When you run a business, you want to make sure that prospective clients hear about you. You can’t survive in any industry if no one knows that you’re open or what your services even are. This is where advertising comes in. Advertising allows you to put you and your products or offers squarely in front of your target audience. This way, if they need your products or services, they’ll immediately know who to turn to.
Unfortunately, one of the most overlooked practices in the legal industry is advertising. A handful of lawyers still have mixed feelings about putting advertisements to promote their practice. These are some of the reasons they cannot see why advertising is important:
- They believe in the power of word of mouth – Before the internet age, people would ask for recommendations from their family and friends. These days, however, the practice has seen a drastic change due to the Internet. The ABA Journal revealed that in recent years 33% of potential clients would start their lawyer search online. If there is a lack of information about you and your practice then most clients would just proceed to the next available lawyer.
- Not everyone is keen to meet the needs of 21st-century clients – The majority of people these days search for legal services online. According to Local SEO Search Inc., one of the reasons why advertising is important is because of these modern-day clients who believe that the absence of advertising effort is the professional’s failure to reach out and serve the larger population.
- They want to safeguard the clients – Some professionals may feel that the additional budget to be allocated for advertisements would be a disservice to their clients. However, lawyers can do an advertising comparison of rates and packages to help them find good deals without breaking the bank and passing it on to their customers.
- They leave it to the digital natives – As years pass, the growing number of legal professionals that are considered to be digital natives has also grown. Some practitioners would rather leave the nitty-gritty details of digital marketing and advertising to young blood instead of jumping into the bandwagon.
How to Scale Your Practice With Advertising
For your law firm to keep running, you need to bring in new business. You need to have a solid marketing strategy that is up to date. To successfully scale your law firm you need to knock on your ideal client’s consciousness, engage existing and former clients, and stand out against the competing agencies.
Take note that a part of your advertising comparison should be the knowledge of the advertising agency of ethical and disciplinary consequences. With a team that is familiar with the different rules and regulations that bind legal firms, it would be easier to build the best marketing strategies that target the audience and avoid any consequences.
To successfully advertise and scale your law firm, here are some of the things that you need to do:
1. Do not make false claims
Any false claim means that you are being dishonest. Lying is not an admirable trait for any business especially if you are in the legal field. You should never make misleading claims.
To do this you need to avoid making bold statements that can deceive clients like guaranteeing that they will win the case. You should also avoid making superlative claims such as saying you are the “best lawyer” in town. It is safest to not put any promises that you can’t keep anywhere in your advertising material. Stick to the facts and let the advertising company produce a creative copy that will embody what you do in the most concise way.
2. Do not set unrealistic expectations
It is normal to put up a testimonials page to give prospective clients a perspective of how you were able to help others, but bold, sweeping statements should not be part of this. Be careful with how these testimonials are worded. Visitors would not set very high expectations. Remember that no two cases are the same so the results of proceedings will also vary.
3. Never claim that you are a specialist or expert
Canadian regulations are extremely strict when it comes to businesses and practices that claim to be the best in their field. One of the reasons why advertising is important is you want to put your business. However, this doesn’t mean that you can say just about anything. Steer clear of calling yourself an expert or specialist.
4. Build a website for your law firm
One of the first things that you need to do to advertise your law firm is to build a website. Make sure to build your online presence first to start establishing your credibility, generate leads, and increase your visibility online, offer valuable information, and capture the attention of current and prospective clients.
5. Set up a Google Business Page
Setting up a Google business profile is a critical part of building your online presence. Let clients find critical business information like your office location, contact information, review sites, and others using the Google My Business page.
6. Set up a Social Media Profile
Because everyone is now on social media, make sure to connect with brands, lawyers, and prospective clients through these platforms. Social media profiles can also double as a messaging platform where clients can ask questions and book consultations.
7. Measure your results
In order to get the maximum return for your investment, you need to measure your results well. Include in your advertising comparison the reporting software being used by the company for generating reports on the performance of marketing channels. Use the data to formulate the next steps in your advertising and marketing efforts.
Whether you’re a Toronto divorce lawyer or a Mississauga personal injury lawyer, you can benefit from advertising online. Scaling your business can be done when you successfully market your practice. With the current competition, even lawyers need to play their marketing game right. Tap the help of the right people to increase your presence and get more clients to sign up.
