Whether you like it or not, your law firm will have a brand. When you conduct any element of online marketing, it is important that this reflects your brand. Your brand is what distinguished you from your competition. It’s almost always a combination of things that make your firm unique. In this article, we will focus on how you project your brand in all your online activities. Welcome to mastering the art of online branding for your law firm!
Understanding Your Law Firm’s Identity
Your brand isn’t just a pretty logo, sharp colours and a strapline. It is so much more than that. Take a step back and think about all the elements that make up your firm’s unique identity. It will include your people, your services, possibly your location and, importantly, how you deliver those services. You also need to look at your values and the ethos of your law firm. Then you need to reflect that in your online presence
Defining Your Unique Value Proposition
What is it you are offering your clients? It’s surely not the same service as everyone else…is it? The core processes carried out in law firms are the same. However, there can be vast differences in the way you deal with your clients and deliver your services.
To promote your online brand, you must take the time to explain the “why” and “how” you do the things you do. What are you values and how to you communicate these to your clients.
Take the old-fashioned route and sit down with a pen and a piece of paper. Think about what your firm stands for. Look at the values that underpin everything you do. How do you deliver your services to clients. Is there something you do that is completely unique? Are there combinations of people, services, place and delivery methods that are different from others? Make a list of all these things.
Once you have done that, craft your text based and explain your brand to your clients. Doing this is the very first step in mastering the art of online branding for your law firm.
Pinpointing Your Target Audience
Key to attracting the right type of clients to your brand is understanding precisely who your ideal client is. Of course, there is never one single ideal client. Your ideal client for residential conveyancing may be different from your ideal client for your private client services. Indeed, even within your residential conveyancing clients there will be different ideal clients at various stages of the house ownership process. There will be the first-time buyer or the home mover or the downsizer.
Once you have done that, the next stage is to customise your messaging and promoting your brand qualities to attract the right type of ideal clients to your firm.
Creating a Powerful Website
Your website is your most powerful platform used when promoting your online branding for your law firm. You have complete control to say and do what you want on your own website. Do not squander this opportunity!
Designing for Trust and Professionalism
There are many ways in which people will be directed to your firm. One of the main avenues for contact is your website. From a branding perspective, it is critical that you express and explain the ethos of your firm and the values underpinning your firm. Talk about the benefit clients will experience when using your firm. Include positive client testimonials and reviews. Your reputation with clients is a critical aspect of online branding for your law firm.
When your website exudes trust and professionalism backed up by evidence, it is much more likely to attract new clients.
Prioritising User Experience
Your website is your clients and potential clients window into your firm. It is important that it is well set out and easy to navigate. Importantly, it must be up to date and sufficiently fast that visitors don’t leave just because your website loads slowly!
Invest in a solid foundation on which to build your website. Include attractive graphics throughout. Make sure your navigation is simple and straight forward. Importantly, make sure there are plenty of opportunities for clients to contact you. Embed enquiry forms in your website to make it easy for visitors to contact you.
It is crucial to continuously add to your website content. Have a blog or news section for latest content. This helps you build your authority and, using properly optimised content, allows you to attract those searching for the services you provide.
Leveraging social media
With billions of users, social media is an obvious choice for law firms to promote their services. You must reflect your firm’s branding throughout your interactions with the social media platforms you intend to use. However, you need to work out where your ideal clients are hanging out if you intend to attract them to your firm.
Choosing the Right Platforms
If you have taken the time to identify your ideal client, part of that process will be the places your ideal client “hangs out.” Clearly, with billions of users worldwide, social media is bound to be used by some of your ideal clients. But which platforms should you choose?
The key to this is to get a firm understanding of what each platform does and who its key users are.
For those who love video and images, you have TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest. Of course, there are dedicated video platforms in YouTube and Vimeo, to name but a few.
Perhaps the most popular social media platform, used by billions of people every day is Facebook. Facebook has a very wide demographic and you might consider it beneficial to push the online branding for your law firm into Facebook.
Twitter, currently, seems to be having something of an identity crisis but it still effective for getting short form messages out there.
LinkedIn, of course, started its life as a platform to connection professionals and businesspeople but over time has become very much a job promotion tool. It is also a place where professionals post articles to show off their skills and capabilities.
Whichever platform or combination of platforms you choose, make sure that’s where your ideal clients hang out!
Engaging with Your Audience
When you embark on a social media campaign, be prepared to be in it for the long haul. As you build up your audience, they will interact with your firm within the social media platforms themselves. Be prepared for this. If one of your key brand promises is to effectively communicate with clients, make sure you respond. Lack of response to communications is a key brand destroyer.
Using social media gives you an opportunity of linking client to relevant pages on your website. You can signpost clients to specific pages, allowing them to find out more about your firm and the services you provide. In addition, you can feature your blog or news content on your social media pages directing those who read your post to the corresponding articles on your website.
You can build up your own loyal following and engage with them on a regular basis. All of this enhances the value of your online branding for your law firm.
Investing in Content Marketing
Continuously growing your website with excellent quality content is essential to grow your online brand. It will build authority and enhance your reputation. Search engines will pay attention to properly optimised blogs, articles and news items added to your website.
Educating Your Audience with Blogs and Articles
Your website is your very own platform allowing you to educate your audience. You will attract visitors to your website with good quality, well written, engaging content. Importantly, you must add content to your website on a regular basis. By doing so, you will attract new visitors and encourage return visits to your website. You will enhance the online branding for your law firm by building your authority through regular engaging posts.
You can use your posts to explain legal issues and establish a need clients might not realise they had. Your website content does not need to be restricted to articles. Why not try some video, animation, infographics, guides or podcasts.
Using SEO to Boost Your Visibility
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is wide-ranging and complicated. However, there are some simple things you can do to boost your visibility.
Before creating content, decide what it is you want to say. Conduct some keyword research. What are the words and phrases people are using to search for the thing you want to write about. Decide on your main keyword or phrase and make sure you include this in your article. Do not be tempted to use it repetitively – search engines do not like keyword stuffing. Don’t try to shoehorn your keyword of phrase into your text to the extent that it makes it unintelligible. It is essential that your text should flow and be engaging to your readers.
Search engines will reward you with visitors if your content is well written, optimised for search and you regularly update your website.
Managing Your Online Reputation
Some say no news is good news. Perhaps this is not something most lawyers subscribe to. Bad news has a habit of travelling fast so it is important to manage your online reputation.
Encouraging Client Reviews and Testimonials
One of the best ways to promote your reputation is by adding client testimonials and reviews on your website, social media pages and in Google. A positive review score will put people’s minds at reast and enhances your firm’s reputation. People tend to trust other people and if they read honest reviews, they are much more likely to trust your firm.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss your online branding strategy, we’re only a phone call or email away. We work only with law firms. We help our law firm clients not only develop their digital marketing strategy but execute it too! All you need to do is pick up the phone and call us on 07855 838395 or email brian@clientcommunications.co.uk.