Just as you wouldn’t jump into the deep end of a pool without first learning to swim, you shouldn’t start posting to social media or building a website without first creating a legal marketing strategy and a legal marketing plan.
In the competitive world of law, effective and strategic marketing can make the difference between a thriving practice and a struggling one. Legal marketing strategies and plans are essential tools that help law firms attract and retain clients, as well as top-notch talent.
What is a Legal Marketing Strategy and a Legal Marketing Plan?
A legal marketing strategy is the foundation for a solid marketing plan. It organizes your efforts around your goals, ensuring you reach the right people with the right information. In essence, it outlines what you want to promote, to whom and identifies what your competitors are doing and how you can differentiate your law firm through messaging and branding. A well-defined marketing strategy is crucial, as it provides a clear direction and focus, helping your law firm stand out in a crowded marketplace.
Meanwhile, a legal marketing plan is a detailed, actionable roadmap that outlines the specific tactics and actions a law firm will take to execute its marketing strategy. There are a variety of marketing activities law firms can use. They include, but aren’t limited to, designing a new logo, redesigning your website, launching a public relations campaign using pitches and news releases, and content marketing through blog posts and ghostwritten articles placed in industry publications. The plan includes timelines and due dates, assignments and how to measure success.
The Legal Marketing Strategy
To create a legal marketing strategy tailored to you, your firm or even a specific campaign — such as the launch of a new practice or the opening of an office — answer these questions:
- What do you want to market? This could be the entire law firm, a specific practice or individual lawyers or teams.
- Who are you trying to target? Your audience could be based on geographic location, industries, specific circumstances or demographics.
- What problem does this service solve? Identify the challenges your clients face and how you can help them.
- Who are your competitors? Knowing your competitors helps you distinguish what sets you and your firm apart.
- What do you want to say about the product? Create messaging that clearly communicates the benefits of your services and highlights how you’re different from your competitors.
- What are your goals and objectives? Define what you want to achieve, such as increasing client inquiries or improving brand recognition.
The Legal Marketing Plan
Once you have your legal marketing strategy, you can build a legal marketing plan with these components:
- Set a budget: Determine how much you will spend on each marketing activity or on marketing as a whole during a set time period.
- Identify marketing tactics and activities: Choose tactics and activities that ensure you reach your target audience, such as SEO strategies, sponsored social media ads or mentions in local publications.
- Assign duties: Clearly define roles and responsibilities to keep everyone moving in the same direction toward your goals.
- Create content: Put the plan into action by creating the deliverables that will bring your goals to life, whether it be a website, video, attorney bios, practice area descriptions, guest articles or award submissions.
- Set milestones: Include milestones and benchmarks to keep your team on track. Content calendars and online project management platforms are helpful with this.
- Track results: Regularly review and evaluate your plan’s effectiveness to ensure it remains a living document that can be adjusted as needed. Reviewing website analytics, email marketing systems data and social media insights to check for interest and engagement is a great way to determine what’s working, and what’s not.
Creating and implementing a legal marketing strategy and plan is essential for law firms looking to make a splash. By following the steps outlined above, you can develop a focused, effective approach to marketing that will help attract and retain clients and employees.
Have questions about legal marketing strategies or plans or want to discuss how your law firm can get started creating its own? Reach out to TW2 Marketing to talk with one of our experienced legal marketing consultants.