10 Marketing Lead Generation Ideas for Lawyers

Date: February 1, 2021

Lead Generation for Lawyers Google Screened

We have all been in the middle of unloading groceries or sitting down for dinner when the phone rings and you answer just to find out it is a cold call from a business trying to sell you something. No one likes to receive that call. It’s essential to focus on different law firm marketing strategies to attract people who are naturally in need of the service you provide, instead of interrupting them and putting off potential clients.

Leads: What Are They? How Do You Get Them?

Leads are potential customers who have an interest in your business. Every law firm is interested in generating more leads. They can use their sales team to convert the leads into real customers, but how do you find leads in the first place? There are innovative and very successful ways to find new clients for your law firm. You just may have to try something new, and creating a sales funnel is an excellent place to start. 

Creating Sales Funnels for Law Firms

A sales funnel is a natural process of finding your next client by taking a person who isn’t aware of your service through a journey of discovery. The sales funnel is created to help the client flow through the process of discovery, gaining more knowledge, and ultimately deciding to choose your law firm. This law firm marketing strategy is less invasive than cold calls to potential clients, and the steps of a sales funnel can look like this:

  • Recognition: The potential client finds out about your company through an ad and learns about what service you provide. For law firm marketing, this can look like putting a face to your company’s name and what sets your company apart from others that offer the same service. 
  • Interest: The best way you can learn about a client’s interest is if they click on a Call to Action that was embedded in an article from your company. Maybe they discovered a blog post that came up in a search due to SEO, and they clicked on the CTA at the bottom of the article to learn more. 
  • Decision: A decision has to be made on whether your law firm is the right choice for the client. You can provide a form to request more information or receive a phone call from a member of the sales team where their questions can be answered.
  • Action:  When the client takes action, this means they have decided to go with your company to provide the service they need. This can look like filling out a schedule-a-consultation form on the website or a phone call to schedule their first appointment.

How to Qualify Leads After You Get Them

After implementing your firm’s lead generation strategies, your new leads may never become clients. You will want to increase your conversion rate of leads to customers by implementing specific strategies. A lot of times, this can look like advertising to your target audience and then catching their eye with a unique landing page. A person sees dozens of ads each day. What sets your firm apart from the others?

The call to action within your content articles and social media posts is vital. Is it easy to fill out a quick form and ask a question, or do you have to jump through hoops with pages of survey questions and information to fill out? Make it easy to ask questions and always respond immediately to show that you value their potential business.

10 Ways to Generate Leads for Attorneys

Most of the time, marketing may not be a top strength of an attorney. With that, law firm SEO may sound complicated and out of your realm of expertise. But it doesn’t have to be! Check out the following ten tactics to help you generate more marketing qualified leads for your law firm.

1. Build a Great Website

Your website is the first impression that a client gets of your company, and it’s important to make sure it’s well-designed. Is your business modern and up-to-date? Are the colors inviting? Is the website clean and organized? As most people conduct business from their phones, be sure to make your webpage mobile-friendly. The edge you can obtain from creating and keeping a trendy website is vital.

2. Invest in Content Marketing

Content marketing is a type of marketing that focuses on creating and distributing valuable pieces of content online – think blogs, videos, infographics, website copy, podcasts, etc. Consistently adding targeted pieces of content to your website, optimizing your current pages and creating new pages (on a case-by-case basis) will drive more viewers to your site. If your content is optimized correctly, these pieces will show up higher in priority on google searches due to law firm SEO algorithms.

If you have a social media account, then sharing content regarding origin stories and new ideas for your business will keep your target audience connected and invested.

3. Focus on Search Engine Optimization

If you concentrate on search engine optimization as a part of your inbound lead generation strategy, you will find that updating your website with industry-specific keywords and content will attract more website visitors. Refreshing old blog posts and continuously adding new content are great ways to increase your law firm SEO. Other trusted websites with backlinks to your company will also move your company further up on the search page.

4. Use PPC Advertising

PPC (pay per click) advertising is an excellent law firm marketing tool. Many companies offer a free consultation to pique the initial interest of the client. The free consultation option pays off, with the clients knowing that there is no upfront investment to get their questions answered. They take action at no risk to themselves, and it is up to you to keep their interest.

In addition to traditional PPC, Google Screened for Lawyers is another great way to help generate leads and boost business.

5. Optimize and Post on Your Google My Business Listing

Use Google My Business to increase the flow of potential leads. Learn how to grow your business’s exposure through their service. Provide all of the possible information to increase the chance of your business showing up in searches. Google My Business does not replace a website. But hand-in-hand, both can bring customers to your business if the first impression is good.

6. Get Reviews for Your Law Firm

Along with updating all of your information on your Google My Business listing, it’s important to get reviews for your product or service. If you need to reach out to past and existing clients, then do so. Ask them to leave a review of the experience they had with your law firm. If someone leaves a negative review, resolve the problem right away and ask them to update their review. Asking your clients to leave a review should be a regular step in your business procedures.

7. Create Unique Landing Pages

Potential customers may find an article that takes them to your website and then click on the Call to Action to take them to a landing page to fill out a form. This landing page is your chance to set yourself apart. Why is your law firm better than competing law firms in the area? How can you connect with your potential clients through that landing page?

8. Maintain a Presence on Social Media

As briefly mentioned above, some potential clients may never engage in email or reading news articles from the internet. Many younger generations think of social media as a one-stop-shop. They find all of their news, e-commerce advertisements, service recommendations, and more from one source. You don’t want to miss out on using social media for your law firm marketing. 

When you use social media for marketing, you should be updating content at least weekly. You can find ways to engage your supporters and keep in close contact, developing personal relationships with the people who follow your account. This personal connection is what drives people to support a business in the long run.

9. Use Email Marketing

Email marketing is not a thing of the past. Emails still work to get people to your website and learn about your service. When you blast an email out to your email list, be thoughtful of the person’s time. Make the message worth it, with an offer of a free product or discount. Or tell about a new service that your company will be offering. Make sure all of your links are clickable and easily accessible.

10. Send Direct Mail

If you are looking to send out paper mail to advertise for your law firm, this could have benefits depending on the focus area of your practice and audience (i.e. estate planning). Direct mail, when done well, can offer a memorable and personal connection with recipients.

At the end of the day, generating leads will never be a simple process and shouldn’t be approached with a one-size-fits-all strategy. In order for you to capture more qualified leads for your firm, it’s important to incorporate and test a mix of different marketing ideas.

Grow Leads with a Law Firm Marketing Agency

For many attorneys, marketing is a point of discomfort. Once they have the client in front of them and can concentrate on law and the areas of expertise in which they are trained, then all is well. Generating leads and finding those clients are a whole different animal. Many law firms turn to experienced marketing agencies for help.

If you are ready to create a boost in your law firm marketing, 9Sail can help. Our marketing agency is skilled in generating leads and retaining existing customers. Let us help you increase your clientele through marketing. Contact us today!