Read Part 1 of this post.
The six key elements every law firm marketing program must have in 2018 include:
- Website with Blog
- Mobile marketing
- Branding program
- Email system
- Conversion system
- Social media marketing program
4. Email System
Email marketing remains one of the most effective and least expensive ways to maintain contact with current and former clients and to generate new leads for your law firm. Using an inexpensive email service like Constant Contact or MailChimp will allow you to design, produce and email monthly e-newsletters and other promotions as well as keep your email list clean and current.
5. Conversion System
Generating leads is the easy part. Converting them is where the rubber meets the road. And you can’t do a good job of lead conversion without a system in place to automate the process. To be any good at lead conversion you have to track:
- The number of leads coming in
- The number of leads that turn into appointments
- The number of appointments that show up for the initial consultation
- The number of people who sign up at the initial consultation
- The number of people who sign up later
Then you have to develop methods for consistently staying in touch with prospects through every stage. You need to have a system in place that will communicate with people who have contacted you but not scheduled an appointment to move them to do that. If they miss the appointment, you need more communication to get them to reschedule. If they don’t sign at the initial consultation, you need to stay in touch with them so they remember you when they are ready to take action. All of this cannot be managed manually — you need a system!
6. Social Media
According to the Pew Research Center, approximately 70% of Americans use social media — 68% use Facebook and 76% of those Facebook users visit the site every day. Your prospects are on social media, maybe a lot of them — and they may be the kind of people you won’t be able to reach any other way.
Social media for law firms is about the soft sell — actually, almost no sale. It’s about engagement. Forming relationships. People don’t hop on social media to be sold something. But they do like getting information on topics that interest them. Social media is a perfect place to post on current topics, putting your own spin on things, or providing general information that touches on your practice area — i.e., A Divorced Dad’s Guide to the Perfect Kids’ Weekend, How to Cut Taxes with an Estate Plan, What to Do When Your Insurance Company Totals Your Car, etc.
Building a strong online presence takes time, but it’s time (and money) well spent in terms of attracting new clients through effective law firm marketing.
