07/21/2020
Popular media is overwhelmingly busy. Day after day, big stories plaster our headlines. Being attached to tech, we’re constantly on our devices and bombarded with stories of COVID-19. In this environment, how do you stand out?
As a law firm, visibility is more important than ever. Especially when the world will be tangled in a web of COVID recovery for businesses, liability issues, and more. What does the “new” outcome look like? What happens to the businesses that were ravaged due to forced closures? Was enough done to save our economy?
A vital component in the internet landscape is being found. It’s easy to be buried in the mass of stories, links and competition. So, how can your law firm stand out and say, “we’re ready to help?” Digital marketing is the answer.
Digital Marketing and the Legal Landscape
Competition. There, we said it. There are a lot of lawyers vying for our attention. Advertising used to be the answer, but times have changed. Customers are growing blind to traditional banners, billboards, and adverts.
Digital marketing is the smart way of reaching clients—clients in search of your service. They haven’t stopped seeking legal help, they’re simply being pulled in too many directions. And with the plight of ratings, reviews, and online reputation management, sometimes the choices can be too many. There’s a bias called paradox of choice. Technically it’s called Hick’s Law. Given too many choices, it will take you longer to make a decision.
With that in mind, what is the answer?
What if instead of using a bullhorn to blast a message out, you changed your idea of what a helpful website is? What if you could gently pull clients to you, clients who understand you can help them with their problems? That’s where in-bound marketing comes in.
Be the Obvious Solution for all the Right Reasons
By creating a helpful resource for potential clients, by openly answering questions, providing useful information, you can be seen as a viable resource by both future clients and search engines. Search -engine results matter. In fact, if you’re not on the first page of Google’s search results, you’re pretty much invisible.
More than ever, Google and popular search engines are stressing user experience. They want search results to be helpful based on what the searcher is looking for. User intent is a perfect example. When someone types in bird house, they may be in a shopping mode. But what if they’re looking to build a bird house? All those store listings are useless. Now more than ever people are phrasing their searches with more intent. So instead of simply searching for bird house, they may search for, how to build a bird house. This is an important piece of information for businesses, including law firms.
As a lawyer or law firm, digital marketing is about being found for all the right reasons. By being the most useful resource, answering questions before they are asked, and being “the” place to get the best help and information for a client’s problem, you’ve built a sense of trust and authority. This shows future clients you are helpful, empathetic and understand what they’re going through, and know how to help.
Digital marketing and SEO used to be about having the best keywords in the most places and simplicity. Those days have passed. A light hand with better user experience is where you must be if you want to find visibility and truly help future customers. Help them make informed decisions. They’ve only come to the point of learning they have a problem. Show them that you’re the solution to their problem.
Another aspect of digital marketing is drawing the right client to you. If you’re a law firm that works with commercial real estate, you don’t want to draw in people looking to file for divorce or deal with custody disputes. Digital marketing allows you to become the trusted authority in your niche, and help draw the right clients to you for your business.
Visibility is an urgent matter when businesses are at risk. The demand for legal aid is only going to increase with the pandemic and changes in society. How will you be seen? As a bully advertising with a bullhorn, hoping the right client finds you? Or will you be helping those who are seeking your aid, offering them the information they need to make an informed decision, and landing clients that need and will appreciate your services?
