lawyers locally.
- Join legal directories such as Avvo, MartindaleHubbell and LawyerLocatorPlus which provide opportunities for attorneys at all levels of experience to receive client leads through inclusion in online profiles;
- Build an email list and stay in touch with prospects;
- Record a video for your website explaining what makes your firm unique and why clients should work with you over other firms;
- Ask for referrals from existing clients;
- Use pay-per-click (PPC) advertising on Facebook, LinkedIn or Google AdWords
Conclusion
We hope this list of ideas has given you some ideas on how to market your law firm. If you have any questions or would like to talk about marketing for your small law firm, please don’t hesitate to contact us.