Law Firm Marketing Strategy: 23 Tactics for 2023

1. Start by building a brand story

Most law firm marketing sounds the same.

For example, do these sound familiar:

• Aggressive Representation. – Criminal Defense
• No win. No fee. – Personal Injury
• Caring and Compassionate. – Family Law

Your firm needs to stand out.

Define what makes your firm unique — your USP, or Unique Selling Proposition — and you can build an original brand story around it to stand out from the crowd.

It should be a specific, defensible trait that differentiates your law firm from competitors. And most importantly, it should be something your clients actually care about.

For example, Weisfuse & Weisfuse highlights that they’ve been in business for over 30 years to inspire confidence.

Once you work out what’s unique about your firm, build it into your entire value proposition to resonate with your target audience.

And you can use that information to build on your brand, including your law firm logo and website.

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What’s your law firm’s USP?

It’s easy to see what’s unique about Lisa Feldstein Family Law, for instance:

She specializes in helping families start families through third-party reproduction.

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How do you differentiate yourself from the many competing law firms?

Your brand can also be communicated through your tagline. Rather than a generic tagline such as “Attorneys at Law,” how about being a little more descriptive?

Here’s a good example from Dennis & King in Tennessee and Georgia:

Most law firms employ a dry, academic tone. The tone of your content will be reflected by your brand, and there is nothing to say that law firms must be overly formal with their clients.

Check out the language/tone used in this example from law firm Irigonegaray, Turney, & Revenaugh LLP. in Kansas:

Once you’ve established your branding and messaging, work it into all your marketing channels: website, social media, professional networks, offline literature, etc.

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2. Demonstrate credibility, authority, and capability

A solid attorney marketing plan should involve both passive and active marketing activities.

A good example of passive marketing is your law firm website’s copywriting and design, which can help build credibility and authority for your firm.

Here’s a stellar example of how you can establish credibility right off the bat.

Chadi & Company demonstrates instant authority by showcasing their vast experience and reviews right on their homepage.

When there are so many law firms out there, you’ve got to show your expertise in the field front-and-center.

Let’s break down what potential clients want to see when they get to your law firm website.

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Awards you’ve received

Don’t be shy, highlight any awards you’ve received to get instant credibility in your field.

Including text is fine (and great for SEO), but it’s even more visually effective if you can include logos or images of your awards.

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Client testimonials and reviews

Showing off glowing testimonials and reviews given to you by past clients is almost mandatory.

Whether you choose to create a separate page for testimonials or showcase client reviews on your homepage, make sure they stand out and are easy to read.

Here’s an example from Chadi and Company:

If you want to take it a step further, we recommend creating a few video testimonials for your website. They’re seen as more reputable as they’re less likely to be manufactured, making them feel much more powerful and authentic.

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Case studies and successful cases to demonstrate expertise

Showing off the cases you’ve won is a good way to foster confidence.

Oykhman Criminal Defence Law has a comprehensive, up-to-date page highlighting every successful case they’ve handled.

And it’s organized, so clients can find cases similar to theirs.

Other items that are worth a spot on your website include a list of your practice areas and all of the lawyers at your firm (with bios).

3. Run an SEO campaign to improve visibility in Google’s search results

Law firm SEO needs to be a prominent part of most law firms’ digital marketing plans in 2023.

Here’s why:

• 75% of people never go past the first page of Google.
• 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine.

Bottom line: You need to be seen on the search engine results pages (SERP) to get clicks and traffic.

Certain aspects of SEO for lawyers are always going to be necessary.

Things like good keyword research, having professionally written titles and descriptions, optimizing images, maintaining a logical website architecture, and using a fast and secure hosting platform are best practices for SEO at all times.

With that said, let’s take a deeper look at some areas of SEO anyone serious about attorney marketing should consider.

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Content is king

We’ll talk a bit more about content later, but from an SEO perspective, content is an essential “currency” for your law firm.

The main goal of writing content should be to become a topical authority in your practice area. That is, a person who is perceived as an authority of a particular niche service.

Creating in-depth, original content that answers the types of questions that are in your target audience’s minds will help you do that.

Here’s a good example from Kazarian Law in California:

Every high-quality piece of content is another chance to get to that coveted top spot on Google.

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Featured snippets (Google position zero)

If you type a legal question into Google, the SERP will usually return a result that looks like this:

As you can see, the most prominent entry on the first page of Google is the “featured snippet” at the top. This is sometimes called “position zero” on Google, and your law firm CAN appear in this position.

In the example above, one of our clients dominates Google’s first page for the search “How much severance pay are you entitled to in Vancouver?”

Taylor Janis Workplace Law features in position zero and position one in the organic rankings because according to Google, they provide the best answer to the question.

That is, they wrote the best content out there about that topic:

It’s worth spending time to answer the questions that your audience is asking so that you increase the chance of appearing in the prime real estate at the top of the Google SERP.

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Get more inbound links

Link-building is essential for improving your rankings. It’s a primary ranking factor, as high-quality inbound links are viewed as “votes of confidence” by Google.

Many of the best strategies involve creating high-quality content that people are inclined to share.

Another good way to get backlinks is to join associations and put yourself in the running for legal awards (or purchase them).

Here are some other suggestions for attracting links:

• Guest posts: Submit guest posts to reputable websites in your industry to earn valuable backlinks,
• Infographics: The beauty of infographics is that they are informative and easily shareable. Every time another website posts your graphic, you should get a backlink.
• Blogging: High-quality content will naturally attract attention on other websites and generate backlinks.
• Podcasting: You could create a podcast where you discuss legal topics or field questions, encouraging backlinks.
• eBooks, case studies, and other downloadable content: Books, eBooks, reports, white papers, and other high-quality content can be used as lead magnets or distributed freely to encourage backlinks from other websites that may find your content useful for their visitors.

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Onsite optimization

Onsite optimization is the process of making your website more search engine friendly by optimizing your website’s architecture, content, and code.

There are many different elements to focus on. Most actions require the input of someone with technical knowledge of your website and SEO, like a law firm SEO service.

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Improve local SEO

According to Bright Local’s Consumer Review Survey 2020:

93 percent of consumers used the internet to find a local business in 2020, with 34 percent searching every day.

Law firms are no different. People are searching for businesses like yours right now. Unless you optimize your business for local search, you’re missing out on prospective clients.

You can improve your local SEO by:

Citation building in the top legal directories

This includes adding structured citations in online directories like Yellow Pages, Yelp, Lawyers.com, and Avvo, as well as unstructured citations on blogs, government websites, media websites, etc.

Here’s what an Avvo listing looks like:

Optimize with all main data aggregators

Data aggregators gather your name, address, phone number, images, etc. and disperse the details to thousands of websites.

The main ones in the U.S. are:

• Data Axle 
• Acxiom
• Neustar Localeze
• Factual

You can submit information to aggregators using Moz Local, Yext Bright Local, or they will get your data elsewhere.

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4. Write blog posts and articles in your practice areas

There are several types of legal content and resources you can provide on your website and beyond.

Contributing articles to your own blog, guest blogging for other sites, submitting legal content articles to publications — all these activities have multiple benefits.

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Demonstrate know-how and expertise in your main practice areas

Cory Wilson, a Criminal Defence Lawyer in Calgary, publishes a wide range of articles on their website, reflecting their many practice areas.

The key here is to focus on a specific niche (and trust us when we say that no niche is too… well, niche. It should be something you’re an expert at or a field you’re passionate about.)

The more you blog, the more your reputation will grow. You’ll become an industry leader in your niche and get invited to speak about issues close to your heart.

While blogging can seem challenging, it doesn’t have to be. Just create quality content your clients will find valuable and results will come.

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5. Create promotional and educational video content

An important part of your content strategy might be video.

Many law firms struggle with video, but it’s not going away.

You’re 53 times more likely to feature on the first page of Google if you include video, according to this infographic from Filmora. Video builds credibility and trust, generates new leads, and improves conversions.

It’s a big topic, but let’s take a look at a few areas where you can focus your attention to attract new clients with video.

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Promotional videos

Promotional videos usually introduce your firm and your lawyers to the world.

They are often highly polished, like this one from The Maine Criminal Defense Group:

If possible, ask your best clients to create video testimonials for you. It builds credibility and authority, going a long way to convince leads that you’re the right person for the job.

Here’s a great example from The Foray Firm in Illinois:

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Educational videos

There’s also a need for educational videos. Showing off expertise in your practice areas can demonstrate to potential clients just how effective you’ll be as their lawyer.

Trey Porter Law creates videos for all of the major FAQs that his clients ask:

Think of the most popular questions you’re asked by prospective and current clients and create a video for each one.

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A word on quality

Video quality ranges from expensive, high-production, scripted videos to simple lawyer-in-front-of-iPhone videos.

Both are OK in the right place, but as a law firm, promotional videos are usually intended to portray a professional and polished image.

Educational videos are for informational purposes and do not require such a polished approach. In fact, an under-produced video may resonate better with clients who connect more with an approachable lawyer.

Generally speaking, go for substance instead of production and polish.

To get started, check out our article on video marketing for lawyers, which includes 13 techniques for attracting clients.

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6. Develop a resource center

A recurrent theme in your law firm marketing plan for 2023 will be content. We’ve already discussed it quite a bit, but you might want to go a step further and create a resource center.

Apart from that, you may have a goal of building a complete resource center on your website, like Oykhman Criminal Defence.

You can call it a resource library, media section, knowledge base, or something else entirely. What’s important is that you reach out to your target clients with the type of content that they find engaging and useful.

Here are a few items to include in your resource center.

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Long-form blogs and articles

All things equal, long-format content generally outranks shorter content.

Articles are likely to be the cornerstone of your resource center. Blogging for lawyers is a great way to share your legal knowledge with your target audience, establishing you as a topical authority in your field and answering the main questions in your prospects’ minds.

Developing well-written articles help provide depth and insight into a topic and will help you build authority and generate leads.

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Current news

Some law firms like to use their blog to keep readers up to date with the latest news in their practice area.

For example, Lisa Feldstein Law Office has a comprehensive blog on their website, where they share news and relevant information.

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FAQ

FAQs can also feature in your resource center. Cory Wilson includes a list of FAQs below the blog headers in the right-hand panel.

Clicking on any of these FAQ topics reveals a separate page with related questions, from where you can find in-depth answers:

Answering questions is a great way to demonstrate your capabilities and connect with your target audience. It’s also an effective way to rank for questions your clients are asking.

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7. Host engaging webinars

It’s fair to say that webinars haven’t been high on the radar of most law firms in the past decade, despite their increasing usage by other types of businesses.

Perhaps the COVID-19 pandemic changed that to some degree.

More law firms are finding that webinars are effective digital marketing tools for:

• Reaching out to potential new clients
• Educating the target audience
• Answering questions
• Starting conversations
• Generating engagement and leads
• Positioning the firm as a leading authority
• Improving existing client relationships

Webinars can be presented to a live audience or presented live and recorded so that people can watch them later. That means after they have been delivered, they can live on as video content and continue to attract clients.

So, where should you focus if you want to start hosting webinars in the year ahead?

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Decide on your webinar type

There are several types of law firm webinars.

Most lawyers reading this will be interested in educating potential clients, like Littman Krooks LLP. in New York:

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Prepare quality content that provides real value

With webinars, you need to give to get. Include high-quality content in your webinars.

Don’t fret about giving all your secrets away — if you demonstrate your expertise, new clients will gravitate towards you naturally.

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Get the right webinar software and promote, promote, promote

You have the choice of many good options here, including:

• GoToWebinar
• Zoom
• ON24
• Adobe Connect
• Workcast

After choosing software and figuring out what you want to talk about, you’ve got to start promoting.

You should have a dedicated page on your website to promote and organize your webinars. Promoting them to your email list and on your social media is also an option.

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Here are a few other tips to run a successful webinar:

• Send reminders in a countdown format to improve attendance
• At the end of each webinar, provide the next step for participants and follow up
• Make your webinars available to watch later
• Repurpose webinar content, turning it into blog posts or other content

There’s a lot more that goes into law firm webinars. Check out our article on law firm webinars, which takes you through how to host a webinar for your firm.

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8. Develop engaging attorney biographies

A law firm is only as good as its lawyers. You need to highlight just how good your team is with an engaging attorney bio for each lawyer in the firm.

Most lawyer bios are extremely dull and read like a CV.

Your visitors are looking not only for someone who has the educational background and right law degree, but also an experienced, approachable human being who can provide support and achieve the results they want.

With this in mind, a good attorney bio generally has:

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A high-quality photo

An attorney bio photo needs to be of professional quality, like this one from attorney Robert K. Weinberg of Chudnovsky Law in Los Angeles:

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A value proposition

What can you provide for your clients and why should they choose you?

It’s a good idea to start with a value proposition like the lawyers at Michelle Brandt of Vogel Law:

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Professional qualifications/experience of the lawyer

Many lawyers treat their bio as a place to list their educational background, qualifications, and experience. While these details should not be the entire focus, they do need to feature somewhere.

Vogel Law, referred to above, has a great solution. It creates tabs that feature the relevant credentials of each lawyer.

Here’s an example:

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Prominent contact info

There’s no point in focusing on lawyer marketing if you don’t showcase your contact information front and center like Sarah Fink of Kaiser Dillon PLLC.

There are many more tips to create a professional attorney bio in our article on attorney bio pages.

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9. Create practice area power pages

Your practice area pages are essential pages on your law firm website.

That’s why building informative, long-form content should be a priority for these pages. We call them practice area power pages, and they’re the antithesis of a typically dull law firm service page.

These pages provide in-depth information and create an experience that causes your users to stop and engage.

And what’s more, Google loves these pages. Long-form, in-depth content will always outperform a thin piece of content. 

Practice area power pages help you achieve four critical goals:

1. Dramatically increase your website’s rankings for your target keywords in Google
2. Increase click-through rates for your website many times over
3. Demonstrate authority in your field, building credibility and trust with your audience
4. Grow your business by generating more leads at a reduced cost

What do these pages look like?

Well, this is NOT a power page:

It covers the topic of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in around 250 words. It ranks on the 17th page of Google for the keyword Family and Medical Leave Act Lawyers.

The following, however, from an injury law firm in Florida, covers the same topic in over 1,000 words and even includes a video and webinar on the FMLA.

This page ranks at the top of the first page of Google for Family and Medical Leave Act Lawyers.

Long-format content is powerful. It can boost your search rankings and help you convert interested parties into paying clients.

A lot goes into creating practice area power pages, but here are a few pointers to get started.

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Create one separate page for each practice area

This personal injury law firm breaks down its practice areas into great detail and creates a separate page for each sub-division:

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Well-designed, clutter-free, and easy to read

Check how this page from the same law firm is easy to read and free of clutter (great for mobile viewing).

They do an excellent job breaking up their content, making it easier to read with shorter paragraphs and videos.

It’s important to go deep into topics in a way that a layperson can understand. Avoid confusing jargon, especially if you’re in a technical practice area, and break things down in simple language.

To help explain more complex issues, consider using images and video wherever possible.

Video, in particular, is proven to be highly engaging. It builds authority and credibility and gives a face to the name.

Dennis + King employs video on most of its practice area pages:

But the real ‘power’ of your page lies in the detail and answers you provide to questions. It’s challenging to do that in a few hundred words — much easier in 800-1500 words or more

You can find more great tips on creating these pages in our article on how to build practice area power pages.

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10. Add live chat to your website

I know a few lawyers who shrink at the thought of including live chat on their website. They imagine hours of lost time giving away free advice.

But it’s not about wasting time. The benefits outweigh the drawbacks, and people appreciate being able to talk to your business online.

In fact, at least 46% of customers prefer live chat over other communication methods like email.

Live chat can benefit your firm in many ways:

• Immediacy – You can answer some client questions there and then.
• Conversion – You can turn interest into genuine leads.
• Availability – Live chat keeps your website open for business 24/7.
• Convenience – Agents look after queries so it doesn’t need to take up any of your time.
• Industry leadership – It makes you seem more progressive and modern (in a profession that is often accused of the opposite).

The live chat options are extensive.

You can include it as an automatic pop-up when a visitor lands on your site, like this:

It can be an unobtrusive button that visitors click on if needed, like this example from Affordable Defence in Ottawa (the button in the bottom-right-hand corner of the page “floats” as visitors scroll down).

If you’re trying to create a progressive law firm that likes to engage with your clients on their terms, your potential clients will appreciate the option of live chat. It’s worth considering again in 2023 and beyond.

ApexChat is our recommended live chat provider.

“Our legal clients have found with live chat, they’re converting more of their visitors into leads, reducing response times, and ultimately, signing more new clients. Law firms using ApexChat typically see anywhere from a 10-40% increase in qualified leads coming from their websites after our solution is in place.”

ApexChat, Jon Scott, Manager of Strategic Partnerships

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11. Leverage social media

Social media marketing can feel foreign to many lawyers. But if you do it right, it can be a powerful marketing tool.

It’s safe to say that a vast majority of your potential clients are on social media.

Just take a look at these stats compiled by Hootsuite:

But what platforms should you be on?

Your law firm might not benefit from being on TikTok, but we strongly recommend setting up a Facebook profile and a LinkedIn page at the very least.

To stay relevant and connect with your target audience effectively, your law firm needs to have a Facebook account. It’s another avenue for leads to contact you, it builds credibility, and it contributes to your SEO.

Take a look at Pace Law’s Facebook page.

They use different types of content to great success. See how many followers they have?

And then there’s LinkedIn.

LinkedIn features over 670 million professionals on its platform, including the types of decision-makers and influencers needed to grow your practice.

Every lawyer has the opportunity to grab a piece of valuable “real estate” on the platform with a personal page. This will help you build a “personal brand” as a lawyer and provide an opportunity for online networking.

Here’s how an optimized lawyer LinkedIn page looks:

You should also make a separate company profile, especially if you’re trying to attract other businesses and professionals.

Our dedicated article on LinkedIn marketing for lawyers covers the top LinkedIn strategies that law firms should consider in 2023.

Aside from building community, authority, and brand recognition, you can also use Facebook and LinkedIn ads to get your business in front of new eyes.

We’ll discuss PPC in more detail later, but it’s enough to say that you can get clients for minimal investment.

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12. Step up your email marketing campaign

Email marketing might not be the only outbound marketing you do — but it’s among the most important.

Despite the emergence of social media and other communication forms, email remains one of the most effective ways to reach both existing and potential customers.

In fact, almost 60 percent of marketers say that email delivers the highest ROI.

And, according to DMA, for every $1 you spend on email marketing, you can expect to earn $42 in return:

Sending out targeted emails to your network can help you establish your brand, build credibility, get repeat customers, and convert new leads. And all with minimal effort.

Once you’re regularly adding new contacts to your list, make sure you segment your list based on criteria such as:

• Practice area of interest
• Stage of the buying cycle
• Location (if applicable)
• Any other key criteria

Then you can set up email “drip” campaigns.

These are personalized series of emails that educate your target audience and encourage them to take the next step (pick up the phone and call you, email you back, arrange a meeting, etc.)

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Use newsletter marketing for specific practice areas

Newsletter marketing is a form of email marketing that will remain a key strategy for 2023.

Here’s an example of attorney Scott R. Marshall using newsletter marketing:

A regular newsletter sent to people who’ve signed up to your list:

• Keeps you top of mind with clients and potential clients
• Helps you show that you’re up-to-date with the legal news in your practice area
• Is a great chance to demonstrate your authority with informative content

Newsletters don’t need to be lengthy.

• They can include various content types:
• Article snippets with links that point to your latest blog posts
• Recent case studies
• Details about awards you’ve received
• Introductions to your lawyers and attorneys
• Community activity details
• Practice area news or legal updates

Just look at this example from Landerholm Law:

The important thing is to show people that you’re active and producing content of value in your specific practice area.

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13. Create inbound marketing campaigns with gated content

Inbound marketing attracts prospects to your law firm passively (unlike direct advertising, which we term “outbound” marketing).

The focus is usually on the following channels:

• Content marketing
• Social media marketing
• Branding efforts

You already understand the power of original and informative content. It can help build awareness of your brand and demonstrate expertise, drawing people to your firm and the services you provide.

Gated content is an under-utilized content marketing strategy. This is content that you provide (usually for free) as a download on your website in return for the contact details (email address and/or phone number) of visitors.

The Maine Divorce Group has developed a free guide on how to file for divorce, which is available for download from its homepage as gated content:

If you’ve been following each of the suggestions in this article, you will already be considering creating the following types of content:

• Long-form, educational blog articles that provide legal assistance
• FAQs that answer the main questions of your target audience
• Educational videos that answer legal questions

Some of the above may be appropriate for gated content. Most times, it’s a guide, eBook, report, “cheat sheet,” or some other informative content of value to the target audience.

You have a lot of legal IP in your head that people will willingly leave their email address and/or phone number to get it.

Braverman Law Group in Colorado has created a free eBook on asset protection for families available for download:

This type of content is sometimes called a “lead magnet” because it has the power to attract significant numbers of leads.

We recommend working with Lawmatics to level up your inbound marketing.

“At Lawmatics, we view inbound marketing as three pillars: (1) demand generation; (2) client intake experience; and (3) data-driven decision making,” said Matt Spiegel, Lawmatics CEO.

“To create a delightful client intake experience, the modern firm needs powerful technology to streamline the tedious administrative tasks that take up staff time and frustrate potential clients. Lawmatics gives firms the tools to modernize all their workflows, from client intake to case management to client re-engagement — all in one comprehensive, automation-driven platform. This allows law firms to save time, improve the client experience, and increase revenue.”

Lawmatics, Matt Spiegel, CEO

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14. Enhance your local SEO

The most important aspect of local SEO is your Google My Business listing. This is the free business listing that provides your firm’s direct connection to Google Maps and Google’s local search results.

It displays in the search results on the right-hand side of the SERP in a prominent panel, like this example from Cory Wilson in Calgary:

The prominence of your Google My Business local knowledge panel means that it’s important to optimize it fully.

To do that, pay attention to the following:

• Enter your business location accurately on the map
• List your official business website
• Add relevant information, like your hours
• Ensure that your business name, address, and phone number (“NAP”) are consistent across the web
• Choose the most appropriate primary category for your firm
• Add photographs
• Gather reviews

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Google My Business posts

You can use Google My Business posts to share more information with your audience right from your listing.

Use GMB posts to share company news, upcoming events, highlight new offerings, or just even just to keep your audience up to date.

Trey Porter shares snippets of his practice area pages as a means to attract leads and get searchers on his website.

There’s a lot more that goes into a Google My Business page, but these are the basics and should be enough to get you started. To learn more, check out our full Google My Business for Law Firms article.

Aside from your GMB page, make sure you’re targeting local keywords.

If you don’t, you’ll be missing out on the 97% of users searching online for local businesses.

Make sure you add local keyword data to your website. For example, if you’re a family law firm in Toronto, you’ll want to include phrases like “family lawyer Toronto” on your website.

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15. Run optimized Google Ads and Local Service Ad campaigns

Too many law firms waste money on pay-per-click (PPC) advertising that doesn’t produce results.

Ads increasingly dominate the search results page and paid traffic supplements the organic traffic you generate from SEO.

In fact, ads are covering as much as 85% of the space above the fold on the results page.

So, why are you struggling to get the types of results that other firms achieve? I’ll bet it’s because of one of the following:

• You’ve been trying to compete for ultra-competitive keywords (terms like “lawyer” and “attorney” are among the most expensive keywords you’ll find)
• You’ve never optimized your ad campaigns
• You haven’t put enough time into research or hired the right professionals to manage your campaigns

To be successful with Google Ads, you need to:

• Define the search terms you should be targeting
• Create the right types of ads to target these keywords
• Create a professional landing page for each ad
• Constantly test and improve the ads/landing pages using A/B testing

Every click costs you money with Google Ads. In the wrong hands, it can cost you a lot of money.

The Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) or the cost per new client should compare very favorably with other marketing efforts if you set up your ad campaigns correctly.

You can start a campaign today and be talking to qualified new clients tomorrow (compared to SEO, which takes time).

Look how these ads stand out at the top of the search results page for best criminal defense lawyer Wisconsin — and imagine what it could do for your lead generation.

It’s too involved to go into great detail here, but here are a few pointers.

• Focus on long-tail keywords, not just head terms
• Use Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI) in your ad copy
• Target zip codes and postal codes, not just cities
• Adopt an effective keyword bidding strategy
• Integrate keywords into your ads
• Test compelling messaging in your ad copy

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Invest in Local Service Ads

These are featured above traditional PPC ads and are more valuable. Unless you’re in the running for these spots, competing law firms will likely dominate your local area.

What’s different about local service ads is that they’re:

• Pay-per-lead rather than pay-per-click
• Designed to generate telephone leads
• Ranked according to number of positive reviews, proximity, bid, and a few other factors

We’ve only scratched the surface of Google Ads and Local Service Ads here. Find out more in our in-depth article on Google advertising for lawyers.

It covers keyword usage, the bidding process, landing pages, how to target local traffic, how to test to improve results, and more.

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16. Launch Facebook PPC campaigns

It’s not hard to see why Facebook advertising has taken off. With over two billion active users in little more than a decade, there’s a huge ready-made audience to reach out to. It’s why seven million businesses now use Facebook advertising.

Getting started is a big challenge for most law firms, but those that do it properly are seeing impressive results.

If you intend to start advertising on Facebook in 2023, consider the following:

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Create an optimized and engaging Facebook page

An optimized and engaging Facebook page will naturally attract followers, like this one from Quarles & Brady:

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Target a very specific audience to keep ad relevance high

Facebook makes it easy to target clients based on:

• Profession/job title
• Where they live: Cities, suburbs, regions
• Age-group: Baby boomers? Millennials? Retirees?
• Interests: How do your target customers spend their time?
• Educational level: University graduates? College students?
• Relationship status: Married, single, divorced?
• Gender: Male/female?

Here’s how that looks in Facebook Ads Manager.

This allows you to get really granular with your ad targeting. That saves you from attracting clicks from people who will never hire you, which is important for your ad campaign ROI.

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Make ads engaging, relevant, and incorporate video

Create ads that speak the language of your target audience and include content that appeals to them.

Often, that means video, like in this ad from Dennis and King.

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Test your ads

The most effective Facebook ad campaigns use ads with multiple versions of copy and imagery that are tested to see which works best.

There are multiple elements of your ad to test, including:

• The headline
• The body text (should it be more emotional?)
• Format (bullet points, shorter sentences, etc.)
• Call to action
• Images

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Always include a call to action

Like with all good ads, your Facebook ads need a call to action that encourages users to take the next step.

For law firms, this is usually one of the following:

• Schedule a free consultation
• Click to learn more (from a blog article or other piece of content)
• Find out more (similar to the above)
• Register now (for a webinar)

Here’s a Sprout Social graphic that breaks down common calls to action and how effective they are:

We’ve just scratched the surface with Facebook ads.

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17. Attract 5-star reviews

Attracting high-quality client reviews is an irreplaceable part of law firm marketing. If you don’t actively manage your online reputation, someone else will shape your reputation for you — and it may not be to your liking.

Social proof and credibility in the form of five-star reviews can both improve your performance in local search and your conversion rate when clients find you. 

Here’s an example of how reviews have been proven to boost local SEO.

The year ahead is the time to start gathering more of them.

How do you do that?

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Make it easy to write a review

As part of your process, send an automated message to clients after the case is closed.

It can look something like this:

Hi Jennifer,

How are you doing? I hope you and your family are well! It was such a pleasure working with you during the last few months.

I wanted to see if you had a couple of minutes to share a review about working with L&P Law. Your opinion means so much to all of us here and we’d love to hear more about your experience.

You can click this link to leave a review now: www.review.com

Thanks so much, Jennifer. I hope you have a great rest of the day!

Lisa Smith L&P Law

Make it easy to leave a review by providing a link to your review page.

Bear in mind that some platforms like Yelp do not allow review solicitations.

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Include a star rating for an immediate visual representation of quality

A five-star rating is something everyone recognizes as a symbol of quality, which is why Oykhman Criminal Defence features them prominently.

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Use video wherever possible

This New York personal injury firm uses all-video reviews to great effect:

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Reply to reviews and do not ignore negative ones

Businesses always receive a bad review or two. You can’t please all of the people all the time.

If you do receive a negative review online, address it, as Sharma Law Office did here.

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18. “Win” awards and credentials

Picture this.

Someone’s looking to hire a law firm. There are two similarly priced firms in the area with the same level of experience and expertise.

One of the firms won the XYZ Law Firm of the Year award from a local industry publication last year.

Who do you think the prospect will call?

Credibility is a very persuasive currency for any business. Industry awards allow you to build trust instantly with potential customers.

So, in your marketing plan for 2023, you may want to start targeting awards. They rarely just arrive on your doorstep. It takes action.

We wrote an entire article on law firm awards. But here we’ll go over some important points.

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There are paid-for awards and non-paid-for awards

Some of the top free awards include:

• FT North America Innovative Lawyer Awards
• Law Firms Global Elite
• American Bar Association (ABA)
• Canadian Bar Association (CBA) National Awards
• Canadian Lawyer – Reader’s Choice Awards
• Consumer Choice Award – Business Excellence
• Law Firm 500 Awards
• Acritas Stars
• IFLR 1000
• Lawyer Legion
• The Legal 500
• S&P Global Market Intelligence M&A League Table

Some of the top paid awards include:

• Martindale-Hubbell
• Best Lawyers
• Super Lawyers
• Lawdragon
• Benchmark Litigation
• Chambers Guide
• iam 1000

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There are pros and cons to awards

Awards can help you build trust and be seen as an industry leader. They can bolster your PR and even boost with SEO (backlinks are provided). Awards may also help your firm attract and retain talent because of the perceived prestige of working with you.

However, there can be drawbacks too. They can be expensive, time-consuming, and they become outdated quickly (there’s little point in posting an award from 10 years ago). There is also a perceived stigma associated with paying for an award in some cases.

Our take on it is that if your service is not up to scratch, paying for an award won’t save you. It’s better to earn an award than pay for it.

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19. Maintain a presence in the legal directories

Whatever your thoughts about the legal directories, they are generally funded by large corporations that invest considerable amounts into SEO.

If you create a profile in legal directories, your rankings will improve.

Being featured in the main ones can help boost your traffic and provide a citation and hyperlink for your website.

In 2023, be sure to maintain your profiles in these directories and keep them optimized. This is a relatively simple and affordable way to promote your practice.

Some platforms are free to add your details. Some have paid listings too, and others charge monthly or annual fees for extra exposure.

Here’s an example of listings on Avvo:

Feel free to check out our Avvo marketing guide for more tips.

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20. Engage the media (HARO) PR

The media frequently requires the opinion of professional lawyers for news stories. It’s not a new thing to see a lawyer appearing on TV to provide an opinion or being quoted in a newspaper article.

This free PR is incredibly valuable for your law firm’s brand and your “personal brand” as a lawyer. You can potentially earn credibility and backlinks to help you rank higher in search.

Your firm can get media mentions by volunteering to Help a Reporter Out (HARO): 

This is a free service that helps reporters in North America acquire the expertise they need for their stories. Once you sign up, you can provide your opinions and quotes as required. The content is used by major news outlets, including Reuters, Fox News, Time, etc.

You may not find instant success. Focus on providing quotations that offer a unique and engaging perspective on the legal topic at hand and your content may get used.

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21. Develop an effective sales and intake process

Don’t forget: marketing creates leads but sales create profit.

But only 12% of sales professionals are confident in their ability to convert leads into sales.

Don’t blame your marketing team if you’re getting qualified leads but they aren’t converting into clients. Generally, that points to an internal sales process problem within your firm.

Every law firm needs a sales and intake process so that leads become paying clients.

Otherwise, all your marketing efforts (and spend) are in vain.

Keep in mind that there are:

• Marketing qualified leads
• Sales qualified leads

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Marketing qualified leads

A lead that comes from organic search generally means a user has typed in a keyword that you target on your webpage.

They found you on Google’s first page and contacted you. Your SEO has done its job.

That is a marketing-qualified lead and the prospect may only require information at that stage.

For example, if someone looks up “when to hire a personal injury lawyer” and ends up on your blog post, they’re a marketing-qualified lead.

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Sales qualified leads

Sales-qualified leads are generally identified when a prospect speaks to someone in your firm and confirms that they are interested in hiring your legal services.

They may have requested a consultation or signed up for gated content.

It’s important to define a process to move leads from marketing-qualified to sales-qualified so that you don’t waste time with the “wrong” people who are never going to hire you.

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Key points:

• Your time is valuable: You need to introduce a system to prevent having to answer a prospect’s questions that a junior person in your firm could handle.
• Our most successful clients are those that actively measure – and attempt to improve – the time between a lead being submitted and responded to.
• Once you capture the lead through a free case evaluation form, make sure you respond promptly to it.

Ask yourself:

• When a prospective client calls in, what do you or your associates say?
• Do you have a set process that you take the client through, to qualify them and let them know how you can help?
• Do you clearly communicate the benefits of hiring you?
• Or is the conversation arbitrary and ad-lib?

The ins and outs of building a sales process are beyond the scope of this article, but it’s certainly something you need to look at if you have a poor track record of converting inquiries into sales.

And if you’re looking for help with the client intake process, we recommend Ruby.

“Whether your business comes from online searches or word of mouth, every new client expects the same thing: a quick, compassionate, and knowledgeable response. You can meet these expectations easily by investing in a client communication solution like Ruby. Our professional and friendly virtual receptionists act as an extension of your practice, delighting callers and website visitors, engaging leads, and onboarding new clients. We’re available 24/7 to connect with the people you serve full-time, part-time, or as backup.

During our intake process, we’ll collect the key information you need to know—such as email address, best time for a callback, and case details—so you can start delivering knowledgeable, personalized service immediately.”

Ruby, Matt Lurie, Content Strategist

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22. Create custom remarketing and retargeting campaigns

Remarketing might be a term that you associate more with eCommerce than law firm marketing.

But the technology is available for law firms to retarget prospects that previously expressed interest in their services.

This can be a valuable source of “new” leads.

Your law firm website, LinkedIn page, or Facebook ad is likely to attract many visitors and clicks, the majority of which won’t pick up the phone and contact you after the first visit.

Either they:

• Are not ready to hire a lawyer
• Don’t like what they read
• Have something else to do at that time
• Are distracted and click away

Say you’re a family law firm offering a service for unpaid employees in the local area.

You might run a Facebook ad like this one:

A person may click on your ad but not contact you. Maybe they thought they didn’t qualify for the help you were offering, or they had already contacted another law firm to follow up on their behalf.

What if this person later finds out that they qualify for compensation, or the law firm they hired is not performing how they’d hoped? What will they do?

A well-timed remarketing campaign can get your ad back in front of that person and convince them to pick up the phone and book a free consultation with you.

Sequential retargeting

The real beauty of remarketing campaigns is that they are highly targeted towards people who have already shown an interest in your firm, so the conversion rates are usually very attractive.

And sequential retargeting is a surefire way to attain clients that you’d otherwise lose.

Users will go through a set of pre-defined ad experiences after leaving your website, rather than seeing the same ad over and over again.

This works for several reasons:

• Shows unique, fresh ads to the user each time
• Nurtures prospects, giving you the ability to address different pain points or blockers in each ad
• Gets your brand in front of users in different ways multiple times

Here’s how that could go:

People rarely make immediate decisions when hiring a lawyer. Remarketing allows you to stay with the prospect on their “journey” and be there when they are ready.

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