5 ways to increase your law firm’s online presence (for small-mid size)

1. Put some effort into your website

Your firm’s online presence begins with your website. Below are some guides for you to consider when developing your website.

1.1. A step-by-step guide to creating your firm’s website

First, purchase your domain name. Domain name prices vary according to your domain. Domain names can be as cheap as $10 and go up to thousands of dollars. You can purchase your domain from websites, such as www.godaddy.com, www.namecheap.com, and www.domain.com, etc.

Second, buy a hosting service for your website. Web hosting starts from around $3 per month. Examples include Bluehost ($2.75 per month), HostGator ($2.43 per month), and Hostinger ($9.99 per month).

Third, now it’s time to develop your website. If you don’t want to pay for an expensive designer, an alternative is to start designing your own web with code-free tools, such as www.wordpress.org, www.wix.com, or www.joomla.org. You can also purchase website templates from websites, such as www.themeforest.net or www.colorlib.com.

If designing your website seems too much for you, you can hire a freelancer to develop it for you. Consider freelancing websites, such as www.fiverr.com or www.freelancer.com.

When you are designing your firm’s website, try to think from the perspective of a potential client. WHAT would they look for, WHEN would they need you, and HOW will they find and contact you? You must speak to your audience, about their fears, uncertainties, and doubts along with their hopes and expectations.

1.2. A law firm website should:

have definitive pages for each lawyer and practice area of your firm
be easy to navigate and find the resources a visitor is looking for
be mobile-friendly and look great on any device
make it easy to get in touch with your firm (by phone and via a contact form)
include “social proof”: testimonials or case studies from your clients
be personal: Avoid stock images of courthouses and gavels, and include pictures of your team and your office.

TIP 1: Use https://www.wordtracker.com/ for keyword research.

2. Think about your firm’s branding from the start

Your brand is more than your logo. It’s what you say and how you say it. It’s your firm’s history, and it’s your firm’s future. It’s how you work and the people you work with.

Why should lawyers be concerned with branding? An online presence that reflects your firm’s ideals, goals, and objectives through web design, layout, look, feel, images, content, and key messages will help you win more business.

If you want your firm to be the one that someone selects when searching online you must tick several boxes. You must have the right kind of legal website content in the right structure, presented effectively to search.

Make a simple and understandable marketing plan by starting with your logo and law firm name. People will know the professionalism starting from when they see your name and logo.
Marketing plans should include your history, achievements, successful cases, and even your partners’ education.

TIP 2: use https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/ to analyze your competitor ad on Facebook
TIP 3: use https://www.similarweb.com/ to analyze the website traffic of your competitor

Four main elements underpin your brand:

Why do you do what you do – what is the firm’s purpose or mission?
How you do what you do – what separates you from your competitors?
What you do – the services you offer.
How you communicate.

3. Consider video marketing

Video marketing has a more successful reach compared to other channels. Create your own channels and upload your videos. Be sure to post at least one video every two weeks.

If you’re wondering about what to talk about in your video, a Q&A format is a clever choice. When most people go to their search engine with a legal concern, they phrase it in the form of a question. Seeing a result that closely mirrors their inquiry substantially increases the chance that they will click on the link. Creating the question also forces you to be more precise about what you’ll be talking about. A video on a general topic allows you to meander, so you may end up providing more information in general but less information on the viewer’s specific need.

A few tips in creating video content:

use what you have /phone, background, office, etc./
record in batches /scenes, topic, standing view, sitting around the desk view, etc./
have a simple but standard format.
try to be consistent: Keep in mind that your video format, quality, sharing platforms, topics, etc./

TIP 4: Check out some big law firms’ YouTube channels, such as:

4. Get your firm’s name onto online directories

When a prospective client looks for a lawyer or a law firm, they often use keywords such as:

Top/Best lawyers/law firms in [area or country]
List of law firms in [area or country]

These searches often lead to a list of lawyers and law firms. Try doing the above searches on your own and try to list your firm name in the top results. Also, be sure to add information on Google Maps.

5. Content marketing is the king

The upside of creating legal content is that the content is usually timeless as long as the law doesn’t change. This will give an advantage for your firm in the long term. You can’t always predict which content or which published source will get only a few dozen views and which will get tens of thousands. Focus on consistently creating quality content and let the market hit you. Don’t be afraid to get low views because it won’t affect any stats for your law firm.

Types of legal content may include a blog, webinar, podcast, or free legal advice on social chat or phone.

TIP 5: Use SoundCloud, Podbean, BuzzSprout for podcasting
TIP 6: Use medium.com for blogging
TIP 7: use livechat.com to implement the instant chat on your website

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