Question #1: Do you think a firm should specialize its services in order to increase marketing results?

What The Results Tell Us

Most attorneys seem to agree that offering specialized service is a must for competing in today’s increasingly overcrowded legal landscape. An overwhelming amount of our survey participants acknowledged the benefits of going niche for certain firms, even if some felt their practice was fine as is.

Statistic To Know

According to Statista, there were 1.35 million lawyers in the U.S. in 2019.

Expert Thoughts

Do you think a firm should specialize its services in order to increase marketing results?

• Jan Roos – Founder of CaseFuel

  100%. You have to think of your brand as occupying real estate in someone’s mind. It takes energy (read: marketing investment) to uproot someone’s go to. How many people in your market are competing for “lawyer”? Compare that to “the lawyer for high net worth divorces involving oil field royalties” and you’re going to be way easier to recommend, remember and harder to price shop if someone needs services you specialize in.

• Gyi Tsakalakis – President at AttorneySync

  Generally speaking, my experience tells me that firms that position themselves as focusing on specific areas of expertise tend to be better at attracting their desired client.

• Jay Ruane – Partner at Ruane Attorneys

  I think the complexities of law grow every year, and I think the legal service consumer is looking for someone who can solve their exact problem. One of the wonderful things about digital marketing is that you can devote resources to marketing different verticals in different ways, so even if YOU want to have a varied practice, you can position yourself as a provider who solves unique problems and the public will be more likely to engage you for that.

• Amy Juers – CEO at Edge Legal Marketing

  When a firm can define services that are specific to a client’s specific needs it makes it much easier to put the right marketing message in front of the right people. Today’s world of digital marketing and advertising makes it easy to get messaging in front of a targeted audience and whenever that happens, marketing results are increased.

• Paul Julius – Co-host of LAWsome podcast

  I think marketing can be used to highlight a service as a specialty, and done well it will present that specialized service area in a way that differentiates a firm from others. Overall the best way to increase marketing results is through a comprehensive approach that balances brand reinforcement with sales activation tactics. I don’t think a firm should turn to changing their business model as an effective marketing strategy.

• Matt Starosciak – Proven Law Marketing

  Being able to promote a narrow practice focus can be an advantage when it comes to marketing. However, I don’t believe the average client is turned off by a lawyer or small firm that focuses on a handful of matter types. Also, there’s nothing that says a firm can’t do four practice areas and heavily market only one of them.

• Rodney Warner – Legal Content Writer

  Unless an attorney is in a rural area with few other attorneys, I think (specializing is) an economic necessity. If you’re a jack of all trades, you’re a master of none and that’s not a recipe for success. I don’t necessarily think an attorney need only do only one kind of work, just not more than three. You can have separate campaigns for the same person, featuring different types of cases. You could have multiple websites, different Facebook pages. I don’t think all the eggs need to go in one basket, but you don’t want too many baskets.

• Tate Lounsbery – Owner of Lounsbery Law Office

  If a firm wants to increase its marketing results, it should specialize its marketing message. It can do this even while it offers a variety of services in a variety of legal specialties. A law firm that takes family law, immigration, and estate planning matters does not need to limit its practice to just, say, estate planning. What it should do instead is have 3 separate marketing ventures, one for each practice area. Having said that, if the firm doesn’t specialize, its lawyers should. It is of tremendous benefit to have a lawyer who is known for doing one thing only and doing it exceptionally well.

Final Thoughts

Much like our survey respondents, many of our experts seem to be in favor of specializing legal services when possible. This is far from surprising, as the world we live in seems to be becoming more and more niche. Lawyers may find that specializing their firm will make them more memorable to consumers and potential referral sources, and help simplify their marketing process. As we wrote in a blog post last November, “If a vision for a specialized law field becomes clear to you, and it’s something you’re really passionate about, and you know there is a sizable group of consumers looking for a specific type of legal help, you may just have yourself a niche worth pursuing.”

Question #2: Which of the following best describes your relationship with your community’s local press?

What The Results Tell Us

Perhaps attorneys are being scared off by fake news or the demise of print journalism, because a large number of our survey respondents aren’t dedicating time to building relationships with local media members. Only around 30% of the lawyers we reached out to currently have press connections.

Statistic To Know

According to The New York Times, more than one in five newspapers in the United States has closed over the past 15 years.

Expert Thoughts

Is it important for a law firm to have a strong relationship with their community’s local press?

• Joe Marchelewski – Senior Account Manager at Juris Productions

  Absolutely. While some legal issues will not be of interest to local reporters (especially large corporate firms), those relationships seriously matter when it comes to pro bono work. Letting the local community know how the attorneys at the firm are dedicating their time to helping those around them is vital to further a firm’s image.

• Michelle Calcote King – President of Reputation Ink

  It certainly doesn’t hurt, but again, this depends on the law firm’s business model and marketing strategy. Is the firm doing a lot of work in the local community? If so, then yes, a good relationship with the media is important, especially if the firm finds itself involved in controversy, as it will help ensure fair coverage. Good relationships will also help ensure any of the firm’s news relevant to the local market will get covered.

• Amy Juers – CEO at Edge Legal Marketing

  To be frank, this is one of the most effective ways to get free advertising. While a lawyer cannot and should not promote their firm’s services directly via media relations, gaining media coverage and airtime opens the door to showing the local market that they are the go-to firm for help. Strong relationships do not happen overnight, though, so remember to be patient, persistent but not overbearing. These reporters are bombarded daily. Some keys to success include having a deft touch, be responsive to inquiries and meet press deadlines.

• Paul Julius – Co-host of LAWsome podcast

  This can have a HUGE impact for a law firm that takes it seriously. However, this is one of those areas that I advise firms to be realistic about expectations with. It requires a lot of effort (and hustle) and the reality is that good public relations is a difficult concept to understand and master, much less do well. It also has the greatest potential to go poorly and perhaps misrepresent a law firm simply through a bad showing on a local media channel.

• Rodney Warner- Legal Content Writer (rodneywarner.net)

  Attorneys should make the most of whatever local press is left. I worked as a reporter in the late 1980’s and the media is drastically different. “Getting your name out” is always a good thing, especially when it’s connected to a successful case. But the media is splintered into a thousand pieces. It’s not just the local newspaper and network TV affiliates anymore. The media no longer neatly fits in a box, so you need to think outside the box when it comes to media relations.

• Gyi Tsakalakis- President at AttorneySync

  Most lawyers who serve clients in their local community will benefit greatly from building relationships with local press. But lawyers shouldn’t just limit themselves to thinking about traditional press. There are likely several types of local leaders and influencers that can really help grow a firm’s local profile.

• Tate Lounsbery – Owner of Lounsbery Law Office

  For most law firms, the answer is no. However, if a law firm’s new business relies in large part on word of mouth, referrals, and networking, then having a strong relationship with the local press could play an important role in the firm’s marketing activities.

• Jay Ruane – Partner at Ruane Attorneys

  It depends on the location. Local press is always good for local links, which help you reach a local audience, but the “local” media may be too large to cover issues in your legal niche if you are in a major metropolitan area. For me, my local area is the great NYC area, so we don’t rely on local press as much.

• Matt Starosciak – Owner of Proven Law Marketing

  Often times it depends on the size of the community. In more rural areas, a good relationship with the local press may result in the publication of press releases for awards or stories about community service projects. In large metro areas, it’s very difficult to establish a strong relationship with the press unless the firm is handling high profile, newsworthy cases.

• Paul Julius – Co-host of LAWsome podcast

  I live in a larger metropolitan area so any local spot news is high-visibility. One of our clients here, a very successful personal injury firm, has become essentially the go-to legal expert for the local network affiliate channels (ABC, CBS, NBC) and rightly so because they are so successful and have won some very high profile / high dollar cases. Every time they are interviewed or have a press conference – yes they do, like a football coach after a game – they look like complete professionals. From their clothing to the coordinated and branded table cover/backdrop – they own and control the entire appearance and therefore are able to maximize the messaging and branding.

• Rodney Warner – Legal Content Writer (rodneywarner.net)

  If an attorney is working in a particular niche, there may be specialized publications (local or not) whose audiences are a good fit and may be worth the public relations effort. Foreign language media is, overall, more healthy than the media in general. There may be fewer attorneys advertising in such an outlet. If the attorney does personal injury cases involving boating accidents, there are boating publications. If an attorney takes workers comp cases involving nurses, there may be a publication by a healthcare workers union local. Podcasting has become very popular. If an attorney represents small businesses, there may be a podcast aimed at local businesses the attorney could appear on and/or sponsor.

Final Thoughts

Our experts seem to be far more enthusiastic about the idea of engaging with local media than our survey respondents. In this case we have to side with the expert panel. There are so many different ways law offices can use a relationship with the editors and reporters in their area to their advantage. When a firm is doing something newsworthy, they can use the media to help create buzz. Lawyers can also gain credibility as thought leaders, by appearing as expert sources for local media outlets. As Michelle Calcote King told us in a conversation last September, being cited as an expert source by the media can be almost as effective as a personal referral for business development purposes.

Question #3: Is your firm using pay per click advertising?

What The Results Tell Us

Lawyers seem to be all over the map when it comes to their relationship with pay per click advertising. This wasn’t a shock, as much of the business world has differing opinions when it comes to PPC. It seems that a lot of firms are hesitant about using PPC at this time, as only about half of the attorneys we surveyed have given it a fair chance.

Statistic To Know

According to SparkToro, paid ads have an 11.38% click-through rate on Google.

Expert Thoughts

Should law firms be engaging in pay per click advertising?

• Matt Starosciak – Owner of Proven Law Marketing

  Yes. Every law firm should at least have a paid ad for their name and close variations. This ensures that internet users – and more specifically smartphone users – see the best information about a firm first. I also believe PPC is a great strategy for niche practice areas where competition is low.

• Paul Julius – Co-host of LAWsome podcast

  I’ve managed millions of dollar’s worth of ad spend for law firms, so I can say from experience – yes. That same experience also tells me that there are many lawyers and law firms who have misconceptions about PPC.

  • “It is easy to set up” – this is typically pitched by a Google rep who will give you a free consultation/have their experts set up the campaign etc. Remember – Google makes money off of clicks, not how many cases you sign.
  • “Once it’s set up I can run it myself” – good idea, I’m sure you have several free hours a day to review results optimize bids, identify your competitors activities and find opportunities to exploit.
  • “I tried it and it didn’t work/got bad results/wasted money” – typically what happens if you think it’s easy to set up, or that running PPC for lawyers is something you can DIY.

  Think of it this way – have you ever had a client argued items on their invoice by saying ‘I could have done that myself,’ but you know from your experience that they are severely underestimating the scope of work it takes to get the desired results? Yeah, same here.

• Amy Juers – CEO at Edge Legal Marketing

  The question of PPC is a lot like when social media came into the marketing picture. At first, professional marketers questioned its effectiveness and viability and it is clear today that yes, it is here to stay. PPC, when done correctly, including the right audience, message, frequency and budget, is an effective marketing tactic and law firms should most definitely engage.

• Michelle Calcote King – President of Reputation Ink

  Google AdWords can be an effective strategy for law firms targeting consumers — personal injury, labor and employment, family law, trusts and estates, etc. — as consumers are much more likely to rely on a Google search to find a law firm than corporate clients are. Pay-per-click advertising is a good way to “prime the pump” while you wait for your organic SEO to become effective (as organic takes time). PPC can also enable you to capitalize on an immediate opportunity, whereas organic SEO is a long-term strategy. For example, let’s say a new law is passed that impacts your clients. You can set up a PPC campaign on that specific law and generate leads immediately.

• Gyi Tsakalakis – President at AttorneySync

  It depends. Anyone who answers this question differently should be challenged.

• Jay Ruane – Partner at Ruane Attorneys

  It depends on your niche and your desires. PPC advertising can be a quick drain to your budget if you don’t have proper negative keywords and monitor it for bad terms that don’t convert. If curated properly, you can see 10-1 return on your investment.

• Joe Marchelewski – Senior Account Manager at Juris Productions

  If the law firm does national class action work or mass tort work, then yes by all means. Otherwise, paying $350 to get one click for a car accident case in Los Angeles, Houston or New York is a bad investment.

• Tate Lounsbery – Owner of Lounsbery Law Office

  Pay per click has been very profitable for my practice. Having said that, law firms should pick the advertising vehicle that best suits their marketing strategy. Consumer-facing legal services often benefit from PPC advertising, but one can easily spend tens of thousands of dollars on ads without seeing a return. Before putting a lot of money into PPC ads, a law firm should conduct an analysis of its own local marketplace.

• Jan Roos – Founder of CaseFuel

  I know I’m the PPC guy but my answer is – it depends. Here’s who shouldn’t be on PPC:

  • Biz law. Statistically, you’ll pay for clicks from wantrepreneurs more often than the big companies you want. Plus it’s a long sales cycle which doesn’t make sense for PPC.
  • New practices/people without budget. Expect to spend at least $3000 per month all in if you’re working with an agency between budget and service. If you cut corners it’s likely you won’t get results at all so I’m increasingly recommending people to wait.
  • Hyper niche practices. Think about the most general category you could describe what you do as (ie “personal injury law” or “family law”). Chances are 80% plus of the search terms in your area are going to be looking for some permutation of that so if you want to ONLY serve brain injury cases or high net worth divorce you’re going to be throwing a lot of fish back into the ocean.

  If you don’t fall into any of those – it’s the fastest way to get qualified people calling your firm bar none when it works.

Final Thoughts

While we hope all lawyers will take the time to explore all that PPC advertising can do for their firm, we definitely can’t blindly recommend it for all attorneys. While the upside to PPC is clear, not all types of firms will be able to experience that upside, either because of their marketing budget, the type of law they practice, or the level of competition they face. We recommend doing your homework on PPC and talking with an expert in the field before getting started with this type of advertising. You definitely shouldn’t be taking it on by yourself.

Question #4: Has local SEO been a priority for your firm?

What The Results Tell Us

A majority of the lawyers we surveyed seem to be on top of their local SEO marketing presence. For those not entirely familiar with the term local SEO, it is a search engine optimization strategy that helps your business be more visible in local search results on Google. Check out this helpful article from Mailchimp for a more in-depth explanation of how local SEO works.

Statistic To Know

According to WebFX, 46% of Google searches are for local businesses.

Expert Thoughts

Should local SEO be a priority for a law firm?

• Jay Ruane – Partner at Ruane Attorneys

  Absolutely, law firms are local businesses and lots of people look for a “local” lawyer to help them solve their problems. If you have a smaller niche, you can still be local in a wider area if you do some simple content and posting strategies that expand beyond your immediate neighborhood.

• Joe Marchelewski – Senior Account Manager at Juris Productions

  It depends on the law firm’s focus. If it is a consumer facing firm that gets its business more off the street, then yes. However, if it’s a firm that gets its business from referrals, then SEO is important but not a priority.

• Jan Roos – Founder of CaseFuel

  Depends on the timeline of your goals. SEO is a long term investment and no honest SEO practitioner will tell you otherwise. You’ll be spending money for a while before it starts paying for itself so if that isn’t in the cards for you there are other channels to look towards first. Once you have some breathing room in your budget it’s absolutely one of the best advantages you can have – we ran an audit on the lawfirm500 and well over half of the top spots had great SEO in place.

• Tate Lounsbery – Owner of Lounsbery Law Office

  For SEO purposes, you want your law firm to show up in the top five (or maybe top 10) of a Google search of your primary key words. If, by making the financial and time commitment necessary, there’s a decent chance you can break into the top 10 results, then you should make SEO a priority. If chances are slim, then you may be better off forgetting about SEO; you may be better-served focusing on other advertising tactics.

• Amy Juers – CEO at Edge Legal Marketing

  Do a data analysis to clearly find where the majority of a firm’s clients are based. If they are local, then the answer is clear, local SEO should be a priority. That being said, there is a short list of things that a law firm can do to get on the map and be found. Take these simple steps first before considering hiring an SEO company. Start with the behemoth search engine, Google/Google My Business (GMB), and work your way down from there.

• Gyi Tsakalakis – President at AttorneySync

  If we’re asking whether local, brick and mortar firms should have a Google My Business listing, then the answer is probably yes for most. If we’re talking about complex local SEO campaigns to compete for competitive queries in local packs, then it depends on how it fits into an overall marketing plan. I certainly wouldn’t encourage firms to put all of their client development eggs solely in the local SEO basket.

• Michelle Calcote King – President of Reputation Ink

  Similar to Google AdWords, local SEO is more important for law firms targeting consumers, as these individuals are more likely to use Google to find a law firm than a corporate client. However, even corporate clients turn to Google at some point in their search for a firm, especially when they are looking for a firm with specialist expertise — for example, a niche focus in their industry. In this case, if the firm doesn’t appear in search results, they may be eliminated from consideration due to the searchers’ assumptions about credibility and quality.

Final Thoughts

As we begin a new decade, SEO remains as important as ever for the legal industry. At the very least, law firms should take the time to get set up with Google My Business. To properly evaluate how much time and effort you should be dedicating to search marketing, you’ll want to talk with a marketing agency or bring on an experienced marketing professional to your staff. While there are plenty of SEO strategies lawyers can be engaging in on their own, chasing the wrong keywords or wasting time on the wrong search marketing tactics can set your firm back quite a bit. Make sure you find proper guidance before embarking on any long-term campaigns. You’ll want to find that guidance as soon as possible, because if your firm isn’t currently near the top of local search results, your competitors may be dominating the space.

Question #5: Have you considered altering your website content to make it more voice search friendly?

What The Results Tell Us

Most of the lawyers in our survey don’t appear to be taking voice search too seriously at this point. Over 86 % of our respondents say that they have not adapted their content in any fashion because of the rise of voice search.

Statistic To Know

According to PWC, 65% of 25-49 year old’s speak to their voice-enabled devices at least once a day.

Expert Thoughts

Should law firms be altering their website content to make it more voice search friendly?

• Gyi Tsakalakis – President at AttorneySync

  Not really. Certainly think about how people might use voice search and assistance in developing content, as phrased, I don’t think “altering content” for “voice search friendliness” will add much value.

• Jay Ruane – Partner at Ruane Attorneys

  Voice is the future, but so many lawyers haven’t even focused on making their sites mobile friendly. If you are jumping right into Voice you are missing out on great opportunities to make improvements today.

• Tate Lounsbery – Owner of Lounsbery Law Office

  The way to make your website voice search friendly is to simply make it SEO friendly. Part of that entails focusing on long-tail keywords. If SEO is an integral part of your marketing strategy, then you’re in a good position when it comes to voice search. If not, then don’t worry about voice search. The data still says most people are only using voice search when they’re busy with their hands and they need info fast (for instance, when they’re driving). When people are searching for a lawyer, do they need to hire one immediately, within the next 10 seconds? Not usually.

Final Thoughts

A large portion of the country is now engaging with voice-enabled technology, either on their smartphone or through devices like Amazon Echos or Google Homes. While many consumers seem to be using voice search to find new products and services, there remains a great deal of uncertainty as to whether or not voice tech is being used to find lawyers. Our experts seem to agree that while voice search is a trend to follow, there are other more pressing matters for lawyers to address when it comes to their website. By making their websites SEO friendly (something attorneys should be doing regardless of voice search), lawyers can simultaneously prepare their firms for any voice-related searches they recieve.

Question #6: What should be the top goal of a law firm website’s homepage?

What The Results Tell Us

It seems that most lawyers aren’t interested in providing their website visitors with a lengthy customer journey, but instead want to make direct contact with them as soon as possible. Some attorneys feel education is the most important goal for their homepage, while almost none are looking to push consumers to their secondary pages.

Statistic To Know

According to linkgraph, 74% of consumers who visit a law firm’s website end up taking action, such as contacting the firm by phone.

Expert Thoughts

What should be the top goal of a law firm website’s homepage?

• Leah Presser – Legal Tech Content & Copy Writer

  Your homepage should 1) show your ideal clients that you offer the services they need, and 2) entice them to dig deeper. You can’t put every detail you want to share on your homepage. That’s what service pages are for. Your homepage should just briefly indicate – I’m talking in a few words, maybe a sentence or two – that you can help the client with their specific issue. And it should do it in a way that compels the reader to click to read more about how you provide that service better than anyone else. Sometimes that’s as easy as displaying clear and informative menu options. Often, it requires strategic placement of carefully crafted compelling language.

• Jeremy W. Richter – Attorney at Webster Henry

  Potential clients may hear about your firm by word of mouth or social media, but they go to your website to learn more. When they get there, you need to confirm their hopes and convince them that you have a solution to their problem. You can’t convince potential clients you have the solution to their problems if what your website tells them is that you participated in moot court 15 years ago and you were the editor of the law review. You need to affirm to the potential client that you have something they want and you can be trusted to deliver whatever that is.

• Paul Julius – Co-host of LAWsome podcast

  Get clients to contact you. Don’t let anyone tell you different – it can be the prettiest thing in the world, but if it doesn’t work it will drag all your digital marketing efforts down.

• Gyi Tsakalakis – President at AttorneySync

  Motivate prospective clients to contact the firm.

• Jan Roos – Founder of CaseFuel

  Get your prospect to take the next action. In most cases this is a form fill, chat or email but if you have a practice like estate law could also be workshop or getting on the email list.

• Matt Starosciak – Owner of Proven Law Marketing

  Make certain prospective clients immediately see what applies to them.

• Amy Juers – CEO at Edge Legal Marketing

  A site visitor must see exactly what they are looking for right when they land on the home page. Once the visitor knows they are in the right place, the goal should be to lead the visitor to take action and guide them to the next step that needs to be taken such as complete a contact us form or a form to download high-value content.

• Tate Lounsbery – Owner of Lounsbery Law Office

  To inspire your ideal prospect to trust you…to be willing to take a risk with you based on their expectation of a positive result. You engender trust through demonstrated character and ability. People do not trust blindly. They want to see proof that you respect the import of your role in their lives, that you hold yourself accountable to them, and that you acknowledge their vulnerability in placing their problems in your hands for safekeeping.

• Joe Marchelewski – Senior Account Manager at Juris Productions

  Communicate the firm’s message, the firm’s successes and develop trust with the core audience.

• Rodney Warner – Legal Content Writer

  Keep people on the website. Whether they’re on it because of a search, a social media posting or a business card, you want that person to think, this is the right place. They work on issues that I’m concerned about. They seem to know what they’re doing. I should look into this further.

• Jay Ruane – Partner at Ruane Attorneys

  This depends on the firm. For a retail practice, you should be pushing people into your specific silo focusing on solving their problem. For B2B lawyers, it would be different. You have to match your goal with the action. Otherwise you are spinning your wheels.

• Leah Presser – Legal Tech Content & Copy Writer

  Make sure you speak to the largest portion of your audience about your most valuable offerings above the fold. The worst home page offenders I see are solo attorneys who basically toss up their resume on a one-page site. Prospective clients don’t care that you went to Salmon P. Chase Law School and once gave a presentation on “Attorney Responsibilities: Cyber Security & Changing Technology.” They want to know what you can do for them and whether you can handle their legal challenges.

Final Thoughts

Our experts ended up being quite split on this survey question. It’s possible using the term “top goal” is what led to such a divide amongst our panel, as most would probably agree that getting site visitors to contact the firm and educating consumers about your firm are both important goals for law firm websites, and are usually goals that are closely connected. In any case, you’ll want to make sure the messaging on your site is clear, and that clients are seeing things that will drive them want to reach out to your firm for further conversation.

Question #7: What do you think is the most important quality of a law firm website?

What The Results Tell Us

The lawyers we reached out to seem to be focusing in on the user experience they provide their site visitors, which indicates they understand the importance of having a website that is not only easy to navigate, but highly immersive. Website content also is a high priority for many in our survey, while branding and general appearance seem to be of more secondary concern.

Statistic To Know

According to Sweor, it takes about 0.05 seconds for users to form an opinion about your website.

Expert Thoughts

What would you consider to be the most important aspect of a law firm website?

• Jodi O’Hara – Founder of Web Visibility Advisors

  Law firm websites should be easy to navigate and client-centric so potential clients feel confident contacting the law firm and of the ability of the firm to solve their legal issues.

• Amy Juers – CEO at Edge Legal Marketing

  To communicate succinctly the type of law it practices and the benefits it brings to clients. This assures the visitor that they have come to the right place.

• Matt Starosciak – Owner of Proven Law Marketing

  Ensuring prospective clients see how the firm can solve their problem.

• Leah Presser – Legal Tech Content & Copy Writer

  You want to give visitors a way to stay in touch with you. For example, give them the option to sign up for a newsletter or regular email updates. Beyond that, you want them to be able to take away something of value from their interaction with your site. So, offer them a helpful guide to download or a webinar series to attend. The point is to get them to take an action that creates an ongoing connection.

• Jeremy W. Richter – Attorney at Webster Henry

  Make your website about your client. It should tell clients, not about you and your firm, but what you can do for them. They need to know you are capable of handling their problem, and they may even need you to identify their problem for them. They also need to know that you can help them resolve their problem. Donald Miller writes in “Building a StoryBrand” that one of the most common mistakes businesses make is failing to focus on what they can offer that will help their clients both survive and thrive. “The key,” writes Miller, “is to make your company’s message about something that helps the customer survive.”

• Tate Lounsbery – Owner of Lounsbery Law Office

  Your firm’s USP (unique selling proposition) should be up front in a big, bold declaration on your homepage. You develop your USP by identifying who you help (your ideal prospects) & how you help. In describing those two things, you need to establish differentiation from the rest of your marketplace—your competitive advantage.

• Joe Marchelewski – Senior Account Manager at Juris Productions

  Attorney biographies have proven to be the most important part of any website because once a prospective client meets with the attorneys, s/he goes to their phone the moment they leave the office and looks those attorneys up.

Final Thoughts

It is important to note that our survey respondents were limited to four multiple choice answers for this question, and our expert panel was not. But, as far as the four choices in our survey go, there really doesn’t appear to be a wrong answer. User experience, content, branding and design are all vital pieces of the puzzle when it comes to creating the perfect website for your firm. You’ll want to make sure you’re succeeding in all four areas not just on desktop, but on your mobile site as well, since 63 % of U.S. Google visits are now via a mobile device. It’s also important for attorneys not just to be focusing on their homepage, but to make sure they have quality attorney bio, services, and blog pages as well.

Question #8: Does your firm’s website have a live chat feature?

What The Results Tell Us

About 87% of the law firms we contacted for this survey are not employing any kind of live chat on their site at this time. While a good portion see the value in live chat and remain open to using it in the future, the majority of attorneys prefer to make first contact with a new lead in other ways.

Statistic To Know

According to Inc., 42% of consumers say they prefer live chat over other support functions because they don’t have to wait on hold.

Expert Thoughts

Should law firms have a live chat feature on their website?

• Gyi Tsakalakis – President at AttorneySync

  Probably. Give people different ways to communicate with the firm.

• Jan Roos – Founder of CaseFuel

  Yes, if it doesn’t interfere with the experience or SEO. We’ve implemented across the board with our clients and it’s increased overall conversion rate about 30%. Some of this is cannibalization of what would otherwise be calls or form fills but that’s a top line number so it’s net additional. It’s increasingly important as Gen Z and millennials come of age and besides, good for introverted people who don’t want a phone call or the phone call that will come after a form is submitted.

• Amy Juers – CEO at Edge Legal Marketing

  Live chat is definitely gaining popularity but should only be employed when the firm has the proper workflow and personnel to manage it. Instant communication channels are only good when someone responds!

• Jay Ruane – Partner at Ruane Attorneys

  Not all of them should, because we found that live chat took up a lot of our time and provided lower return on investment. If you have a long sales cycle and want to push people to certain pages, or get contact information for a DRIP campaign, live chat can be a great tool. Then again, you might be able to get the same information from a chatbot.

• Matt Starosciak – Owner of Proven Law Marketing

  Only if they are okay with a less skilled, third-party representing the firm and providing information on its behalf.

• Leah Presser – Legal Tech Content & Copy Writer

  I want to say yes, absolutely, because people have come to expect to use “live” chat features as a way to search for answers to frequently asked questions. That may be the best way law firms can use chatbots. What stops me from an enthusiastic YES is my dread that most firms will refuse to allow their chat feature to say anything other than, “That depends. Call 888-999-1212 for more information.” If that’s all you’re going to offer, don’t bother. That’ll only frustrate your prospects. You have to give them some takeaway. Not necessarily legal advice, but maybe some background on how many cases the firm has handled regarding that issue they’re asking about. Add which attorneys in your firm handle cases like theirs. Let them opt to have one of those attorneys call them. Now you’ve got a chat feature working for you!

• Tate Lounsbery – Owner of Lounsbery Law Office

  Live chat features can be very helpful and lucrative, especially for high volume practices. Most solo and small law firms can do without them. Having an automated (versus live) chat feature on your website will be helpful and should be used, if for no other reason than to filter out people you can’t help.

Final Thoughts

We live in an on-demand age where consumers are always seeking instant answers to their questions and problems. This in theory would make adding live chat to a website an easy decision for lawyers, as they’d be giving their new leads the immediate answers they seek. However, where the legal world differs from other industries is that answers to customer questions usually aren’t all that simple, and often require a high level of expertise and long explanation. Unless lawyers have someone they can really trust to operate the live chat service on their website, they may want to avoid providing such a service. Remember, in most cases this will be the first contact you make with a new lead, and a bad experience can quickly leave them frustrated and moving on to your competitors for help.

Question #9: Has your firm created any case studies and/or client success stories to display on your website to prospective clients?

What The Results Tell Us

Most of the lawyers we surveyed seem to view creating case studies or client success stories for this website as a valuable exercise. However, most of our respondents haven’t actually started creating case studies or success stories yet.

Statistic To Know

According to Status Labs, 78 % of consumers trust peer recommendations, while only 14 % trust advertising.

Expert Thoughts

Should law firms take the time to create case studies and/or client success stories for their website?

• Michelle Calcote King – President of Reputation Ink

  Absolutely. After a potential client finds a law firm (whether by referral, google search or other method), their next stop is the firm’s website. They will visit the site to see whether 1) the law firm does the kind of work they need, 2) what their experience is in that area, 3) what success they’ve had. Without case studies or client success stories, a law firm has no way of demonstrating that.

• Joe Marchelewski – Senior Account Manager at Juris Productions

  Absolutely! Law firms have to demonstrate why they offer something other firms do not. People want attorneys they can trust and attorneys who can win. Any case study that can demonstrate these two is a necessity.

• Leah Presser – Legal Tech Content & Copy Writer

  Absolutely! You can reveal a lot about your past work without revealing names or confidential information. It’s all in the phrasing and the topics you discuss. If you can’t reveal a client’s name, use a relevant description of what they are. e.g., write “multinational investment bank and financial services company” rather than “Bank of America.” Rather than reveal actual dollar amounts, or emails that went into evidence, or things like that, describe your work in terms of the challenges faced and the strategies you developed to overcome them. Share the collaborative methods your team used to keep the case moving forward quickly. How did you ensure you located the relevant case precedents? Did you save the client money by using an ediscovery technology platform?

• Amy Juers – CEO at Edge Legal Marketing

  How great a firm performed always sounds better coming from a client’s perspective than from a lawyer’s mouth. High profile clients can take months and even up to a year to get a case study pushed through the approval process. But when finished, it can serve as a golden ticket for marketing and public relations channels for years to come. Case studies and success stories add credibility to the firm and helps potential clients envision how the firm can work with them as well.

• Jay Ruane – Partner at Ruane Attorneys

  As long as they comply with Rule 1.6 Confidentiality, the public generally likes to read stories of similarly situated people and how you solved their problem. I highly recommend ethical whitepapers of case studies.

• Jan Roos – Founder of CaseFuel

  In my opinion the 80/20 of client feedback is the good old fashioned testimonial. Video if possible. There are some practices of law where data will make a difference but for most of our clients practicing consumer law – people are in an emotional state and just want reassurance that your firm is going to be the one to make things okay.

• Rodney Warner – Legal Content Writer

  Case studies are important marketing tools that can help generate trust. Why there aren’t more of them on law firm websites is beyond me. A case study can show the type of issue the firm works on, the kinds of problems their clients have, what they do to address them, what makes the firm’s approach unique or at least successful and the great (and measurable) outcome this client got. This is all part of the firm’s social proof: this is what we did for others, this is what we can do for you. Instead of empty marketing babble that can fill law firm websites, here are facts. Facts are more credible than copy any day and more likely to generate trust by the website visitor.

Final Thoughts

Today consumers value social proof more than ever before. There’s a lot of misinformation out there on the internet, so it can take some time before new leads begin to trust your firm and believe in all the things you promise to do for them. Having real customer stories readily available for viewing on your website (and social channels) can go a long way towards building trust with prospects, as you’ll not just be telling them that your firm is great, but showing them real examples of your practice being successful. If your firm hasn’t gotten started on creating case studies yet, change that in 2020. There are a lot of inventive ways to lay out and display a customer case study. You can check out one we did for Answering Legal here.

Question #10: What’s been your firm’s experience with creating marketing videos?

What The Results Tell Us

A lot of lawyers seem to see the value of creating video, but most don’t think view the task as feasible for their firm. Many of our respondents are using their schedule and/or financial situation as an excuse to not engage in video marketing at this time.

Statistic To Know

According to Social Media Today, “78% of people watch videos online every week, and 55% of those watch videos online every day.

Expert Thoughts

Is creating marketing videos worth the time and effort for lawyers?

• Gerry Oginski – Founder of the Law Office Of Gerry Oginski

  Creating videos is a one-time investment that pays dividends forever (at least as long as YouTube is around). By the way, that’s exactly how I got started creating hundreds and thousands of videos to market my solo law firm. After the first video I created began to generate calls to my office, I figured that if one video could compel someone to call, then I have to do a second and a third. That’s when I realized that Google and YouTube loved fresh new content. Video has helped me generate calls and valid cases that have resulted in settlements of more than twelve million dollars over the past eleven years. Is video worth your time and effort? If done correctly and consistently, the answer is yes.

• Jodi O’Hara – Founder of Web Visibility Advisors

  Definitely. Videos reduce potential clients’ anxiety by helping them see the attorneys’ personalities and expertise in their own words. They help establish credibility.

• Tate Lounsbery – Owner of Lounsbery Law Office

  Few activities are worth more of your time than marketing videos. Still have a blog? Stop writing blogs. Start recording videos. Then get a transcript of your video and turn it into a blog (and an article, and an ebook, etc.).

• Amy Juers – CEO at Edge Legal Marketing

  Video production is not what it used to be. The trick here is to not overthink video production. In today’s society literally everyone has a camera and thanks to social media, novice videos can be more casual and almost more welcome than the studio-produced perfected advert. YouTube is where it is at but do not just post the video and hope they will come and watch it. Build a marketing ecosystem around this high-value content to ensure maximum results.

• Paul Julius – Co-host of LAWsome podcast

  If by “marketing videos” you mean things that are more like commercials/advertising – it can work, but you need to be aware of who you are making them for, what the messaging needs to be and how you intend to get them in front of your targeted audience.

• Matt Starosciak – Owner of Proven Law Marketing

  Videos do provide an avenue for conveying a message in a way that text simply cannot do. But I believe that any video done for the purpose of marketing the firm should be very high quality, which would include professional lighting, camera work, sound, and a strong message that’s given in a very conversational tone.

• Rodney Warner – Legal Content Writer

  If a video is done well, it can be very effective. If it’s done on the cheap, looks and sounds bad and doesn’t provide anything of value to the viewer, it will hurt more than help. Who wants to watch such a thing? If the viewer thinks his or her time has been wasted by watching the video, will that make him or her more or less likely to hire the attorney? Is the video visually interesting or compelling? Is the information provided helpful or interesting? Does the viewer benefit from it? If so, how? How does the video move your marketing efforts forward? Might the effort and resources spent on videos be better spent elsewhere? These questions need to be answered before the videos should be shot.

Final Thoughts

Video is being used more and more in the online marketing world, and for good reason. Consumers seem to love interacting with it. Most lawyers recognize this, but are quick to create reasons as to why their firm is unable to make original videos. However, many of these excuses, such as video creation being too time consuming or expensive, seem to be quickly going out the window. With smartphones, just about anyone is able to make a video, and do so with high video quality. If you are looking to create commercials or higher concept videos for your firm, you’ll probably want to turn to a professional video company. But, videos in which attorneys stay in one spot and talk directly to their audience are actually quite easy to make, and can be done without sacrificing a lot of money or time. Don’t believe us, check out the YouTube page of attorney Gerry Oginski, who has created over 3,000 videos for his firm. It’s time to stop making excuses and start filming!

Question #11: What kind of marketing videos do you think are generally best at winning over new clients?

What The Results Tell Us

While the responses we got for this question varied a lot, a lot of the lawyers we surveyed seemed to think educational videos were the best way to connect with new prospects. Attorneys also seem to like the idea of sharing their firm’s success stories with previous clients through video.

Statistic To Know

According to Wyzowl, 95% of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about products and services.

Expert Thoughts

What kinds of marketing videos do you think are generally best at winning over new clients?

• Gyi Tsakalakis – President at AttorneySync

  The ones that help potential clients understand why the lawyer is uniquely qualified to help them with their situation.

• Amy Juers – CEO at Edge Legal Marketing

  Videos where potential new clients can “meet” the lawyers and “hear from” the law firm’s clients.

• Matt Starosciak – Owner of Proven Law Marketing

  Videos that connect with client emotions are great, as well as ones that build confidence in the lawyer and his or her ability to produce positive results.

• Jan Roos – Founder of CaseFuel

  We love video testimonials for our landing pages. Some people are bad at writing but anyone can talk – it captures emotion much better. For most of our clients practicing consumer law – prospects are in an emotional state and just want reassurance that your firm is going to be the one to make things okay.

• Jay Ruane – Partner at Ruane Attorneys

  I don’t believe in “marketing” videos like the ones hawked at most major legal conferences. These tend to assuage the ego of the lawyer and do nothing for the website visitor. Instead, focus on their stories in the videos and let your clients connect with other clients via videos and eliminate the need for your own ego to be placated by these videos.

• Tate Lounsbery – Owner of Lounsbery Law Office

  It depends on who your prospects are and what level of understanding about their situation they’re coming to you with. If most of your ideal prospects come to you with a lot of questions about the situation they’re in (i.e., the problems they are or will be facing), you will want to have a lot of informational videos. If they come to you already having a good understanding of their situation and the problems they face but now need to know what to do about it, you will want to have a lot of instructional videos.

• Gerry Oginski – Founder of the Law Office Of Gerry Oginski

  The bottom line is not to create videos to win over a viewer. Instead, help them understand how their type of matter works. Teach them. Educate them. Then, invite them to call you if they have more questions. That’s the million dollar formula.

  See more extensive thoughts from Gerry Oginski in this blog post!

Final Thoughts

While not everyone will agree on what type of marketing video is best for lawyers to pursue, most would agree that their videos need to provide the viewer with something of value. You need prospective clients to walk away from you videos feeling that they have either learned something important, have benefited from hearing another peer’s story, or have been entertained by a unique or hilarious message. Always carefully consider who your audience is and what value your video is providing a potential viewer before hitting that record button.

Question #12: Do you believe humor has a place in legal advertising?

What The Results Tell Us

The attorney community seems to be divided on whether humor should be used in legal marketing campaigns. Of the lawyers on the yes side of the issue, most still seem to be somewhat hesitant about offending new prospects. Among attorneys who answered no, most used the reasoning that people looking for legal help aren’t seeking entertainment, but real answers to their problems.

Statistic To Know

According to Agility PR Solutions, 53 % of consumers say they are most likely to remember and enjoy an advertisement if it’s funny.

Expert Thoughts

Do you believe humor has a place in legal advertising?

• Gyi Tsakalakis – President at AttorneySync

  Sure, if it’s actually funny.

• Jay Ruane – Partner at Ruane Attorneys

  If done well, yes. But you have to know your audience and not use offensive humor.

• Tate Lounsbery – Owner of Lounsbery Law Office

  Yes. Not all legal specialties are appropriate for humor, but if you’re in IP, sports, wills & trusts, etc., go for it.

• Michelle Calcote King – President of Reputation Ink

  Yes, definitely. Humor can help you cut through the noise and humanize the firm and its lawyers to prospective clients. Our brains respond to novelty, and a law firm using humor is novel. However, you should not use humor for the sake of humor — you must tie the humor to the firm’s brand messaging.

• Jodi O’Hara – Founder of Web Visibility Advisors

  Used as part of the marketing mix, yes, but not as a primary tactic. For people who have never hired an attorney, legal issues are scary and hiring an attorney is intimidating. It also depends on the type of humor. Certainly nothing rude or derogatory or racist/sexist should be used. An occasional social post is okay.

• Jan Roos – Founder of CaseFuel

  I can think of several bad examples but I can’t think of any good examples to be honest. And I look at a lot of ads. So in theory yes, but in practice no because it’s really, really hard to execute.

• Amy Juers – CEO at Edge Legal Marketing

  While humor can be used to get attention or break through some barriers between the stigma of stuffy lawyers and clients, it should be used with caution. There have been some successful instances of where a lawyer or law firm used humor to get the attention of potential clients. That being said, there are certain situations or case types where humor should not be used. Situations where immediate trust and expertise is paramount and if a prospect or corporate attorney doesn’t get the assurance of a firm’s level of professionalism from the start, they will likely not get the call.

• Rodney Warner – Legal Content Writer

  It’s high risk – high reward. It’s so rare, it will stand out, which is the biggest issue in advertising. But if it’s not handled properly, a firm could get burned. You don’t want to make fun of clients, their problems, other lawyers or judges. Where do you find the humor? It could be self-depreciating, but lawyers want to look like infallible super heroes. If opposing parties are powerful and unpopular (Insurance companies? Major corporations? Government?) you might be able to get some mileage out of them.

Final Thoughts

So should lawyers try to be funny in their advertising? The answer appears to be, it depends. It depends on the type of law your practice, and what state of mind your consumers will be when they are reaching out to you. It depends on the personality of your firm and your lawyers, and whether or not you can actually pull off being funny. For certain firms, a funny advertisement or video might bring terrific results. There’s a reason humor has been a top tool of marketers for years, as it instantly makes your business more memorable to a consumer. Just be careful about what you’re joking about, and remember you’re not just looking to make a person laugh, but want to hire you as their lawyer.

Question #13: Would you consider launching a podcast as a way to show off expertise to potential clients and referral sources?

What The Results Tell Us

We were a bit surprised to learn that zero of the lawyers in our survey have started their own legal podcast. A small portion of our respondents are hoping to launch one this year, but most seem to view podcasting as not a good fit for their firm or too difficult to accomplish.

Statistic To Know

According to Convince&Convert, 32 % of Americans listen to podcasts monthly.

Expert Thoughts

Should lawyers consider launching a podcast as a way to show off expertise to potential clients and referral sources?

• Tate Lounsbery – Owner of Lounsbery Law Office

  Yes. It should be considered. I’ve heard it said many times that launching a podcast is way easier than most think it is. Sustaining the podcast over a long time…that’s quite a bit harder.

• Jodi O’Hara – Founder of Web Visibility Advisors

  They can be helpful for SEO if transcribed. I don’t think most people will go to a website and listen to an entire podcast when making a decision to hire a lawyer. Short interview FAQ podcasts can be helpful.

• Jay Ruane – Partner at Ruane Attorneys

  I think podcasts are great, but 90% of lawyer podcasts suck. Too many lawyers throw up a podcast with no focus or follow through. You hate to see a podcast with 6-10 episodes and then nothing for months or years. If you are going to do a podcast, you need to follow through so you have consistent content. Consistency provides reliability which gets traffic.

• Joe Marchelewski – Senior Account Manager at Juris Productions

  I have helped launch attorney podcasts and if they are done properly they can be hugely successful. However, any podcast takes dedication. Posting once a month to listen to an attorney drone on about some random area of law won’t work.

• Paul Julius – Co-host of LAWsome podcast

  I do like the idea of a podcast, I don’t like the idea of showing off. I think it can be a very effective way to establish expertise and perhaps reach potential clients in places more traditional platforms are unable to approach, but podcasting is unique, and unless you are someone with an incredibly compelling story and message I really doubt you would be able to build and maintain an audience simply by putting out an infomercial style podcast extolling the virtues of yourself/your firm.

• Rodney Warner – Legal Content Writer

  Everyone likes to hear a good story and many attorneys are good at telling them. If a firm has entertaining stories to tell, podcasts could be an opportunity worth trying. Family law, criminal defense, personal injury, business fraud, employment law all could provide stories that not only may keep the listener’s attention, but also serve as a way to communicate what their firm does, their expertise and the good the firm does for its clients. They could be audio case studies if the story is a good fit.

• Jan Roos – Founder of CaseFuel

  What it takes for me to subscribe to a podcast outside of great content is an ongoing need for information around a subject. A lot of the law is reactive. If I’m going through trouble with my spouse I’m not going to listen to the conflict with my spouse podcast because that’s not an ongoing need (hopefully). I could see myself listening to a podcast about maximizing wealth (for estate law) or making inventions (for biz/IP law). So in general I think people need to look at what their market is going to want to hear about every week or so. Focus on the proactive parts of your practice if you have them or be prepared to get REAL creative if you are going after a reactive problem.

Final Thoughts

Podcasting has taken the world by storm in recent years. It seems like just about everyone has their own podcast in 2020. So why aren’t more attorneys using the medium as a client generation tool? Should they even be trying to? At this point in time, there are probably much simpler content marketing avenues for lawyers to be using to attract new leads. While podcasting does carry tremendous potential, and provides attorneys with a unique avenue for telling long-form stories and covering in-depth topics, creating quality podcast content can be rather difficult. If you are going to take it on, make sure your firm is ready to consistently produce new episodes, and has something unique to offer. The podcast world is already oversaturated, and you’ll need to provide listeners with something different in order to stand out.

Question #14: What’s been your firm’s most successful strategy for staying in touch with former clients?

What The Results Tell Us

We were happy to see that over 70 % of the lawyers we surveyed seem to be working hard to stay engaged with former clients. Attorneys can of course accomplish this goal in a variety of different ways, and our survey results reveal that is certainly the case.

Statistic To Know

According to invesp, it costs five times as much to attract a new customer, than to keep an existing one.

Expert Thoughts

What’s the best way for lawyers to stay in touch with former clients?

• Paul Julius – Co-host of LAWsome podcast

  LinkedIn and email lists, hands down – and do cool stuff with that list like send out birthday greetings, holiday newsletter, don’t be boring.

• Amy Juers – CEO at Edge Legal Marketing

  In today’s world of marketing technology, it is easy to segment clients and create marketing communication plans that are more strategic and targeted. Some segmentation criteria for example would be by client size, location, practice area, lawyer, etc. Some tactics would include email campaigns or newsletters, seminars, webinars or client luncheons.

• Jan Roos – Founder of CaseFuel

  Email is good, but we’re increasingly using SMS and voicemail because of increased open and response rates. The key is adding value. Frankly, very few people care that you added a new associate or changed office addresses and every time you communicate something like that you’re training your list to ignore your message. If you add value it’s the opposite.

• Jodi O’Hara – Founder of Web Visibility Advisors

  Firm newsletters – email and snail mail. Holiday and birthday cards. Social media.

• Matt Starosciak – Owner of Proven Law Marketing

  I like birthday cards and Thanksgiving cards, but only if they include a handwritten note. Hard copy newsletters are a good option, too, but only if they are short, professionally produced, and include helpful information.

• Tate Lounsbery – Owner of Lounsbery Law Office

  You want to segment the group of “former clients” into two sub-categories: 1) former clients who will soon need more legal services, 2) former clients whose need for legal services is unknown. The best way to stay in touch with the first sub-category is by email and/or text. One or the other is fine. Both is best. The best way to stay in touch with the second sub-category is by mailed newsletter.

Final Thoughts

There isn’t one right answer when it comes to how to stay in touch with your former clients. Whether you want to use old school methods such as making phone calls or sending cards, or digital methods such as email or social networking, it really doesn’t matter. Just make sure your firm is finding some way to stay top of mind with previous clients, as doing so can lead to your practice getting lots of repeat business and referrals.

Question #15: Has your firm received any clients through its social media channels over the past year?

What The Results Tell Us

In our last eBook, we saw that just over 24 % of lawyers were very active in promoting their legal services on social networks, while over 40 % posted on social accounts when they have the time. It seems that not much has changed since 2018 on this front, as a little under 22 % of attorneys in this year’s survey have gotten many clients through social networking, while over 40 % have gotten just a few clients from their social accounts.

Statistic To Know

According to eMarketer, 90.4% of Millennials, 77.5% of Generation X, and 48.2% of Baby Boomers are active social media users.

Expert Thoughts

Should law firms still be dedicating time to social media?

• Paul Julius – Co-host of LAWsome podcast

  I think so – but the amount of time spent there should be pretty dependent upon the primary practice area/demographics of your target clients. If they go there, you go there.

• Jodi O’Hara – Founder of Web Visibility Advisors

  Yes. People expect a social media presence today. It shows the more human side of law firms and attorneys in addition to helping establish firm credibility. Firms who ignore or neglect social are cheating themselves.

• Michelle Calcote King – President of Reputation Ink

  Law firms — even B2B firms — should absolutely dedicate time to social media because their prospective clients are there. According to IDG, 84% of C-level and VP-level buyers are influenced by social media when purchasing.

  While most B2B sales don’t occur online, social media plays a key role. Social media:

  • Builds brand awareness and visibility
  • Enables the firm to distribute its news, ideas and thought leadership
  • Improves SEO (through increasing third-party links, mentions and interest in the firm’s content)
  • Drives new leads when using content offers (such as e-books and white papers)

• Tate Lounsbery – Owner of Lounsbery Law Office

  Social media is a form of advertising. As with all forms of advertising, all activity should be directed to a particular audience. If a law firm is going to be active on social media, it should first decide who it wants to interact with: the general public (to try to turn them into leads), referral partners (other attorneys, businesses, trade organizations, etc.), or publishers (news, media, etc.). If a law firm has no interest in engaging in on-going interaction with any of these groups, there’s no reason to get on social media.

• Amy Juers – CEO at Edge Legal Marketing

  In 2019, the American Bar Association found that 35% of lawyers that use social media professionally have experienced an increase in clients. This means that 65% of lawyers are not reaping the rewards of social media! There are a plethora of social media platforms available today that make it less time consuming and easier to post, monitor and respond. Hootsuite, Sprout Social, HubSpot and Pardot are a few of the more popular technologies on the market today.

• Jay Ruane – Partner at Ruane Attorneys

  I believe in it so much I founded www.getfirmflex.com, which is a social media marketing company built for lawyers. The modern lawyer is pulled in a million different directions and time is scarce. Social media provides a platform for lawyers to naturally engage with their best referral sources in a medium where everyone is spending their spare time.

• Matt Starosciak – Owner of Proven Law Marketing

  Perhaps (they should be putting in) some time and effort, but I believe the idea of marketing a law firm on social media is much more appealing than the actual benefits of doing so.

Final Thoughts

Most marketing experts remain optimistic about the benefits of social networking, but keep in mind that you’ll usually get out of it what you put into it. By this we mean, if your firm is just casually posting on it’s social channels when it has the time, without much research or planning, you shouldn’t expect to find consistent results. Finding social media success involves careful research on who your audience is, where your audience is spending their time, and how to best reach that audience. It also requires lots of persistence and patience. If you can’t give your social channels the time they require to be successful on your own, you may want to connect with a social media professional who can do it for you.

Question #16: Is Instagram a place for law firms?

What The Results Tell Us

Much like podcasting, Instagram has become an extremely popular way to reach consumers in recent years. But, also much like podcasting, lawyers as a whole haven’t really figured out how to use the platform yet. Less than seven % of our survey respondents are finding new leads through Instagram, and over 72 % don’t see Instagram as a place for their firm.

Statistic To Know

According to 99Firms, out of one billion registered users, about 800 million accounts follow at least one business entity on Instagram.

Expert Thoughts

Is Instagram a place for law firms?

• Amy Juers – CEO at Edge Legal Marketing

  Instagram should be considered as part of a social media strategy. Depending on the demographics of a firm’s target audience, consider Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook too. If a firm focuses specifically on estate planning, this is a different audience that needs to be reached than, for example, a global IP law firm. Take into consideration the target audience and put energy toward the social platforms where most of this audience is present. B2B firms should focus on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and B2C should include these but also add Instagram and Facebook.

• Tate Lounsbery – Owner of Lounsbery Law Office

  Sure. Especially for consumer-facing law firms that handle estate planning or family-based immigration.

• Jodi O’Hara – Founder of Web Visibility Advisors

  Yes. Instagram is a fundamental piece of social, and has 1 billion users.

• Gyi Tsakalakis – President at AttorneySync

  Maybe.

• Joe Marchelewski – Senior Account Manager at Juris Productions

  Absolutely not.

• Paul Julius – Co-host of LAWsome podcast

  No.

• Matt Starosciak – Owner of Proven Law Marketing

  No.

Final Thoughts

Instagram is a social network that has shown consistent growth for quite awhile now. In fact, many attorneys would be surprised to learn just how much of their target audience is using Instagram. While the network was previously thought of as a place for teens, it’s now being used by everyone, older adults included. A lot of people in the legal marketing community seem quick to dismiss the platform as not a place for lawyers, and the truth is a lot of firms probably won’t find it to be all that useful. However some attorneys, like family lawyer Joleena Louis, have been quite successful with Instagram. “There is no real secret (to doing well on Instagram), just putting in work,” Louis explained to us in an interview last June. “I learned my audience and what appeals to them and post consistently. A lot of testing and analyzing until I found what works. My target client is on Instagram, so it works for my practice, but your target client may be somewhere else.”

Question #17: Have you built relationships with some of the non-legal professionals in your community in order to gain new referrals to your firm?

What The Results Tell Us

Just about all the lawyers we survey recognize that building relationships in their community can be beneficial to their firm’s growth. Over 72 % of our survey respondents are already engaging with non-legal professionals in their area in some fashion, while over 32 % are doing so frequently.

Statistic To Know

According to R&G Technologies, referral leads convert 30% better than leads generated from other marketing channels.

Expert Thoughts

Should lawyers take the time to build relationships with non-legal professionals in their community in order to gain new referral sources for their firm?

• Jan Roos – Founder of CaseFuel

  Absolutely. The key is relevance. Work with a financial advisor if you’re in estate law or a relationship counselor if you’re in family law. The worst advice I see pushed by organizations like BNI is a scattershot, lotto ticket mentality where you’re only one coffee meeting away from the big home run. I’m not saying you aren’t but it’s a lot easier to make payroll hitting singles and doubles from people who see your ideal clients every day. Get creative, but not too creative.

• Jodi O’Hara – Founder of Web Visibility Advisors

  Yes. Everybody at some point knows someone who needs a lawyer.

• Paul Julius – Co-host of LAWsome podcast

  They should do it to be decent people and good neighbors – the “always hustling” attitude is dying a well-deserved death.

• Amy Juers – CEO at Edge Legal Marketing

  Referrals are likely still the main way the majority of law firms get new business. They are typically the easiest wins with the least amount of negotiation and often become the best clients. Some things to consider when approaching referral sources include painting a clear picture of the firm and its services and make the referral source feel good about mentioning the firm to their contacts such as, ‘I’m sure Jordan will be happy to sit down with you for a free consultation.’

• Tate Lounsbery – Owner of Lounsbery Law Office

  Prospects who are referred to you by someone they trust are more likely to trust you and retain your services. If you like high conversion (retention) rates, you’ll want to develop multiple referral sources.

• Matt Starosciak – Owner of Proven Law Marketing

  Good and numerous relationships are a positive for any business professional, but lawyers have to be careful to make sure their time and energy are focused on the types of contacts that can and will produce referrals. I’ve seen lawyers spend lots of time trying to develop relationships with individuals or groups that really can’t add value via referrals.

• Rodney Warner – Legal Content Writer

  Building connections is always a good idea, but it’s more important for some practices than others when it comes to other professionals. A family lawyer may want to connect with mental health professionals, marriage counselors and members of the clergy. If you work in estate planning you should consider connecting with accountants, financial planners and doctors. Someone in a business practice should focus on other professionals that help businesses, like accountants or management consultants. For a personal injury attorney, emergency department nurses could be worth their weight in gold.

Final Thoughts

Finding the right people in your community to build relationships with will require some careful planning, and perhaps even some creative thinking (think about who in town is already engaging with your clients), but will in most cases be well worth the extra effort. The world of digital marketing is unpredictable and the results you recieve from it won’t always be consistent. Having strong referral traffic is a must these days, as it will ensure that you always have new clients coming in, even when a marketing campaign brings less than desirable results.

Question #18: Which of the following best describes your firm’s new client intake process?

What The Results Tell Us

As a company that prides itself on quality client intake, we’re thrilled to see that over 85 % of our survey respondents are at least generally doing a good job of making sure their new leads don’t go to waste. This may be due to the fact that many of the law firms in this survey are Answering Legal customers, and take advantage of our full legal intake services.

Statistic To Know

According to Clio, 42% of consumers say that if they like the first lawyer they speak with they won’t need to speak with any others.

Expert Thoughts

How important is the client intake process for law firms?

• Jan Roos – Founder of CaseFuel

  Absolutely paramount. The biggest finding of the past year for us is the people who have intake handled can make ANY marketing work and the people who don’t will make ZERO marketing work.

• Matt Starosciak – Owner of Proven Law Marketing

  The new client intake process is critical to a law firm’s success. In fact, I always say it is the single most important component of law firm business development. The reason is simple. Even the best marketing strategies fail if the prospective client intake process is deficient.

• Jodi O’Hara – Founder of Web Visibility Advisors

  The client intake process is crucial because potential clients can be lost in this process. Tracking is also essential.

• Tate Lounsbery – Owner of Lounsbery Law Office

  New clients want and deserve to see something happen in their cases right away. They deserve to have their purchase decision validated by the lawyer in the form of action and progress on their case, right away. A great client intake process engenders a great deal of trust, a feeling that lasts a long time into the attorney-client relationship. It also increases the chances you’ll get a glowing testimonial/review from the client.

Final Thoughts

If your firm isn’t taking the time to improve upon its client intake process, most of the information in this eBook will be useless to you. As most lawyers know, generating new leads is difficult and time-consuming work, and by not taking the time to ensure that all of the new prospects your marketing efforts are bringing in are being properly handled, you’re likely letting a ton of money walk right out the door. There are many ways for firms to get better at lead capturing, but perhaps the best thing you can do for your firm’s financial future is invest in a live phone answering service like Answering Legal. For years, our 24/7 receptionist team has been going above and beyond to ensure that law firms not only answer all of their calls with a live voice, but capture all of the new prospects that reach out to their firm.

Learn more about Answering Legal’s legal intake services here.

Question #19: Which of the following best describes the online reputation of your law office?

What The Results Tell Us

In our last marketing eBook, we asked lawyers how important online reviews were to them. We were somewhat disappointed to learn that only a little more than half (56.57 %) considered them to be very important. In this survey we took things a step further, asking lawyers to access their current online reputation. Perhaps over the past few years, attorneys are starting to realize the importance of their online reputation, as over 80 % described their firm’s reputation as either great or good.

Statistic To Know

According to Practice Alchemy, over 80% of prospective clients research firms online prior to engagement (for purely consumer practice areas, the number is over 92%).

Expert Thoughts

Should firms be concerned with their online reputation?

• Jan Roos – Founder of CaseFuel

  Absolutely. This isn’t the wild west anymore you can’t just roll into the next town if people don’t like you. We live in the amazon era and people look to reviews. From what we do with Google ads we’ve seen a major difference in the click through rate and conversion rate of firms with good reputations which ultimately means more leads for them.

• Michelle Calcote King – President of Reputation Ink

  Absolutely. The world now conducts its business online. Before the rise of the Internet, law firms relied on word of mouth to build and maintain their reputation. Now, however, word of mouth has transitioned online in the form of online reviews, media articles, social media comments and more. Even if a potential client is referred to the firm by a trusted connection, they will nearly always research the firm online before they contact the firm — and if they find bad reviews, negative articles or a lack of information, you may lose the referral.

• Matt Starosciak – Owner of Proven Law Marketing

  Absolutely. This is the second most important part of the law firm marketing process. (Next to new client intake.) Whether a firm spends zero on marketing or a million dollars a month, online reputation is critical to converting new business opportunities into revenue.

• Jodi O’Hara – Founder of Web Visibility Advisors

  Absolutely. People trust others’ reviews and actively search them out when making hiring decisions.

• Rodney Warner – Legal Content Writer

  An online reputation is a major part of the social proof an attorney should use to get new clients. Bad reviews and ratings, if there are enough and they aren’t properly handled, can negatively impact a practice. There are ways to try to lessen their impact but perhaps a better idea is for a firm taking a long, hard look at itself if bad reviews are piling up. If the complaints are genuine, they should be responded to professionally and actions should be taken to prevent others from having a bad experience. They could be warning signs of processes that aren’t working as planned.

• Amy Juers – CEO at Edge Legal Marketing

  Law firms should not ignore their online reputation. There are plenty of examples in the world today on how social media can easily get out of hand and damage reputations very quickly. Upset clients can wreak havoc and there is not much a firm can do to remove something from the web once it is posted. Social media monitoring platforms can help track mentions or posts. Watch Yelp, Google and Facebook for postings. Some other sources for monitoring a brand include Google Alerts and Perch. Thank people for positive posts and properly and professionally mitigate negative posts.

Final Thoughts

There’s nothing to debate on this one. If you aren’t paying close attention to your firm’s online reputation, you are failing at being a successful marketer in 2020. Having your practice’s online reviews be overwhelmingly positive will go a long way towards convincing prospective clients to reach out to your office, as people usually care a lot more about what their peers have to say than what you do in the beginning. If your online reputation is poor or non-existent, expect to lose out on a lot of new leads before they even get the chance to speak with you. Put yourself in your client’s shoes. Would you really hire a law office that has its former clients speaking badly about it online. We’re guessing not since there are so many other legal options to choose from these days. Give your firm a fighting chance in the ultra-competitive digital age, and get your online reputation in order.

Question #20: What is the best area of marketing for attorneys to rely upon automated technology?

What The Results Tell Us

There were a few interesting takeaways from this question’s results. One thing that stands out is that over 30 % of the lawyers we surveyed still aren’t automating any part of their firm’s marketing. It was also interesting to note that close to 30 % of our respondents are automating their search marketing efforts. So some attorneys seem to not trust automated technology at all, while others are all in on it.

Statistic To Know

According to invesp, marketing automation on average drives upto 14.5% increase in sales productivity and a 12.2% reduction in marketing overhead.

Expert Thoughts

What areas of marketing should attorneys be relying upon automated technology?

• Gyi Tsakalakis – President at AttorneySync

  Nurturing relationships via email.

• Jan Roos – Founder of CaseFuel

  We’re having fantastic results automating SMS, voicemail and email follow ups for leads coming in. Email leads in particular are a huge missed opportunity but getting this in place we’re seeing 60-80% of those prospects eventually getting on the phone with the firm.

• Amy Juers – CEO at Edge Legal Marketing

  Most of the technology being used today includes email campaign systems and social media monitoring platforms. This is not necessarily automated technology but there are other areas where technology and AI are being leveraged to help marketers make better decisions regarding reaching their target audience and these advancements should be taken advantage of as well.

Final Thoughts

Lawyers will likely need to embrace new technology in all aspects of their firm in order to survive in the 2020s. The good news for attorneys is that there are a lot of different automation tools they can try, and that once they master certain tools, they will save themselves a significant amount of work. Don’t hide from automation, embrace it! With that being said, attorneys shouldn’t just blindly trust automation when it comes to SEO strategies. Listen to the advice Douglas Bradley of Everest Legal Marketing gave us last April. “If you’re going to automate any part of the SEO effort, (specifically link building), I would keep a careful eye on what’s happening off the website,” Bradley said. “I’ve worked with several law firms that utilized a contractor they found on Fiverr, or a discount SEO service provider and they had no idea that the links being built to their website were complete spam. It is possible that spammy backlinks can have a temporary benefit to a website, but eventually they can do damage that is difficult to repair. In severe cases, the website URL has to be abandoned altogether and relaunching a new domain is necessary. Your SEO professional should know how to optimize an attorney’s website, and have client examples and references to draw upon.” As we’ve hit on this book several times already, taking the time to find the right professional guidance is a must. Paying a little more for quality help is almost always the way to go, and can keep you from making crucial errors.

Question #21: Where does the majority of your networking with other lawyers take place?

What The Results Tell Us

We’re thrilled to see that even in the digital age, old school networking is still very much alive. Close to 48 % of our respondents are out networking at lawyer events and conferences, while close to 19 % of lawyers are scheduling meals and coffees with their peers. Unfortunately, over 30 % of attorneys admit to not doing much communicating with other lawyers.

Statistic To Know

According to Tech Jury, LinkedIn gains a new member every 2 seconds.

Expert Thoughts

Where is the best place for lawyers to network with other lawyers?

• Jan Roos – Founder of CaseFuel

  The ‘Let’s Talk Legal Marketing’ group of course!

• Tate Lounsbery – Owner of Lounsbery Law Office

  The best revenue-generating networking I’ve done is speaking at continuing education seminars. Being recognized as the authority in your field, in front of your colleagues, gives an instant credibility boost. After your presentation, everyone at the event is more likely to trust you and send referrals your way.

  See more extensive thoughts from Tate Lounsbery in this blog post!

Final Thoughts

It is important for attorneys to remember that you don’t have to go about growing your firm alone. For every marketing struggle you deal with, know that there are many other attorneys in the same boat as you, or that have been in your shoes before. Communicating with peers is one of the best ways to find answers to your biggest marketing obstacles and inspiration for your next big marketing idea. It doesn’t matter how you go about networking, just make sure you’re doing it!