If (and only if) you want to win Higher Fee-Paying Cases, if you want to win more cases and if you want to grow your law practice and if you want to break free of the swings and roundabouts of referral and recommendations as a client acquisition strategy. Then you must first build a solid foundation.
A solid foundation Requires H1 marks in each of The 6-Pillars of Local Digital Marketing
*Google My Business Listing
*5-Star Reviews & Reputation
*Social Media
*Website
*SEO
*Advertising
If (when!) you rebuild the six pillars then you will break free of the unpredictable *swings and roundabouts* of referrals & recommendations as a client acquisition strategy.
The six pillars build and support the other. They co-exist as the foundation of your local legal digital marketing efforts.
Begin with a Snapshot Report
The Snapshot report assesses the 6-pillars of your Digital Marketing in a simple A-F scorecard.
The Snapshot Report gathers the metrics of your existing digital marketing efforts. We can then diagnose the problem. And finally, develop the appropriate actions to remove you from the *swings & roundabouts* of referrals as a sole client acquisition strategy.
A lawyer’s product is her services, but what is being sold is trust. The pain point (to overcome) is people’s uncertainty.
Sean D’Souza – The Brain Audit
The 6-pillars of Digital Marketing for Lawyers
Can People Find Your Law Practice On Google?
If no, then for all real and practical purposes you do not exist.
Do not exist is a missed opportunity because 4/5th, (81%) of people dial up Google to find a business.
Are new cases part of the 80% of the people in your local area?
Therefore, if people cannot find you on Google then people cannot phone you, new cases will not email you looking for help, and new cases will not walk into your practice seeking your expertise.
At the foundational Google My Business, Listings, are simply your business Name, Address, and Phone number.
This *NAP* is what Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yelp, Trip Advisor, Foursquare, Google/Apple maps, Yellow pages, Angies List, Comcast, thumbtack.com, AOL, hibü – all, ALL, use to send new clients to your website.
Worse if Google et al. have the wrong NAP from the online directories then your law firm cannot be found in search – in practice you are a ghost.
The low handing fruit, zero cost, method of getting found in Google is claiming your Google My Business listing.
Google My Business is a free service from Google and will help your practice show on Google Maps and search.
Additionally and importantly, recent and current 5-Star Reviews from happy clients are a must-have, not a *we should have* more review.
Business Listings Begin with a Snapshot report
Reviews (5-Star) do the heavy lifting of convincing people – at the exact moment, they need convincing.
5-Star Reviews are public endorsements of your law firms efforts.
Reviews & Endorsements are the trust signals people need at the *exact moment* when they are making their purchasing decisions.
5-Star Reviews are extraordinarily useful at helping people to trust you at their buying decision moment.
Don’t stand on your soap-box shouting ‘look how great I am‘! Enable your clients to do the shouting for you. Encourage and ask for reviews & recommendations from your happy and satisfied clients.
5-Star Reviews Begin with a Snapshot Report
Social Media is the community of your law firm. People must *know you, like you and trust you* before they buy from you
Social Media facilitates the ‘know you and like you’ part of that trifecta.
(Social Media demonstrates your approachability and availability and puts voice to your law practice before people buy from you)
Social Media Being with a Snapshot Report
Your Website is your home on the internet – owned, operated and controlled by you.
Your website must showcase your personality, professionalism, your Law firm.
Being with a Snapshot Report
Search Engine Optimization is the result of all the marketing efforts you’ve done to date on your website, social media and website beyond your website.
Yes, SEO is the technical nerdy stuff of URLs, site structure on-page *stuff*. But that is only 20%. 80% of SEO is the content side fo the coin.
Meaning all the articles, podcast interviews, and webinars you’ve published and have been part of where they link back to your website give credence to search engines that you are worthy of attention.
And the search engines give you more attention!
SEO Being with a Snapshot Report
“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half”.
John Wanamaker (1838-1922)
100+ years later we have the answer! Because we can track clicks from an advert to a phone call; from advert to an email; and from adverts to walk-in visits, we can then track all the advertising spend.
This is tracking advert spend not efficiency nor effectiveness!
Advertising on both Google and Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat etc are the short-term *short-cuts* to client acquisition – and must be thought of as the short term short-cut.
Why Advertise on Social Media?
Facebook Ads are the easiest and low-cost way to reach new people in your local market.
You don’t need to spend thousands a month or use all the bells and whistles to achieve ROI.
At the end of the day your advertising €, $, £ are used to reach new people.
Use the adverts to help people get to know you, like you, and trust you and ultimately buy from you.
Being with a Snapshot Report
To earn high-value cases, to grow your law firm, to scale your law firm, to win the legacy for your law firm. To do all that! You must first score 6-H1’s in the 6-pillar of local.
FAQ – Digital Marketing Agency for Lawyers
*What is Digital Marketing for Law Firms?
It is the process of using current tools, techniques, and strategies of digital marketing to increase the awareness, offer reasons to consider and prove why people should choose your law practice.
There are three phases to legal digital marketing.
Phase I is gathering the metrics (e.g. blood pressure, temperature, oxygen level, etc.), then diagnosing the problem (high blood pressure is an indication of ____ ), and then creating a course of action fix, rebuild and repair (lower salt intake, increase exercise, augment with medicine). Phase II is fixing the foundational (6-pillars) and connecting everything with *digital plumbing* (the water pipes of the internet so that all the disparate elements talk together). Phase III is the marketing of the firm to acquire new clients.
The short cut to acquiring new clients is advertising! Both on Google and Social media – this advertising create *immediate* returns.
As a Digital Marketing Agency for Lawyers, Phase I, is performing the metrics, the assessment (diagnosing), and setting out and base actions. The 6-pillars are the foundational efforts required before any advertising euros are allocated.
*What are the 6-Pillars of Local Legal Digital Marketing?
The six pillars of local legal digital marketing are:
*BUSINESS LISTING
*5-STAR REVIEWS AND REPUTATION
*SOCIAL MEDIA
*WEBSITE
*SEO
*ADVERTISING
These are called 6-pillars because they are the foundation of local digital marketing for level services. Each supports and build on the next thereby creating symbiotic relationships.
*How to Market your Law Firm using Digital Marketing?
Before any traditional ‘marketing’ the foundations must be in place and functioning. The six pillars are Phase I.
The best and easiest way to market your law firm uses short, 15-60 second, videos where you speaking directly to the camera, discussing the why, how and what of your legal practice.
These 1-minute videos become super powerful allowing people to get to know you, like you and trust you, so they will then become comfortable and choose you to help solve their legal problems.
*What are Business Listings for a Law Practice
Business Listings is your, NAP, Name, Address, Phone number (plus 14 other identifiers).
Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yelp, Trip Advisor, Foursquare, Google/Apple maps, Yellow pages, Angies List, Comcast, thumbtack.com, AOL, hibü – all, ALL, use the NAP to help people find your website and your physical business.
If the listing is different then people cannot find your law firm. How much does a lost client cost you?
