Challenges Associated with Marketing a Law Firm Online
If you have been searching for tips for marketing a law firm online, you must have come across so much information that have probably left you feeling overwhelmed or confused. With so many marketing strategies to try out, you are likely to encounter some challenges on the way. So, what are the challenges that you are liable to come across when marketing your law firm on the internet? Well, the following are some of them
Internet Marketing can be Expensive
There are costs that are usually involved in the process of marketing a law firm online. In order for you to have a viable website that ranks well on search engines, you must involve an online attorney marketing company. This may be a web designer or developer that is competent in designing and developing a law firm website. Hiring a web designer/developer means that you have to be ready to part with your hard-earned cash and at times it can be a lot. Therefore, if you have a limited budget, you are likely to have a hard time marketing your business online.
Prohibitive Rules Governing Legal Services Advertising
While most professionals can say almost anything they want in their marketing efforts, lawyers are usually restricted from the same. There are prohibitive rules that vary from state to state, which govern how lawyers market their legal services. For instance, in certain states, lawyers are not allowed to use client testimonials (unless unequivocally requested by potential clients). This is because client testimonials normally include claims about the firm that attorneys who practice in it could not otherwise make about themselves. In case you aren’t conversant with these rules and regulations, you can find yourself at the wrong side of the law.
Lack of Enough time to effectively nurture leads
If you are a lawyer, you probably spend most of your time in court and filing days with billable activities. This means that you have less time to spend evaluating online marketing options, and may not have the patience to return calls from customers who just want to ask legal questions. Every email or phone call that goes unreturned could be the same as tossing away your money. There are many processes that are involved in marketing a law firm, whether online or offline. If you lack enough time to effectively nurture the leads that your marketing efforts are generating, then your efforts of having a successful marketing campaign will be futile.
Incongruent Branding
You have probably heard that in order for you be successful in marketing a law firm online, you will have to incorporate a number of strategies. Online marketing will involve blogging, article and press release writing and social media marketing, among others. After all these have been integrated, your law firm will be all over the web, which will be great. However, a challenge can arise if you fail to let people see the same thing every time they see your business online. What you must ask yourself is do people see the same professionalism and branding on every advertising platform you have used? If not, you will not only end up hurting your law firm’s overall image, but you will also lose the chance of drawing in quality leads from the web.
Familiarize yourself with the various rules and regulations that have been set aside by your respective state concerning legal services advertising. Furthermore, make time to nurture leads, and also ensure that all the platforms that you use for your advertising campaign preach the same message and paint the same picture of your law firm.