Digital Marketing for New Law Firms: Start Small, Grow Big

Kicking off a new law firm comes with a long to-do list. Luckily, starting your digital marketing efforts can be both easy and cost-effective! Keep reading to learn more about the small steps that can help you grow big over time!

Approximate Read Time: 5 Minutes

While bogged down in the startup of a new law firm, you may initially forget about the importance of a digital marketing strategy. After all, you are likely focused on setting up the foundational elements of executing your daily law practice. However, once you have the nuts and bolts of your new law firm in place, you almost certainly will shift your focus to earning new business.

If you are overwhelmed just thinking about where to start, we can help you! This blog post can help you take those initial steps toward building a digital marketing strategy for your new law firm at a time when reaching new clients can be crucial to your long-term success.

As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Remember, digital marketing can be the backbone of a robust, well-rounded legal marketing plan in an increasingly digital world. It may not happen overnight, but these small steps can help your practice grow big before you know it!

Reach Your Potential Clients

New clients must be able to find you for your firm to grow! Money may be tight at the beginning of your law firm journey. Luckily, the initial stages of connecting with potential clients are usually free.

1. Your Free Google Business Profile

Google is the king of search and most users will begin their hunt for an attorney on a Google search engine results page. We have several Google Business Profile resources available on our Justia Onward blog, including a guide to setting up a new Google Business Profile and information on completing your Google Business Profile.

Watch this clip to gain insights into how citations can help your Google Business Profile rank.

2. Claim Free Business and Lawyer Directory Profiles

Lawyer and business directories offer a wealth of information to consumers seeking legal representation. Many directories are packed with information about thousands of lawyers in a client’s local area. They also offer features, such as filtered searches on the fields that matter, to help ease the search process. Some directories, like the Justia Lawyer Directory, even include comparison tools for users to find the best lawyer for them.

Claiming your directory profiles also helps set the stage for a strong search engine optimization (SEO) strategy well into the future. To help you get started on claiming your profiles, we have a list of the best free lawyer and law firm directories.

Watch this video to learn more about lawyer directories.

3. Develop Law Firm Social Media Pages

Your future clients are on social media. You want to be there too. We recommend creating a profile for your law firm on the major social channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, as well as some more non-traditional platforms.

We have guides to creating a law firm LinkedIn page, a law firm Twitter account, a law firm Facebook page, and a law firm Instagram account. We also offer information for lawyers on marketing via other channels, such as TikTok, Clubhouse, and Instagram Reels.

Level Up Your Marketing Strategy

After taking advantage of the free digital marketing platforms available for your law firm and giving yourself some time to get settled, you are ready to elevate your digital marketing strategy by investing in key paid tactics.

1. Get a Professional Website

You only get one chance to make a first impression, and your law firm website is often your first impression on clients and other attorneys. Thus, it is important to have a professional site that reflects well on your firm. Law firm website providers offer specialized options for a wide range of budgets.

For example, our Justia Elevate websites are affordable, user-friendly, and optimized with a state-of-the-art technical foundation that prioritizes SEO best practices for improved visibility.

2. Create Valuable Content

High-quality, original content that is relevant to your ideal clients will be the most important piece of your SEO strategy and, in turn, your elevated digital marketing strategy. If you do not have time to craft your blog and website content, you can outsource this to freelance legal writers. Before hiring a third-party writer, check out our blog post on things you should keep in mind when hiring a legal content writer for your law firm marketing.

Watch this clip to learn more about creating high-quality legal content.

3. Upgrade Online Presence With Additional Features

The free profiles you claimed during your law firm’s early digital marketing days often offer paid upgrades and features that can help you take your membership to the next level.

For instance, claiming your free Justia Lawyer Directory profile also activates your Justia Connect Basic Membership. You can take that profile (and your membership) to the next level by upgrading to Justia Connect Pro for an enhanced profile that removes competitor ads and integrates easy ways to contact you.

If you want to maximize your Justia Profile benefits, consider our Justia Premium Placements.

Magnify Your Online Presence

Once you have a robust digital marketing strategy, you want to continue to expand and amplify your online presence to continue your law firm’s growth well into the future.

1. Monitor Your Reputation

As your firm continues to grow, you should get into the habit of monitoring your professional reputation – ensure you see what potential clients see and adjust your strategies accordingly. Our blog offers information on managing your law firm’s reputation on Google and social media reputation management. You can also explore PPC branding campaigns for increased brand consistency and greater reputational control.

To complement your focus on reputation management, you should also prioritize getting online reviews on various platforms, such as Google Business Profile and lawyer directories that offer reviews.

Being aware of your reviews guides your reputation management strategy. Getting reviews on Google Business Profile and other directories, however, plays a key role in both managing your reputation and optimizing your local marketing and SEO strategies. Getting reviews may seem daunting but tools can help you streamline it.

For example, we offer Justia Amplify clients review pages that enable law firms to easily request client reviews across various platforms.

2. Invest in SEM and Other Online Advertising

Now that you’ve built a strong foundation for your law firm, you want to ensure your message is heard. You are ready to complement your various other digital marketing strategies with Google PPC ads, Google Local Services (LSAs), non-Google PPC advertising, and remarketing ads. If you need help getting started with paid advertising, the members of our Justia Amplify team are standing ready.

Watch this Justia Webinar playlist on YouTube.

3. Create Engaging Video Content

Video marketing has exploded in popularity in recent years! From YouTube to TikTok and beyond, video-sharing platforms have generally seen strong growth in recent years. The statistics show that video will continue to be a strong marketing tactic for the foreseeable future.

Our previous blog post on the reasons lawyers need video marketing is a great starting point for understanding why video matters for your law firm this year and beyond. If you need help starting your video content strategy, the Justia Onward blog also has content creation ideas for your law firm.

Final Thoughts: Why Do You Care?

Digital marketing is an important step in building a sustainable, successful law firm. The journey to creating a robust digital marketing plan grows over time. Whenever you need help along the way, Justia is here with products and resources to ensure you are equipped with the tools to achieve your law firm’s goals.

Want to start today? Contact our team.

• The 5 Must-Have Pages Your Law Firm Website Needs Before Going Live
• Why Non-Google PPC Matters for Law Firms
• Short Videos for Lawyers: Leveraging TikTok and Instagram Reels

Lee este artículo en Español en Justia Avanza.