81%
Law firms want to increase marketing spend
24%
Law firms spend ¾ of marketing dollars online
½
More than ½ of lawyers use social media
½
Over ½ of lawyers follow legal blogs themselves to keep their finger on the pulse
Chances are, you’re already doing something online. We don’t believe in fixing things that aren’t broken, but do you know if your current online strategy is working?
As we start new relationships with legal firms, we perform a complete audit of their current digital marketing, reporting to you the current ROI, where we recommend changes or tweaks, and how we anticipate improving results.
Let’s say you’re a family law attorney. Not every family will need you, depending on:
With laser focus, we pinpoint who’s going to sign your contract on the dotted line, then find where they are on the web.
If you’re fresh out of law school, chance are your billable rate is more affordable to middle income families. If you’ve been helping millionaires divide marital assets for a decade, probably not.
We focus on what your typical client wants and needs, and present you as the solution.
If your website looks like it was created by you, people are going close their browser. You need a professional, content-rich website that looks great on mobile, laptops and desktops which also:
Trust us. You need more individual webpages than you think. In fact, we recommend all lawyers have 1 webpage per location for each practice area or main anticipated keyword searches.
They’re worth the extra effort, we promise!
If you’re collecting email addresses of website visitors but doing nothing with them, you’re missing out on huge opportunities.
Make it easy for web visitors to give you their email address, either by having a contact form or email signup.
Next, let us segment those emails into targeted lists so we can send web visitors content of interest to them.
For example, Immigration law firms don’t want to send companies trying to fulfill VISA requirements an email about getting your green card, or vice versa.
You don’t have to be email marketing savvy, because High Level Thinkers already is, for you.
PPC campaigns on search engines like Google are one of the most effective ways to get your law firm in front of clients searching for your services in your location.
They’re especially important to implement in locations where your organic rankings are weaker and you aren’t on page one of search results.
BUDGET
How much you should spend depends on factors like competition, population density, number of keywords used, and geo-targeting.
RADIUS
All PPC campaigns require you to set a location radius for where your ads will display. Generally, the larger the radius, the more you’ll spend.
KEYWORDS
These vary so much depending on your area of practice. But remember to keep your clients’ budgets in mind.
If you’re new and have a lower billing rate, adding “affordability” keywords can help you find qualified clients.If you serve upper tier clients, an ad group with words like “top” and “best” will be necessary.
It all depends on who you are, and who we’ve agreed is your target client.
RETARGETING
Also called remarketing, this tactic displays clickable ads on selected sites to web visitors who didn’t initially convert to a lead for 30 days after their first visit. It continually reminds them of you all over the web, even when they’re on pages unrelated to their original legal search.
Lead Generation Sites
If you have budget for Avvo or other legal lead generation sites, you should be on them. Many people seeking legal representation rely on these sites for more detailed information about you.
Landing Pages
Never send someone who clicks your ad - on Google, Facebook, or a marketing site - to your homepage. That’s Legal Marketing 101!
Always send ad clickers to a page that specifically matches the ad that enticed them to begin with. That could be a page you already have, or it may be better to create a unique landing page that matches the ad look, tone, and message.
Facebook Ads
Facebook ads are highly effective. You can segment who sees your ad based on a variety of attributes, and visually-compelling content stops scrollers in their tracks.
Best of yet - Facebook has a larger audience and a remarketing strategy (which we recommend you use for 15 days) too!
Facebook also allows you to build a relationship with a potential client before they call you in desperate need of representation.
For example, personal injury attorneys with great local content can help start a relationship with their next clients before their accidents occur.
There’s always the “intent” argument - since Google searches are actively searching while Facebook users are typically leisurely scrolling. But the cost effectiveness and large audience of Facebook make these ads too good a value to pass up.
When it comes to blogging, you need to do all of the following:
- Blogging on your company’s (hosted website) using relevant keywords throughout the content to increase your organic search rankings.
- Guest blogging on legal blogs to establish you as a top lawyer and leader in your practice area.
- Guest blogging about your area of practice on blogs of local interest.
- Self-publishing on sites like Medium.
What to blog about?
If it relate(s) to your practice area(s) you should be blogging about it. Use different anticipated keyword searches to create unique content incorporating those keywords. Never duplicate blog content from one post to another...Google is smarter than that!
Who should blog?
You may be so busy, you need a ghostwriter to develop content that you edit and approve.
Don’t delegate this task to the person with the least amount of stuff on their plate. Find someone fully educated in your practice area(s), whether at your own firm or working with one of our experienced legal blog writers.
Downloadable, Premium Content
Many people who need legal representation want to get their feet wet in a topic before making contact with you.
These people will give you email addresses in exchange for downloadable, premium content such as legal guides or e-books that explain a certain area of law you practice in your state in an easy-to-understand format.
And the best part? You get to add these leads to your email marketing lists!
Content Promotion
Take the time to do a Q&A video on the area of law you practice. Post it on Facebook, YouTube and Vimeo, and watch the phones start ringing off the hook.
Compelling content that is posted in the right places will drive leads for your firm.
Lawyers and law firms know they need to be on social media, but they often wonder where.
While this may vary, for the most part the answer is Facebook and LinkedIn, with YouTube thrown in if you create video content, too.
Remarketing is the best social media strategy Higher Level Thinkers has seen. If you aren’t doing it, you’re missing out on re-capturing web visitors who initially didn’t convert to leads.
You wouldn’t keep a junior attorney around who kept losing every case.
Likewise, you shouldn’t stick to a legal marketing firm who doesn’t perform.
We’re so confident in our marketing strategy for lawyers, we provide regular tracking and reporting on our performance, including your ROI.
You deserve to know that the marketing dollars you spend are delivering a result. And we’re confident in our ability to do just that.
Training & Affiliations
