Clients hire individuals rather than law firms, so we look at how lawyers can create an engaging and memorable presence to keep and attract clients.
1. Don’t be generic
Everyone knows the importance of a strong online presence, but make sure yours doesn’t sound exactly the same as hundreds of others. LinkedIn is the primary platform of choice for most professionals. Once you’ve got the basics, including a clear statement of your expertise, results and strengths, a professional headshot, a full profile and a tagline that makes your services obvious, add something that makes you stand out.
Any accomplishments or awards in your field are great, but think beyond that and mention community support or engagement that you’ve been involved in or charity work. Clients will be looking for a connection as well as your expertise, so if you’re a mentor or a coach or the president of a society that you think might be relevant, feel free to mention it.
2. Offer something of value
By creating great content, you’ll establish yourself as an expert in your client’s mind. If you publish articles that clearly and simply explain your subject, you’ll start to build a relationship and trust.
Content doesn’t always have to be in-depth thought-leadership articles; you can create a series of shorter pieces explaining some company law basics for example or write a regular newsletter. Keep it brief but interesting. Add news items that may be of interest as well as information about your achievements and successes and those of your colleagues. Think about creating different newsletters for different areas of law so that clients only receive items that are likely to be of interest to them.
3. Don’t be afraid to blow your own trumpet
Include your professional successes on your profile, both on the law firm’s website and on your LinkedIn profile. Add to them regularly and explain a bit about the challenges and results you were able to obtain, or what you did to win an award.
4. Share your positive feedback and reviews
Get into the habit of asking for feedback at the end of every case. Send a form to satisfied clients asking them to give their honest opinion and ask them if they’re happy for it to be shared. Not only will this help you improve your service, you’ll also garner some great reviews.
Ask clients who use LinkedIn to give you recommendations there as well. Not everyone will take the time, but some will and you’ll gradually build up a great bank of good testimonials.
5. Help each other out by cross-selling
Make sure the lawyers in your firm are all familiar with each other’s services and strengths and encourage cross-selling and introductions across disciplines. The aim is to make sure clients know exactly what else your firm can offer them. Make the effort at events where clients are present to give and seek introductions and follow up afterwards to make sure names stay fresh in the memory. This can be by way of a brief email, a LinkedIn connection or a comment on a client’s social media post.
Creating a strong and memorable brand as a lawyer doesn’t have to be time-consuming – rather it is a question of creating a regular habit of updating and reviewing. It can be done in as little as a few minutes each week. If you need help creating top quality content or writing an engaging bio, speak to us here at Orion Legal Marketing and we’ll be happy to advise.
If you only implement one thing…
As a busy lawyer it can be hard to find the time to take on new challenges, but if you can only implement one thing then try to commit to a schedule for creating and publishing content. Adding new, valuable articles to your website will help it become more visible and trusted and you’ll also have something to share on social media. Decide to publish at a frequency to suit you – it’s more important to keep to regular times than to push yourself to take on more than you will realistically manage. If you can create a habit and fit it into your schedule so that it happens without you having to think about it, positive results will follow.
If you would like to request bespoke content, tailored to your audience and written by experts in both law and marketing, ring us on 0118 380 5980, email us at enquiries@orionlegalmarketing.co.uk or fill in our CONTACT FORM. We’ll be happy to offer you an initial free consultation to discuss your needs and the strategy that would best suit your firm.
