For many law firms, digital marketing still remains an afterthought. However, simply having a stagnant website, an occasional blog and limited social media presence will not cut it, regardless of your firm’s size or specialty. The competition for legal services is simply too fierce. If your firm is looking to develop or revamp its digital market strategy, consider some of these best practices:

Set Goals
Clear goals are essential, but it is equally important to no have so many goals that you dilute your efforts. Stick to goals that are achievable with some reasonable effort, such as:

• Increasing website traffic;
• Improving online ratings; or
• Generating more leads.

When setting goals, consider the amount of time and other resources you can afford to devote to your digital marketing.

Study Your Target Audience
Your target audience depends on your practice areas. There is no point reaching people in need of a personal injury attorney, for example, if you do estate planning work. To connect with the right people, research their industries, interview your current clients and check out your competitors’ digital marketing. Learn where your target audience spends time and the types of messaging that resonates with them.

Select Appropriate Channels
Do not try to do it all — you will reap a better return on investment if you focus on the channels that align with your target audience. That might mean online attorney directories, pay-per-click advertising, email marketing and/or social media. In fact, social media can go a long way to level the playing field with larger competitors. On which platforms are your targets more likely to be found online: LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)?

Related Read: Get the Most Bang From Your Social Media

Do Not Neglect SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is essential to landing high rankings in potential clients’ search engine results. Think about the keywords, including geographically specific ones that your target audience uses when searching for legal services and insert them across your website. Regularly updated content marketing is a valuable weapon when it comes to SEO. Articles, presentations and research on relevant issues provide an opportunity to work in keywords while simultaneously demonstrating your expertise.

Choose Metrics
Finally, identify several metrics or key performance indicators to monitor the effectiveness of your strategy. Then review them at least quarterly. If numbers are not where you would like them to be, do not be afraid to tweak your metrics or make wholesale changes to your strategy. One of the many advantages of digital marketing is that it is relatively easy and cost-efficient to shift gears.

Identify Authors
Who will be responsible for providing the content? If it is a practice group, identify a team of authors to provide content – whether it be solely partners, solely associates or a mix of both. Will the marketing team be tasked with researching and providing the content? If so, what professionals will review and confirm the content provided by marketing? Get as many folks on board as possible to serve as content authors to avoid burnout.

Word Count
Do your research. What is the optimum length of posts on various social media platforms? For example, research has revealed that Facebook posts with less than 50 characters were more engaging than longer posts. The LinkedIn post character limit before the “See More” button is 140. Beyond 140 characters the rest of your post will be cut off. Research has revealed that, on average, people will spend about a minute (or 200 words) reading a digital newsletter. 

Post Fresh Content Consistently
It is key to post regularly on social networks and an editorial calendar can put some order to your posting – especially if you are posting on multiple platforms. There are optimum days and times for various platforms so do your research and schedule when your content will be posted.  It can be difficult to keep up with the pace of social media and if you post regularly, keeping to a schedule is important for consistency.

Engage with Your Community
Consider offering an opportunity for those visitors to your website, newsletter subscribers, or social media connections to interact with you.  An active community is an amazing thing as it can create brand advocates and draw in new clients.

A key element is to be responsive. If a client or subscriber has a query or comment, get back quickly and be helpful. Also, determine who is responding to a query requesting legal guidance. When engaging with clients or potential clients online, be aware of unintentionally sharing information through security breaches. Information security and cyber security should be a top priority for your social media accounts and your website.

Keep in Mind Advertising and Solicitation Guidelines
Of course, all posts must be truthful and not create unreasonable expectations.  On social media, it is important to represent yourself, your practice group and your firm factually. Rules and regulations governing legal ethics vary across jurisdictions. The ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct serve as a widely recognized standard for legal ethics in the U.S., but many state bar associations have stricter guidelines that their licensed members are required to follow. Make sure your authors know and follow those guidelines.

For more information, contact Jeffrey Hild at [email protected] or 312.670.7444. Visit ORBA.com to learn more about our Law Firm Group.