Legal Marketing Strategy Made Simple: What, Who, Where, How and When

Every legal practice needs a simple legal marketing strategy.

Many lawyers want to build a practice through law firm marketing. They want the freedom and financial rewards that come with a full book of business. But they get stuck because they don’t have a strategy in place and if they do they get bogged down by it.

When it comes to building a law practice especially if you’re just starting out complexity is the enemy. You need a simple strategy — a one page plan — that allows for rapid action you can build on.

Let’s get into the What, Who, Where, How and When of legal marketing strategy.

The Benefits of Simplicity

In the mid 1990s Jeff Bezos boiled down a revolutionary idea into a simple pitch that changed the retail world: an online bookstore with infinite inventory. This vision was simple enough to be drawn on a single page or even the back of a napkin and helped him raise capital and became the foundation of his strategy. A one page legal marketing plan can do the same for you, simplify your path to growth and overcome the common obstacles lawyers face when building a practice. A well structured law firm marketing plan is important for attracting clients, improving search engine rankings and integrating various marketing tactics such as content creation and re-marketing which includes:

1. Analysis Paralysis. By focusing on the simple core of building your practice you can avoid the trap of overthinking and the procrastination that comes with it.
2. Lack of Motivation. The “goal gradient hypothesis” suggests that seeing progress boosts motivation. A simple marketing plan makes each step towards your goal feel achievable and turns abstract goals into a series of concrete actions.
3. Stuck in Routines. Amazon’s journey from a bookstore to a global retail giant was fueled by their ability to adapt to feedback and market changes quickly. A one page legal marketing plan creates an actionable feedback loop. It allows you to adjust your tactics quickly based on results (good or bad) and emerging opportunities. In other words instead of getting stuck in your head trying to figure out the perfect strategy you can test your ideas in the real world and pivot or double down as needed.

Now let’s get started building your one page marketing plan and putting it into action.

Step One: The Strategic Foundation (What, Who and Where)

Building a law firm marketing strategy is based on three things: What you offer, who you serve and where you serve them. This clarity ensures your marketing reaches and resonates with your target market.

The What: Your Unique Value Proposition

The “What” is about the specific legal problem you solve. It’s more than just listing your practice area; it’s about what you bring to your clients. This isn’t about what you do but how what you do helps your clients. For example instead of saying “I practice litigation” you could say “I help small businesses navigate employment law to avoid costly litigation and a toxic workplace”. This way your value proposition is clear and potential clients know exactly how you can help them. A clear value proposition is the foundation of any law firm marketing strategy.

Who: Your Prospective Clients

The “Who” is about identifying your ideal client. This is about focusing your marketing on a specific part of the market that will benefit most from your services. Knowing who your ideal clients are allows you to tailor your messaging to speak directly to their needs, pain points and aspirations. Are they a small business in a particular industry? Are they individuals with specific legal challenges? The more specific you can be with your “Who” the more effective your marketing will be. Knowing your ideal clients also helps you allocate your law firm marketing budget more effectively.

Where: Where to Find Your Target Audience

The “Where” determines the platforms and channels where your ideal clients will see and engage with your marketing. This requires knowledge of your clients’ habits and preferences. Where do they go to find information about your services? Industry specific publications, professional networks, social media, certain types of events and conferences? Knowing these channels – the ecosystem of your audience’s attention – is key to your marketing reaching your target audience. Knowing these channels is key to your law firm being found online.

Each of these components is crucial to a successful legal marketing strategy. Without a “What” your message gets lost in the noise. Without a “Who” your marketing may not reach the people who need your services most. And without a “Where” even the best message may never reach your target audience.

Step Two: From Strategy to Tactics (How) 

Now that you have your “What,” “Who” and “Where” established, the “How” is your action plan — the specific ways you’ll reach your target market through your law firm’s marketing. This is about choosing the marketing activities that align with your legal marketing strategy and play to your strengths and interests.

This might be a mix of content creation (writing articles that address the legal issues your Who faces), being active in the social media platforms you identified in your Where, or hosting webinars to go deeper into topics of interest.

These and other tactics can be effective because they scale. For example, a single thought leadership article or social media post can reach hundreds or even thousands of people in your target market.

But you also need to do things that don’t scale, like consistently reaching out to and engaging with the most important, high-potential contacts in your network — your key contacts.

When you have one-on-one interactions with clients and prospective clients, you’re doing “business development.” While these don’t scale because you’re investing your time to stay top of mind and build trust with one person (as opposed to many via a scalable marketing tactic like content creation), the investment has higher potential for ROI because you can build a deeper relationship.

(Read: “Unscalable Business Development.”)

I recommend lawyers create a list of 20 to 30 key contacts — a VIP list — and aim to have some form of value-added interaction with each key contact monthly or at least quarterly. This might be an email with a link to an article, introducing two people in your network who would benefit from knowing each other or an invitation to lunch or an event.

For law firms with limited budget, partnering with a law firm marketing agency can be a great resource to help with client acquisition and stay up to date with the latest marketing.

Your How tactics should be simple and repeatable. For example, you could write long-form articles, create short-form social media content and consistently reach out to key contacts.

Remember, the effectiveness — and consistency — of your How also depends on leveraging your personal strengths and interests. If you enjoy and are good at public speaking, webinars and presentations might be where you have the most impact. If you’re a good writer, thought leadership articles could be your go-to.

The key is choosing methods you’re comfortable with and excited about, making your marketing efforts sustainable.

Step Three: The Cadence of Your Efforts (When)

This brings us to the final component of your strategy: “When” — the cadence of your tactics.

The universal law of compounding suggests that small, incremental gains, when consistently applied over time, can yield enormous results. Time accelerates returns in financial investments, and in building your practice, so you should harness the power of compounding, which requires consistency, time and patience in your marketing and business development efforts.

The alternative is to take a scattershot approach to business development and marketing where you dabble in lots of different areas, try to communicate to many disparate audiences, and inconsistently take action. 

Establish a schedule that defines not just How you’ll engage with your audience but also When. By way of example, let’s revisit the tactics discussed above and assign some deadlines to ensure you remain accountable to your goals: Write one long-form article per month, create two short-form social media posts per week, and consistently reach out to three key contacts every week. Committing in advance to When you will execute your How will help you stay on track.

Step Four: Review and Refine

The journey to building a profitable law practice doesn’t end with the execution of your law firm’s marketing efforts. Continuous review and refinement are essential for ensuring your tactics remain effective, relevant and aligned with your objectives.

Review your efforts regularly to gauge their effectiveness in real-time. This involves analyzing engagement metrics, tracking client inquiries and conversions, and gathering feedback directly from your target audience. These insights provide a clear picture of what’s working and what isn’t, enabling you to make informed decisions about where to invest your resources.

Think of this process as a cycle of continual improvement. With each iteration — review and refine — you enhance the precision of your strategy. This cycle fosters learning and growth and allows you to tailor your efforts to your audiences’ preferences, thereby increasing your effectiveness.

Get Started With a Simple Legal Marketing Strategy

It’s time to pull out your legal pad and answer these five critical questions: What? Who? Where? How? When?

It only takes one page to get started. Once it’s complete, quickly pivot to taking action. Don’t wait until you feel fully confident — action breeds confidence. Don’t delay because you think you have more to learn — the best lessons come from experience.

(Read: “Consistent Action, Not a Perfect Plan, Is What’s Required to Build a Successful Legal Practice.”)

Opportunity awaits. And with your one-page strategy in place, you’ll be ready to seize it.

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Tools You Can Use: Legal Marketing Strategy Planning

Finding a Gap

Finding a gap is an important part of any legal marketing strategy. A gap is an opportunity in the market that a law firm can exploit. To find these gaps law firms should conduct market research and analyze their competition. This means understanding the needs and pain points of potential clients and where existing legal services are falling short.

By finding these gaps law firms can differentiate themselves by offering solutions to unmet needs. This attracts new clients and positions the firm as the leader in its niche. For example if market research reveals a lack of specialized services for a particular industry a law firm can develop expertise in that area and market themselves as the go to provider for those services.

Your Competition

Understanding your competition is also important in any legal marketing strategy. Law firms should conduct competitor research to find out what they do well and what they don’t, what they market and how they market. This information can be used to gain a competitive advantage and differentiate the law firm from the competition.

By analyzing competitors law firms can see what works and what doesn’t in the market. This includes their online presence, content marketing, client reviews and overall brand positioning. With this information law firms can refine their own marketing strategy to highlight their unique strengths and fill the gaps in the market.

Buyer Personas for Law Firms

Creating buyer personas is an important part of any law firm marketing strategy. A buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal client, including their demographics, interests, needs and pain points. By knowing your target audience, you can tailor your marketing to them and increase the chance of attracting new clients.

To create a buyer persona for your law firm start by gathering data from:

• Client surveys and feedback
• Social media analytics
• Website traffic data
• Industry reports and research

Use this data to find patterns and trends to create a detailed profile of your ideal client. Consider:

• Age and occupation
• Income and education level
• Pain points and challenges
• Goals and aspirations
• Preferred communication channels

For example a buyer persona for a personal injury law firm might look like this:

• Name: Sarah
• Age: 35-50
• Occupation: Working professional
• Income: $50,000-$100,000
• Education: College educated
• Pain points: Injured in an accident, seeking compensation and justice
• Goals: Get fair compensation, recover from injuries, move on with life
• Preferred communication channels: Social media, online search, referrals

Setting SMART Goals for Your Law Firm

Setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) goals is key to law firms success in marketing. SMART goals give direction and focus to your marketing strategy so you can allocate resources and measure progress.

To set SMART goals for your law firm:

• Who is your target audience and what are their needs: Who are your ideal clients and what are they looking for in legal services.
• What are your marketing objectives: What do you want to achieve with your marketing, increase website traffic, generate leads or boost conversions.
• Make them specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound: Make sure they are clear and achievable within a certain timeframe.
• Set key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure progress: Use metrics to measure your marketing.
• Review and adjust regularly: Review and adjust as you go.

Example of a SMART goal:

• Increase website traffic by 20% in the next 6 months by optimizing the website for search and creating content that speaks to our target audience.
• Measure progress by tracking website traffic through Google Analytics.
• Review and adjust every 3 months to make sure we are on track to meet our target.

Building a Strong Brand

Building a brand is key to establishing credibility, trust and recognition in the market. A brand helps you stand out from the competition and attract new clients.

To build a brand for your firm consider:

• Create a unique value proposition (UVP): Something that differentiates you from the competition.
• A consistent visual identity: logo, color scheme and typography across all platforms.
• Online presence: Your website and social media profiles should be professional and interesting.
• Content marketing: Showcasing your expertise and providing value to your target market through regular content updates.
• Engage with your target market: Use social media and other channels to talk to your audience and build relationships.

Example of a brand for a law firm:

• UVP: “We are a team of experienced and caring personal injury lawyers helping our clients get justice and fair compensation.”
• Visual identity: A strong and modern logo, soothing color scheme and clean typography.
• Online presence: A professional website that showcases our expertise and provides resources to our target market.
• Content marketing strategy: Blog posts, social media and email newsletters that provide value to our target market.

Content Marketing Strategy for Law Firms

A content marketing strategy is a crucial component of any law firm’s marketing efforts. Content marketing helps to establish your law firm as a thought leader in the industry, attracts new clients, and drives business growth.

To develop a content marketing strategy for your law firm, consider the following steps:

• Identify your target audience and their needs: Understand who your ideal clients are and what information they are seeking.
• Determine your content marketing objectives: Define what you want to achieve with your content, such as increasing website traffic, generating leads, or boosting conversions.
• Develop a content calendar: Outline the type of content to be created, the frequency of publication, and the channels to be used.
• Create high-quality, engaging, and informative content: Ensure your content resonates with your target audience and provides value.
• Distribute your content through various channels: Use your website, social media, email newsletters, and other platforms to share your content.

Example of a content marketing strategy for a law firm:

• Target audience: Individuals and businesses seeking legal services in the areas of personal injury, employment law, or business law.
• Objectives: Increase website traffic by 20% within the next 6 months, generate 10 new leads per month, and boost conversions by 15% within the next 12 months.
• Content calendar: Monthly blog posts, bi-weekly social media updates, and quarterly email newsletters.
• Content types: Blog posts, social media updates, email newsletters, videos, and podcasts.
• Channels: Website, social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn), email newsletters, and YouTube.

SEO for Law Firms

Search engine optimization (SEO) is critical for any law firm’s online marketing strategy. SEO helps to increase your law firm’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs), drive more traffic to your website, and attract new clients.

To develop an SEO strategy for your law firm, consider the following steps:

• Conduct keyword research: Identify relevant and high-traffic keywords that potential clients are using to search for legal services.
• Optimize your website for search engines: Ensure your website’s meta tags, titles, and descriptions include target keywords.
• Create high-quality, engaging, and informative content: Develop content that resonates with your target audience and includes relevant keywords.
• Build high-quality backlinks: Obtain backlinks from reputable sources such as legal directories, industry publications, and other law firms.
• Monitor and adjust your SEO strategy regularly: Continuously evaluate your SEO efforts and make necessary adjustments to stay on track.

Example of an SEO strategy for a law firm:

• Keyword research: Identify relevant and high-traffic keywords such as “personal injury lawyer,” “employment law attorney,” and “business law firm.”
• Website optimization: Optimize meta tags, titles, and descriptions to include target keywords.
• Content creation: Create high-quality, engaging, and informative content that resonates with our target audience.
• Backlink building: Build high-quality backlinks from reputable sources such as legal directories, industry publications, and other law firms.
• Monitoring and adjustment: Monitor your SEO strategy regularly and adjust as needed to ensure you are meeting objectives.

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