Why aren’t people visiting my website?
Should I have a blog?
How much should a law firm spend on marketing?
Do people really read law firm newsletters?
How much do law firm ads cost on Google? Do they work?
If you are responsible for marketing your firm or practice, these are just a few of the questions you should be asking about law firms and marketing. Read on for answers to some of these attorney marketing questions, with more answers in upcoming items from the lawyer-driven team at TOPDOG Legal Marketing.
Law Firms and Marketing: Your Questions Answered
As attorney marketers who work with law firms nationwide, we have unique insight into common questions those in the legal community have about law firms and marketing.
In this four-part blog series, we’ll answer many of those questions using our four-part framework.
This blog will address important questions in the evaluate stage of our legal marketing process.
Evaluate Your Current Law Firm Marketing Strategies
The first step in any marketing plan should be evaluating where your law firm is now and where you want to be. It’s critical to identify your goals, learn about available services that serve those goals, and establish a marketing budget.
Too often, law firms throw money at digital marketing without a clear idea of what they want to achieve. Unless they’re working with a responsible partner who can provide focus and priorities, these efforts often fail.
Gaining focus and building an online marketing plan can change all of that. Here are basic questions you should consider as you evaluate your next steps.
1. What are your primary goals for legal web marketing?
Legal digital marketing can bring more visitors to your website, with the goal of converting those web users into clients. Additional objectives include building your brand, establishing your attorneys and firm as thought leaders, getting involved with and providing education to your local community, and building relationships with existing clients.
Which of these goals resonate with your law firm?
2. Do your law firm marketing strategies serve your goals?
So many tools and services are available that it can feel overwhelming. Here are a few you may have considered:
- Blogs
- Google and Bing Ads
- Google My Business
- Google posts
- Legal directories
- Link building
- Newsletters
- Press releases
- Search engine optimization
- Social media
- Structured data
Which should you use? The answer depends on your goals, what you’ve previously tried (and hopefully measured!), your target market, and even your competitors.
If you aren’t sure, a company that specializes in legal marketing services can help match your goals and strategies.
3. How much should a law firm spend on marketing?
The general recommendation for a law firm marketing budget is around two to five percent of gross revenue. However, firms must consider their current status (is your firm young or well-established?), goals, target audience, and more when deciding what resources to allocate to a marketing plan. A responsible provider will help you identify and prioritize services that suit your budget rather than locking you into numerous services you don’t need.
And don’t even get us started on specialized website platforms. Talk about sticky services that are hard to escape!
The next step is to decide how you will spend your marketing budget. Experienced consultants who understand law firm operations and digital marketing can help you identify the optimum marketing strategies and vehicles to achieve your desired results and the best return on investment.
Dig in. Read more about setting goals and defining your law firm marketing strategies in these related articles from TOPDOG Legal Marketing:
- Legal Web Marketing: The 21st Century Marketing Tool with Punch
- Law Firm Marketing Goals—Does Your Online Strategy Match Your Goals?
The next blog in this series will address website and content creation, reviewing the effectiveness of items like attorney biographies, blogs, and newsletters.
If you’re not already a client, reach out today via phone at (844) 439-8364 or our contact form. We offer lawyer-driven legal marketing for law firms nationwide and will help you get started with a custom strategy based on a legal marketing evaluation of your firm.
