Legal Advertising Rules and Regulations
Not every form of advertising is permissible under the rules of legal ethics. Particularly because lawyers are charged with the responsibility of upholding the law, and given truths that most people don’t know, they are held to a higher standard of responsible advertising than other professions. Follow the rules and you can advertise in an ethical manner. Break the rules and face the consequences.
Ahead of advertising in any area of your business law, personal injury, criminal defense, family law, etc., you must first see that your state allows for the mediums you want to employ. All states allow print and internet advertising but vary on radio, television, and billboards. Most states mandate that law firms maintain their own website, while some allow the local bar association’s online directory to meet that requirement.
Once a lawyer decides on a medium, there are still dangerous grounds in which they must tread. For instance, many states only allow testimonials if the advertisement includes a disclaimer letting readers know that the results for one client have no bearing on whether they will be successful for another because when mentioning the results of others, the message can be construed as implying a guarantee of the outcome . Attorneys are also required to verify any specialty claimed such as criminal defense, vehicle accident representation, or family law if the state allows their use.
The American Bar Association’s Center for Professional Responsibility says:
"Model Rules and their Comments are authoritative statements containing identify, interpret, and review pertinent portions (i.e., a Model Rule, or a Note to a Model Rule) of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and also include commentaries on the Model Rules. They are used by the Commission on Lawyer Advertising for guidelines supporting its policy decisions. These notes can be considered substantive pieces of evidence that reflect the state of the law at the time of the publication’s original date. The notes can be changed or added periodically."
So what happens if lawyers fail to follow these guidelines? They can be subjected to censure, suspension or even disbarment. An attorney may retract a misleading advertisement but that doesn’t protect them from a potential ethics violation. In recent years, a string of lawyers have been forced to make these types of announcements.
Using Social Media for Legal Marketing
Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are great ways to gain exposure for your law firm and connect with potential clients. The key is to use them effectively and within the bounds of legal advertising standards. Many law firms have pages on Facebook and LinkedIn where they share educational blog posts and information about their areas of practice. You can also engage fans and followers by sharing images or videos of speeches you’ve given or events you’ve hosted, asking for their opinion on new ads, or soliciting feedback on how you’re doing to keep you and your team accountable for providing the best service possible. You can also post turning point events like anniversaries, new hires, award wins, office relocations, and charitable endeavors. You need to keep in mind that posting advertising information will require you to follow the legal advertising guidelines of the bar associations in the jurisdictions where you operate. Posting educational content, case results, turning point events, and engaging fan posts is generally acceptable. As always, if you’re not sure what to post, consult your legal marketing professional.
Legal Content Creation Ideas
In the digital age, providing high-quality content is an essential component of legal advertising. Engaging blogs, well-written articles, and compelling videos can build rapport with potential clients while establishing the attorney as a thought leader and authoritative source in their practice area. Investment in compelling legal content may be one of the most effective ways of ensuring your digital content stands out from the crowd. To ensure the content you are producing resonates with your audience, take time to research what topics are on the minds of your potential clients. Do you have a steady stream of questions regarding a specific practice area? What do people ask you on a daily basis? Answering these questions will help you create content that informs, educates, and answers the questions of your potential clients. In addition to writing compelling content, consider sharing it through multiple outlets. For example, creating a video to discuss a timely issue in your area of practice not only gives you instant authority as an expert on the topic, it can also be easily transcribed for your blog or for an article on your website. Presenting your content in a variety of formats is a great way to create a diverse array of content – and your pitch to the media.
Search Engine Optimization for Law Firms
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the key to getting your website and your law firm noticed online. Obviously, this is a good thing, especially for solo and small law firms trying to set themselves apart from competitors in their geographic area. This simple equation tells the story: Google + SEO = New Clients The process of getting ranked well in a search engine’s results is competing for the keywords you choose. If you have the most relevant content, you have won that competition. The best way to display your firm’s expertise is to supply legally-relevant articles on your firm’s website.
Keywords So how do you go about keywording your content? The first step is deciding which keywords are most relevant to your website. You can easily identify the keywords you and your competitors are ranked for by going to yourhomeworkdone.com. Once you know what your keywords are, you can begin work researching the keywords for your firm. Use a Keyword Wizard. Keyword wizards often do not allow the use of 2-word keywords that many law firms should target. You must be more specific about the kind of legal work you do in your area of practice. If your target is too general, you will get lost in the crowd.
Local SEO If you only serve clients in your metropolitan area, you must localize your keywords. Examples of localized keywords might include "bankruptcy attorney in Los Angeles," "California bankruptcy attorney," "bankruptcy environmental attorney in California." Resources for localized keywords include lawyers.com and avvo.com. Those lawyers.com blogs? They employ highly-skilled SEO professionals to help them get ranked highly on Google. You can develop a blog as well. Law firm webmasters say blogs are a critical part of any law firm’s SEO marketing plan.
Optimizing Content Love your content and put your keywords in them. How can you draw people to the legal counsel you provide? By providing good, current information on your website.
Using Online Reviews and Testimonials
With so much competition out there, legal ads can make your firm stand out from the crowd. One great way to leverage your advertising is through the power of client reviews and testimonials. Provided you don’t already have one, creating a Google My Business listing is a good place to start. This will allow current and former clients to leave you a review of your services.
Testimonials from formerly satisfied clients are also helpful, particularly when they are from prominent members of the community, or from people who have been through similar issues as those current leads you’re looking to satisfy with your legal services . These "third party" endorsements are incredibly valuable for prospects; they help humanize your business and present your firm as a group of real people who care about helping other people solve their legal problems. Try to include a call to action at each touchpoint on your website, social media, newsletters, and any other place you do business. This could be a line suggesting how easy it is to leave a review, or even asking your clients to leave a positive review if they’ve had a good experience. Paid ads on sites like Justia and Lawyers.com also allow you to accumulate reviews on your profile.
Using Pay-Per-Click in Legal Marketing
The beauty of pay-per-click (PPC) is that it gives you control over your ad budget. You can manage the amount of money you spend in real time and you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. You need to have some PPC expertise to run a successful campaign, so rather than trying to figure out things on the fly, you might hire an expert at pay-per-click advertising who can help you set up your campaign and get it off the ground. Perhaps you’d even find an agency to provide a complete marketing package for your firm.
If you do PPC advertising organically then you will often pay less than what is probably the market value of your keywords or phrases since usually there is less competition in the organic results for your targeted marketing terms, but you are sacrificing the power of a paid campaign since you are not doing paid ads, which usually appear above or to the sides of the results, but you could be competing with only your geographical and/or keyword targeted competitors if you are using an organic strategy.
One limitation is that you don’t only have to pay when someone clicks on your ad, you also have to decide how much you want to pay per click, which can be determined by accession and type of your services value and budget. For example, if your top goal is to obtain family law clients, the maximum cost per click (per your budget) for your targeted PPC advertising family law computer search phrase would have value to you because these are your target market, but you would tailor your click strategy to maximize your performance and limit your spending in relation to the cost of your PPC advertising and how much the information leads that direct from your ad brings in.
But your PPC strategy doesn’t have to be limited to Google AdWords. Newer players in the PPC arena now include Bing, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Chitika, InfoLinks, and others.
Many of the factors which apply to your SEO Internet marketing campaign will be applicable to your PPC campaign, such as your business’ top search engine ranking goals, including the following:
The more competitive the keyword or phrase, the higher your cost per click. If you were a divorce lawyer in Miami, Miami might be the most you could pay for this term (or its plural) to get onto page one of the search engine results. In our example, being on page one of the Google results, ranked number 4 (out of about 50 major competitors) would have resulted in an estimated monthly 10,450 searches, and by our count, a very low 194,000 competing sites. The cost per click is currently listed at $9.41, with a 47% paid search result rate. By page one, against those competitors, you’d be reaching hundreds of potential new clients every day.
You need to know your business’ sales pitch to your potential client. What is your firm’s unique selling point and how will you convince them of its value? You want your offer to match your firm’s goals. Your ad will need to pass the "so what" test.
Your PPC ad should offer a compelling benefit — not just state what you do. You do not need to be all things to all people; rather you should target the same niche market that you are targeting with your client attraction campaign.
Email Marketing Strategies for Legal Practices
Email marketing is an efficient way for law firms to deliver messages to current and potential clients. With advances in email automation technology, attorneys can further their reach with personalized messages, bringing their services to the forefront. With email, you can provide pertinent information about your firm and its services.
Make sure you personalize the subject line of your emails and always avoid being overly "sales-y." While email marketing is a form of sales, you don’t want it to come off like you’re "selling" your service. Rather, focus on providing relevant and informative content to your recipients.
Your email campaigns should be sent routinely in order to keep your firm at the top of your potential clients’ inboxes. Be sure to include your social media links to provide recipients a way to connect with you.
Networking and Collaborations in Legal Marketing
Whether you’re a new law firm looking to establish a name for yourself or an established firm looking to expand your reach, building strong networks and partnerships is an essential part of your success. One of the biggest advantages of networking is that it can enhance your law firm’s advertising efforts and render you greater visibility than would otherwise be possible as a stand-alone entity.
Working with other professionals in your field is a natural way to make the most of your experience and connections. It can also save you money on advertising and marketing costs simply because you’re sharing those costs with another professional or business.
Community engagement is yet another way to increase your visibility , while also allowing you to assist others at the same time. As a law firm committed to giving back to the community, you can enjoy excellent visibility by getting involved in your community’s events, such as sponsoring sports teams, organizing annual fundraising functions for public charities, or even establishing a scholarship fund to assist a worthy student in pursuing his or her goals.
In addition to pursuing advertising that targets your specific practice area, engage in professional networking and community service as part of your overall legal advertising campaigns. These methods can play a major role in helping you develop a solid reputation in both your community and your field.