As a family law firm, you know how important it is to have a solid online presence to win new clients, beat your competitors, and educate prospective customers about what you offer and why your firm is the right choice.
Maybe you even have a few digital marketing strategies in place already. For example, your website is well-designed, you’re active on social media, and you try to respond to comments when you can.
But how do you know that your current digital marketing strategies are working?
If they’re not, where are you falling flat, and what are the fastest and most cost-effective ways to improve the way your family law firm approaches online advertising?
This post is here to help you find out.
In it, we’ll cover the basics of what makes for a solid digital marketing strategy – and tell you why these steps matter.
Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve noticed a drop in your revenue and conversions, read on to discover how to build trust with your customers, establish your brand reputation, and market your firm the right way.
Content Marketing
We know what you’re thinking:
“Of course I have to create content to connect with potential customers!”
After all, content marketing gives you the chance to establish yourself as an authority within the family law industry. It helps you increase your SEO score and rank higher in search engine results, and it allows people to learn more about the specific services your firm has to offer.
Maybe you’ve already done a bit of content marketing.
For example, perhaps you have a blog on your website where you explain some of the most common questions regarding Australian family law or what to expect out of possible court proceedings.
But here’s where your content digital advertising strategy likely falls flat:
You’re only creating one or two types of content.
In today’s world, it’s simply not enough to just have a blog or just post a few quick status updates on your family law firm’s website throughout the day.
You have to diversify the types of content you create, as well.
While some people prefer to read blog posts to learn more about family law, others will want to watch a quick YouTube video to get information on topics like de facto marriage, spousal maintenance, and the child custody process.
Others like receiving monthly email newsletters, some enjoy listening to a family law podcast on their way to work, and still more want to download an e-book or read a guest post you’ve written for another popular blog.
In short: different people like to receive information in different ways. Having a diverse content strategy will help you to connect with more leads, and also help to increase your brand recognition, encourage social sharing, and build consumer trust.
Reputation Marketing
About 97% of consumers say that they read online reviews about a business or a product before making their final purchasing decision.
What’s more, over 80% of consumers say that they trust online reviews more than recommendations from family and friends.
In short?
What people are saying about your family law firm online — the reputation it has — matters.
So, how can you improve yours?
Start by claiming your local online business listings on Yelp and Google My Business — as well as on social media platforms like Facebook that allow clients the chance to leave reviews.
Consider these pages a “one-sheet” containing the most important information about your family law firm (e.g. your contact information, location, hours, areas of specialisation, and even photographs of what your law firm looks like.)
Then, contact your clients and ask them to leave you online reviews — most will be happy to do so. You can also enter them into a giveaway for a gift card to a local business or even offer them a discount on services if they leave you a review.
Make sure you include online review/survey links in your marketing emails, as well.
Enable notifications so you’ll know the moment you get a new online review. Respond to both positive and negative reviews — the latter especially.
Potential clients need to see that you care about what people are saying about your business and that if issues do arise, you are willing to work to correct the problem and change the way you do things to benefit future clients.
Local Marketing Strategies
About 30% of all search engine queries include a reference to a physical location.
As a family law firm especially, people aren’t going to drive 100 km to do business with you. Instead, the majority of your business will come from your local market.
How can you ensure that your digital marketing strategies are targeting them?
By focusing on local marketing.
Always include the name of your city and region in your keywords (more on that in a moment) and even write or vlog about local topics. Submit your law firm to local online business directories and write a post for a local online newspaper or blog.
Work with other local businesses and form partnerships to promote one another’s services.
For example, a local therapist that offers couples counselling or therapy for children whose parents are going through a divorce may want to promote your firm’s posts on their social media page and vice versa.
You could even interview them for your YouTube channel or a blog post so your clients have tips on how to stay emotionally strong during a divorce.
If there’s a big local news story about family law or custody, write about it and offer your opinion.
Enable geotagging and check into local businesses on social media. Reference your location in your posts, tag other local businesses, and search through location tags to learn more about your target market and the ads they’re most likely to respond to.
Even try “hyperlocal” marketing.
Here, you don’t just focus on getting the attention of leads in your city.
You reference your street name, your neighbourhood, nearby landmarks or famous places, and more.
Master the Basics of SEO
SEO, or search engine optimisation, is the foundation of all your other digital marketing strategies.
However, we’ve put it last on our list for a reason.
Too often, companies get so focused on “hacking their way to the top” of search engine results that they end up sacrificing quality content that is genuinely useful to their target market.
It’s a cliche, but it’s one for a reason: always put the quality of the content you create, no matter the type, above SEO.
Strive to provide new information, create content about current hot topics, and focus on ensuring that your market walks away having learned something from your blog or video.
That said, you can’t succeed in today’s ultra-competitive world without a solid understanding of SEO.
The goal of SEO is to connect you with people who are the most likely to make an appointment with your law firm because they’re actively searching for legal help already.
Understand the keywords — the phrases people type into search engines when they’re looking for family law firms in your area — that your consumers are the most likely to use.
Then, include them in your written content, in hashtags of video content and social media posts, in headings and titles, and even in your blog URL address.
Link back to posts in your blog content or in any guest posts you write to drive more traffic back to your website and even include external links to non-competitor, authoritative websites to boost your SEO score.
Read up on current SEO trends like voice search marketing, mobile-first website indexing, and blockchain so you’ll always stay a few steps ahead of your competitors.
Above all, know where your SEO strategy is currently falling short — and hire digital marketing professionals to help get you back on track.
Take Your Family Law Marketing Strategies to the Next Level
We’re sure that this post has gotten you thinking about how you can improve your family law firm’s digital marketing strategies.
Maybe you even have a few ideas for blog posts, a great location to shoot a video or want to revamp your email marketing strategy.
While your enthusiasm is excellent, you need to make sure that you understand precisely what your target market is looking for, where your current marketing strategy isn’t working, and what your competitors are doing.
You also need to be sure that you can create a sustainable digital marketing strategy.
You might not have the time to write a blog post every week or redesign your website between meeting with clients, heading to court, and case research.
That’s where we come in.
Book your free strategy call with us today to learn more about how we can conduct a thorough SEO audit of your company and help you generate five to ten times the leads you’re currently getting.
